Gram Parsons, anyone? (1 Viewer)

[Joel Turpin]

I've just been going through a mini-Parsons kick recently, hitting everything from the International Submarine Band to his live '73 discs. Lots of great songwriting in there.
I'm especially fond of the first Flying Burrito Brothers album and his two solo outings (Gotta love those Emmylou harmonies!)
Anyone else out there get into his music?

 

[george kaplan]

Don't forget Sweetheart of the Rodeo by the Byrds.
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[Joel Turpin]

Definitely not forgotten. "Hickory Wind" is my favorite Parsons penned tune from that album. Definitely a classic.

 

[Kevin Leonard]

Put me down as a Parsons fan. I got into him when my musical hero Elvis Costello named Parsons as a major influence.
I saw the two-albums-for-one GP/Grievous Angel in a used bin at my local music store and bought it. Whoa! What a phenomenal talent! Such a beautiful singing voice. "How Much I Lied," "Hickory Wind" and "In My Hour of Darkness" stand out as particular favorites.
The thing I appreciated most about his music were his lyrics. They were sad without being sappy, clever without being show-offy, and jubilant without being corny. Great stuff. And this is coming from a 20-year-old who HATES most country music.
It's sad that he died so early in his career; who knows what he would've achieved had he not f***ed up and become a drug/alcohol addict. I also loved his contributions to the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Bros.
George and Joel,
Have you ever heard the tribute album Return of the Grievous Angel? It's one of the few tribute albums that actually works. It includes contributions from Emmylou Harris, The Mavericks, Wilco, Beck, Elvis Costello, Whiskeytown, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Sheryl Crow and The Pretenders. I highly reccomend it; with those talented musicians and excellent source material, it's pretty hard to screw up.
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[Edited last by Kevin Leonard on August 09, 2001 at 06:59 PM]

 

[Brian Bunn]

The Byrds "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" is one of my all-time favorite albums...If you haven't yet, get the remastered version. It has some great bonus tracks (eight), some with vocals by Parsons that were pulled off the original release because of some legal complications involving some other label's previous contractual agreements with Parsons, including "The Christian Life", "One Hundred Years From Now", and a Parsons original "Lazy Days" which was left off the album entirely.
Sweetheart Of The Rodeo is an amazing album considering the time it was released. A huge gamble by the Byrds putting out a "country" album. Gram Parsons came on board and McGuinn and Hillman just went with the talented newcomer and his southern, country music leanings, and the result was this phenomenal album. The new remastered version is a must for Parson fans for the restored vocal performances included in the bonus tracks.
The Gram Parsons double CD release of GP and Grievous Angel is the best way to get a handle on what Parsons was all about. Truly a tragedy that he died so prematurely of a drug overdose. Hard to believe that someone with so much to give musically could come to that sort of tragic early ending.
And the tribute to Gram Parsons "Return Of The Grievous Angel" is one of the better tribute albums ever released, highlighted by a pumped up rendition of "One Hundred Years From Now" by Wilco and "A Song For You" by Whiskeytown, with many other fine contributions as well.
Haven't checked out the International Submarine Band or Flying Burrito Brother stuff yet.
Parsons was definitely a major musical talent that was taken away from us much, much too soon. He made his mark in a very short period of time. And what a mark it was.

 

[Joel Turpin]

Yeah, the tribute album is pretty good. Hearing Emmylou tackle his stuff again is a definite hightlight, as is the Whiskeytown cover.
What Kevin said about his lyrics is dead-on for me. They make the music.
For any who haven't tried out the Flying Burrito Brothers, picking up Farther Along would expose you to most of Gram's work with the band. It's great stuff (You'll recognize several of the songs from the tribute album)

 

[Jason Quillen]

In 1999 before the release of their most recent album Counting Crows played 'Return of the Grevious Angel' at a handful of dates. One of my personal fov covers. A great song, bu tI'm afraid thats all the exposure I have to Mr Parsons.
JQ

 

[Samuel Des]

Don't forget Brass Buttons! Man, I played the shit out of that WLIR disc.
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SAM

 

[Scott H]

I was just listening to Uncle Tupelo covering Blue Eyes... And earlier, Aussie Kasey Chambers covering Sin City.
Sweetheart Of The Rodeo is a must own album. And, incidentally, Gram is pretty much responsible for Emmylou Harris' career.
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[Henry Gale]

I've heard that long after Gram went up in smoke at Joshua Tree, Emmylou was a guest on Ralph Emery's TNN show...
Ralph: "So, how's Gram Parsons?"
Emmylou: "He's still dead."