Release date: 26-06-2008 (reissue from 1967)

2008 German limited vinly LP edition = pressing on 180gram audiophile virgin vinyl=The original release of this album in the summer of 1967 was a landmark moment in the Byrds history. After four highly acclaimed albums and a wealth of singles, the group could look back on a career in which they had rewritten the book of contemporary American music.=sealed

Without question, the Byrds were one of the great bands of the '60s and one of the few American bands of their time to continually turn out inventive, compelling albums. As they were recording a series of fine records, they turned out a number of classic singles that unquestionably defined their era. The Byrds' Greatest Hits does an excellent job of chronicling the peak years of their popularity before they went country-rock on 1968's Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Apart from the minor hits 'It Won't Be Wrong,' 'Set You Free This Time,' and 'Have You Seen Her Face,' all of the group's hit singles  from 1965's 'Mr. Tambourine Man' to 1967's 'My Back Pages'  are included: 'All I Really Want to Do,' 'Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season),' 'Eight Miles High,' '5D (Fifth Dimension),' 'Mr. Spaceman,' and 'So You Want to Be a Rock N' Roll Star.' Yes, some great songs were left behind on the albums, but important cuts like 'I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better,' 'The Bells of Rhymney,' and 'Chimes of Freedom' are added, making this pretty close to a definitive single-disc summary of the Byrds' prime.

Tracks:
01. Mr. Tambourine Man
02. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better
03. Bells of Rhymney
04. Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)
05. All I Really Want to Do
06. Chimes of Freedom
07. Eight Miles High
08. Mr. Spaceman
09. 5D (Fifth Dimension)
10. So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star
11. My Back Pages
12. It Won't Be Wrong
13. Set You Free This Time
14. Have You Seen Her Face

Personnel:
Gene Clark, David Crosby (g, voc)
Roger McGuinn (bjo, g, voc)
Chris Hillman (b, voc)
Michael Clark (dr)

When The Byrds went on stage for the last time in 1991 on the occasion of their being inducted into the Hall of Fame, the honourary title of 'Founders of Folk and Country Rock' had long been theirs. And if there were an award for quarrelling, constant changes of band members and a continuous threat of a break-up, then the Byrds would certainly have earned it. When they decided to record Bob Dylan s smash hit "Mr. Tambourine Man", Dylan himself had to enter on the scene to calm the waters. Eventually the song was recorded with session musicians and the frontman Roger McGuinn, who lent the band their characteristic sound with the unmistakable twang of his 12-string Rickenbacker guitar.
Released three years after the band s founding, Greatest Hits is a compilation of numbers which had proved very popular when released as singles. Alongside Pete Seeger s musing "Turn, Turn, Turn", the album contains their own space rock compositions "Fifth Dimension", "Mr. Spaceman", and "Eight Miles High", the latter of which has often incorrectly construed as a trip on LSD. The selection of songs on the present album represents the innovative, creative powers of the early Byrds.