Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel (Reprise Records - Rhino re-issue) LP rip in 24 Bit/ 96 Khz + Redbook

History

After a ramshackle tour in the spring and summer of 1973, Gram Parsons again convened with his singing partner Emmylou Harris, various members of Elvis Presley's "Hot Band", including James Burton and Glen Hardin and the occasional guest (such as Bernie Leadon and Linda Ronstadt) to record his second solo album for Reprise Records. Lacking much-needed new material, Parsons quickly wrote two songs during the sessions ("Return of the Grievous Angel", with lyrics by Boston-based poet and Parsons fan Thomas Brown; "In My Hour Of Darkness", arranged by Harris) and looked to songs rejected for previous albums and to standard country songs to flesh out the scant material he came up with. In regards to the original material, "Brass Buttons" dated from Parsons' brief stint as a Harvard-based folksinger in the mid-1960s; "Hickory Wind" had already been recorded with The Byrds; "$1000 Wedding", about Parsons' aborted plan to wed the mother of his daughter in ostentatious style, had been recorded in a plodding arrangement with the Flying Burrito Brothers circa 1970; "Ooh Las Vegas" had been rejected from GP.

In spite of the dearth of new material, the album took what its predecessor had presented and expanded the format of "Cosmic American Music". With the album in the can, Parsons set off for Joshua Tree, California, where he would fatally overdose on September 19, 1973, dying the next day in nearby Yucca Valley. A planned tour (to have begun the next month), plans to divorce his wife Gretchen and another attempt to have a "hit" album were all gone. Wikipedia.

Track listing

* Side One:

1. "Return of the Grievous Angel" (Gram Parsons, Thomas Brown) – 4:19
2. "Hearts on Fire" (Walter Egan, Tom Guidera) – 3:50
3. "I Can't Dance" (Tom T. Hall) – 2:20
4. "Brass Buttons" (Parsons) – 3:27
5. "$1000 Wedding" (Parsons) – 5:00

* Side Two:

1. "Medley Live from Northern Quebec:"
(a) "Cash on the Barrelhead" (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) – 2:12
(b) "Hickory Wind" (Parsons, Bob Buchanan) – 4:15
2. "Love Hurts" (Boudleaux Bryant) – 3:40
3. "Ooh Las Vegas" (Parsons, Ric Grech) – 3:29
4. "In My Hour of Darkness" (Parsons, Emmylou Harris) – 3:42

Personnel

* Gram Parsons: lead vocals, acoustic guitar
* Emmylou Harris: vocals (all songs except "Brass Buttons")
* Glen D. Hardin: piano, electric piano
* James Burton: electric lead guitar
* Emory Gordy: bass
* Ronnie Tutt: drums
* Herb Pedersen: acoustic rhythm guitar (except electric rhythm on "I Can't Dance")
* Al Perkins: pedal steel

Guests

* Bernie Leadon: electric lead guitar on "Hearts on Fire", dobro on "In My Hour of Darkness"
* Byron Berline: fiddle on "Return of the Grievous Angel", "Medley Live from Northern Quebec" & "In My Hour of Darkness", mandolin on "Medley"
* N.D. Smart II: drums on "Hearts on Fire" and "In My Hour of Darkness"
* Steve Snyder: vibes on "Medley Live from Northern Quebec"
* Linda Ronstadt: harmony vocal on "In My Hour of Darkness"
* Kim Fowley, Phil Kaufman, Ed Tickner, Jane & Jon Doe: "Background blah-blah" on "Medley Live from Northern Quebec"