GRAM PARSONS
Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968)
One Hundred Years from Now (rehearsal - take #2) [Sweetheart of the Rodeo CD re-issue]
Luxury Liner [Safe at Home]
Hickory Wind (alt. "Nashville" ver. - take #8) [Sweetheart of the Rodeo--Legacy Edition]
You Don't Miss Your Water [Sweetheart of the Rodeo--Legacy Edition]
Miller's Cave [Safe at Home]
The Christian Life (rehearsal - take #7) [Sweetheart of the Rodeo--Legacy Edition]
Lazy Days* [Cancelled Flytes]
Reputation * [Cancelled Flytes]
You're Still on My Mind
Blue Eyes [Safe at Home]
Life in Prison (rehearsal - take #11) [Sweetheart of the Rodeo CD re-issue]
Satisfied Mind [Safe at Home]
BONUS
I Must Be Someone Else You've Known [Safe at Home]
Hickory Wind [Sweetheart of the Rodeo]
One Hundred Years from Now [SotR - Legacy Edition]
The Christian Life [SotR - Legacy Edition]
Folsom Prison Blues/That's All Right [Safe at Home]
I Still Miss Someone [Safe at Home]
Strong Boy [Safe at Home]
Do You Know How It Feels to Be Lonesome? [Safe at Home]
Knee Deep in the Blues [Safe at Home CD re-issue]
The Byrds Live at The Piper Room (1968)** bootleg
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Let's imagine for a second that Gram Parsons's dilemma with Lee Hazelwood's LHI label was instead resolved by releasing songs he cut with The Byrds together with tracks from the still unreleased Safe at Home album by The International Submarine Band. 'What about The Byrds?!' you ask. Well, check out my next post for that answer!
Gram's struggle for dominance in the group was ultimately resolved with his departure after McGuinn re-asserted his authority in the group--overdubbing his voice on "The Christian Life", "You Don't Miss Your Water", "One Hundred Years", and even "Hickory Wind" (!). McGuinn had also cut a lead vocal to "You're Still on My Mind" (despite Gram's claim that song wasn't meant to be on the LP). Ultimately, Gram ended up with leads on "Hickory Wind", "You're Still on My Mind" and "Life in Prison" (Gram also claimed this song to be a 'warm-up' and not for the LP). This same struggle happens when trying to figure out what it should have been.
Many Gram/Byrds fans differ on what tracks make up the definitive Sweetheart of the Rodeo LP. We know McGuinn butchered "The Christian Life" on the released Byrds album. Even Gram's version omits an important line that would disappear after rehearsal take #7 regarding his 'friends' -- 'I live without them / How it tortures my soul'. That line helps the listener feel like the singer/narrator of the song isn't a smug holier-than-thou type, ya know? Two more songs Gram brought to the group, "Lazy Days" and "You Got a Reputation", were left in the vault until the 90s CD re-issue. The versions I prefer to use appear on the Cancelled Flytes vinyl 45 box set. "Lazy Days"--I do prefer the 6-string lead guitar in favor of the 12-string McGuinn posthumously overdubbed. The version on Burrito Deluxe just lacks in comparison. The rehearsal take of "Life in Prison" trumps the LP version, too. Just listen to it and see what I mean. I think the rehearsal take of "One Hundred Years" works better as a solo version, too. Wait and see what I did with the two diff LP mixes!
Like Dylan would sing the next year in Nashville--"You can have your cake and eat it, too". McGuinn's vision was a double-LP history lesson in music. Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman wanted to make a country record. Ultimately, McGuinn would hire new Byrds while Parsons and Hillman would go on to form The Flying Burrito Brothers.
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