The first two Byrds albums bore a strong similarity to one another, but “Fifth Dimension” could have been an entirely different band. In seven short months, the band had changed irrevocably, for two distinct reasons. First, they lost their primary songwriter when Gene Clark left the fold. Second, they abandoned their penchant for Bob Dylan songs. Without relying on Dylan any longer, and without a primary songwriter to fill the gap, the remaining band members decided to stretch the breadth of their scope, replacing conventional musical forms with decidedly experimental ideas. 

At this point in time, neither Jim McGuinn nor David Crosby were particularly prolific writers, but they stepped into the gap with material that pointed the band in a direction that suggested a strong empathy with youth culture. It wasn’t a drug album per se – “Eight Miles High” is not about an LSD trip but rather the cruising height of a transatlantic flight – but the music on the album could only come from musicians who were actively partaking in recreational drug use. The songs here can be fascinating or sometimes simply strange, rounded out with a few traditional songs to fill the gaps left by the absence of Gene Clark. It’s an inconsistent album, but fascinating nonetheless. 

Featured tracks include;

1) 5D

2) Wild Mountain Thyme

3) Mr. Spaceman

4) I See You

5) What’s Happening?!?!

6) I Come and Stand at Every Door

7) Eight Miles High

8) Hey Joe

9) Captain Soul

10) John Riley 2-4-2 Fox Trot (The LearJet Song)

11) Why 

12) Psychodrama City

13) Eight Miles High (1st version)

Billboard July 1966 - Charted #23