Reaction to the new drumming on the song among fans was almost universally negative, with many feeling that the addition of then-modern sounding drums was completely inappropriate and incongruous. Subsequently, this doctored version of the song has not appeared on any other album release. A new stereo remix of the song, without the drum overdubs, was released on "The Byrds" box set in 1990. The song was also added as a bonus track to the 1996 Columbia/Legacy reissue of the "Younger Than Yesterday" album. In addition to its appearance on the expanded reissue of "Younger Than Yesterday", "Lady Friend" also appears on several Byrds' compilations, including "History of The Byrds", "", "The Essential Byrds", and "There Is a Season". "Lady Friend" has been covered by Little John, on their 1971 album, "Little John", and by the Flamin' Groovies, on their 1979 album, "Jumpin' in the Night". The song was also covered by Static on the 1989 Byrds' tribute album, "Time Between – A Tribute to The Byrds". In 2001, the Posies released a version of the song as part of their "Nice Cheekbones and a Ph.D" EP. In addition, Kenny Howes has also recorded a version of the song as the title track of his 2004 album, "Lady Friend". Bill Plummer and the Cosmic Brotherhood also covered the song on their 1968 self titled album.