I started listening to the Flying Burrito Brothers in late February 2021 and Gram Parsons's solo albums in March. After enjoying Parsons' work so much, I went back and checked out the album he released with his first band International Submarine Band, which, like the rest of his material, was far from a disappointment. I strongly recommend listening to all of the albums below as well as Sweetheart of the Rodeo, when Parsons was with the Byrds.
The International Submarine Band: Safe at Home (1968): B+
The Flying Burrito Brothers: The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969): A+
The Flying Burrito Brothers: Burrito Deluxe (1973): B
Gram Parsons: GP (1973): B+
Gram Parsons: Grievous Angel (1974): A-
The International Submarine Band: Safe at Home (1968):
Unlike every other Gram Parsons album, this one didn't make an impact when it was released and it's not too difficult to see why. The harmonies are more primitive, the recording is clunky, and Parsons's songwriting is about a mile better by the time the Flying Burritos Brothers were formed only a year later. But Gram is Gram and Gram was Gram way back in the beginning of 1968. Other than "Do You Know How It Feels," which has a later recording that's five times better, every song has lots to offer whether it's listening to Gram melding country and rock for the first time or the irresistible melodies he was already cooking up. B+
The Flying Burrito Brothers: The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969):
Although it was quite earthshattering for its time, Sweetheart of the Rodeo was reserved in its ambition to cross country and rock music and it makes sense--Gram had just joined the legendary LA band (the Byrds) and all of a sudden was pulling more strings than Roger McGuinn. As a result, it came off mostly as country music--and indeed it consisted mostly of country standards--rather than a head-on collision of the country and rock. Now, with his own band and his own songs, the Cosmic American Music Parsons always wished to make fully comes to life on this astonishing record. Parsons is certainly the superstar here, but Chris Hillman is not your average songwriter and he collaborates with Parsons to conjure up a pretty clever antiwar lyric as well as five other bona fide country-rock classics about black-hearted women, cities overcome by sin, and hippie boys. Pete Kleinow's playing would already be the best pedal steel guitar performance ever put on record, but his use of a fuzzbox, which adds an intense psychedelic boom (that's a pedal steel guitar?!) at every turn, makes it one of the greatest instrumental performances on a rock record period. And did I mention the singing is superlative? A+
The Flying Burrito Brothers: Burrito Deluxe (1973):
I find it hard to view the album, even without strong songwriting or a clear sense of direction, as a disappointment (to be fair, expecting a substandard follow-up probably helped a lot). Usually, I'd be pretty quick to dismiss an album such as this, but Burrito Deluxe has its charms for being a couple of deliberately unproduced jams with a strong rock and roll flare. Kleinow's pedal steel guitar has mostly retreated to the background, which is the biggest shame, but at least half of the songs--including "If You Gotta Go," "Older Guys," and "Down in the Churchyard"--have some of that Burrito magic. I suppose the album's charms only go so far though. Not only do the best songs on the album pale to the weakest on The Gilded Palace of Sin, but one of the album highlights, "Wild Horses," isn't even as good as the Stones' version, which I've never been enamored by. B
Gram Parsons: GP (1973):
Like on previous albums, Parsons proves himself to be one of the best interpreters of covers. He embodies them all five of cover songs to the point where it's hard not to think of them as his own--"Streets of Baltimore," "She," and "Kiss the Children" are among the album's defining material. Other than two duets with Emmylou Harris and a few harmonies on the choruses, Parsons is mostly alone at the mike and, with many slow numbers, he exhibits his amazing voice like never before. Although Harris only nails one of the duets--she comes on a little hard on "That's All It Took"--and the album could have benefited from one or two more standout tracks, Parsons continues to prove what makes him such a magical force in country rock. Deservedly so, GP still has a sizeable crowd that champions it. B+
Gram Parsons: Grievous Angel (1974):
Although GP featured a lot of slow numbers that allowed Parsons to show off his vocals, Grievous Angel is where he nails the vulnerability on all of them, especially on "Brass Buttons"--his reflection on his mother's premature death--and "In My Hour of Darkness"--a poignant song about the recent deaths of his friends. He also relaxes, throwing in "I Can't Dance" and "Ooh Las Vegas," probably his most straightforward and fun songs ever. I do wish that Parsons' had written more original material for the album, but mostly because the originals that do show up are among his best lyrics he's written. "Return of the Grievous Angel" and "$1000 Wedding" are both mangled stories--impossible to make sense of but crushing anyway. Despite a few slip ups--"Hickory Wind" is almost mediocre here--an album which would still excellent without Parsons's unfortunate death just before its release. A-
