Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons

Overview

Singing country with a rock attitude, giving folk a vocabulary of contemporary issues and ideas, and doing it all in a ragged tenor that came straight from the heart - this was Gram Parsons. Though he burned out on drugs and alcohol at the age of 26 almost a quarter century ago, Parsons's legacy continues to unfold in the music of artists such as Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Whiskeytown, Steve Earle, and Gillian Welch. They all appear on this album (which Harris, Parsons's duet partner at the twilight of his career and the dawn of her own, coproduced), along with less expected contributors. The Pretenders offer a blues-rock version of "She," and the Cowboy Junkies provide a spooky interpretation of "Ooh Las Vegas." Beck duets with Harris on "Sin City"; Linda Ronstadt provides backing vocals. All these tracks hail from Parsons's days with the Flying Burrito Brothers, as part of the Byrds, and, in the case of the title track, from his fruitful period with Harris, when Parsons's frayed tenor and Harris's fragile soprano combined to create a new voice. These moving songs, and the excellent interpretations herein, impart a measure of Gram Parsons's continuing power.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/13/1999
Label:	Almo Sounds
UPC:	0705178002428
catalogNumber:	80024

Tracks

1. She
2. Ooh Las Vegas
3. Sin City
4. $1000 Wedding
5. Hot Burrito #1
6. High Fashion Queen
7. Juanita
8. Sleepless Nights
9. Return of the Grievous Angel
10. One Hundred Years From Now
11. A Song for You
12. Hickory Wind
13. In My Hour of Darkness

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Emmylou Harris   Acoustic Guitar,Vocals,Track Performer
Chris Hillman   Acoustic Guitar,Vocals,Track Performer
Jim Lauderdale   Vocals
Mavericks   Track Performer
Elvis Costello   Piano,Celeste,Vocals,Vibes,Track Performer
Cowboy Junkies   Track Performer
Steve Earle   Acoustic Guitar,Vocals
Pretenders   Track Performer
Lucinda Williams   Acoustic Guitar,Vocals,Track Performer
Victoria Williams   Banjo,Vocals
John Jorgenson   Guitar
Juliana Hatfield   Bass,Track Performer
Sheryl Crow   Acoustic Guitar,Violin,Vocals,Track Performer
Julie Miller   Acoustic Guitar,Vocals
Beck   Acoustic Guitar,Vocals,Track Performer
Alan Anton   Bass
Roy Babbington   Bass Guitar
Dale Baker   Drums
Benmont Tench   Organ
Jay Bennett   Guitar,Piano,Background Vocals,Wurlitzer
Fran Breen   Drums
Martin Chambers   Drums
B.J. Cole   Pedal Steel Guitar
Jennifer Condos   Bass
Ken Coomer   Drums,Background Vocals
David Crosby   Vocals,Track Performer
Mike Daily   Pedal Steel Guitar
Evan Dando   Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar,Track Performer
Paul Deakin   Drums,Drum Loop
Skip Edwards   Piano
Michael Henderson   Electric Guitar
Andy Hobson   Bass
Dave Houghton   Percussion
Byron House   Bass
Chrissie Hynde   Vocals
Ethan Johns   Guitar,Mandolin,Percussion,Drums,Electric Guitar
Bernie Leadon   Electric Guitar
Greg Leisz   Mandolin,Rhythm Guitar,Lap Steel Guitar
Jay Dee Maness   Pedal Steel Guitar
Gurf Morlix   Lap Steel Guitar
Jerry Dale McFadden   Keyboards,Wurlitzer
Buddy Miller   Vocals,12-string Guitar,Melodica
Spooner Oldham   Electric Piano
Mark Olson   Vocals
Willie Ornelas   Drums
Robert Reynolds   Electric Bass
Brad Rice   Electric Guitar
Adam Seymour   Guitar
John Stirratt   Bass,Background Vocals
Pete Thomas   Drums
Michael Timmins   Guitar
Peter Timmins   Drums
Jeff Trott   Electric Guitar
Robby Turner   Pedal Steel Guitar
Jeff Tweedy   Vocals
Wilco   Track Performer
Steve Donnelly   Acoustic Guitar
Smokey Hormel   Guitar
Joey Waronker   Drums
Whiskeytown   Track Performer
Gillian Welch   Guitar,Drums,Vocals,Track Performer
Ed Foote   Hurdy-Gurdy
Nick Kane   Electric Guitar
Leland Sklar   Bass
David Rawlings   Organ,Vocals
Raul Mato   Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar,Vocals
Gregg Williams   Drums
Gabe Witcher   Fiddle
Ryan Adams   Guitar,Vocals
Richard Causon   Piano,Accordion,Hammond Organ
Tim Smith   Bass,Guitar
Rolling Creekdippers   Track Performer
Dave Trumfio   Background Vocals

Technical Credits

Emmylou Harris   Producer,Executive Producer
Sheryl Crow   Producer
Julie Miller   Producer
Mike Bradley   Engineer
Mark Capps   Engineer
Don Cook   Producer
Glyn Johns   Producer,Engineer
Steve Holroyd   Engineer
Ethan Johns   Producer
Raul Malo   Producer
Buddy Miller   Producer,Engineer
Herb Pedersen   Producer
Allen Sides   Engineer
Stephen Street   Producer
Michael Timmins   Producer
Wilco   Producer
Trina Shoemaker   Engineer
Mike Hagler   Engineer
David Rawlings   Engineer
Bernard Matthews   Engineer
Matthew Ellard   Engineer
Bud Scoppa   Liner Notes
Daryl Smith   Engineer
Meghann Ahern   Engineer
Paul Kremen   Executive Producer
Dave Trumfio   Engineer

Editorial Reviews

Although he's not as well known outside music circles as Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain, the early death of Gram Parsons was arguably just as great a loss. Parsons' country-rock hybrid became a touchstone for artists from the Rolling Stones to Elvis Costello to the '90s "alternative country" giants Uncle Tupelo and the Jayhawks. In addition to his importance as a songwriter, Parsons gave Emmylou Harris her big break. Now, Harris and co-executive producer Paul Kremen have handpicked an all-star list of artists, including Costello as well as Tupelo and Jayhawks descendants Wilco and the Rolling Creekdippers, for Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons. The songs, culled from Parsons' early days with the Byrds through his posthumously released solo album, Grievous Angel, are uniformly excellent, or better. The best covers, like Lucinda Williams and David Crosby's "Return of the Grievous Angel" and the Rolling Creekdippers' "In My Hour of Darkness," feature the soaring, intertwined harmonies Parsons and Harris turned into magic on the originals. Harris herself joins the Pretenders ("She"), Beck ("Sin City"), and Sheryl Crow ("Juanita") for songs Parsons did before he began recording with her. The resulting duets evoke why the original Grievous Angel, featuring Harris, was so stunning.

All Music Guide - Mark Morgenstein