 The five original members of the Byrds reunited briefly during late 1972 , while McGuinn was still undertaking selected concerts with the Columbia Records version of the group . Discussions regarding a reunion between Roger McGuinn , Gene Clark , David Crosby , Chris Hillman , and Michael Clarke had taken place as early as July 1971 , around the same time as the then current line @-@ up of the band were recording the Farther Along album . Plans for a reunion accelerated in mid @-@ 1972 , however , when the founder of Asylum Records , David Geffen , offered each of the original band members a sizable amount of money to reform and record an album for his label . The reunion actually took place in early October 1972 , beginning with a rehearsal at McGuinn 's house , where the group began selecting suitable material for a new album . The five original Byrds booked into Wally Heider Studios in Los Angeles from October 16 until November 15 , 1972 , recording their first album together in seven years . 
