Customer Reviews

Sweetheart Of The Rodeo

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This album was considered revolutionary when it was originally recorded - a rock band recording a country album with a rock edge - but it was so influential that nobody hearing it now will think there is anything revolutionary about it.

Bob Dylan wrote two of the songs - You ain't going nowhere and Nothing was delivered - while there are also covers of songs by soul singer William Bell (You don't miss your water) and Woody Guthrie (Pretty boy Floyd).

Gram Parsons contributed two songs - One hundred years from now and Hickory wind. He also wrote Lazy days, which was recorded for the original album but not included on it. This is added as one of several bonus tracks, some of which feature Gram as lead singer instead of Roger McGuinn.

The remaining tracks are covers of country songs that had previously been recorded by (among others) George Jones and Merle Haggard.

Not long after this album was recorded, Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons left and formed the Flying Burrito brothers. The music here set the pattern for that band and other country-rock bands such as Poco and the early Eagles music. But in the new millennium, mainstream pop, rock and country music all seem far removed from this album. Modern singers and bands doing music of this type are classified as alt-country. Although the term alt-country covers many different styles, the influence of this album is obvious in many alt-country singers and bands.

The music here is excellent on its own merit. It was not very successful at the time but has grown in status with the passage of time.

I'll never forget the first time I heard Sweetheart of the Rodeo. I was a grad student at Indiana University in English. It was 1969. The Vietnam war was just cranking up.

Talk about conflicted!! At that time, I was probably the world's #1 Byrds fan. Still under the spell of their matchless previous release, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, I was completely unprepared for Sweetheart. Yeah, they'd done a few country-tinged tunes before--"Time Between," "The Girl with No Name, "Goin' Back," "Wasn't Born to Follow"--but "The Christian Life," "You're Still on My Mind," and "Life in Prison"?? What's going on here?!

It was a brilliant move to bridge the hardcore country stuff with "You Ain't Going Nowhere," "Nothing Was Delivered," and "Hickory Wind." And that's what won me over. I could immediately relate to those latter tunes, and they provided the link to the uncompromising country stuff, which I ended up liking nearly as well. Is this the ur-country/rock statement? I don't know, and I really don't care. I do know that it's held up all these years as well as anything else in this backwater sub-genre of the great American popular music river.

Let me start this review saying this: I did NOT like country music when I bought this album. I bought it thinking it would be a good "starter" album if I wanted to check out country. Well, not only did I like this album, I love it. It is the best Byrds album to me, and yet it is 100% country. There is basically no connection to the classic Byrds sound, unless you count McGuinn and Hillman's vocals. With new member Gram Parsons, he took the band into country heaven. I have always liked pedal steel guitar, and on this album, it is on every song! It is heaven to listen to. The 2 Dylan covers are my favorite Dylan covers the band has done. While Parsons only sings on 3 cuts on the album (due to contractural problems his vocals were taken off some songs)the new CD reissue has the original versions with him singing lead vocals. Now you can compare One Hundred Years From Now and The Christian Life to the originals. The best part is both versions of both songs are great. You also get some additional bonus tracks and an awesome instrumental featuring pedal steel vs. Clarence White, who's regular guitar playing is amazing. Remember, this is 100% country, and some of the finest music I have heard. Hearing McGuinn, Hillman, and Parsons sing lead on separate tracks showcases 3 amazing voices. I love Parson's voice the best, he is pure country, and it blows me away at how young he was. I was expecting to see 4 hippies in 1968 with long hair and beards on the cover. Wrong, they look like 4 clean cut college kids! You must buy this album, I did on a whim and I can't get enough. One more reason to buy this CD, this is my first review, and I had to mention THIS CD out of over 600 that I own!

Sometimes I find the idea of adding Bonus Tracks to rereleases of old LPs a bit upsetting. Rarely are the tracks remotely as good as the cuts on the original album. Most often, I find myself just skipping them entirely. Only very, very rarely are the bonus tracks in fact better than the original. This is one of those rare instances.

As the liner notes point out, shortly after Gram Parsons joined the Byrds, a man objected to Parson's recording with them, claiming that he had an exclusive constract for Parson's services. This spooked Columbia into having nearly all of Parson's vocals pulled off SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO. Roger McGuinn then provided the vocals for all the Parsons songs. The only two Parsons's cuts that made it onto the final album were "You're Still On My Mind" and the surreally beautiful "Hickory Wind" (though I do prefer the live version off GRIEVOUS ANGEL, with Emmylou Harris providing those utterly gorgeous harmonies).

Is this a big deal? YES! I bought this album years ago on LP, and while I liked it, I found too many of the songs to be parodies of country songs rather than anything close to authentic. The worst offender to me was "The Christian Life," in which McGuinn sings with an exaggerated and slightly silly Southern accent. This new CD version of SWEETHEART restores as Bonus Tracks all of Gram Parsons's lead vocals. I love Roger McGuinn, but this is a country album for a rock audience, and McGuinn just didn't have a great country voice. Parsons, on the other hand, had a phenomenal way with country songs. When Parsons sings "The Christian Life," there isn't the tiniest hint of irony or parody. Instead of mildly goofy, it sounds like a heartfelt declaration of faith. And while McGuinn does a fine job on "One Hundred Years From Now" and "Life in Prison", his voice just does not have the strength or authenticity of Parsons's.

It has always been known that Gram Parsons's had an enormous impact on the Byrds, despite his only being with the group for three months (he quit on political grounds when the rest of the band agreed to perform in South). With this collection of Bonus Tracks, we can better appreciate just how great an impact that was. In short, this is one of those rare instances where a rerelease is better than the original. And the original was very, very good indeed. And it further emphasizes that Parsons's tragically early death deprived rock of one of its greatest innovators.

Nice moment: at the end of Gram Parsons's awesome rendition of "One Hundred Years From Now," Parsons goodnaturedly asks, "Gary? Can I hear through my earphones, too?"

There are only two Byrds originals on this album, the rest of the songs being covers of classic country and roots songs. However, don't make you write this album off. The Byrds always had the best covers of other peoples' songs, and this album is a testament to that fact. Despite the fact that at the time the Psyche-Rock crowd and the Country crowd were two warring camps, the Byrds tried to bring both of them together the same way they had done with Folk. The result? A commercial flop that only over time proved to be an incredibly influential album. It was quite a daring move at the time to bring together the two styles of music, and this album proved they were more related than most people beleived at the time period. Another reason for the lack of acclaim for the album at the time was that it didn't sound a lot like the Byrd's earlier albums. Unfortunatly, the band used this as the template for a good amount of their subsequent albums, which may be the reason they tumbled downhill so quickly. The last great Byrds release, and an essential recording.

As one who likes most every type of music (excluding rap and what would be considered modern (new) country), it's my opinion that the best country is done by the old timers like Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, and so on. Those guys came off as being genuine, not plastic, candy-coated, top 40 wannabees the way today's country "stars" seem to be. In the tradition of the aforementioned performers, this album by The Byrds in 1968 stands as a landmark in great country music.

During this time, original members Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman lured Gram Parsons into the group which would take a decidedly different turn from performances on previous albums. One great country song after another is the result. While very few of the eleven songs were written by members of the group ("Hickory Wind" by Gram Parsons and musician Bob Buchanan along with "One Hundred Years from Now" by Parsons and the arrangement of "I Am a Pilgrim" by McGuinn and Hillman are the exceptions), the band definitely put their own stamp on each one.

Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Going Nowhere" begins the album and from the first moment the steel guitar plays, I'm always ready to sit back and enjoy the entire album. "I Am a Pilgrim" is a fine, more slowed-down song with excellent fiddle. Other slower tracks include "Hickory Wind" and "You Don't Miss Your Water". "You're Still on My Mind" always reminds me of the best songs performed on shows like Hee-Haw ( Okay, I admit it. I liked it. Sue me.) Woody Guthrie's banjo-filled "Pretty Boy Floyd" is old time country at its best, and Merle Haggard's "Life in Prison" centers on an unusual topic for a classic country song: a man murders his wife.

This album numbered in the 80's on Rolling Stone magazine's Top 100 albums of all time when the issue was released in 1987. I believe the editors recognized the contribution that the album made to music as a whole when they said that it proved that "long haired rockers could play country music." If you give it a listen, I think you may agree.

If anybody looks into the lives and careers of Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and Gram Parsons it is easy to make the case that this album is really their collective defining moment. I remember when my buddy and Byrds nut Steve Blodgett first played this record in his basement. We laughed it off the turntable wondering what had gotten into our heros and why they would be so stupid as to "go country". After putting on a little milage I realized that "Sweetheart" was no laughing matter at all but rather a masterpiece that was ahead of its time and at the time of its release way over our collective heads. This album is the jumping off point to the Burrito Brothers, the latter day Byrds (with personal favorite Clarence White who debuts on Sweetheart), McGuinns Thunderbyrd and solo work, the solo careers of Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman and created ripples that started up the likes of Emmylou Harris, the Eagles, Poco and most any other folk/country/rock band you care to mention. Without "Sweetheart" maybe such records as "Workingmans Dead" never get made. From "You Ain't Goin Nowhere" to "Nothing Was Delivered" this album is pure honest and true. McGuinn and Parsons fans can quibble all they want on who sounds better singing lead but the simple fact is it doesn't matter, they are both great in their own ways. It is to my mind required listening and one of the ten most important albums in the last 40 years.

This album represented the confirmation of the end for the Byrds,as they were known,and ushered in ,if not the birth of,certainly the establishment of the country rock genre for modern music.It is hard not to be impressed with the material on this recording,it was a project that was destined to be different,one that demanded reactions from fans of the Byrds,Country music traditionalists and the music buying public generally.

This recording,saw Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman,bring into the public spotlight the emerging talent of Gram Parsons,letting him lose on a limited vocal sojourn,most noticeably Hickory Wind,and allowing the country influence to receive a mainstream music outlet.The remastered offering here by Sony allows fans and novices alike to hear the alternative versions of classic songs..and to argue till the cows come home as to why one version was preferred over the other.

The manifestation that was the Byrds ,lasted 4 months,some live performances in the United Kingdom and an aborted tour of aptheid South Africa...and then they were gone.Parsons and Hillman went to form the Flying Burrito Brothers,and to solidify the country rock genre,which the likes of Poco, The Eagles, Linda Ronstradt, Emmy Lou Harris and a myriad of other lesser and similar stellar talents can use as the focal point of their own musical beginnings in fusing a sound that became country rock,or New Country,or the West Coast sound or whatever.

This masterpiece is even more enduring to note that some of the sounds are so pure country that to hear the personal play it under the banner of the Byrds ,is ridiculous,but it worked.Just like the Beach Boys never surfed,singing about it so convincingly created a credibility that forever linked them with the *beach* sound,so the Parsons led foray into country alienated many but entralled many more.It is flawed ,it has pedal steel guitar and hay seeds gone wild,the song selections are a maverick catalogue..it was something so unusual so different it was destined to be memorable.

It coupled the songs of Dylan with Merle Haggard,and a melancholy country stance with the last final creative death throes of the Byrds sound.A fine rendition of *You Aint Goin No Where* sits beautifully with ,what was to become the signature tune of Gram Parsons,*Hickory Wind*.The recording works so well because it just contradicts what was expected and produces pure unexpected delight,so much so,that listeners can forgive the country cornseed sound of some songs.I am not a great supporter of traditional country,it leaves me cringing to an extent,but for some reason I love this album,and always will..I am just sweet on this Sweetheart..and i have grown to appreciate country music ever since.This is a 41/2 to 5 star recording..buy it and add it to your influential recording collection.

In 1968, there were two ways an American band could make an impact on the charts: surrender to the trippy hippie stylings that would render your hit singles dated and ludicrous only a few years later, or try something totally divergent from whatever was selling. The Byrds took the second route, and ensured a place in history with "Sweetheart of The Rodeo".

Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, Kevin Kelley, and Gram Parsons put their musical heads together to come up with a new way of playing old standards from country and western music, and Parsons contributed some fine originals in "Hickory Wind" and "One Hundred Years From Now". After a dispute with the manager of Parsons's first group, his vocals were replaced mostly by McGuinn in an effort to avoid legal troubles and (possibly, as Parsons left before the record was released) to expunge any record of his participation by McGuinn. But the record that remained was well on its way to redefining the boundries between rock and country.

Within a year of its release, CCR dominated the charts with rollicking, countrified rock that sounded like Deep South boogies, and Johnny Cash was on his way to a second comeback that would last well into the seventies. The Band, already masters of the format, would produce more authentic versions of what the Byrds were trying to do on this record. But the release of "Sweetheart" certainly helped in pointing the way towards the blending of genres that still continues to this day.

It would be rash to say that "Sweetheart" is a harbinger of things to come, as the singer-songwriter movement of the seventies is probably not one that should be held up as a result. But it did make the fusion of rock sensibilities with a country style a reality.

The record as it is presented here restores Parsons's vocals on bonus versions of the album's songs, and it's hard to imagine that the album could sound any better than it does in this presentation. McGuinn acquits himself well as a vocalist on the standards (though he shines on the Dylan covers, which were always a Byrds forte). Hillman even gets in the mix with "I am A Pilgrim", a moving old ballad. All in all, this is a Byrds much removed from "Eight Miles High"/"Turn Turn Turn"/"Mr. Tambourine Man", but still uniquely their own. It's country, but with a twist.

Parsons, perhaps the most storied of the Byrds' various alumni, would die a few years later, leaving behind a recording legacy that is frustrating in its brevity. But this record is a solid testament to his love of country music, and his ability to convey that with his bandmates. "Sweetheart of The Rodeo" may very well be the finest example of roots rock ever committed to vinyl, and nothing can match the simple beauty of "You're Still On My Mind", "You Ain't Going Nowhere", "The Christian Life", and more. This is the album you need if you want to understand why rock and country (two radically different styles these days) share a common bond nonetheless. From 1968 to today, "Sweetheart of The Rodeo" is still relevant.

With singer and guitarist GRAM PARSONS replacing DAVID CROSBY and KEVIN KELLEY replacing MIKE CLARKE, THE BYRDS would become the first rock and roll group to record country music. Plus, this is also the third album that future BYRDS member CLARENCE WHITE would play on before joining full-time, but also the only album that GRAM and KEVIN (CHRIS HILLMAN'S cousin) would record with THE BYRDS. My only complaint about this album this that the group's leader ROGER MCGUINN should not have taken over the lead vocal on songs that their newest member GRAM PARSONS would bring to the band to record. Even though ROGER could emitate GRAM'S singing abilities, GRAM had the best singing voice. More importantly, he should have been the lead singer for the majority of this album; furthermore, it is unfortunate that he died in 1973 after CLARENCE. Anyway, YOU AIN'T GOING NOWHERE is a excellent opening song for the album with the excellent sounding pedal steel guitar that would replace ROGER'S 12-string RICKENBACKER guitar throughout the entire album, the keyboards, and the harmony vocals. CHRIS'S I AM A PILGRIM is a excellent sequel with his singin and mandolin playing, banjo, acoustic guitar, and a violin, but his arrangement and lead vocal of BLUE CANADIAN ROCKIES (one of my favorite songs) with the piano, CLARENCE'S string bending guitar playing, is a whole lot better. Plus, ROGER plays an excellent bango on the bluegrass flavored PRETTY BOY FLOYD that also features a violin, a mandolin, and a string bass. The alternate version of THE CHRISTIAN LIFE that features the piano, pedal steel guitar and CLARENCE'S guitar playing, like the original version, sounds better with GRAM'S lead vocals. YOU DON'T HAVE TO MISS YOUR WATER is an excellent country flavored song with the track piano and the pedal steel guitar, but it would have sound better with GRAM'S singin' instead. The version of this song should have been included on this edition. NOTHING WAS DELIVERED is and excellent song, especially with the harmony vocals. As for GRAM'S songs, his HICKORY WIND with the violin, harmony vocals, the acoustic and pedal steel guitar, is my favorite song that he sings, but his next song ONE HUNDRED YEARS FORM NOW would have sound better if GRAM, CHRIS and ROGER would have sung this together, instead of just CHRIS and ROGER. Plus, the alternative that his sings on is excellent, but the pace and the background music is better on the album issue. The other two country songs that he sings LIFE IN PRISON, YOU'RE STILL ON MY MIND, and his guitar rockin' song LAZY DAYS with his lead vocals, CHRIS'S harmony vocals, ROGER'S 12-string RICKENBACKER are outstanding too. YOU GOT A REPUTATION with the dobro and vocals by GRAM, ROGER, and CHRIS and PRETTY POLLY with ROGER'S singin and the 12-string RICKENBACKER are excellent songs. Although the last song ALL I HAVE IS MEMORIES is a excellent instrumental song with the pedal steel guitar and CLARENCE'S guitar riffs, I just do not understand why the version with KEVIN'S lead vocals that are very similar to GRAM was not included on this edition, or even the original release. This version and the version of YOU DON'T HAVE TO MISS YOUR WATER and NOTHING WAS DELIVERED with GRAM'S lead vocals should have been included on this edition instead of the alternate versions of YOU'RE STILL ON MY MIND and LIFE IN PRISON since these two versions both have GRAM'S lead vocals. Meanwhile, the hidden bonus broadcasting advertisement of this album is a pleasure to hear. Overall, this is my most favorite album by THE BYRDS.