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By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Country · 1968

By the Time I Get to Phoenix

Marty Robbins

A masterclass in 1960s countrypolitan. Robbins' velvet baritone navigates lush orchestral arrangements and themes of transition, travel, and quiet heartbreak.

1968 · Hallmark Records

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By the Time I Get to Phoenix captures Marty Robbins in a state of sophisticated transition. Moving away from the dusty, sparse narratives of his gunfighter ballads, this 1968 record leans fully into the 'Countrypolitan' sound of the late sixties. It is an album of deep, resonant velvet: Robbins' baritone is at its most supple, gliding over arrangements that favor swelling strings and polished studio techniques over the raw twang of traditional honky-tonk. It feels like a late-night drive through a landscape that is both physically vast and emotionally claustrophobic.

Moments Worth Listening For
The way Robbins' voice dips into a hushed, vulnerable register during the bridge of the title track.
The swelling orchestral strings that mirror the emotional peak of 'Yesterday' as the arrangement expands.
The subtle, weeping pedal steel that cuts through the polished arrangement on 'Love is Blue' providing a country anchor.
Reviews
AllMusic
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Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does By the Time I Get to Phoenix sound next to the rest of Marty Robbins's catalogue?

Late Night+3.2σ

Late Night saturates this record far more than the artist's norm.

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