Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless Volume 2

Johnny Rogan ROGAN HOUSE. £30

Byrds who fell to Earth forensically examined in second behemoth epic.

Subtitled, ‘The Lives and Tragic Deaths of Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, Kevin Kelley, Gram Parsons, Clarence White and Skip Battin’, this second volume of Rogan’s epic work on The Byrds shifts its binoculars to those past members who perished, all victims of alcoholic excess apart from the hit-and-run car accident and dementia that respectively claimed the last two. Commencing with Gene Clark, alone topping 400 pages to become the first in-depth work on The Byrds’ original songwriting genius, most sections could stand as books in their own right (even the Parsons section sheds new light on the media-saturated cosmic cowboy). Having worked on both volumes for decades, Rogan has interviewed most of The Byrds, along with endless friends, collaborators and associates. His dogged devotion, evocative descriptions and eternal quest for truth behind the myths shines from each of its 1,200 pages to create an essential companion to Volume 1.