It's Byrds Tribute Day! (An Occasional Feature -- Special "Compare and Contrast" Edition)

So as attentive readers are aware, my big project for 2020 (and part of 2021) was putting together an homage to the Byrds by my old band the Floor Models. Which was a lot of work, but also one of the most gratifying creative chores of my life. Plus, as you can imagine, it helped get me thourgh the first year of the pandemic.

What you may not know, and which I had forgotten until fairly recently, was that back in 1989, a Brit indie label released a similar project -- albeit with performers more famous than the Flo Mos, and a largely disimilar song list -- that I in retrospect thought was quite enjoyable.

So here's one of the songs on both albums (and one of my favorites written by the Byrds great Gene Clark) -- us doing the gorgeous "Here Without You," with the help of friend of powerpop Peter Spencer, his son Caleb, and some guy whose name rhymes with Sleeve Nimels on bass.

And here's the Brit version of the same tune, reimagined by Richard Thompson, Clive Gregson and Christine Collister.

If truth be told, I like both of them pretty much in equal measure, but obviously I'm not objective. In any case, enjoy!