Turn! Turn! Turn! is the second album by the folk-rock band The Byrds, released 1965 on Columbia Records, catalogue item CL 2454 in mono, CS 9254 in stereo. It peaked at #17 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, and went to #11 in the United Kingdom. The single of the same name preceded the album by two months, and topped the singles chart in the States. Another single taken from the LP, "Set You Free This Time," peaked at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Like its predecessor "Mr. Tambourine Man, Turn! Turn! Turn! epitomised the folk-rock genre, continuing the successful mix of vocal harmony and jangly twelve-string Rickenbacker electric guitar from Roger McGuinn. The lead single and title track, a Pete Seeger adaptation of text from the Book of Ecclesiastes, had been arranged earlier by McGuinn in a chamber-folk style, when he had worked with singer Judy Collins[1] – his arrangement for the Byrds version used the strident folk-rock style of the band’s previous hits. The band chose two more Dylan covers for the album, The Times They Are a-Changin’ and a previously unreleased song, "Lay Down Your Weary Tune". McGuinn had increased his songwriting output, David Crosby received his first writing credit, but the prolific Clark still contributed most of the Byrds’ originals. Chris Hillman suggested the cover of "Satisfied Mind," a country and western chart-topper for Porter Wagoner in 1955, the first sign of the band’s interest in country music, and as on the previous LP, Turn! ended with a tongue-in-cheek number, this time a send-up of Stephen Foster’s 19th century classic, "Oh! Susannah," arranged by McGuinn.
This would be the last full Byrds album to feature the participation of Gene Clark until the ill-fated reunion album of the original quintet, in 1973.
Turn! Turn! Turn! was remixed and remastered at 20-bit resolution as part of the Columbia/Legacy Byrds series, reissued in an expanded form on April 30, 1996, with seven bonus tracks, including three alternates and the Clark b-side "She Don’t Care About Time".
Personnel
• Roger McGuinn, vocals, guitars
• Gene Clark, vocals, tambourine
• David Crosby, vocals, guitars
• Chris Hillman, vocals, bass
• Michael Clarke, drums