Having just played a killer sounding copy of the album in August of 2024, we now see that in 2019, at the time of our last shootout, we had a lot to learn about Younger than Yesterday.
Our top copy received rave reviews on side one:
- Here are just a few of of the things we had to say about this amazing Triple Plus side one in our notes: “big and tubey vox & bass”…”great size and energy”…”jumping out [of the speakers]”…”crazy good”
- The sound is Tubey Magical, lively and dynamic, with exceptional transparency and immediacy
- We’re always blown away at just how much further the better copies are able to take the music – what a difference the right pressing makes
But in 2019 we were much less enthusiastic:
It ain’t easy to find great sounding copies of this album on decent vinyl, but we managed to get a hold of a hot one here. White Hot in fact. Not only that, but the vinyl’s pretty darn quiet! The sound is very tubey with excellent transparency and serious immediacy.
Most Byrds’ records are far from audiophile demo discs. However, what the best originals and ’70s reissues give you is relatively good sound.
This album will never sound as good as Abbey Road. Keeping that rather obvious point in mind, as I listened to this copy the thought that went through my mind is that this tape had been mastered about as well as it could be.
It’s tonally correct from top to bottom; the frequency extremes are there; and the vocals have a silky, sweet quality to them (when they haven’t been bounced down too many times of course).
A classic case of us rather foolishly blaming the recording.
In our experience, no red label reissue is even worth the trouble of cleaning and playing it. Some Byrds records have the potential to sound good on the red label, but this is not one of them.
Recommended Tracks
For the best sound on side one, try tracks four, “Renaissance Fair,” and five, “Time Between.”
For the best sound on side two, try track three, “My Back Pages.” It’s great to hear this classic Dylan tune sound good for a change.
Want to find your own killer copy?
Consider taking our moderately helpful advice concerning the pressings that tend to win our shootouts.
Based on our experience, Younger than Yesterday sounds better:
The Byrds in Mono
None of the monos we’ve played over the years in our shootouts have ever impressed us much.
Congested and compressed, with no real top, who in his right mind could possibly tolerate that kind of sound on modern equipment?
Although, to be fair, we’ve stopped buying them, so there may actually be a good copy or two out there in used record land that we haven’t heard. In our defense, who really has the time to play records with so little potential for good sound?
Side One
So You Want to Be a Rock ‘N’Roll Star
Have You Seen Her Face
C.T.A. – 102
Renaissance Fair
Time Between
Everybody’s Been Burned
Side Two
Thoughts and Words
Mind Gardens
My Back Pages
The Girl with No Name
Why