Sweetheart of the Rodeo

Released

Though it was recorded in Nashville, the Byrds’ 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo has a strong Bakersfield edge. Tucked in amid the Bob Dylan songs (“You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” and “Nothing Was Delivered,” which open and close the record) and gospel songs — the traditional “I am a Pilgrim” and the Louvin Brothers’ “The Christian Life” — there’s a stinging version of Merle Haggard’s “Life in Prison”, and many of the songs are fueled by sharp guitar leads and pedal steel. “The Christian Life” has a thumping beat and fierce twang, though Roger McGuinn’s goofy “hillbilly” vocal and the raggedy harmonies push it a little too close to Grateful Dead territory. But the version of Luke McDaniel’s honky-tonk weeper “You’re Still On My Mind,” Gram Parson’s “One Hundred Years From Now,” and the aforementioned Haggard tune put it firmly in the Lefty Frizzell-to-Buck Owens lineage.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
In Pieces cover

In Pieces

Garth Brooks
Unchained cover

Unchained

Johnny Cash
The Band cover

The Band

The Band
Moby Grape cover

Moby Grape

Moby Grape
GP cover

GP

Gram Parsons
Live at Woodstock cover

Live at Woodstock

Creedence Clearwater Revival
New Riders of the Purple Sage cover

New Riders of the Purple Sage

New Riders of the Purple Sage
Crazy Horse cover

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse
The Tennessee Fire cover

The Tennessee Fire

My Morning Jacket