"Byrdmaniax" had featured a large amount of orchestration, which producer Terry Melcher had applied to the album, allegedly without the band's consent. The band were unhappy with this and "Farther Along" was intended as their answer to what they perceived as Melcher's over-production, as well as an attempt to prove that they could produce an album that they regarded as superior to "Byrdmaniax" themselves. Band biographer Johnny Rogan has suggested that the rapidity with which the Byrds planned and recorded "Farther Along" resulted in an LP that the band themselves were unhappy with and that failed to undo the damage to their reputation inflicted by "Byrdmaniax".