The Byrds’ First Four Albums Remastered on CD in 1996: A Re-Assessment and Analysis of Remixed Tracks - EPILOGUE AND APPENDIXES by MARK TEEHAN

Undeniably, the release of the Byrds’ first four albums on CD in April 1996 set a new, higher standard for reissues of 60’s artists on disc for the following reasons: their state-of-the art sound quality; the generally judicious choices made on the remixing and mastering of tracks; the inclusion of top-flight and often rare bonus tracks; and the superb and informative liner notes (by David Fricke) and song notes (by Johnny Rogan). The entire project exuded class and excellent attention to detail. Clearly, a considerable amount of work, research, and preparation went into it.

Thus it was all the more puzzling why neither Project Director Adam Block nor especially Producer Bob Irwin saw fit to include annotations regarding which tracks on each album had been remixed, and from what type of multi-track masters. One would have thought that would have been a relatively straightforward matter to cover. While casual fans may not have cared, Block and Irwin had to have known that die-hard Byrds’ fans would, and surely deserved that information. Ironically, even the much-maligned 1990 box set had managed to include such historically useful notes, making it crystal-clear which tracks had been remixed and from what source tapes. This unexplained omission has marred the otherwise fine Legacy CD reissue series of the Byrds’ catalog over the years, and led to understandable speculation and debate- notably in the past decade in online forums.

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