In the Beginning is a compilation album by the American folk rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1988 by Rhino Records. It features demo recordings made during 1964, before the band became famous.
Contents.
"In the Beginning" compiles demos, some of which were previously unreleased, that were recorded during 1964 at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles, before the band had secured a recording contract with Columbia Records. Material dating from the band's pre-fame rehearsal sessions at World Pacific had previously appeared on the 1969 album "Preflyte", but "In the Beginning" provides a more comprehensive overview of this period than the earlier compilation.
During preparation for the album, Rhino Records elected to include as many previously unreleased versions of songs as possible, rather than simply duplicate the contents of the "Preflyte" album. As a result of this, of the seventeen tracks that make up "In the Beginning", only five are exactly the same recordings that were included on the earlier compilation album.
"In the Beginning" also includes six alternate takes of songs that appeared on "Preflyte". In addition, the album also features alternate versions of both sides of a one-off single that the group released on Elektra Records in 1964 (under the pseudonym of the Beefeaters); a primitive acoustic demo of "The Only Girl I Adore" which had previously been released on the "Early LA" various artists compilation; a previously unreleased early version of "It's No Use"; and two recordings of the previously unreleased song "Tomorrow Is a Long Ways Away".
Noting the album's emphasis on newly released material, the Byrds' biographer Johnny Rogan commented that "In the Beginning" took "the brave decision to include as many alternate takes as possible, irrespective of their quality", and concluded that the "CD captured the very genesis of the Byrds." Music historian and journalist Richie Unterberger, writing for the Allmusic website, has described the music on the album as "excellent, though more tentative and less polished than their 'official' Columbia work." However, Unterberger also complained that "some of the alternate takes are inferior to those on the original "Preflyte" album."
Upon release, "In the Beginning" garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, but failed to reach the "Billboard" Top Pop Albums chart or the UK Albums Chart.
The album is currently out of print and has been supplanted by the two exhaustive double CD compilations, "The Preflyte Sessions" and "Preflyte Plus".
Track listing.
NOTE: The following track listing is for the CD release only. The vinyl LP omits the tracks "The Reason Why", "Mr. Tambourine Man", and "Tomorrow Is a Long Ways Away" [acoustic version].
References.
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