The Byrds Play Dylan

The Byrds Play Dylan is the name of two compilation albums by the American rock band The Byrds, one released in 1979 and the other issued in 2002. As their titles suggest, each compilation consists of interpretations of Bob Dylan penned songs, which The Byrds recorded at different stages of their career. Neither version of the album reached the charts in the United States or the United Kingdom.

Contents

• Track listing
• Side 1
• Side 2
• 2002 edition track listing
• Songs
• References

The original 1979 release of The Byrds Play Dylan was not, in fact, the first compilation of The Byrds' covers of Dylan's material to have been issued; an earlier, eleven track compilation had appeared in Japan in 1970 under the title The Byrds Sing Dylan. Yet another compilation of The Byrds' interpretations of Dylan's material was released in the UK and Europe as The Byrds Play the Songs of Bob Dylan in 2001.

The first incarnation of The Byrds Play Dylan was released by Columbia Records in the U.S. in November 1979 and included all thirteen Dylan covers that the band had officially released between 1965 and 1970, from their debut single "Mr. Tambourine Man" through to their live rendition of "Positively 4th Street". However, the track listing of the original American album did not present the songs in chronological order, something that was rectified by The Byrds' biographer Johnny Rogan for its UK and European release in February 1980. The chronological running order used for the European version of The Byrds Play Dylan was retained for all subsequent CD re-releases of the original album. In 2008, the original thirteen track version of the album was re-released with its chronological running order intact, under the augmented title of Collections: The Byrds Play Dylan.

In June 2002, a second compilation bearing the title The Byrds Play Dylan was released, which expanded considerably on the scope of the original album and included a number of alternate versions and live recordings that had not been released by The Byrds during the 1960s and 1970s. It also included The Byrds' cover of "Paths of Victory", which had been recorded in 1990 by a reunited line-up of the band featuring original members Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and Chris Hillman. All of the material on the 2002 edition of The Byrds Play Dylan had been previously released, either on The Byrds' regular albums, on their singles, as bonus tracks on their remastered CDs, or on The Byrds box set.