The Byrds: Draft Morning
[purchase]
I am a huge Byrds fan - along with R.E.M., they're probably my #1 favorite band. And "Draft Morning" is arguably my favorite song from my favorite Byrds album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers. While certain Byrdsian elements (i.e., those perfect harmonies) are firmly in place, the song also diverges from their more well-known songs. McGuinn's electric 12-string is gone (as it is from the entire album), and the song's structure is aggressively anti-pop: two verses, no chorus, and a cacophonous middle section.
That middle section - where an entirely different song seems to invade, guns blazing and without regard for the meter of the Byrds' tune - is all the more unsettling because it is tempered before and after by Chris Hillman's loping bassline and McGuinn and Crosby's easygoing guitars and vocals. (I could probably listen to this song's opening riff on an endless loop.) The composition of the song, then, is a perfect mirror of the lyrical content, which is about a man who wakes up on the morning he must report for (forced) military duty. The mellow start to the song matches up with a young guy without any real cares in the world - only to be interrupted by war.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
2:42 - Draft Morning
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5 comments:
this song always stuck out for me too. it's the year of the byrds! (well at least for me it is). nice post.
I've been slowly but surely picking up all of the Byrds albums in chronological order over the last year or two. Just picked up Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde a couple weeks ago... not bad, but I'm hoping the post-Crosby/Hillman lineup improves some.
You are entering into the Clarence White zone.
Judging by last week's theme I'd guess that's a good thing...
hell yes. untitled is a great record with some classics like chestnut mare and seasons. jason over at my blog is going to do easy rider next he says, so looks like you are right in sync.
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