Canaille's choice 13/12/2012

A superior lineup of contributors helps make Time Between: A Tribute to the Byrds (1989, Imaginary Records UK/Communion Label USA)one of the better homages of its kind. There are two versions of this cd, an eight-song edition that ends with Wild Mountain Time by Nigel and the Crosses, an alias for the duo of Robyn Hitchcock and Peter Buck, and a 19-song disc that ends with Hickory Wind by Richard Thompson, Clive Gregson, and Christine Collister. Everything on either version is worthwhile, especially the psychedelic renditions of Change Is Now and Draft Morning by, respectively, Giant Sand and the Chills, while Dinosaur Jr. adds a crunching Feel a Whole Lot Better. But what makes the 19-song version really cool, however, is the spaced-out It Happens Each Day, a song that only entered the official Byrds cannon when it was discovered in the late '80s, as done by Static (who also contribute a version of Lady Friend); and Thin White Rope's high-wattage, heavy metal rendition of I Knew I'd Want You. Miracle Legion's All the Things is also sublimely beautiful in its lean, rootsy glory, and the Primevals' Tribal Gathering gets a wonderfully eerie, ominous harmonica-and crunchy guitar-and-feedback-laden performance, before Thompson and company regale us with their mandolin-driven Hickory Wind". ~ Bruce Eder and Jason Ankeny