THE BYRDS/BALLAD OF EASY RIDER S 63795 (-69) UK

I was about to write some kind of presentation for the album, but after reading the detailed and exhaustive article on Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballad_of_Easy_Rider_%28album%29 ) feel I got nothing to add on background or circumstances so I'll keep this very short. It is one of my favorites from the later Byrds settings because of three particular cuts. Title track, written by McGuinn with lyrics building on a text fragment he got from Bob Dylan, is a totally different take than the soundtrack version and has beautiful string arrangements (seriously - listen to them!). Further "Oil In My Lamp" and "Jesus Is Just Alright" both so simple and self evident it's impossible not to let them in. The rest sounds quite ordinary Byrds country rock to me. All good, but not much difference from the two previous studio albums. Premiere US Columbia on "360 SOUND" label (CS 9942). Very first UK had label as shown here, "SBPG" matrixes and glossy Shorepak cover with rec. number above logo on front and back. (XYGZ*)