BYRDS / SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO (VINYL)

      Sweetheart of the Rodeo' is the 6th album by American rock / country band The Byrds and was originally released on August 30, 1968. Where the band's previous LP, 'The Notorious Byrd Brothers', had an overall psychedelic rock sound, Sweetheart became purely a country record. Although The Byrds were no strangers to country music, it was country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons who had taken the band deep into the sound and feeling of classic country and western. Parsons, who had joined the band just for a short while, would experience this album to be an important chapter in his musical career since the record brought him to the attention of a mainstream rock audience.'Sweetheart of the Rodeo' might not be the most commercial album of The Byrds, but today the record is considered to be one of the most influential country-rock albums in the history of music. Rolling Stone Magazine praised the album in its September 1968 issue, with Jon Landau writing 'The Byrds, in doing country as country, show just how powerful and relevant unadorned country music is to the music of today.' Landau added 'they leave just enough rock in the drums to let you know that they can still play rock and roll.' Pressed on 180 grams audiophile vinyl.