Is the Byrds "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" part of your collection?

This may very well be my favorite album and is definitely in my top 5. I own it on LP, reel tape, CD, and a few other formats. Not to mention various pressings/releases across those formats.

 

I know he was a fan, but I can't listen to much more than one George Jones sung song at a time so I prefer Gram there, but Merle is tough to compare anyone to. I've n ever gotten the 2 CD Sweetheart because I already have ISM's Safe At Home which they have made up disc 2 with... am I missing much if I have that plus the Sweetheart single disc with bonus alternate takes and one instro?

I like all the lineups of the Byrds, although the Clarence White era had a couple of pretty weak albums they're still worth having, like the 1973 original lineup reunion. The two Dillards '60s albums with Herb Pedersen are also essential to me, and the two Dillard & Clarks.

 

I didn't want to start a new thread, so I think this video fits well here, although it's not a song from the "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" album. I don't remember watching any Byrds video from the time when Gram was still playing with them. Sorry if it was already posted.

 

Parsons didn't hijack the band, McGuinn and Hillman chose to put him in the driver's seat. And certainly, there was nothing to prevent McGuinn from abandoning country after Parsons left... it's silly to blame Parsons' five-month stint in the band for the direction McGuinn chose to continue taking for the next five years. Anyway, one could argue that Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde IS essentially McGuinn's "history of Amercian music" concept... it's got folk, blues, country, and rock. If you are unhappy with his execution of the concept, well, there's no reason to believe he would have done that much better if he'd done it six months earlier instead of Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

 

Only three of the five ISB tracks on the Legacy Edition are on the Safe at Home album. If you only have the single-disc Sweetheart of the Rodeo, then you don't have the master takes of "The Christian Life", "You Don't Miss Your Water", and "One Hundred Years From Now" with Parsons lead vocals, and those are pretty essential to any fan of the album. The Legacy Edition of the album also features "All I Have Are Memories" with vocals by Kevin Kelley, whereas the version you have is just an instrumental.

Actually, the version of the album I would recommend is the Japanese blue-spec disc from 2015. That gives you the above-mentioned tracks, plus the authentic versions of "Lazy Days" and "Pretty Polly" without the overdubs McGuinn added in the 90s.

 

This is another 'real deal' for me!

 

Huh, I had no idea this existed. Video clips of Parsons are pretty rare. I'm going to post this over on the general Byrds thread.

 

Unfortunately, yes.......

 

Yeah, those overpaid hacks in Nashville sure don't know how to record country music very well.

 

Only video from this tour I've seen. Totally forgot that they had Doug Dillard on banjo at this point.

 

What is it circa 1968? It just doesn't sound very good. Sorry. Audible distortion in places (nearly all pedal steel tracks). Rolled off in most places. It sounds like what it is... an average 1968 recording. Sheesh.

 

Byrds sound great on this clip.
The acoustics in the Roman Colosseum are great... !

 

Wow, and with Doug Dillard too! I have an old show called Something Else with the Burritos that has Gram and Bernie Leadon.

 

I voted "Yes, but I can't stand it". I want to change my vote to, "Holy Cow, what the hell was I thinking? Its a classic!" That is all.

 

Yes, but I'd love it even more if they did a RSD version restoring Gram's vocals. By luck, I have the UK mono which is not bad for a fold-down mix.

 

We need a SACD version...

 

Jeepers...it sounds fine to me for the period. Did you ever engineer an analog studio recording pre-1980? I sure did.

 

George Martin and company managed to produce great sounding recordings. I don’t see how my personal ability has any bearing on anything.

I think it sounds like ass. I don’t much care if that was the norm or not. Any engineer who can’t set input trim to avoid audible distortion doesn’t get any sort of free pass from me. Sorry if you find that problematic. Wait, no I’m not sorry.

 

I have the Columbia CD with a few extra tracks. It's an interesting album and part of the foundation to country rock. One Hundred Years From Now and You Ain't Going Nowhere are favorites and still have a bit of that old Byrds sound. Hickory Wind is also very nice.

 

Don't hold your breath. It's not a big album in Japan and they're the only ones who would bother now.
The U.S. SACD of Fifth Dimension was cancelled before release...and that album had chart hits on it!

 

Does a 100 lbs of dough make a big biscuit!

 

I was so disappointed when The Byrds followed up that great string of albums with this limp country stuff. Just my 2¢ worth.

 

The first song I really learned to play on the guitar was "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo". I always loved that song. The album changed the direction of music at the time (IMHO).

 

Yes, and I love it

 

Yes, and I like it but I don't love it, but there's no option for that in this poll.