Definitive Collection (1995)

About this title: The problem with assembling a collection that tells the story of the Byrds and still contains their best songs is that by the end, when only Roger McGuinn was left from the original lineup, the band was simply a whole lot less interesting than it was at the beginning. To tell the group's story correctly -- to be definitive -- means including songs like "America's Great National Pastime" from the winding-down era of the Byrds, at the expense of including much better earlier material like Gene Clark's "She Don't Care About Time." True, this anthology has the group's biggest hits, and even some ... read more

Tracks:

1. Mr. Tambourine Man [Dylan]
2. Chimes of Freedom [Dylan]
3. The Bells of Rhymney [Davies/Seeger]
4. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better [Clark]
5. All I Really Want to Do [Dylan]
6. Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) [Seeger/Traditional]
7. Set You Free This Time [Clark]
8. Eight Miles High [Clark/Crosby/McGuin]
9. 5D (Fifth Dimension) [McGuinn]
10. Mr. Spaceman [McGuinn]
11. So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star [Hillman/McGuinn]
12. My Back Pages [Dylan]
13. Have You Seen Her Face [Hillman]
14. Goin' Back [Goffin/King]
15. Wasn't Born to Follow [Goffin/King]
16. Lady Friend [Crosby]
17. You Ain't Going Nowhere [Dylan]
18. Lay Lady Lay [Dylan]
19. Ballad of Easy Rider [From Easy Rider] [McGuinn]
20. Jesus Is Just Alright [Reynolds]
21. Chestnut Mare [Levy/McGuinn]
22. I Trust [McGuinn]
23. I Wanna Grow up to Be a Politician [Levy/McGuinn]
24. Glory, Glory [Reynolds]
25. America's Great National Pastime [Battin/Fowley]
26. Lover of the Bayou [Live] [Levy/McGuinn]
27. Mr. Tambourine Man [Live] [Dylan]
28. Eight Miles High [Live] [Clark/Crosby/McGuin]
29. Mr. Spaceman [Live] [McGuinn]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.