ON THIS DATE (49 YEARS AGO) January 10, 1966 - The Byrds: Set You Free This Time b/w It Wont Be Wrong (Columbia 4-43501) 45 single is released in the US. Set You Free This Time is a song by The Byrds, written by band member Gene Clark and first released in December 1965 on the groups Turn! Turn! Turn! album. According to Clark, the song was written in just a few hours during The Byrds 1965 British tour, after a night spent carousing with Paul McCartney at the Scotch of St James club in London. The songs lead vocal is performed by Clark, who also plays acoustic guitar and harmonica on the track. Set You Free This Time concerns the breakup of a relationship and Clarks vocal inflections and densely-worded lyrics suggest the influence of Bob Dylan. The song also has a vague country-rock feel to it, largely due to the songs melody and Clarks harmonica solo. The chord progression and rhythm of the song, however, are atypical of country music. Following its appearance on the Turn! Turn! Turn! album, the song was issued as the A-side of a single on January 10, 1966. However, initial sales were relatively poor, with the single only managing to reach #79 on the Billboard Hot 100. As a result, Columbia Records in America began promoting the singles B-side It Wont Be Wrong instead, which resulted in the single eventually climbing to #63. In the UK, after a review in the NME stated that the B-side was better than Set You Free This Time, CBS Records went a step further and actually re-released the single with It Wont Be Wrong as the A-side. This re-issuing of essentially the same single twice within two weeks caused confusion among British radio DJs over which of the two songs they should play and contributed to the singles failure to chart. To accompany its UK release as a single, the BBC commissioned a short promotional film from The Byrds. However, on the day of filming a physical altercation occurred between the bands manager Jim Dickson and rhythm guitarist David Crosby and although some footage was shot, the clip was never aired. Despite its lack of commercial success, the single release of Set You Free This Time gained mostly positive reviews in the music press. The first edition of Crawdaddy! magazine described it as a lovely, moving song with Dylan-like 20-syllabal lines deckful of well chosen words. In the UK, Penny Valentine was complimentary in her review of the song for Disc magazine, commenting On first play, I didnt like it - but now I do. Its rather unByrd-like and very, very Dylan-like. Its slow and gentle and rather sad about never being a person who had much, and though she laughed at him and has now come for help, he doesnt hold a grudge. Ahh! The Beatles drummer, Ringo Starr, reviewing the single for Melody Maker, commented I only heard it the other day. They can do no wrong in my book. Great record, man, I love the voices. During February 1966, The Byrds performed Set You Free This Time on the U.S. television programs Hollywood A Go-Go, Where The Action Is, The Lloyd Thaxton Show, and Shivaree. However, the song disappeared from the bands live concert repertoire following Clarks departure from the group in March 1966. During his solo career, Clark would often return to the song in live concerts and consequently, it appears on his live albums In Concert and Silverado 75: Live & Unreleased. The Byrds
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 20:30:00 +0000
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