The Gilded Palace of Sin [Import]

Amazon.com
After exiting the Byrds, Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman formed the Burrito Brothers and recorded The Gilded Palace of Sin, an alternative country record before there even was such a thing. It's all thrilling: the country-ish covers of soul classics such as "Dark End of the Street," the distorted pedal-steel fills of Sneaky Pete Kleinow, and the classic country-rock compositions like the bluegrassy draft-dodger's anthem "My Uncle" and the amazingly twangy critique of capitalism, "Sin City." Along with the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, this is the premier example of Parsons and Hillman's prescient hippie-from-Muskogee aesthetic. Nine of Palace's 11 songs are available on the 21-track Farther Along anthology, an option bargain hunters may want to explore. But there's no replacing the full original. --David Cantwell

The Gilded Palace of Sin,The Flying Burrito Brothers,Edsel Records UK,Country,Country-Rock,Pop,Pub Rock,Rock,Rock & Roll,Rock/Pop

Average customer rating: Great Double CD One of Gram's best paired with a solid release on one CD Great music at a bargain price Gram Parsons-The father of Country-Rock! Walking the line

The Gilded Palace of Sin/Burrito Deluxe The Flying Burrito Brothers Manufacturer: Ume Imports ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Sweetheart of the Rodeo G.P./Grievous Angel Live 1973 The Complete Reprise Sessions Gram Parsons - Fallen Angel ASIN: B000024R2P Release Date: 2004-08-09

Tracks:

1. Christine's Tune
2. Hot Burrito #1
3. Hot Burrito #2
4. Do You Know How It Feels
5. Hippie Boy
6. Lazy Days
7. Image Of Me
8. High Fashion Queen
9. If You Gotta Go
10. Man In The Fog
11. Farther Along
12. Older Guys
13. "Cody, Cody
14. God's Own Singer
15. Down In The Churchyard
16. Wild Horses
17. Sin City
18. Do Right Woman
19. Dark End Of The Street
20. My Uncle
21. Wheels
22. Juanita

Album Description

Digitally remastered two-on-one of their first two LPs,1968's 'The Gilded Palace Of Sin' & 1969's 'Burrito Deluxe',the only albums they did with Gram Parsons. The line up herealso includes ex-Byrds Chris Hillman & Michael Clarke, plusthe Eagles' Bernie Leadon. 22 tracks total, including 'SinCity', 'Christine's Tune' and 'Dark End Of The Street'. 1997A&M release.

Album Details

Digitally Remastered Edition of Two Great Albums on a Single CD! the First Two Albums from the Fabled California Group featuring Former Byrds Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman. These Two Albums Represent the Mold that Many Other Southern California Bands Followed in Establishing the Laid Back California Country Sound. Songs Like "Sin City", "Wheels", "Farther Along" and their Cover of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" and Both "Hot Burritios" Are Just Some of the Many Songs that Others have Used as Inspiration. These Are Gram Parsons at the Peak of his Songwriting Powers Before He Would Leave to Pursue a Solo Career as a "Rock Star".

Customer Reviews:

Great Double CD.......2007-03-09

I really enjoyed this double CD. It showed me the roots of a lot 70's California Rock groups. You also can see an evolution between the 1st and 2nd CD.

One of Gram's best paired with a solid release on one CD.......2006-12-22

Gilded Palace of Sin is right up there with Sweetheart of the Rodeo and GP as the best of Gram Parsons' work. This disc presents that album alongside the Bros' second, less transcendent album, Burrito Deluxe. Both albums find Gram doing his thing as usual--country rock when Parsons was the most original name in the game, with some interesting arrangements and usually upper-end songwriting.

The first album included here is a classic, and the main reason for purchasing the CD. A lot of critics say that The Gilded Palace of Sin is Gram's best work ever. It doesn't really matter to me which album of his is ranked as #1--it's pretty arbitrary. No matter which is his very best, it's a really great album. Gram's songwriting (often with the aid of Hillman) is really strong here--from uptempo songs like the opener, "Christine's Song" and the scathing draft-dodging "My Uncle" to midtempo grinders like "Sin City" and "Wheels" (a personal favorite. He's got a knack for fusing genuine country with rock elements and providing some earnest lyrics that often bear his unique, characteristic wit and charm. Covers are well-chosen too; the two R&B tunes, "Do Right Woman" and "Dark End of the Street" fit right in with the straight up country. The two "Hot Burrito" songs are also two of the best, most emotional cuts on this album.

Parsons' sometimes thin voice sounds really good here--he sounds the best when he's singing a well-written song, conjuring a lot of moving emotion (you don't have to have the best voice, as long as you can sing like you really mean it). One of the best things about this album is the arrangements--not only is there some great pedal steel for those hardcore country fans, there's some tasteful keyboards and some real gnarly fuzzed-out electric guitar that lend this album a really unique sound and add a touch of almost psychedelia to the mix. It really adds to the classic status of this one, in my opinion. I can't forget to mention the closing track, a call for peace between hippies and country squares alike, with great spoken-word in the style of many country artists. None of this would work or sound authentic if Gram Parsons didn't really have his heart in it--his genuine delivery prevents the music from seeming tongue-in-cheek. The first album alone is reason enough to buy this CD and I heartily recommend it.

Burrito Deluxe definitely flags in quality in comparison with its predecessor. The songs aren't quite as good--"Older Guys" just seems kind of like a brainless fraternity romp, and "Image of Me" and "God's Own Singer" just aren't very convincingly written or performed (Gram doesn't really sound quite into it). "Lazy Days" is much better as a bonus track on Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The covers aren't that great either; "If You Gotta Go" is awkwardly arranged and "Wild Horses," even though the Bros released it before the Stones, drags quite a bit, especially for an album closer. I don't want to rag on it too much, though--the playing is still pretty good, with skillful pedal steel and a solid rhythm section. When Gram is into it ("Farther Along" and "Cody Cody," for example) it approaches the band's superior debut. Unfortunately, the noticeably lackluster songwriting and energy, combined with marginal sound (I was surprised how different the two albums sound in quality on the same CD) makes Burrito Deluxe definitely not an essential release. Fortunately, they're both on the same CD, so Burrito Deluxe works great as a bonus for the iconic Gilded Palace. I strongly recommend this CD and hope you enjoy it!

Great music at a bargain price.......2006-10-07

Sometimes there is justice in this world. The fact that the Flying Burrito Brothers' music is alive and well at the beginning of the new millenium bodes well for all of us. They were not well known back in 1969 and the early 70s. Their very brief time alloted to them in the film "Gimme Shelter" is indicative of their status in the world of popular music at the time. While they still may not sell a lot of records even today, at least their reputation as great musicians and as a talented group remains intact, and, if anything has grown with time. This collection has all the songs from their first two albums, which, to be truthful, are the only essential recordings by the Burritos. These recordings coincide with the tenure of the very talented singer/songwriter Gram Parsons, who is a legend today. Chris Hillman's contribution to the Burritos are often slighted, but he was a full partern with Parsons in the creation, playing, singing, and songwriting for the group. One could argue that the ying/yang of Parsons/Hillman, trading off roles of wild-emotional/calm-restrained really made the group what it is. They had talented collaborators, too, with the late, great Sneaky Pete on steel guitar, Chris Etheridge on bass for the first album, and Bernie Leaden on guitar for the second. Michael Clarke, like Hillman and Parsons a former member of the Byrds, provided the drumming on the second album. My only complaint about this collection is that the songs are not in the original order, but that's a minor complaint for this well-price offering.

Gram Parsons-The father of Country-Rock!.......2006-10-05

The first album is very mellow with great harmonies. It sounds like Buck Owens early in his career with the "freight train" songs combined with the late '60s Buck Owens and the finger picking of Don Rich with examples from "Where Does the Good Times Go" "How Long Will My Baby Be Gone" "Sweet Rosie Jones" "I've Got You On My Mind Again" and "Tall Dark Stranger." The second album has more variety from gospel to polka to a Bill Anderson-type song to old school honky tonk. What I mean is "Farther Along" "Man in the Fog" "High Fashion Queen" and "If You Gotta Go." These two albums really knocked me out musically speaking. I wish Country Music now sounded more like this. Really enjoyed it!

Walking the line.......2006-08-11

This two-fer CD gives consumers the opportunity to purchase remastered versions of the first two releases by this seminal band from the late 1960's at a ridiculously affordable price. The two discs were released in 1968 ('Gilded Palace of Sin') and 1969 ('Burrito Deluxe'), and in their later incarnation, the artists involved composed 3/5 of what was once known as 'The Byrds' (guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist Gram Parsons, drummer Michael Clarke, and bassist and vocalist Chris Hillman). This band is often credited with pioneering the Country-Rock genre, although those kudo's must certainly be shared with Roger McGuinn's Byrds and Buffalo Springfield, and myriad other bands who dabbled in the effort. The Flying Burrito Brothers, however, certainly embraced the new, unfolding sound unlike any predecessor. Unfortunately, since youth culture was still thoroughly immersed in the sounds of acid-rock and the emerging heavy-metal genre, devoting entire albums to country-rock spelled disaster for the FBB's. Their debut album sold only 50,000 copies.

Featuring two rhythm guitarists, a steel pedal guitar, and a bassist, along with four session drummers, 'Gilded Palace...' was inclined to sound like nothing previously known in rock parlance. The band walked the line between country and rock, more often emphasizing the country in tunes such as 'Do Right Woman', with it's tight harmonies and sweet steel guitar courtesy of Sneeky Pete Kleinow, and 'Do You Know How It Feels'. Most of the lyrics pursue traditional country music themes, such as love lost ('Hot Burrito #1) with it's Byrd-like chiming guitar sound, or religion, such as a trio of songs from 'Burrito Deluxe', 'Farther Along' ("we'll all understand it in the by and by"), 'God's Own Singer', and 'In the Churchyard'. The Burrito's could be musically adventurous, of course, and such fare can be spotted in tracks such as 'Christine's Tune', which sounds like a precursor to the Eagles' 'Lyin' Eyes', 'My Uncle', an upbeat celebration of draft evasion, which seemingly misappropriates the traditional patriotic sentiments of country music. Two songs resonate with melodies reminicent of Neil Young's 'Old Country Waltz' from his 'American Stars & Bars' album ('Sin City' and 'Image of Me'), while 'Dark End of the Street' and 'Older Guys' (with a massive, pounding bass line from Hillman) sound Eagle-ish. And when listening to 'Juanita', see if you can't hear strains of 'I Like the Christian Life' simmering beneath.

Instrumentally, the Burrito Brothers could be experimental as well. On 'Wheels', a song not surprisingly about goin' mobile, Gram Parsons makes intriguing use of the synthesizer to extract an oversided growl, enlarging on the traditional country sounds supporting it. On 'Hippie Boy', the largely spoken lyrics meander around a dialog between a redneck and a hippie, with the apparent moral of the tale being, "never carry more than you can eat". The shortest track on the disc is the 1:48 cover of Bob Dylan's bouncy 'If You Gotta Go', featuring a rare electric guitar lead from Bernie Leadon, while the longest track (6:20) is the closer, another cover, this time of the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards composition, 'Wild Horses'. The FBB version is not radically different from, nor better or worse than the Stones' version... which is a compliment in itself. 'Man In the Fog' is unique for Leon Russell's piano and accordian-driven melody. One of my favorite Chris Hillman compositions, 'Hot Burrito #2', is given a restrained and lavished production here, which veils it's potential as a great rock and roll number (try to catch a version of this in the able hands of Stephen Stills and Manassas, with Chris on lead vocals... it's a very hot burrito!).

'Gilded Palace of Sin' and 'Burrito Deluxe' possess a historical and musical value that add significant clout to their merit as an artistic piece. Probably half the tunes offered spur associations to classic country-rock excursions that would follow by bands such as Stills' Manassas and the Eagles, and it's fascinating in itself to hear "where it all began". The quality of the musicianship is also without question. The only shortcoming is that some of the music, while revolutionary in the hands of rock and roller's in their prime, is nothing more than traditional country music. Had the band tilted just a bit more in favor of their rock roots, these albums would not only have sold better, but also played better. These are essential recordings for anyone favoring the work of the latter day Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and artists such as Bob Dylan, Stephen Stills, and the Eagles.

Average customer rating: A Must Have and a Classic!!! gilded palace of sin The GOLDEN CASTLE of TRUTH -- Burrito/Byrds Excursion

The Gilded Palace of Sin The Flying Burrito Brothers Manufacturer: Edsel Records UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music General | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Country | Imports | Stores | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Sweetheart of the Rodeo G.P./Grievous Angel Safe at Home Live 1973 Hot Burritos! The Flying Burrito Bros. Anthology 1969-1972 ASIN: B0000011SS Release Date: 1994-06-16

Tracks:

1. Christine's Tune
2. Sin City
3. Do Right Woman
4. Dark End Of The Street
5. My Uncle
6. Wheels
7. Juanita
8. Hot Burrito No. 1
9. Hot Burrito No. 2
10. Do You Know How It Feels
11. Hippie

Amazon.com

After exiting the Byrds, Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman formed the Burrito Brothers and recorded The Gilded Palace of Sin, an alternative country record before there even was such a thing. It's all thrilling: the country-ish covers of soul classics such as "Dark End of the Street," the distorted pedal-steel fills of Sneaky Pete Kleinow, and the classic country-rock compositions like the bluegrassy draft-dodger's anthem "My Uncle" and the amazingly twangy critique of capitalism, "Sin City." Along with the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, this is the premier example of Parsons and Hillman's prescient hippie-from-Muskogee aesthetic. Nine of Palace's 11 songs are available on the 21-track Farther Along anthology, an option bargain hunters may want to explore. But there's no replacing the full original. --David Cantwell

Customer Reviews:

A Must Have and a Classic!!!.......2006-07-24

Get a good stereo or a good set of headphones and become enlightened. Describing this album with words does it an injustice. #192 on The Rolling Stone 500.

gilded palace of sin.......2006-07-01

with all the current interest in the life of the late Gram Parsons it should be pointed out that a purchase of the Flying Burrito Bros debut album wil not be a disappointment. The songs are 1st rate and Parsons was still healthy and hadn't yet started his sad decline. Anyone who's interested in Southern California musicians will also enjoy it.

The GOLDEN CASTLE of TRUTH.......2006-06-07

Though the ironic album cover art is somehow perfect for this complete reassessment of Country music as a popular form, its low-rent look of a shack as the "PALACE" of the title, and the apparently clichéd embroidered Nudie suited band members, perhaps turned off more listeners who were used to eye catching artistry by 1969. Whatever the reason, The Flying Burrito Brothers GILDED PALACE OF SIN, released early in 1969, sold very few albums (under 60,000) and is perhaps the most overlooked, yet influential record album, of all American popular music since its release.

From the compellingly catchy opener "Christine's Tune" any listener who dared to put on this bargain bin record album the year it was released, or for many years after, was hooked and stunned by the richness, gentle thoughtfulness, and amazing tunes within. The epic "Sin City" momentarily stunning for its incredibly authentic Nashville sound, is the most startling song ever written about Los Angeles, its promise and materialism.

"Do Right Woman" by Dan Penn and Chips Moman illustrates the tender romantic in Gram Parsons, providing one of the most tuneful tracks and a classic. "Dark End Of The Street" by Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn, is straightforwardly presented, yet results in universal and heartbreaking exposure and one of this albums most powerful tracks. "My Uncle" apparently the weakest track being dated to the Viet Nam War era, ironically may now be more relevant today with the war in Iraq; nonetheless it is superbly tuneful. "Wheels" is a moderately paced Rocker, a stirring anthem of the road, echoing American individuality, but also reminding the listener of the price one pays for freedom. The interplay of guitar, bass and mandolin here is awe inspiring. "Juanita" brings all of the urban blight of then and now to fruition as an epic romance of a young loser drug addict salvaged by his good woman. Though Parson's uses the word "dirty" twice in his lyric, he's making a point in telling his true American love story.

Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, who wrote most of these wonderful songs, then provide gorgeous unexpected melodies like "Hot Burrito #1" (don't let the song's title fool you; apparently these guys threw songs out and cockily the same with song titles.) "Hot Burrito #1" is the most wrenching, melodic song I've ever heard. "Hot Burrito #2" (despite its turn-off throwaway-song-title-of-the-century) presages Todd Rundgren, Elton John, and Billy Joel. "Burrito #2" will open your ears to the soul baring and ballsy lyric that I'm surprised A&M allowed. In one song postured reverent, in another, just shy of blasphemous. In vulgar vernacular: Hot S**t! Especially for a Country boy. At first listen, I was hooked on this album, but if one were not paying attention and happened to only catch tracks like "My Uncle" and "Hippie Boy" (which closes the album) these might be perceived in their tuneful, spiritual inspired country rock, as simply fun. There is much more truth going on here than that. The Flying Burrito Brothers have fun, but never let their Rock sensibility, Country credentials, or musicianship, slip below anything less than superb. "Hippie Boy" in fact brings it all back home, as Dylan might have appreciated, bringing it back to the people, those all who disagree about how to live, and how to pray, and how to make love, and still have so much more in common, becoming a Country song expanded into a late 20th century super bowl venue including Gram Parsons preaching tongue in cheek, concluding with a spiritual, a cheering audience, and a transcendent steel guitar courtesy of Sneaky Pete.

Guitar, Keyboards: Gram Parsons; Guitar, Mandolin: Chris Hillman; Piano, Bass: Chris Ethridge; Steel Guitar: "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow. This perfect album is a miracle for predicting the emergence of the "California" sound, which dominated AM radio for much of the 1970s, right beside R&B classics. Owed much to The Byrds (a band which Chris Hillman was a founding member and Gram Parsons a late member of briefly during recording of THE BYRDS beloved yet also low-selling album, SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO) and also owes much to Rick Nelson. I have to point out that Rick's now less well known albums of the early 1960s (particularly ALBUM SEVEN BY RICK and RICK NELSON SINGS FOR YOU - the Decca album, not the Imperial back stab) are echoed on PALACE, as well as Rick Nelson's Pop sensibility, and influence in L.A., at the time of this release, and for quite a few years prior. Yet, like the greatest of artists rising above all of their influences, THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS bring an amazingly fresh take on pure Country and Rock, or "Cosmic American Music" as Gram (Ingram) Parsons liked to call the treasures contained within THE GILDED PALACE OF SIN.

--.......2003-09-09

I'm of the opinion that country music died with this record. I think that it accomplished everything that country music ever tried to accomplish and that everything that's come after has been a pose to make money by playing to cliche. As the title implies, the Burrito Brothers were playing to established country music themes such as adultery, substance abuse, Satan and one night stands. However, they ADDED to these themes and enhanced them rather than simply rehashing them and calling them their own.

They made draft-dodging into genuine country tragedy in 'My Uncle', they demonstrated that country music was nothing more than white man's soul music by adapting the soul tunes 'Do Right Woman' (made popular by Aretha Franklin) and 'Dark End of the Street (done earlier by James Carr) into country tunes and doing it so successfully that if the listener hadn't known they weren't country songs beforehand, then they would never suspect otherwise. Also, although it sounds a little dated today, Sneaky Pete Kleinow's fuzz steel guitar runs on 'Christine's Tune' and 'Hot Burrito #2' were nevertheless a first for country music. The only thud on the record is the final song, 'Hippie Boy,' which can be avoided easily.

A direct line can be drawn from the backwoods, Judgement Day Christianity that the Louvin Brothers grew up on and feared to the music on 'The Gilded Palace of Sin'. The Burrito Brothers managed to take those doomsday religious themes from the Appalachians right into modern-day Las Vegas in 'Sin City' and hinted that inevitable punishment would be their acknowledged destination for being involved with 'Juanita' and the female co-conspirator in 'Dark End of the Street'. Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman were able to wear their nudie suits (virtual replicas of those owned by the Louvins twenty years earlier) with the same gaudy sense of perverse sin as their influences, but with an outsider's grin that suggested they were in on the joke. For the sake of argument though, the fact that the Louvins were not outsiders increases their charm in retrospect. They were the genuine article.

I don't respect Parsons as a person, but there's no question that he understood what country music was about more than his country-rock contemporaries like Poco and the Eagles. Hillman's contributions to the record should not be overlooked either - especially his sympathetic vocal harmonies.

This is the last relevant original country music we're likely to ever hear again. The way the country music industry is set up today, hedonism like this will never again be acceptable for radio play and anyone wishing to expand on it will be buried in obscurity.

Burrito/Byrds Excursion.......2003-06-24

This is the best country rock album to ever come out-this album along with the Byrds -Sweetheart of the Rodeo album introduced the world to country rock-the way it should be played--great vocals*(Listen to this album in headphones-dual vocals)I played a Vinyl copy of this from the day it came out to the day my record wore out-and than I replaced it over and over again-check out the cover-Hillman and Parsons look very high in their "Nudie" outfits with grass leaves on them. When this album came out-they appeared on American Bandstand exactly the way they were on the album-same outfits and very high-I saw this but I have not seen it again-it was quite rare for commercial TV in 1968. This album and Sweethearts of the Rodeo are must have albums.

Average customer rating:

The Gilded Palace of Sin The Flying Burrito Brothers Manufacturer: Edsel ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000563P6

Tracks:

1. Christine's Tune
2. Sin City
3. Do Right Woman
4. Dark End of the Street
5. My Uncle
6. Wheels
7. Juanita
8. Hot Burrito No. 1
9. Hot Burrito No. 2
10. Do You Know How It Feels
11. Hippie Boy - The Flying Burrito Brothers, Miss Pamela

Average customer rating:

Gilded Palace of Sin Flying Burrito Bros. Manufacturer: Edsel Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B0002B60LA Release Date: 2002-05-22

Average customer rating:

Gilded Palace of Sin/Burrito Flying Burrito Brothers ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000254HEI

Average customer rating:

The Gilded Palace Of Sin & Burrito Deluxe Flying Burrito Brothers Manufacturer: A & M ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music ASIN: B000LXMBTY

Average customer rating:

Gilded Palace of Sin/Burrito Deluxe ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000A29AT0 Release Date: 2003-03-10

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