The Ballads of the Easy Rider

Listening to the Byrds verzh for the first time in ages this is a little harder than I thought but still c'mon Sandy 4 Lyfe

An extended, alternate mix of The Byrds' recording of the song, featuring more prominent percussion and Clarence White's lead guitar solo (which had been edited out of the version found on the album), was included as a bonus track on the 1997 Columbia/Legacy reissue of Ballad of Easy Rider.

^^^ this is way better than the one released on the album

fairport version has one of my favorite sandy vocals

Fairport version is far too long

The first version I knew was by Eugene Chadbourne which is great. But the Byrds is the best. Is there not both a Roger McGuinn solo version as well as a band version?

yeah i was having difficulty sorting which was which on Youtube. i think the film OST is credited to McGuinn but there's at least 2 different takes of the Byrds doing it too. i first heard it on Very Best of the Byrds many moons ago so that's the version in my head.

The version in the movie (and on the soundtrack) is credited to McGuinn only.

Oh yeah that's right. The soundtrack album has the McGuinn solo original and Best of the Byrds volume 2 has the band version. I'm talking about the original vinyl versions of those albums.

fairport version is probably the right answer. byrds version is great, too. never heard the longer mix/version! will have to seek it out. this is pretty tight too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuFEgFfBpBU

i like everything about that except the rhythm of the vocal line

yeah i know what you mean. i've heard an odetta version of this song which was good, but it doesn't seem to be on itunes.

i mean youtube

i had a cursory hunt round for other versions last night but i thought Fairport vs Byrds was an interesting tussle in itself.

oh yeah, those are def the "classic" versions. funny, the dylan backstory of this song. wrote the opening lines on a napkin!

(and I'm sure promptly forgot it)

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