Various Artists - Return Of The Grievous Angel: A Tribute To Gram Parsons

The gentle hand of Emmylou Harris guides this tribute to ill-fated country-rock avatar Gram Parsons, which goes a long way toward explaining why this star-studded salute avoids the pitfalls that befall many such projects. Harris got her start harmonizing with the patron saint of alt country, contributing mightily to Parsons's two early 1970s solo albums and reviving selections from his small, but indispensable, oeuvre throughout her career. She has a vested interest in finding a true connection between her former benefactor and this cast of Parsons partisans. Here she bands together a flock of followers who range from obvious offspring (Wilco, Gillian Welch, Whiskeytown) to not-so-evident disciples (Beck, the Pretenders, Sheryl Crow). Parsons's partner in the Flying Burrito Brothers, Chris Hillman, teams with Steve Earle on "High Fashion Queen," and David Crosby (like Parsons and Hillman, an ex-Byrd) joins Lucinda Williams on "Return of the Grievous Angel." Harris harmonizes with Beck on "Sin City" and shares the mic with Crow on "Juanita," one of the collection's highlights. Ultimately, Harris has assembled a homage that would've pleased her old mentor. --Steven Stolder Amazon.com

Gram done better than Gram

This is a really good album with artists doing Gram Parsons' work better than he could do it himself. Not that Gram Parsons was a bad performer --but the diversity of talent performing this material is truly outstanding. OK....it's not for the purists but it will appeal to those who really like Gram Parson's music and it is a fitting tribute to an artist who was lost before his full potential was realized. February 11, 2008

Classy tribute album made with love

The guiding hand of Emmylou Harris is in evidence on this fine tribute album to Gram Parsons ,an influential country rock icon who is held in awe by proponents of that genre .He left an indelible stamp on the genre ,from his first group of note ,The International Submarine Band through his stint with te Byrds ,and the Flying Burrito Brothers and culminating in his solo career .On both of his fine solo albums he duetted with the then relatively unknown Emmylou Harris who ,on relaunching her own solo career in 1973 used many of the musicians who played on the Parsons solo albums .She made no bones about the influence of Parsons on her own life and work and she is very much involved with this 1999 tribute album .She sings on 3 of its tracks and oversaw the project as Executive Producer

What does leap out of the album is the excellence of Parsons as a songwriter ,something often overlooked when people discuss his influence on music --the man left a legacy of good songs many of which are featured on this album
Two of the featured songs are from the Byrds period .Wilco despatch "One Hundred Years From Now "with some verve and panache ,although no great subtlety and there is a quite stunning version of "Hickory Wind "by Gillian West,one which captures the longing and melancholy with which the song is suffused .Its an album highlight .
The Burrito Brothers period is represented by a number of cuts .There is Sin City" done here in a duet between Harris and Beck which stands comparison with the seminal original ,but the same cannot be said of the version of Hot Burrito Number 1 by the Mavericks -its good but rather skates on the surface of the song .Emmylou returns ,duetting with the divine Sheryl Crow on Juanita ,whose key line "a bottle of wine and some pills on the shelf" seems to stand in some ways for the fatal problems in its author's hedonistic lifestyle
From the "Burrito de Luxe "album we get "High Fashion Queen" in a version by co-author Chris Hillman and Steve Earle which is good if not outstanding ,and also from the 1976 album " Sleepless Nights " we hear an Elvis Costello version of the title track .This benefits from a committd vocal and a deft arrangement making dexterous use of the vocalist's skills on piano ,vibraphone and celeste .

Then ,the solo albums .From "GP"there is a strong album opener ,She by The Pretenders and Emmylou Harris ,and the beautiful ,mournful A Song For You performed exquisitely by Whiskeytown .There are 4 songs from the second solo album "Grievous Angel",.Unfortunately one cut features current music's biggest waste of space and studio time the useless Cowboy Junkies whose anaemic crawl through Ooh Las Vegas is soporific beyond belief .However relief is at hand with the Julianna Hatfield -Evan Dando duet on $1000 Dollar Wedding (excellent) and the Lucinda Williams -David Crosby take on ,what for my money is Parson's finest song "Return of the Grievous Angel,
Completing the songs from the second solo album is In My Hour of Darkness performed by an alternative country "supergroup"=consisting of Buddy and Julie Miller,Jim Lauderdale and Mark Olsen (formerly of the Jayhawks)

I regret the lack of songs from the International Submarine Band era but overall this is a fine tribute to a key rock figure and one that should be in the collection of lovers of alternative country and country rock June 5, 2007

Treating the originals with respect

This album is very good cosmic country rock. The originals are classics, but this album respectfully covers them and even adds to some. This tribute has some outstanding tracks. Whiskeytown, and Ryan Adams, carry on the tradition of Gram more than anyone would imagine such a young, precocious, yet talented songwriter could do. Evan Dando and Juliana singing $1000 wedding is priceless! Buy it! It has been in heavy rotation for years. April 12, 2007

Lovingly Complete

You know an album is good when people disagree so vastly on the best part. For me, it was The Mavericks and Raul Malo's soulful tenor that got me (maybe because I've long felt they were the best band to two step to). My mother was taken by Ohh Las Vegas and had all kinds of questions about the Cowboy Junkies. The album filled the house and set the tone for a weekend (along with homemade biscuits). Highly recommended to anyone who likes soulful rock or country. Strangely, I found myself singing Willie, Waylon, & Me when we left the house. Hey. February 23, 2007

the American poetic justice award.

The Cowboy Junkies are so great on this, they manage to make `Ooh Las Vegas' sound good. Sometimes a song strikes me as not being very good musically. I did not like the original version of Warrens Zevon's song `Ain't That Pretty At All.' When I heard him do it live, it sounded better. Having a tribute for Gram Parsons is like taking Warren Zevon back to Paris with a whole gang of people who want to go to the Louvre Museum, get a good running start, and hurl themselves against the wall, because we would all rather feel bad than not feel anything at all. The big irony for me is that I never wrote a review for this CD before. I've had Emmylou Harris's version of five of these 13 songs since I bought her 1990 `Duets' CD, and I even have the 3-CD box set, `Emmylou Harris Portraits' (1996), which has five Gram Parsons songs plus the trio's version of an old hymn, `Farther Along,' which Gram Parsons probably sang with the Byrds on the `Sweetheart of the Rodeo' album. Only in 2006 did I make an effort to find out more about him and get most of his songs.

Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris jointly get credit for writing the song `In My Hour of Darkness,' which is nicely placed as the last song on this CD. It has three verses, with a tragedy about a young man and a deadly Denver bend in verse one, another young man safely strumming his silver-stringed guitar in verse two, and an old man, kind and wise with age in verse three. People ought to listen to this one like "He read me just like a book, and he never missed a page." February 21, 2007

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