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Eight Miles High

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Eight Miles High by The Byrds (Roger McGuinn/David Crosby/Gene Clark, Fifth Dimension LP, 1966) is one of the earliest pieces of psychedelic rock music. The obscure lyrics were written mostly by Clark and describe the group's trip to England in 1965. The song was banned from certain radio stations because of its alleged reference to drugs.

McGuinn's 12-string guitar play was heavily inspired by John Coltrane's saxophone on "India" (1961). The plane's engine is supplied by Chris Hillman's obsessive bass line, while the frenetic rhythm guitar work by Crosby and fast-paced drumming of Michael Clarke add a fair amount of turbulence to the flight. Crosby said that the catastrophic ending of the song made him "feel like a plane landing".

An earlier version of this song was recorded in RCA Studios in late 1965. It was later covered by Roxy Music and Husker Du.

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References:

ByrdWatcher : A Field Guide to the Byrds of Los Angeles [1]

Original Album

FIFTH DIMENSION (Columbia CL-2549 / CS-9349 / CK-9349, 1966) Reissued: (Columbia/Legacy CK 64847, 1996)

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