"Set You Free This Time" is a song by the American

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

group

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

, written by band member

Gene Clark Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...

. It was first released in December 1965 on the group's ''

Turn! Turn! Turn! "Turn! Turn! Turn!", also known as or subtitled "To Everything There Is a Season", is a song written by Pete Seeger in 1959. The lyrics – except for the title, which is repeated throughout the song, and the final two lines – consist of the fi ...

'' album, and later issued as a single in January 1966.

Composition

According to Clark, "Set You Free This Time" was written in just a few hours during the Byrds' 1965 British tour, after a night spent carousing with

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

at the Scotch of St James club in London. Clark sings the lead vocal and also plays acoustic guitar and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

on the track. The lyrics relate the breakup of a relationship, and Byrds biographer

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...

has commented that Clark's vocal inflections and densely worded lyrics suggest the influence of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

. Critic Matthew Greenwald has remarked that the song also has a vague

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

feel to it, largely due to the song's melody and Clark's harmonica solo. The chord progression and rhythm of the song, however, are atypical of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

Single releases

Following its appearance on the ''Turn! Turn! Turn!'' album, the song was issued as the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

of a single on January 10, 1966. However, initial sales were relatively poor, with the single only managing to reach number 79 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. As a result,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in America began promoting the single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

It Won't Be Wrong "It Won't Be Wrong" is a song by the American folk rock band the Byrds, which appeared as the second track on their 1965 album, ''Turn! Turn! Turn! (album), Turn! Turn! Turn!'' It was also coupled with the song "Set You Free This Time" for a Single ...

" instead, which resulted in the single eventually climbing to number 63. In the UK, after a review in the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' stated that the B-side was better than "Set You Free This Time",

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...

went a step further and actually re-released the single with "It Won't Be Wrong" as the A-side. This reissuing of essentially the same single twice within two weeks caused confusion among British DJs over which of the two songs they should play and contributed to the single's failure to chart. To accompany its UK release as a single, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

commissioned a short promotional film from the Byrds. However, on the day of filming a physical altercation occurred between the band's manager Jim Dickson and rhythm guitarist

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...

, and although some footage was shot, the clip was never aired.

Reception

Despite its lack of commercial success, the single release of "Set You Free This Time" gained mostly positive reviews in the music press. The first edition of ''

Crawdaddy! ''Crawdaddy'' was an American rock music magazine launched in 1966. It was created by Paul Williams, a Swarthmore College student at the time, in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music. The magazine w ...

'' magazine described it as, "a lovely, moving song with Dylan-like 20-syllabal lines deckful of well chosen words." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as a "laconic, medium-paced woeser essayed in an emotion-charged style." In the UK, Penny Valentine was complimentary in her review of the song for '' Disc'' magazine, commenting "On first play, I didn't like itbut now I do. It's rather unByrd-like and very, very Dylan-like. It's slow and gentle and rather sad about never being a person who had much, and though she laughed at him and has now come for help, he doesn't hold a grudge. Ahh!"

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' drummer,

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

, reviewing the single for ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'', commented, "I only heard it the other day. They can do no wrong in my book. Great record, man, I love the voices."

Performances and album releases

During February 1966, the Byrds performed "Set You Free This Time" on the U.S. television programs ''

Hollywood A Go-Go ''Hollywood a Go Go'' was a Los Angeles–based music variety show that ran in syndication from 1965 to 1966. The show was hosted by Sam Riddle, with music by The Sinners and dancing by The Gazzarri Dancers. It was filmed at the KHJ-TV stud ...

'', '' Where The Action Is'', ''

The Lloyd Thaxton Show Lloyd Thaxton (May 31, 1927 – October 5, 2008) was an American writer, television producer, Television director, director, and Television host#Television presenter, television host widely known for his syndicated pop music television program of ...

'', and '' Shivaree''. However, the song disappeared from the band's live concert repertoire following Clark's departure from the group in March 1966. During his solo career, Clark often returned to the song in live concerts and consequently, it appears on his live albums ''In Concert '' and ''Silverado '75: Live & Unreleased''. The Byrds' recording of "Set You Free This Time" is included on several of the band's compilation albums, including '' The Original Singles: 1965–1967, Volume 1'', '' The Essential Byrds'', '' There Is a Season'', and the expanded and remastered edition of '' The Byrds' Greatest Hits''. It has also been included on the Gene Clark compilations ''Echoes'', ''American Dreamer 1964–1974'', ''Flying High'', and ''Set You Free: Gene Clark in The Byrds 1964–1973''.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{The Byrds 1966 singles The Byrds songs Songs written by Gene Clark Song recordings produced by Terry Melcher 1965 songs