Gram Parsons - G.P./Grievous Angel

On his two early-1970s solo albums, collected here on one disc, Gram Parson lends his fragile, aching tenor to music that's the definition of what he called "country soul." Neither of these titles is quite as strong as the work Parsons had previously done with the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, but with originals as great as "She" and "In My Hour of Darkness"--not to mention backing from Emmylou Harris and the core of Elvis's early-'70s band--both GP and Grievous Angel still stand as country-rock classics. --David Cantwell Amazon.com essential recording

Country Rocker With Alot Of Soul

G P released 1973,starts off with a bang winding it up with,Still Feeling Blue,a Gram Parsons original and keeps on rolling as Parsons does a cover of,Streets Of Baltimore,a Tompall Glaser/Harlan Howard composition,and then sings the soulful Parsons self-penned,She,a truly great song,this album showcasing fine musicianship,featuring James Burton on lead guitar,legendary steel guitarist Buddy Emmons as Emmons winds it up on,Kiss The Children,and of course Emmylou Harris on harmonies and vocals,Parsons discovered Harris in a nightclub in D.C.. G P closes with the potent rocker,Big Mouth Blues. Grievous Angel released 1974,also the title song as you listen to this it makes you think about breaking out a bottle of tequila and kick back and hear,Hearts On Fire,I Can't Dance and a couple live tunes recorded in Northern Quebec,featuring,Cash On The Barrelhead,Burton with a stand up guitar solo and then Parsons sings the ballad,Hickory Wind,and the next ballad Harris and Parsons harmonize on the classic,Love Hurts and Grievous Angel ends with the inspiring,In My Hour Of Darkness,if you've never heard Gram Parsons this Reprise cd is a must,and if someone were to walk up to me and say who does Gram Parsons compare to,I would say somewhere along the lines of Buffalo Springfield,Neil Young or maybe even Mel Street..but the true fact is Gram Parsons was his own style,you gotta hear it to believe it. July 22, 2008

I listen to this once in a while

The music on this isn't realy my kind of country, but still worth having in your country collection July 3, 2008

Gram Forever

I almost bought this in a show about 10 years ago and got something else instead. When I came back the next visit, it was gone. I always regretted not buying it that day. Better late than never. December 19, 2007

Two Legenday Albums!

This CD contains the two legendary albums that were released in the name Gram Parsons in 1973-74. Parsons has now become a legend as a pioneer in country-rock.

His status as legend may seem a little strange to people new to his music. Some tracks, especially on "GP" are almost pure old-school country, and generally the are not many groundbreaking elements in the music. Moreover Parsons' voice appears pretty limited and often comes out slightly shaky in the high register; e.g. "We'll Sweep Out the Ashes"

What are/were his strengths then? This CD documents that he was a great song-writer, especially of ballads, and he performs both his own originals and covers country-ballads convincingly. On several tracks he is helped by Emmylou Harris and their voices blend beautifully on most tracks. Harris also co-wrote one of the standout songs with Parsons; the closing track "In My Hour of Darkness".

On "GP", which was the only album released in Parsons lifetime, the standouts are the great country-rock ballads "A Song For You" and "The New Soft Shoe", both written by Parsons. His performance of the classic country-piece "Streets of Baltimore" is also moving.

"Grievious Angel", which generally is a stronger album, was released after Parsons' death in 1973, and the tracklisting was not overlooked by himself.

The album contains more beautiful original ballads of which "Return of Grievious Angel", "Brass Buttons", "$1000 Wedding" and "In My Hour of Darkness" all deserve to be classics.

Three live tracks show that Parsons and his band also were fine performers. "Hickory Wind" and "Love Hurts" are just great.

So if his untimely death may be part of the reason for his legendary status, here are so many great songs that it does not really matter if you consider him a legend or not. July 17, 2007

Great Music

This is an amazing CD. Gram Parsons is often and easily overlooked. For anyone who likes great music with a bit of country flare, this is for you. If you are considering buying this CD but are unsure, BUY IT. You won't be let down. May 16, 2007

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