The Flip Sides of The Byrds' Singles: I Knew I'd Want You, I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better

As frequent readers of On The Flip-Side know by now, I'm a fan of Flip-Sides. That's often the place where the edgier, less pop oriented songs were relegated. And with the Byrds, particularly the early days, that's the place to where the band originals were relegated. We're going to spend the next few posts looking at the Flip-Sides of most all of the Byrds US singles discography through the 1960s. There are so many that we will double and triple up to cover them all.

We'll start today with the first two singles, both from 1965 for the titan of labels, Columbia Records.

I Knew I'd Want You

I Knew I'd Want You was the Flip-Side of the band's debut single, the brilliant cover of Bob Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man. Roger McGuinn gets the lead on the A-Side, but here, on the Flip-Side, Gene Clark steps to the center of the mic on his own composition. The four singers of the band, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman, Rogert McGuinn and David Crosby were rarely ever better than on Clark's compositions. Dig the lush harmonies of McGuinn and particularly Crosby's tenor. Gene Clark didn't fly all that long with The Byrds. But his three years (and occasional returns) were incredibly important to the sound of the LA based band that rocketed to fame at the speed of sound. Gene Clark's compositions were brooding, most often slow (almost awkwardly slow) with unusual vocal phrasing and puzzling lyrics. I'm guessing that is Van Dyke Parks on the electric piano hidden way deep in the mix. 

I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better

The Gene Clark composition I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better may well be my favorite Byrds song of all time. Columbia toyed with the idea of releasing it as the A-Side of their second single, releasing it as a double sided promo on red wax in the US, before deciding to put it on The Flip-Side of another Dylan cover, All I Really Want To Do. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better is clearly the superior of the two songs. Gene Clark again has the lead on his own composition, this time a more sprightly number with a slew of suspended chords that would become a trademark of The Byrds sound. Roger McGuinn's guitar work, from the jangly suspended chords to the lead, are just perfect.