Monday, April 16, 2012

Gram Parsons - GP/Grievous Angel

Gram Parsons invented his own genre (country rock, but don't let his ghost hear you call it that) and made most of the best music in the genre. If all he ever did was discover Emmylou Harris, we should never stop singing his praises. The fact that he brought us all the Flying Burrito Bros. stuff, Sweetheart of the Rodeo by The Byrds, as well as these two fantastic solo albums (niftily collected on a single disc for your listening pleasure) puts him way over the top. Wilco and Ryan Adams should never stop building shrines to him. Merle Haggard should never stop kicking himself for not taking the opportunity to be involved in these two albums. I just can't be emphatic enough about how great these solo albums are and how great Gram Parsons was in general. Listen to "In My Hour of Darkness" and think about the fact that it's the last song on Gram Parsons' last album before his death and if it doesn't move you, I'll gladly refund all the time you spent reading this review.

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