Gram Parsons Archives Vol.1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969

Last updated
Gram Parsons Archives Vol.1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969
GramParsonsArchive.jpg
Live album by
The Flying Burrito Brothers
ReleasedNovember 6, 2007 (2007-11-06)
RecordedApril 4 and 6, 1969
Venue Avalon Ballroom
Genre Country rock
Length98:18
Label Amoeba
Producer Dave Prinz
The Flying Burrito Brothers chronology
Sin City: The Very Best of the Flying Burrito Brothers
(2002)		Gram Parsons Archives Vol.1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969
(2007)
Gram Parsons chronology
The Complete Reprise Sessions
(2006)		Gram Parsons Archives Vol. 1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969
(2007)

Gram Parsons Archives Vol.1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 is a live album by the country rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers. It was recorded on April 4 and 6, 1969, at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. It was released by Amoeba Records as a two-disc CD on November 6, 2007. Comprising 27 tracks, the album includes several songs not previously released by the band, such as "She Once Lived Here" and "You Win Again". [1] [2]

Contents

The Avalon concerts featured the Flying Burrito Brothers' original lineup – Gram Parsons on guitar, piano, and vocals, Chris Hillman on guitar and vocals, Sneaky Pete Kleinow on pedal steel guitar, Chris Ethridge on bass, and Michael Clarke on drums. The shows were performed two months after the release of the band's first album, The Gilded Palace of Sin .

Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 also includes two bonus tracks. These are previously unreleased demos featuring Gram Parsons and recorded by Jimmi Seiter – "Thousand Dollar Wedding", recorded in Los Angeles in 1969, and "When Will I Be Loved", recorded in New York City in 1967.

Provenance

At the April 4 and 6 Avalon Ballroom concerts, the Flying Burrito Brothers, along with the band Aum, were the opening acts for the Grateful Dead. [3] Amoeba Records co-founder Dave Prinz found tapes of the two shows among the 16,000 hours of material in the Grateful Dead's vault, and after considerable lobbying, convinced the Dead's sound engineer Owsley "Bear" Stanley, who oversaw the Dead's material, to license the Burritos' recordings to Amoeba's record label. It was regarded as a coup because Stanley hadn't licensed anything from his personal vault since 1970. [4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Best Of Website(not rated) [5]
Glide Magazine4/5 [6]
Houston Press (not rated) [7]
Pitchfork 8.2/10 [2]

AllMusic said, "[Gram] Parsons probably came closest to realizing his "cosmic American music" dream during his brief stay as a founding member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and so this double-disc release, which features well-recorded live sets from 1969 of the original Burritos lineup... is a true archival treasure, perhaps doubly so because it comes direct from the famed Grateful Dead tape vault. The real surprise here is the sound quality, which is excellent... Fans of Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers are going to love Gram Parsons Archive, Vol.1 and the solid sound quality of these recordings will no doubt surprise and delight. A real find." [1]

In Pitchfork , Stephen Deusner wrote, "Parsons may have stood center stage in 1969, but this was truly a Burrito Brothers show. The band sounds tremendous on the first disc, with a superlatively tight rhythm section carrying each song and Sneaky Pete Kleinow adding flourishes of pedal steel.... Even though the tracklists for these discs are nearly identical, the shows themselves aren't redundant. Instead, they reveal the Burrito Brothers' considerable musical chemistry while providing a useful historical document of the nights they turned the Avalon into a rowdy roadhouse." [2]

Glide Magazine said, "... this lineup of Burritos not only didn't last that long, nor did they crackle with the same energy here for that long either. Drummer Michael Clarke, once in the Byrds with vocalist / guitarist / songwriter Chris Hillman, had not appeared on the band's debut studio album, while bassist Chris Ethridge would depart before the second was recorded. This quintet cooks here, whether on the upbeat likes of "Mental Revenge" or the doleful mood of "Sin City". And it's worth paying special attention to the alternately traditional and visionary pedal steel of "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow. Captured on tape and preserved by the Grateful Dead's soundman Owsley Stanley (as the Burritos were opening for the Frisco icons on this run), it's no surprise the sound quality is so high." [6]

Houston Press wrote, "Although the Flying Burrito Brothers was a passing phase in Gram Parsons's career between the Byrds and his solo material, the band nevertheless indicated that he'd become one of country-rock's greatest treasures.... With all the documentation of Parsons's hard-to-handle persona, he sounds quite sincere throughout these two nights. The album's another reminder of this once-overlooked musician's chops – even early in his career, he was utterly convincing as a country-rocker." [7]

The Best Of Website said, "The discs have pretty good sound, but they do not bounce with fidelity. To me, the Flying Burrito Brothers greatest charm is the vocals.... My preference is the second disc. It includes versions of key tracks not on the Aug. 4 show: "Do Right Woman", "You Win Again", and "Long Black Limousine".... While Gram Parsons Archive, Vol. 1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 isn't a substitute for their studio albums, it is as enjoyable to listen to. In fact, the two versions of "She Once Lived There" alone make the album worth buying." [5]

Track listing

Disc 1

April 4, 1969:
  1. "Close Up the Honky Tonks" (Red Simpson) – 2:38
  2. "Dark End of the Street" (Chips Moman, Dan Penn) – 3:57
  3. Medley: "Undo the Right" / "Somebody's Back in Town" (Willie Nelson, Hank Cochran / Don Helms, Theodore Wilburn, Doyle Wilburn) – 3:16
  4. "She Once Lived Here" (Autry Inman) – 3:54
  5. "We've Got to Get Ourselves Together" (Bonnie Bramlett, Delaney Bramlett, Carl Radle) – 3:31
  6. "Lucille" (Richard Penniman, Albert Collins) – 2:38
  7. "Hot Burrito #1" (Chris Ethridge, Gram Parsons) – 3:40
  8. "Hot Burrito #2" (Ethridge, Parsons) – 4:05
  9. "Long Black Limousine" (Vern Stovall, Bobby George) – 3:38
  10. "Mental Revenge" (Mel Tillis) – 3:07
  11. "Sin City" (Parsons, Chris Hillman) – 4:02
Bonus tracks:
  2. "Thousand Dollar Wedding" (Parsons) – 4:24
  3. "When Will I Be Loved" (Phil Everly) – 2:16

Disc 2

April 6, 1969:
  1. Medley: "Undo the Right" / "Somebody's Back in Town" (Nelson, Cochran / Helms, T. Wilburn, D. Wilburn) – 3:16
  2. "She Once Lived Here" (Inman) – 4:06
  3. "Mental Revenge" (Tillis) – 3:13
  4. "We've Got to Get Ourselves Together" (B. Bramlett, D. Bramlett, Carl Radle) – 3:43
  5. "Lucille" (Penniman, Collins) – 2:39
  6. "Sin City" (Parsons, Hillman) – 4:08
  7. "You Win Again" (Hank Williams) – 3:06
  8. "Hot Burrito #1" (Ethridge, Parsons) – 3:53
  9. "Hot Burrito #2" (Ethridge, Parsons) – 4:00
  10. "You're Still On My Mind" (Luke McDaniel) – 2:34
  11. "Train Song" (Parsons, Hillman) – 3:43
  12. "Long Black Limousine" (Stovall, George) – 3:15
  13. "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" (Cindy Walker) – 3:18
  14. "Do Right Woman" (Chips Moman, Dan Penn) – 5:01

Personnel

The Flying Burrito Brothers

Additional musicians

Production

Chart performance

Chart (2007)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums45

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gram Parsons</span> American singer-songwriter (1946–1973)

Ingram Cecil Connor III, known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. He recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, popularizing what he called "Cosmic American Music", a hybrid of country, rhythm and blues, soul, folk, and rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Flying Burrito Brothers</span> American country rock band

The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1968, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, The Gilded Palace of Sin. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes and has existed in various incarnations. Now officially known as The Burrito Brothers the band continues to perform and record new albums.

<i>The Gilded Palace of Sin</i> 1969 studio album by the Flying Burrito Brothers

The Gilded Palace of Sin is the debut studio album by country rock band The Flying Burrito Brothers, released on February 6, 1969, by A&M Records. It continued Gram Parsons' and Chris Hillman's work in modern country music, fusing traditional styles such as folk and country with other forms of popular music including gospel, soul, and psychedelic rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sneaky Pete Kleinow</span> American country musician (1934–2007)

Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow was an American country-rock musician and animator. He was a member of the band the Flying Burrito Brothers, and worked extensively as a session musician, playing pedal steel guitar for Joan Baez, Jackson Browne, The Byrds, Leonard Cohen, Joe Cocker, Rita Coolidge, Eagles, The Everly Brothers, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, The Steve Miller Band, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Spencer Davis, Little Richard, Linda Ronstadt, Jimmie Spheeris and many others. He is a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.

<i>Burrito Deluxe</i> 1970 studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Burrito Deluxe is the second album by the country rock group the Flying Burrito Brothers, released in May 1970 on A&M Records, catalogue 4258. It is the last to feature Gram Parsons prior to his dismissal from the group. It contains the first issued version of the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards-written song "Wild Horses," released almost a year before the Rolling Stones' own take on it appeared on Sticky Fingers.

<i>The Flying Burrito Bros</i> (album) 1971 studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

The Flying Burrito Bros is the third album by the country rock group, The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in the spring of 1971. Before recording sessions for the album began, Chris Hillman fired Gram Parsons from the band, leaving Hillman and "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow as the only original continuing members. In Parsons' place, the band hired a young unknown musician named Rick Roberts, who later was the primary lead singer of Firefall. Guitarist Bernie Leadon would also leave the band shortly after the album's release, going on to co-found the Eagles.

<i>Last of the Red Hot Burritos</i> 1972 live album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Last of the Red Hot Burritos is the fourth album by country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1972. By the time this album was recorded, "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow and Bernie Leadon had left the band, leaving Chris Hillman as the sole founding member. In their places, Hillman recruited Al Perkins and Kenny Wertz respectively. Wertz had previously played with Hillman in the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers. The band also added two guest musicians for their fall 1971 tour in Byron Berline and Roger Bush from Country Gazette. This lineup toured until Hillman left the band in October 1971, leaving the rights to the band's name to Rick Roberts. Once Hillman departed, A&M Records apparently lost faith in the group. Instead of allowing a Roberts-led version of the band to record a new studio album, A&M released this live recording. It fulfilled the band's contract, but it was subsequently dropped from the label.

<i>Flying Again</i> 1975 studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Flying Again is the fourth studio album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1975.

<i>Airborne</i> (The Flying Burrito Brothers album) 1976 studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Airborne is the fifth studio album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1976.

<i>Live from Tokyo</i> (album) 1979 live album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Live from Tokyo is the second live album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1979. It was originally released in Japan in 1978 under the title Close Encounters on the West Coast.

<i>Cabin Fever</i> (Flying Burrito Brothers album) 1985 live album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Cabin Fever is a live album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1985.

<i>Live from Europe</i> 1986 live album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Live from Europe is a live album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1986. It contains songs recorded live for a Dutch radio broadcast and features the same lineup as Cabin Fever. Skip Battin would leave the band in mid-1986 and be replaced by David Vaught for some shows.

<i>Roadmaster</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Gene Clark

Roadmaster is the third studio album by Gene Clark, released in January 1973. The album was compiled from various unreleased recordings for A&M Records made in 1970 through 1972. Eight tracks are from an April 1972 recording session featuring Clarence White, Chris Ethridge, Spooner Oldham, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Byron Berline and Michael Clarke; two tracks derived from an unissued single reassembling the five original Byrds prior to their 1973 reunion album; and the remaining track, "Here Tonight", had been recorded with The Flying Burrito Brothers. Initially released in the Netherlands and Germany only on the A&M subsidiary Ariola, it was reissued on compact disc for the American market in 1994. Other recordings of songs on Roadmaster featuring Clark have been released elsewhere: "One in a Hundred" initially appeared on Clark's previous solo album White Light, Full Circle Song was later rerecorded with the Byrds for the Byrds reunion album, and was released as the albums only single, while "She Don't Care About Time" had originally been recorded with the Byrds in 1965 and was released as the B-side to "Turn! Turn! Turn!".

<i>Sleepless Nights</i> (Gram Parsons album) 1976 compilation album by Gram Parsons

Sleepless Nights is a posthumous compilation album by Gram Parsons. Credited to Parsons and his former band The Flying Burrito Brothers, the band appear on nine of the album's twelve tracks. The album features no original songs; the majority are covers of vintage country songs; the exception is The Rolling Stones' song "Honky Tonk Women".

John Christopher Ethridge was an American country rock bass guitarist. He was a member of the International Submarine Band (ISB) and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and co-wrote several songs with Gram Parsons. Ethridge worked with Nancy Sinatra, Judy Collins, Leon Russell, Delaney Bramlett, Johnny Winter, Randy Newman, Graham Nash, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, The Byrds, Jackson Browne, and Willie Nelson.

<i>Hot Burritos! The Flying Burrito Brothers Anthology 1969–1972</i> 2000 compilation album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Hot Burritos! The Flying Burrito Brothers Anthology 1969–1972 is an album by the country rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers. It was released in 2000. A forty-three song compilation on two CDs, it includes all of their first three albums — The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969), Burrito Deluxe (1970), and The Flying Burrito Bros (1971) — along with eleven additional songs.

<i>Eye of a Hurricane</i> (The Flying Burrito Brothers album) 1994 studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Eye of a Hurricane is the 6th studio album by The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1994. In the early 1990s, longtime Flying Burrito Brothers members John Beland, Gib Guilbeau, Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Chris Ethridge teamed up with Australian rock legend, Brian Cadd and former Elvis Presley drummer, Ronnie Tutt, to form a brand new version of Burritos. The sessions took place at Brian Cadd's studio in Franklin, Tennessee and the material was mostly written by Beland, Cadd and Guilbeau, with one song contributed by Ethridge. Beland and Cadd produced the album for Magnum Records, in London England. In support of the album, Beland, Cadd, Kleinow and Guilbeau toured Europe in the early 90s, playing clubs and concerts. Ethridge surprisingly vanished only days before the tour, leaving the band to quickly hire Nashville bassist Larry Gadler, as well as Bobby Bare's drummer Gary Kubal. The tour yielded a live album called Live in Europe, also on Magnum.

Floyd August "Gib" Guilbeau was an American Cajun country rock musician and songwriter. As a member of Nashville West, Swampwater, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and later The Burrito Brothers, Guilbeau helped pioneer the fusion of rock and country music in the 1960s.

<i>Georgia Peach</i> (album) 2002 studio album by Burrito Deluxe

Georgia Peach is the first release by Burrito Deluxe. After John Beland retired The Flying Burrito Brothers in 2000, original member of that band "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow put together a new lineup with Carlton Moody and Tommy Spurlock. As Beland still had rights to the name, the band decided to call itself Burrito Deluxe after the Flying Burrito Brothers' second album. In addition to a mixture of original tunes and covers, the album contains several redone version of Flying Burrito Brothers and other songs associated with Gram Parsons.

The following is a comprehensive discography of The Flying Burrito Brothers, an American country rock band which has evolved over time and released material under several different names. Their initial recordings were led by Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman who had recently left The Byrds. Parsons was replaced by Rick Roberts who continued to tour with the band even after the departure of Hillman. By 1975 a new lineup focused around Gib Guilbeau and other Byrds alumni such as Skip Battin and Gene Parsons. In 1977 the band recorded an album that their record company released under the name "Sierra" much to their surprise. By the 1980s, and after several lineup changes, the band was mostly associated with Gib Gilbeau and John Beland. They relented to record company pressure and once again changed the name of the band to just "The Burrito Brothers". Sneaky Pete Kleinow's pedal steel guitar playing was generally the only constant with each lineup change during this era.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Leggett, Steve. "Gram Parsons Archive, Vol. 1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 – The Flying Burrito Brothers / Gram Parsons". AllMusic. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Deusner, Stephen M. (January 22, 2008). "Gram Parsons Archives Volume 1: Gram Parsons with the Flying Burrito Brothers Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  3. ↑ Arnold, Corry (March 19, 2010). "April 4–6, 1969: Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco: Grateful Dead / Flying Burrito Brothers / Aum". Lost Live Dead. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  4. ↑ Hilburn, Robert (November 13, 2007). "Parsons Release a Discovered Trove", Los Angeles Times.
  5. 1 2 Small, Barry. "Gram Parsons Archive, Vol. 1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969". The Best Of Website. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Collette, Doug (January 7, 2008). "Gram Parsons with The Flying Burrito Bros: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 (Archives Vol. 1)". Glide Magazine. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Ayers, Michael D. (January 2, 2008). "Flying Burrito Brothers: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969". Houston Press. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.