Thu Jul 08 2021
2
Yeeeeeehaw this blows!! Twang and the same old country BS. I listened to the entire thing; felt the need knock out my teeth and marry my sister.
This is a Random Album Generator.
One album a day.
From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
The Byrds
1968
- Album Summary
Sweetheart of the Rodeo is the sixth album by American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1968 on Columbia Records. Recorded with the addition of country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, it became the first major album widely recognized as country rock and represented a stylistic move away from the psychedelic rock of the band's previous LP, The Notorious Byrd Brothers. The Byrds had occasionally experimented with country music on their four previous albums, but Sweetheart of the Rodeo represented their fullest immersion into the genre to that point in time. The album was also responsible for bringing Parsons, who had joined the Byrds in February 1968 prior to the recording of the LP, to the attention of a mainstream rock audience for the first time. Thus, the album is an important chapter in Parsons' personal and musical crusade to make country music fashionable for a young audience.The album was initially conceived as a musical history of 20th century American popular music, encompassing examples of country music, jazz and rhythm and blues, among other genres. However, steered by the passion of the little-known Parsons, who had only recently joined the Byrds, this proposed concept was abandoned early on and the album instead became purely a country record. The recording of the album was divided between sessions in Nashville and Los Angeles, with contributions from several notable session musicians, including Lloyd Green, John Hartford, JayDee Maness, and Clarence White. Tension developed between Parsons and the rest of the band, guitarist Roger McGuinn especially, with some of Parsons' vocals being re-recorded, partly due to legal complications, and by the time the album was released in August, Parsons had left the band. The Byrds' move away from rock and pop towards country music elicited a great deal of resistance and hostility from the ultra-conservative Nashville country music establishment, who viewed the Byrds as a group of long-haired hippies attempting to subvert country music.Upon its release, the album reached number 77 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, but failed to reach the charts in the United Kingdom. Two attendant singles were released during 1968, "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", which achieved modest success, and "I Am a Pilgrim", which failed to chart. The album received mostly positive reviews in the music press, but the band's shift away from psychedelic music alienated much of its pop audience. Despite being the least commercially successful Byrds' album to date upon its initial release, Sweetheart of the Rodeo is today considered to be a seminal and highly influential country rock album.
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Thu Apr 22 2021
5
The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo was not the first important country-rock album (Gram Parsons managed that feat with the International Submarine Band's debut Safe at Home), and the Byrds were hardly strangers to country music, dipping their toes in the twangy stuff as early as their second album. But no major band had gone so deep into the sound and feeling of classic country (without parody or condescension) as the Byrds did on Sweetheart; at a time when most rock fans viewed country as a musical "L'il Abner" routine, the Byrds dared to declare that C&W could be hip, cool, and heartfelt. Though Gram Parsons had joined the band as a pianist and lead guitarist, his deep love of C&W soon took hold, and Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman followed his lead; significantly, the only two original songs on the album were both written by Parsons (the achingly beautiful "Hickory Wind" and "One Hundred Years from Now"), while on the rest of the set classic tunes by Merle Haggard, the Louvin Brothers, and Woody Guthrie were sandwiched between a pair of twanged-up Bob Dylan compositions. While many cite this as more of a Gram Parsons album than a Byrds set, given the strong country influence of McGuinn's and Hillman's later work, it's obvious Parsons didn't impose a style upon this band so much as he tapped into a sound that was already there, waiting to be released. If the Byrds didn't do country-rock first, they did it brilliantly, and few albums in the style are as beautiful and emotionally affecting as this.
Tue Jun 01 2021
2
fuuuuucking hell MORE crud from the tail end of the 60s. It's crazy that the editors of this book consciously excluded classical music (and rationalised that), but included 600 albums from this one 3-year period from 67-69, as if it's some fucking golden age of creativity. TBF this album is listenable, it's just more middling American folk/country that's too inoffensive to feel strongly about in any way, but as with pretty much everything from the late 60s, it falls into "not that bad, but why the FUCK is it on this list?" territory. Plus, this is the third album by these guys so far (and I'm not even 300 albums in). Are these the giants whose shoulders everyone else stands upon? fucking lol. 2/5 - I gave their earlier albums higher ratings, but I'm sick of them now. From now on, no album made between 67-69 will get more than a 2 unless it REALLY impresses me.
Fri Apr 08 2022
5
Can't say enough about this record, so just this: I love it, and everything it led to and influenced decades down the line. It would be hard to imagine Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Wilco, Alt Country in general… without this happening first.
Mon Oct 24 2022
5
Reading this album’s reviews and I’m baffled this has a 2.85 rating. I’m even MORE baffled by all the 1 and 2 star reviews simply titled “Country sucks!” or something like that. I understand why country is i totally off putting - I myself used to despise everything it stood for. At some point, I started listening to Cash, and that softened me, but SotR is really what blew the whole thing open for me. It’s just so fucking brilliant. For all of his yuppie Harvard money, Gram Parsons was a musical genius. This record perfectly personifies the word “twang” while borrowing equally from psychedelic and rock music. From the opening punch of “You Ain’t Goin Nowhere” to the satirical gospel of “The Christian Life”, this is all killer no filler. If you write this one off because it’s “country”, you are doing yourself a HUGE disservice. Don’t be so cynical!
Wed Apr 21 2021
4
When I saw it was the Byrds, I was not expecting this at all! I'm somewhat aware of this group, but I know them for psychedelic '60s rock. This was apparently a big departure for them, but they totally nail the classic country sound. Even knowing this isn't their natural style, and despite their blend of rock elements, it still sounds very authentic. This makes me want some more classic country music on the list, like Marty Robbins. Very cool album! Favorite tracks: I Am a Pilgrim, You're Still On My Mind, Pretty Polly, Lazy Days. Album art: Very intricate, I would love to see this on vinyl if only to read all the little cartoon dialogue boxes. I love the art style, it reminds me of a tarot deck. In that way, I think the Byrds manage to combine a bit of their psychedelia into this country album. 4/5
Wed Mar 24 2021
2
These guys really like The Byrds eh?! I'd rank this one higher yesterday's Byrds album, but I still feel like I could have died a happy man without hearing this one. The rockabilly style on Lazy Days was probably my favourite on this album. I'm sure there's one absolute die-hard Byrds fan who squealed with joy at the inclusion of 4 bonus rehearsal takes on this album
Wed Jul 21 2021
5
I love this record.
Thu Feb 25 2021
5
I had never listed to this album and I'm so glad I have
Wed Sep 15 2021
5
Very soothing country rock, with particularly beautiful vocals. The decievingly simple songs obscure how well realised it is as a whole. This is the album you would show someone who doesn't like country.
Sun May 22 2022
5
An utterly charming, beautifully made recording. A country album that rescues the genre from trite sentiment, facile lyrics and insipid twanging guitars, showing a return to basics - great musicianship, melodies and skilful playing. That The Byrds changed direction is alright with me.
Thu Jul 13 2023
5
The other day I had a discussion about gatekeeping in Nashville and how that basically lead to Americana as shorthand for Country music that doesn’t get airplay on the radio. How important forward thinking artists like Margo Price and Jason Isbell are basically exiled from the Country charts because they are too liberal. The Byrds debuted this new sound (spearheaded very much by Gram Parsons) at the Grand Ole Opry and neither Country or Rock wanted anything to do with it. The Rolling Stone review is conflicted saying it’s too pretty to be country and too country to be rock. The charts weren’t kind to the album either. No one knew what to make of it. It would build over the years and become considered a masterpiece. It was the opening salvo of Parson’s Cosmic American music. It was a sign of things to come and the last great Byrds album. They had come a long way from the Dylan disciples bringing his message to the masses. In a way it marked the end of the folk revival. The Parsons songs are the highlights. A bright shining star that flamed out all too soon. He would take Hillman and start the Flying Burrito Brothers. This left McGuinn to carry the band (an all new band) forward. The Grateful Dead would see some success with a more Country Rock sound in the seventies. Lynard Skynard would distill the sound into Southern Rock and really make some waves with it. Artists like Uncle Tupelo would expound on the idea many years later. And then there are all them “Americana” folks from earlier (Isbell and Carlile and company) who can find a niche outside of Nashville because of a failed album by the Folk Rock titans.
Wed Mar 24 2021
4
A quick scan of Wikipedia, along with this album, reconfirms my suspicion that I should be spending more time with the Byrds. It's amazing to me how they've managed to apply their chameleon spirit, boosting off their folk rock and psychedelic successes, to fully immerse in country. This album incorporates everything I love about the genre - the relatable storytelling, the hopeful longing, the simple and solid acoustic instrumentation - while retaining that sunny California Byrds sound. I don't know whether this album is considered by purists as part of the country canon but it will certainly be one that I return to again and again.
Fri Aug 11 2023
3
One of those "classics" I've never spent any time with. A few songs are decent but it mainly sounds like parody and gets quite irritating. Gram Parson's solo records are a bit better, probably due to Emmylou Harris. Generous 3
Fri Jun 04 2021
2
This ain't for me, chief
Sun Apr 25 2021
2
Straight up country music. I’m baffled.
Sun Oct 17 2021
2
Et revoici Gene Clark et sa bande d'attardés. Cela fait déjà trois albums générés pour ce groupe et cinq pour Clark. Le moins que l'on puisse dire, c'est qu'on commence à en avoir ras le cul. J'ai d'ailleurs écouté cet album pendant un moment d'énervement. Je vous explique le contexte. Alors que je devais me rendre à Paris pour y passer mes annuelles vacances de la Toussaint, mon train partant de Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe en direction de Mannheim eut un retard d'une trentaine de minutes. De ce fait, je dus descendre une station plus loin et prendre un autre train depuis la gare de Karlsruhe. Comprenant rapidement que j'allais devoir patienter une bonne heure, je décidai de lancer l'album des Byrds. Au retard intellectuel de ces pitres vint s'ajouter des retards ferroviaires successifs : d'abord cinq minutes, puis dix minutes, puis quinze, vingt, vingt-cinq... J'étais à bout de nerfs. À mi-album, alors que l'impatience et le dégoût provoqués par les sons qui parvenaient à mes oreilles commençaient à se lire sur mon visage, certaines personnes vinrent me manifester leur soutien : "Les Byrds, hein ? Courage..." pouvais-je lire sur leurs lèvres formant ensuite un sourire compatissant. La seule bonne nouvelle résidait dans ma non-obligation d'écouter les derniers morceaux puisque il s'agissait de répétitions de chansons déjà jouées.
Fri Aug 11 2023
2
Everybody’s favourite cover band, ey? Thoroughly ruined by auteur theory, I struggle to get over the Byrds’ paucity of originals, though I love “Eight Miles High”; you may not think me an idiot for that. This album baits my prejudice out: while I appreciate what their transformation “Bells of Rhymney”, this sounds like standard plink plonk country rock to my untutored lugs, albeit with hippy vocals. I’ve decided to be a jerk and just listen to this once, and let this mean opinion ossify. Simon, waiting for your refutation. Before listening to this I bought “The Gilded Palace of Sin” in anticipation of wanting to hear more Gram Parsons. Now I’m all ha ha the Byrds hired a slide guitarist and a plink plonk pianist to go country, and then had the piss kicked out of them at the Grand Ok Opry for being poseurs.
Sun Apr 24 2022
1
I feel like this was made as a peace treaty between racist Southern grandmas and hippie rockers. /s
Thu Aug 10 2023
1
"The Byrds' move away from rock and pop towards country music elicited a great deal of resistance and hostility from the ultra-conservative Nashville country music establishment" and from me
Wed Sep 15 2021
5
A real delight! Great country music.
Wed Jan 19 2022
5
Was great back then and still great
Wed Jan 19 2022
5
Standouts - The Christian Life, You Don't Miss Your Water I liked this album a lot, the folky/country sound was really nice and the vocals were pretty classic
Sat Mar 05 2022
5
Clouds so swift, rain won't lift Gate won't close, railing's froze Get your mind off wintertime You ain't goin' nowhere - Bob Dylan
Wed Mar 09 2022
5
Maybe not the first country-rock album, but the one that inspired countless bands and artists. Just a gorgeous album.
Mon Mar 14 2022
5
Once upon a time, I would have hated this. Ugh; country music! But Gram Parsons was my entry point to understanding country, and I fell in love with his solo albums. I have never gone back to listen to this album, even though it is highly critically rated. And now I'm wondering why I denied my self the pleasure of this absolute classic? I love the songs, I love the performances. I don't even mind the songs that McGuinn re-recorded the lead vocals on (I actually think their voices are pretty similar). The chutzpah of Parsons to come in as a 22 year old piano player (that didn't last long) and essentially take over an established and highly successful band, change their musical direction, help write and record a genre-establishing classic, and then light out to do his own thing. Amazing! Quite a talent, if an unreliable human being.
Fri Apr 08 2022
5
Ohhh helll fucking yeah!! Kinda crazy this was the next album. Yeah love this album either you get it or your don't. The fact it was released in the same year as the Notorious Byrd Brothers is wild.
Thu Feb 09 2023
5
I mean. Historical significance aside, every song is a banger. The Dylan songs are the best. Cosmic American music.
Wed Feb 22 2023
5
One of my favorite albums of all time!!
Wed Feb 22 2023
5
Really good. This album ushered in the country rock genre.
Mon Apr 10 2023
5
Släpigt och suveränt.
Sat May 06 2023
5
When I first saw that I got another Byrds album I was honestly pretty upset because they are wayyy overrepresented on this list even if their albums were influential or whatever. I was ready to rip this album apart but unfortunately this album rocked. I'm a sucker for country rock like this and this is about as good as it gets unless you're mainlining marty robbins. It's one of those albums where I don't really have a favorite song it was just a really fun 40 minutes of music.
Tue May 23 2023
5
Ahh I remember my first rodeo sweetheart. Debra was a 33 stone monster, who ate 13 portions of fish finger sandwiches every day. She was airlifted into the rodeo by a team of highly skilled drones and four contestants from World's Stongest Man on stilts. I couldn't take my eyes off her breathtaking beauty. Literally breathtaking for her, as she struggled to breathe, poor love. She was plonked down on the row in front of me and I could smell her body odour as she panted and wheezed, wondering where the fuck she was. It was love at first sight. I climbed on her back and yelled with delight. She barely noticed, as she was suffering a gigantic heart attack at the time. She died and I was left devastated.
Mon Jul 17 2023
5
Right as I was pining for the old feel of Austin & San Antonio country, this album pops up. I'm impressed with this Californian band, and it seems Gram Parsons had a lot to do with the sound on this album. When I think of country rock, I usually think of The Rolling Stones, but I'm stunned at how good this is. I love classic country & country-rock, so I'm adding this to my favorites. 4.5 stars
Wed Jul 19 2023
5
Loved it
Wed Jul 19 2023
5
I LOVED this.
Wed Jul 19 2023
5
Cowboy country. Fun.
Thu Aug 17 2023
5
Always a good listen
Wed Sep 13 2023
5
Admittedly, I am extremely biased about this album, as it already is one of my favorites of all time. I love the Byrds as a whole, but this album holds such a special place in history and in my musical journey. I think what is lost about this album on most people is the context of this album, a rock band (who had dabbled in country before) going full country, with one of early country rock's seminal figures, Gram Parsons, joining in and putting forward his most iconic song, Hickory Wind. Ultimately, is this the most mind blowing album now? Most likely not. In fact, I think at this point, I prefer Parsons' output with the Flying Burrito Brothers more. But it was very groundbreaking at the time, and is one of the most important albums of the genre. I mean, Gram Parsons, Roger McGuinn, and Chris Hillman? It doesn't get much better than that.
Fri Sep 22 2023
5
I loved this! Not what I expected from The Byrds. But then again I expected that.
Fri Sep 22 2023
5
Outstanding. Very enjoyable.
Fri Oct 06 2023
5
I've always enjoyed the Byrds for the cryptic jangly guitar work, vocal harmonies, and keen pop sense. I've never heard his but seen the album float around in various places for a long time. I loved this. The inclusion of Gram Parsons, Jay Dee Maness, and Lloyd Green was a perfect, and logical, fit. Mostly covers, and a traditional tune, this 60s psychedelic pop group made a really solid and genuine country (or country rock/Americana) album. You would think it would get old after a while, but Sweetheart of the Rodeo does a great job of keeping the listener interested with each song introducing some other element or variation with the best of it blending the bands older style with the western twinge. This brought to mind Grateful Dead's American Beauty and, ironically, David Crosby's work on Deja vu.
Thu Oct 26 2023
5
this album was more than i expected. i listened three times. i really enjoyed the dark themes without the dark instrumentals. HONKY TONK!!!!!
Fri Nov 10 2023
5
Listened Before? No Album Art: 3 / 5 (calls to a simpler time; really makes me wonder what I'm getting into) Looks like this album is later into the Byrds career than those that produced hits that I've heard before (Turn! Turn! Turn!, Mr. Tambourine Man, etc.). Opens with You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, which is a country-rock twang with pretty harmonization on top. This could easily be mistaken for some Workingman's Dead era Dead. So I've always understood The Flying Burrito Brothers "The Gilded Palace of Sin" to be one of the earliest Folk Country albums; however, this one predates it by a full year. And looking into its history, it appears this is album pulled Gram Parsons (also from The Flying Burrito Brothers) into its fold. Makes sense there is such a clear continuity of the sound here. Beautiful writing and pretty arrangements throughout. I have a weakness for Folk Country and this is well done. You Don't Miss Your Water is an early highlight. Slow, but earnest progression with bluesy lyrics, beautiful harmonization, and fantastic mixing that layers the plunky piano, trudging bassline, and acoustic guitar to perfection. Yeah, this is the kind of album I can fully sink myself into and just vibe with. Song after song, I am pulled deeper into its orbit. I'm halfway through at Hickory Wind and loving it. While I could see how this might not be someone's cup of tea, I think the songwriting is immaculate (lyrics and arrangement), the production quality is superb for the era, and there is a range to the songs that Parsons goes on to refine in his follow on work with Flying Burrito Brothers. One Hundred Years from Now features a more upbeat jam with some clean Garcia-esq guitar work. I'm completely consumed by this album. The Gilded Palace of Sin is one of my favorite albums for a long drive, and this feels like a natural continuation (in the form of precursor) from Gram Parsons. While this album does not contain as many natural high points as Gilded Palace, it is extremely solid through and through. On a relative scale, Gilded scores higher in my mind, but this is a very high 4 (like 4.8). I'm going to give it the nudge to a 5 and plan on ripping through it all summer. Added to Library? Yes Songs Added to Playlists: - You're Still On My Mind (Sunny-vibes)
Wed Nov 15 2023
5
Great album. Love the mix of country, bluegrass, folk and rock.
Thu Nov 23 2023
5
Glorious. 5 stars.
Wed Jan 20 2021
4
Strange but catchy Christian rock
Thu Jan 21 2021
4
Pretty good folk/country album. Not sure if it's something I'd listen to on the regular but I like the instrumentation and the mastering.
Sun Feb 28 2021
4
not what i expected, but this was an interesting country album!
Fri Mar 19 2021
4
Love love this album. It’s not perfect but it means a lot to me.
Thu Jan 21 2021
4
Not much to say, very standard country music with some slight rock touches. I enjoyed listening to it during work, but don't think I'd actively listen to it in other contexts. The rating is generously rounded up from a 3.5
Thu May 27 2021
4
This album strikes a chord with Americana and Country influences. There are classics, but more importantly a flowing experience from this album.
Sun May 30 2021
4
Great album...only con is the Christian themes.
Thu May 13 2021
4
Great Americana sound, slight country.
Fri Jul 16 2021
4
Finally! I knew there were a ton of Byrds albums on here, and this is my first one. In many ways, this is one of the finest country albums I've ever listened to, and the best country album I've heard so far from this list. It starts off with a bang (You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, written by Dylan, is a 5). No David Crosby in this version of the Byrds, but we get the wonders of Gram Parsons instead. Sneaky suspicion there are too many Byrds albums on the list, but this one is definitely a keeper.
Wed Sep 01 2021
4
Liked this a lot. More Byrds please
Fri Sep 03 2021
4
9/14 A very warm and inviting album, makes me feel like I’m surrounded by family and right at home. Probably The Byrds album I’ve liked the most just off these first listens, country rock comes naturally to them. Standout Tracks: You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, The Christian Life, Pretty Boy Floyd, One Hundred Years From Now
Mon Sep 06 2021
4
I like the christian life....
Wed Sep 15 2021
4
OK, I like the Byrds and I like Gram Parsons, so of course I like this album. Is it the Byrds best? No, but its up there.
Wed Sep 15 2021
4
Fanade … hårt!!!
Wed Sep 22 2021
4
🙂 Like a sunny holiday 🙂
Wed Oct 06 2021
4
Good country
Fri Oct 15 2021
4
I had written off The Byrds as by-the-numbers psyche-pop, but this an incredibly solid country album. I'm dubious that the need a whole five albums on the list, but this album sounds like what Wilco is trying to sound like on any given day.
Sun Oct 31 2021
4
Great country music for Lego building with my son on a Saturday morning.
Fri Nov 19 2021
4
Country sounding, quite good
Wed Jan 05 2022
4
Entirely pleasant, and a few moments that stood out. But ultimately washed over me in a miasma of pedal steel and cornpone. Quite lovely if it catches you in the right mood, and you can hear its reverberations down through time in almost every subsequent country rock album. Good stuff.
Mon Jan 10 2022
4
As country as can be - simple, direct, heartfelt music, from the 7 month period where Gram Parsons was a Byrd, before defecting (in London en route to a tour of South Africa when the Rolling Stones explained apartheid to him, leading him to agree that he didn't want to be touring there. )
Wed Jan 19 2022
4
Did not know what to expect with this one. I inly knew Mr Tambourine Man by The Byrds. This was very good. Slick Americana. 😀
Fri Feb 04 2022
4
Loved the twang of this album. You can really hear the influence it had on sturgill simpson and others like him.
Thu Jan 27 2022
4
a nice country excursion. i just wish my buddies would stop shunning me for turning to jesus!!
Wed Feb 23 2022
4
Genre: Country Rock 4/5 An absolutely delightful treat from The Byrds once again. Gram Parsons, the country rock god who left us much too soon, joins the group for an album and the result is a gorgeous tribute to 50s-60s country, as well as a tremendous step forward for country rock as a genre. The opener lays it all out on the table. Those beautiful soft/folk rock harmonies that we've known to love from The Byrds, but with heavy doses of pedal steel guitar to let you know this won't be your average Byrds record. The rest of the album plays out like a country fair, with beautiful steel guitar solos, the occasional fiddle sting, and sunny vibes throughout. Highly enjoyable record.
Thu Mar 17 2022
4
This has a twang to it I wasn't expecting - I like it! I think I'll listen to this one again.
Thu Mar 17 2022
4
I knew of the Byrds but didn't know that they made a country album. 3.5 stars.
Mon Mar 28 2022
4
not a huge western/country fan, I mean I like it when Bob Dylan does it but this had a less appealing sound to me still the execution was pretty solid and the production had some diversity - 7/10
Fri May 13 2022
4
A lovely country album which must have felt like a radical shift at the time (even if they do start proceedings with a Dylan song).
Fri Jun 03 2022
4
first listen now THIS is country
Fri Jul 15 2022
4
I love me some country. This was a shock for me since I know the Byrds as a folk/rock band so I wasn't expecting this. I can't complain this really. I just love that country sound. 4.5/5
Wed Jul 20 2022
4
Not a fan of the jesus-y songs, but OK.
Fri Aug 05 2022
4
It's good.
Thu Nov 03 2022
4
You ain’t going nowhere
Thu Nov 24 2022
4
Really solid country album. Love the slide guitar on here. As well as the saloon piano.
Thu Nov 24 2022
4
Good Thanksgiving music
Fri Dec 02 2022
4
This is my third Byrds album in 66 albums so far, which seems insane (in contrast I haven't seen a single Beatles album yet), so I am feeling like they are really overrepresented on the list, especially since I am definitely not a hard core Byrds fan. That said, this is my absolute favorite of their albums, and that is because it's really more of a Gram Parsons album with a little Byrds on the side, and I can get behind some Gram Parsons. You can hear the influence this had on country and alt-country, and the album is packed with great songs (even if, ironically, I prefer other versions of those songs, but again, I'm not a huge Byrds fan!). While there are arguably too many Byrds albums on the list, this album deserves its place on the list in my opinion. 4/5 for importance and impact.
Wed Dec 14 2022
4
Sounds like the layering and some of the irony belongs to the Byrds; For the rest, they put on the country costume and it fits like second skin. For obvious reasons, this warms my technically-Canadian California "cowboy" heart. There's a thick almost-squareness all over the songs of Sweetheart, as the band leans into the religious roots of the music. But if it's tropey and too-perfect it's also stunningly competent. Pop-country done right and early.
Wed Jan 18 2023
4
good listen
Fri Jan 20 2023
4
Not something that I would listen to everyday, but hey... it's The Byrds, so it's great! A very nice country album fulfilled with strong vocal harmonies, insane guitar licks and powerful production. Is it one of the best 1001 albums of all time? Probably not, but I enjoyed its presence here anyway.
Fri Jan 20 2023
4
Interesting album by the byrds, nice touch of country and good harmonies.
Fri Jan 20 2023
4
Great album, the last I've heard from The Byrds and easily their most country one. They still have that magic touch when they cover Dylan songs, although there's only one of them here.
Wed Feb 01 2023
4
A pretty good country sounding album that didn’t get too much into stereotypical country topics. There was one song about being christian but other than that it was a good sounding album
Thu Feb 23 2023
4
i didn’t love a lot of the songs on this album but it was so different from the other 2 byrds albums it makes it so much better
Mon Mar 13 2023
4
Loved a lot of the songs and it very much reminded me of New Riders of the Purple Sage. Which is a really good thing for me because they’re a favorite, but this album was a huge departure from the Byrds most people know and love. I’ll listen to this album again and again.
Thu Mar 16 2023
4
Really solid country album, and maybe the best record overall from The Byrds. I think it’s easy to misinterpret (like I first did) some of the more tongue-in-cheek performances as more sincere than they actually are, ie ‘This Christian Life’, but this record has grown on me a lot since my first listen. A lot of fun and great musicianship for an album of mostly covers. 4 and a half stars. Favourite track - You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
Thu Mar 16 2023
4
Liked this a surprisingly big amount. Really charming tracks and sometimes some unique lyricism that I appreciated; could see myself blissing out to this like people do The Beatles. Unfortunately, like those loveable lads from Liverpool, this is hamstrung by some truly abhorrent lyrical focus in a number of tracks (and no I'm not just talking about the Christian one). Could never fully sink into this with the amount of misogyny. Three and a half. Fave track: I Am a Pilgrim
Fri Apr 07 2023
4
4 good shit
Mon Apr 10 2023
4
Widely considered the first country rock album (although Michael Nesmith was dipping his toes in the pond beforehand), the Byrds combine this extremely homespun American art form with a burst of colorful psychedelia. It’s refreshing and played beautifully, especially by guitar virtuoso Gram Parsons.
Tue Apr 11 2023
4
This is not a bad album but I think it's too country for my taste. The same melody starts to get tiresome halfway through, the last few songs are more rock and enjoyable. If country is your thing, this one is quite good!
Sun May 28 2023
4
4/5. Honestly, the more I listened to it, the better it got. It feels like the quality of a rock/pop band diving into country and making catchy tunes. Some songs don’t fully hit but it is a good album overall. Also, the twangy guitar can get a little old but it’s not bad. The song quality makes up for it. Best song: I Am a Pilgrim, Nothing Was Delivered
Tue May 30 2023
4
I bought a used copy of this record back in the early-80's and though I had been a fan of the Byrds earlier albums, I only listened to Sweetheart once before decided it wasn't for me. I was never a fan of Country music, so it sounded too country for my tastes, though it still had some elements of "rock" in it. Fast forward a decade later and a lot of the music I was listening to had plenty of Country-rock vibes to it which was updated and "re-branded" in the 80's and 90's, as Alt-Country. This genre produced some great bands, Uncle Tupelo, Long Ryders, Jayhawks etc and opened my ears to the possibilities of meshing rock and country together with an alternative edge. More recently, I have been spinning Sweetheart of the Rodeo often and it's influence and it's pioneering musical style is undeniable. Thank the Byrds for this bold statement in 1968.
Fri Jul 07 2023
4
A time when Country-Rock was great before The Eagles ruined it forever.
Fri Jul 14 2023
4
Pretty decent country.I enjoyed it.Maybe not the most memorable thing in the world but it’s relatively short and decent.