The Byrds - 20 Essential Tracks From The Boxed Set: 1965-1990 (1992)

The Byrds are considered one of the greatest folk-rock bands, complete with great harmonies and jangle 12-string guitars. But I think they may be the original power pop band - if not, they're at least a part of the discussion. Here, we're given 15 singles from the band, an album cut, and 4 then-new recordings. All culled from a 4 disc box-set:

Billboard, February 15, 1992, p. 88

The band left quite a legacy, being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, back when that induction kinda-sorta meant something (don't get me started). For me, the group's legacy is their influence on bands I listened to as a teen: e.g. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, early R.E.M., The Bangles, and later when I discovered Big Star.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

Song	Year	Hot 100
Mr. Tambourine Man	1965	1
I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better	1965	103
All I Really Want To Do	1965	40
Turn! Turn! Turn!	1965	1
5D (Fifth Dimension)	1966	44
Eight Miles High	1966	14
Mr. Spaceman	1966	36
So You Want to Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star	1967	29
Have You Seen Her Face	1967	74
Lady Friend	1967	82
My Back Pages	1967	30
Goin' Back	1967	89
Ballad Of Easy Rider	1969	65
Jesus Is Just Alright	1969	97
Chestnut Mare	1970	121
I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician	1971	-
He Was A Friend Of Mine	1990	-
Paths Of Victory	1990	-
From A Distance	1990	-
Love That Never Dies	1990	*

*peaked at #14 in 11 weeks on the Billboard Album Rock chart in 1990-91.

All of the band's familiar Top 40 tunes are included and I enjoy most of those (with the exception of Mr. Spaceman) plus I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better, Lady Friend, Ballad Of Easy Rider, and He Was A Friend Of Mine. I'm less enthusiastic about 5D, Chestnut Mare, I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician, Paths Of Victory, and the less said about From A Distance, the better.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I'd sooner forget these memories, but whenever I hear Turn Turn Turn, I'm immediately taken to church camps as a teen, where that song was a standard. "You'd better smile while you sing, young man!  You're having fun!" Even so, there's no denying it's a great tune.