The Byrds -

Date: 1969
Release: Columbia #65150
Cover Art: view / download
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Fans of the Byrds’ psychedelic brand of folk-rock were left baffled by the band’s sudden about face in the direction of country music on Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Many wondered how the same band that recorded the ’60s drug anthem “Eight Miles High” could suddenly end up singing “I Love The Christian Life” without any hint of sarcasm. Even the 1968 radio ad promoting the record features a disbelieving fan insisting, “Naw, that ain’t the Byrds,” after hearing only a few song snippets. Ahead of its time, Sweetheart of the Rodeo was a groundbreaking act of rebellion away from the classic rock sound of its day, entirely different from anything the Byrds (or anyone else) had recorded before.

The catalyst in the birth of the new Byrds sound was the addition of Southern-born singer-songwriter Gram Parsons, who replaced David Crosby on vocals and guitar. Responding to the influence of Parsons, Bryds front man Roger McGuinn packed up his trademark 12-string guitar, picked up the banjo, and took the band into the recording studio in Nashville. What resulted was an album filled with solid country graces–syrupy slide and twangy rhythm guitars, honky-tonk piano, hoe-down-style violin, shuffling drums, and strumming banjo. Gorgeous harmonies were the main ingredient still remaining from the Byrds earlier musical incarnations.

In a slight nod towards tradition, the album opens up strongly with a Dylan cover, a spectacular Nashville-infused reworking of “You Ain’t Going Nowhere.” The Bob Dylan songbook is pillaged once more on the album’s climactic closing cut, a country-rocking version of “Nothing Was Delivered,” replete with crashing drum cymbals and steel guitars. While the two Dylan cuts clearly take top honors, the pair of Parsons-penned originals don’t lag far behind. Parsons’ classic rendition of “Hickory Wind” is as arresting as a good swig of Southern Comfort. The long-lost original version of Parsons’ “One Hundred Years From Now,” (included as one of the eight bonus track on the 1997 CD reissue) features his own voice, which far and away surpasses the vocals later overdubbed by McGuinn for the official release of the album. Due to ridiculous contractual troubles, Columbia Records had Parsons’ lead vocals removed from several of the record’s cuts, bringing McGuinn back into the studio to overdub new voice tracks. Comparing the Parsons and McGuinn versions of “I Like the Christian Life,” it’s obvious that McGuinn was affecting a Southern drawl in order to overdub his best Parsons impersonation.

It’s funny, but hearing the Byrds sing such straight-faced versions of “I Like The Christian Life” is akin to watching the honky-tonk bar scene from “The Blues Brothers,” where Belushi and Akroyd take a pretty damn good stab at country music with their inspired cover of Rawhide. You’re laughing with pleasure at just how well they pull off their preposterous little foray into country. The only difference was that the Blues Brothers won over the crowd. Despite its winning brilliance, sales of Sweetheart of the Rodeo were lackluster compared to earlier Byrds records. Few could understand what in the hell the Byrds were doing experimenting with country-rock, because every self-respecting follower of the late-’60s counter-culture knew that country music belonged to Squares and had no business being mixed up in rock. Over 30 years later, we can step back and realize that Sweetheart of the Rodeo was a deliberate act of musical defiance exemplifying the true spirit of Rock and Roll.

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