"Set You Free This Time" | ||||
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Side label of US vinyl release
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Single by The Byrds | ||||
from the album Turn! Turn! Turn! | ||||
B-side | "It Won't Be Wrong" | |||
Released | January 10, 1966 | |||
Format | 7" single | |||
Recorded | September 16, 1965 | |||
Studio | Columbia Studios, Hollywood, CA | |||
Genre | Folk rock, pop | |||
Length | 2:49 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Gene Clark | |||
Producer(s) | Terry Melcher | |||
The Byrds singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative release | ||||
1966 German picture sleeve of "Set You Free This Time/It Won't Be Wrong"
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"Set You Free This Time" is a song by the American folk rock band The Byrds, written by band member Gene Clark and first released in December 1965 on the group's Turn! Turn! Turn! album. According to Clark, the song was written in just a few hours during The Byrds' 1965 British tour, after a night spent carousing with Paul McCartney at the Scotch of St James club in London. The song's lead vocal is performed by Clark, who also plays acoustic guitar and harmonica on the track. "Set You Free This Time" concerns the breakup of a relationship and Clark's vocal inflections and densely worded lyrics suggest the influence of Bob Dylan. The song also has a vague country rock 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.
Following its appearance on the Turn! Turn! Turn! album, the song was issued as the A-side of a single on January 10, 1966. However, initial sales were relatively poor, with the single only managing to reach #79 on the Billboard Hot 100. As a result, Columbia Records in America began promoting the single's B-side "It Won't Be Wrong" instead, which resulted in the single eventually climbing to #63. In the UK, after a review in the NME stated that the B-side was better than "Set You Free This Time", CBS Records went a step further and actually re-released the single with "It Won't Be Wrong" as the A-side. This re-issuing of essentially the same single twice within two weeks caused confusion among British radio 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 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 and although some footage was shot, the clip was never aired.