As a rule, albums whose second tracks are written by the new
bass player about a dog and feature a mid-song drum solo are to be avoided at
all costs. Yet somehow Ballad of Easy
Rider proves an (most likely the) exception—and the best late-Byrds LP. McGuinn spends his
entire songwriting capital on the lovely opening title track, one of his
greatest moments, but the rest of the band steps up admirably, from short-term
bassist John York and his aforementioned “Fido,” to co-writers Clarence White and Gene Parsons, whose “Oil in My Lamp” provides
another high point. One could read the abundance of covers—there are a lot even by Byrds
standards—as a sign of creative exhaustion, but they also reflect curatorial sense and wisdom,
with “Tulsa County” and Woody Guthrie’s humane, still sadly relevant “Deportee
(Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)” delivered with feeling. It’s a soft, understated record, all the
better for not striving to be iconic.
Okay, McGuinn can’t hold back from ending things on another
of his stupid spaceship songs, but even that brings a loopy charm.
No comments:
Post a Comment