A reunion of the original Byrds is a subject that a lot of people have talked about for an awfully long time. When word made the rounds nearly a year ago that such a re-grouping was within the realm of possibility, the general concensus of opinion was that people would believe it only when an album was on the racks. Well, an album is now on the racks and, so we hear, already in enough homes to assure it of gold status.

But questions remain to be answered. Is the reunion a one-shot venture, or a move of relative permanence? In either case, what is to become of the Clarence White-Skip Battin Byrds? To get the answers to these questions — and more — reporter Cameron Crowe was dispatched to Los Angeles, where he talked with Roger McGuinn, original leader of the Byrds and the man who has carried the group name for the last five years. The interview was conducted before the release of the album, and when we later spoke with McGuinn, he indicated that tours of both America and Europe appear to be firm. But if these Byrds are consistent with their history, the only thing that can be counted on is that the future will most probably not work out the way it’s set down on paper.