TO EVERYTHING,
TURN,TURN,TURN
THERE IS A SEASON
TURN, TURN, TURN
AND TIME TO
EVERY PURPOSE
UNDER HEAVEN
Turn! Turn! Turn!
is the second
studio album
by the American
rock band
released on
December 6, 1965,
by Columbia Records.
Like its predecessor,
Mr. Tambourine Man,
the album epitomized
the folk rock genre
and continued
the band's successful mix
of vocal harmony
and jangly
twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar.
The album's lead single
and title track,
"Turn! Turn! Turn!",
which was adapted by
Pete Seeger
from text in
the Book of Ecclesiastes,
had previously been arranged
in a chamber-folk style by
the Byrd's
lead guitarist
Jim McGuinn
for folk singer
Judy Collins'
third album,
but the arrangement
he used for
the Byrds'
recording of the song
utilizes the same
folk-rock style as
the band's
previous hit singles.
The album peaked at
number 17
on the
Billboard Top LPs chart
and went to
number 11
in the United Kingdom.
The "Turn! Turn! Turn!" single
preceded the album
by two months
and topped the
Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Another single
taken from the album,
"Set You Free This Time",
was less successful
and failed to break
into the top 50
in the U.S.
On Turn! Turn! Turn!,
McGuinn's contributions to
songwriting increased
and rhythm guitarist
David Crosby
received his
first writing credit
on a Byrds album,
but the band's
prolific songwriter
Gene Clark
still contributed most
of the original material.
The album included two
Bob Dylan covers:
"The Times They Are a-Changin'"
and the then-unreleased song
"Lay Down Your Weary Tune".
It would be the last
Byrds album
to feature the
full participation of
Gene Clark
until the release of
the original quintet's
1973 reunion album,
Byrds.
Background
In the wake of the
international success
of their debut album
and the hit singles
"Mr. Tambourine Man"
and
"All I Really Want to Do",
the Byrds
entered Columbia Studios
in Hollywood on
June 28, 1965,
to set about recording
their follow-up album.
By the latter half of 1965,
the folk rock trend
the band had been
instrumental in originating
was gaining momentum,
with hit records by
the likes of
Cher,
the Turtles,
We Five,
and
Barry McGuire
clearly bearing the hallmarks
of the Byrds' influence.
Despite being such an
influential band,
the Byrds
had been disappointed
with the relative
lack of success
that their second single,
"All I Really Want to Do",
had achieved on
the American charts
and felt they needed
a strong third single
to maintain their
foothold in
the marketplace.
Initially, the band
elected to record a
third Bob Dylan cover,
"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue",
as their next single,
but, despite a couple
of attempts to record the song
in June and August 1965,
it was ultimately rejected.
The band then briefly
considered issuing a
version of Dylan's
"The Times They Are a-Changin'"
as a single instead,
but this idea was also discarded,
although the song
does appear on
Turn! Turn! Turn!
The song finally selected by
the band for their
third single was
Pete Seeger's
"Turn! Turn! Turn!",
a musical adaptation
of words taken from
the Biblical Book of
Ecclesiastes,
which would return
the group to the top
of the
Billboard Hot 100.
The recording of the album
was not without its tensions,
with several members
of the band
expressing feelings of
resentment towards
the close working relationship
that was forming between
McGuinn
and producer
Terry Melcher.
Rhythm guitarist
David Crosby
was particularly vocal
in his disapproval,
since he felt McGuinn
and Melcher
(along with the band's manager Jim Dickson)
were conspiring to keep
his songs off the album.
Crosby had brought the
self-penned
"Stranger in a Strange Land"
(later released by Blackburn & Snow)
and
"The Flower Bomb Song",
along with
Dino Valenti's
"I Don't Ever Want to Spoil Your Party"
later released by
Quicksilver Messenger Service
as
"Dino's Song"
to the recording sessions,
but all three songs
were rejected and
remained unreleased
at the time.
Tension was also developing
between Gene Clark
and the rest of the Byrds
due to the higher level
of income he was receiving
as the band's
principal songwriter.
This resulted in
Clark becoming
increasingly isolated
within the band
and some of his best songs
being relegated to
appearances on B-sides
or left unreleased altogether.
Ultimately,
this resentment would be a
contributing factor in
Clark's departure
from the band in
early 1966.
Yet another source of conflict
was the power struggle
that was developing between
Melcher and Dickson.
For his part,
Dickson had aspirations to
produce the band himself,
which led to him being
overly critical of
Melcher's production work
and would culminate in
Melcher's dismissal
as the
band's producer
following completion
of the album.
The album's
front cover
photograph
was taken by
Guy Webster
at his studio
in Beverly Hills, California,
and was
later nominated
for the Grammy Award
for Best Album Cover.
TRACKLIST
Turn! Turn! Turn!
It Won't Be Wrong
Set You Free This Time
Lay Down Your Weary Tune
He Was A Friend Of Mine
The World Turns All Around Her
Satisfied Mind
If You're Gone
The Times They Are A-Changin'
Wait And See
Oh! Susannah
The Day Walk (Never Before)
She Don't Care About Time
(Single Version)
The Times They Are A-Changin'
(first Version)
It's All Over Now Baby Blue
(Version 1)
She Don't Care About Time
(Version 1)
World Turns All Around Her
(Alternate Mix)
Stranger In A Strange Land
My Back Pages [*]
Eight Miles High
(Previously Unreleased Alternate Take) [*]
Mr Tambourine Man
(Remix) [*]
Turn! Turn! Turn!
(Expanded Version) [*]
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