They were just a little too unique for the times, yet they helped create those times. While the British sound invaded the world and psychedelia was born in Northern California, Southern California was brewing its own concoction--a sound that wouldn't catch on right away, but later would become the foundation for artists who would be appreciated in both rock and country music like the Eagles and even later, Dwight Yoakam. While the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Poco were melding the two musical genres at L.A.'s Troubadour, the Flying Burrito Brothers--slightly more countrified in music and raw in attitude--were breaking ground and taking chances with a very uncommercial music at less polished venues in the San Fernando Valley. At the core of the band were two former Byrds--Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman.
After cutting his musical teeth on bluegrass, first as a member of the Golden State Boys, Chris Hillman had become a founding member of the Byrds in the mid-sixties. By the time Hillman and Parsons met in line at a bank, the Byrds had already carved a niche in the folk-rock scene and Waycross, Georgia's Gram Parsons, whose idol was Elvis Presley, had few credits to his name, except the little known International Submarine Band. Yet, there was something about him that gave cause for Byrds' leader Roger McGuinn to hire him in 1968. Parsons didn't stay long, just long enough to push the Byrds in a more country direction for Sweetheart of the Rodeo. As soon as he left the Byrds, Parsons was making plans for his next band which would definitely have a steel guitar. when Hillman departed the Byrds shortly thereafter, Parsons and he rejoined one another along with bassist Chris Ethridge. They just had to find that steel guitar. There was nothing sneaky or subtle about the way "Sneeky" Pete Kleinow injected his instrument into the overall Burrito picture. The former animator who had worked on Gumby, among other characters, legitimized the steel guitar--turning that old-fashioned twang from early country records into something cool and hip by drenching the Burritos in its sound.
The record deal came quickly. A&M convinced the band that they were the label for them and Parsons grabbed his bandmates and headed straight for Nudie's Rodeo Tailors to create a visual experience to go along with the audio. Manuel, Nudie's assistant, decked them out elaborately, including a jacket with embroidered marijuana leaves for Parsons who had a penchant for that, among other drugs. Then they proceeded to make the music that would become The Gilded Palace of Sin.
"Cosmic American Music" was the term Hillman and Parsons coined to describe the blend of sounds they chose to combine, but journalistically speaking, the music would be tagged with the less romantic description of country-rock (reportedly a distasteful characterization to Parsons). From the very first cut on both Gilded Palace. , "Christine's Tune (aka Devil in Disguise)," the listener is struck by the obvious juxtaposition of the country and rock genres with its acoustic instrumentation interrupted by spurts of searing electric guitar interludes.
Prior to the recording of the album, Hillman enjoyed what he recalled as their most productive period. He and Parsons were sharing a house in Reseda, dubbing it "Burrito Manor" and writing every morning, Hillman has said. "Sin City" was a gem that came during that time for which Hillman had the basis. As he told Ben Fong-Torres in the Parsons' biography Hickory Wind, "I was going through this horrible divorce at the time, where the wife had been going out with the road manager, and it was just a nightmare and it was making me crazy. Our manager had robbed us and I had quit the Byrds and there went my life. And this whole town is filled with sin."
While a series of session drummers tracked Gilded Palace. by their second album, Burrito Deluxe, they had asked former Byrd drummer Michael Clarke to join. Sadly, the band had already become victim to Parsons' undisciplined and unfocused behavior, aided and abetted by his use of drugs. Fortunately, though, the band's magic was able to come through on a few of its compositions, namely "Lazy Days," a driving, honky-tonking song penned solely by Parsons, and "Cody Cody" set against the backdrop of Hillman's sweet mandolin. It seems appropriate for many reasons that the Jagger/Richards piece "Wild Horses" should close this collection. Parsons seemed to believe it was the ultimate consummation of his friendship with the Rolling Stones' Richards, which Parsons, reportedly, was obsessed to cultivate. The song was not a gift as Parsons often liked to intimate, though. Supposedly, the Stones had recorded the song in Muscle Shoals and Richards had sent a copy to Parsons to see if "Sneeky" Pete would put some steel guitar on it. Parsons fell in love with the song and Richards gave his permission for the Burritos to record it, although Parsons' version of the story suggested that the song had been written for him. In a lot of ways, the lyrics Richards allegedly targeted tohis then-newborn son, Marlon, seemed to resonate truthfully with Parsons. when his mournful vocals cried out "I have my freedom but I don't have much time," it seemed prophetic. On September 18, 1973, just two months before his 27th birthday, Parsons died. He had already left the Burrito Brothers and was awaiting the release of his first solo album, but there is no doubt that some of his greatest work can be heard in the Burrito Brothers' albums.before the demons overcame him.
--Robyn Flans
