Byrds by The Byrds

Byrds is the twelfth and final studio album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released in March 1973 on Asylum Records (see 1973 in music). It was recorded as the centerpiece of a reunion between the five original band members: Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke. The last time that all five members had worked together as the Byrds was in 1966, prior to Clark's departure from the band. During the reunion, the current, latter-day lineup of the band continued to make live appearances until February 1973, with McGuinn being the only member common to both versions of the group.Upon its release, Byrds received generally poor reviews, with many critics bemoaning a lack of sonic unity and the absence of the Byrds' signature jangly guitar sound among the album's shortcomings. Nonetheless, the album reached number 20 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and was also moderately successful in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 31. In the U.S., Byrds was the band's highest charting album of new material since 1965's Turn! Turn! Turn!, which had also been the last Byrds' album to feature Clark as a full member. Three of the album's songs, "Full Circle", "Things Will Be Better", and "Cowgirl in the Sand", were released as singles during 1973, but none of these releases became hits.