Fifth Dimension | ||||
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Studio album by The Byrds | ||||
Released | July 18, 1966 | |||
Recorded | January 24 – May 25, 1966, Columbia Studios, Hollywood, CA | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 29:59 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Allen Stanton | |||
The Byrds chronology | ||||
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Singles from Fifth Dimension | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Blender | |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
Entertainment Weekly | B |
Melody Maker | "Recommended" |
MusicHound | 3/5 |
NME | 8/10 |
Q | |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide |
Fifth Dimension is the third album by the American folk rock band The Byrds and was released in July 1966 on Columbia Records (see 1966 in music). Most of the album was recorded following the February 1966 departure of the band's principal songwriter Gene Clark. In an attempt to compensate for Clark's absence, guitarists Jim McGuinn and David Crosby stepped into the breach and increased their songwriting output. In spite of this, the loss of Clark resulted in an uneven album that included a total of four cover versions and an instrumental. However, the album is notable for being the first by The Byrds not to include any songs written by Bob Dylan, whose material had previously been a mainstay of the band's repertoire.
The album peaked at #24 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and reached #27 on the UK Albums Chart. Two preceding singles, "Eight Miles High" and "5D (Fifth Dimension)", were included on the album, with the former just missing the Top 10 of the Billboard singles chart. Additionally, a third single taken from the album, "Mr. Spaceman", managed to reach the U.S. Top 40. Upon release, Fifth Dimension was widely regarded as the band's most experimental album to date and is today considered influential in originating the musical genre of psychedelic rock.