Byrds Byrdmaniax Lyrics

Byrdmaniax has been sidelined ever since its original 1971 release, when it arrived in the wake of the triumphant Untitled. At the time, the group's musical diversity was beginning to suggest uncertainty, but in hindsight--and with the inclusion here of three contemporaneous bonus tracks--there is much to savor. Highlights include Roger McGuinn's poignant "Kathleen's Song" and the band's striking cover of Jackson Browne's "Jamaica Say You Will." Skip Battin was never better than on "Citizen Kane," a collaboration with maverick Kim Fowley. Original tracks are enhanced by a sensitive alternate version of McGuinn's "Pale Blue" and, particularly, by Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman." Byrdmaniax may not be the pick of the Byrds' canon, but it sits well in Sony's imaginative repackaging of this much-loved band's catalog. --Patrick Humphries