Ballad of Easy Rider

The Byrds embrace both tradition and experimentation on this 1969 album. Written for the film <i>Easy Rider</i>, the title track’s gliding strings, trickling acoustic guitar and yearning vocals about rivers flowing to the sea are the perfect accompaniment to that cinematic ode to motorbikes and youthful rebellion. The group also get funky with cowbell and slippery riffing on “Fido”, pepper the gospel song “Oil In My Lamp” with bursts of electric guitar and drape Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” in languid country twang.