Gram Parsons is one of the most influential characters in music in the past sixty years. Although he lived to only 26 years old, his brief flings with some of the greatest bands of all time paved the way for acts ranging from Elvis Costello and the Rolling Stones to Wilco and My Morning Jacket. Parsons meshed the genres of country, blues, and rock until they were inseparable and formed his own new style, “Cosmic American music.” Sadly, despite his tenure with The Byrds for the recording of Sweetheart of the Rodeo and his formation of The Flying Burrito Bros., his reckless life was only recorded by a handful of studio albums and even fewer live appearances.
Until recently, live recordings of Parsons have been few and far between, and the quality of those that could be found did not give justice to Parsons’s tender, soul-filled voice. However, thanks to Dave Pritz and the Grateful Dead’s sound engineer and taper Owsley Stanley, Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 has resurfaced after being locked inside the Dead’s vault for almost 40 years. Opening for the Grateful Dead in San Francisco, Gram Parsons and all the original members of The Flying Burrito Bros. played what would be two shows of epic proportions to any true fan of music. Each show has been digitally remastered and sounds as if you were staring right up at Gram as he pours his heart out to you.
The two shows are made up of almost identical set lists, ranging from Parsons originals such as “Hot Burrito #1” and “Sin City” to covers of Willie Nelson’s “Mental Revenge” and Hank William’s “You Win Again.” Alhough most of the song names are the same on both discs, the songs are revisited and reinvented each night, leaving the listener pleasantly surprised.
The second disc’s “Hot Burrito #1” is one of the many highlights of the set — from its methodic organ intro to Parsons’s unmistakable voice crying out the opening lines (“You may be cute and bright, but that won’t keep you warm tonight”), the song captures the essence of the band at the height of its career. This paves the way for the slow and sorrowful cover of “Long Black Limousine,” a heart-wrenching story of a friend’s return home for his burial. Two previously unreleased home recordings also accompany the collection. One of them stands out from the rest, Gram sitting at a piano doing a near perfect solo of his own “Thousand Dollar Wedding.”
Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 is just what any Parsons and Flying Burrito Bros. fan has been waiting for since Parsons’s death. The outstanding quality and prime choice of fan favorites comprise the best live recording from them so far, hands down. The only question that remains is: Will we have to wait another 40 years for the second volume to be dug up?
