EmmyLou Harris: Pieces of The Sky

WHEN THE BYRDS recorded Sweetheart of the Rodeo in 1968, the romance between country music and pop was still secret. Seven years later, both country and country-influenced pop are all but mainstream. In order to seduce the mass audience, country producers and musicians smoothed down the music's rough edges, removing many of the music's distinctive qualities. Meanwhile, in order to build connections to more legitimate roots, some rock musicians tried to graft those same rough edges onto their own ridgeless pop styles. In the process, both types created music that was neither authentic nor innovative, but was a mild, occasionally charming contrivance.