The Flying Burrito Brothers (Country Rock)
English version · automatic translation
Anachronique: The Flying Burrito Brothers (Country Rock)
The Flying Burrito Brothers is a country rock band formed in 1968 on the West Coast of the United States. Its leader, Gram Parsons, is now recognised as one of the founding fathers of the genre. Before the Flying Burrito adventure, Parsons had already kicked off the country rock movement with The International Submarine Band – which released only one LP, Safe at Home, in 1968 -. He had also been part of the Byrds, no less. Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke, two members of the Flying Burrito, came from there too. The album that holds our attention today is The Gilded Palace of Sin, the band’s first album. Released on Edsel (also the label of Marc Bolan & T. Rex and Jesus and Mary Chain, among others) in 1969, it contains eleven tracks that take us by the hand, destination El Paso.
“Christine’s Tune“, the opening track, is one of the most country. First listens to this track can be disconcerting. Hidden inside is actually an altogether splendid folk song. Against a backdrop of women are devils, the Burrito brothers did not wait long before glorifying the opposite sex. It is a theme that comes up often in Flying Burrito songs, along with masculinity. “Do Right Woman“, an Aretha Franklin cover (written by Chips Moman and Dan Penn), also evokes this man world. While country is often described as men’s music, you realise that tracks like this one transcend the idea of sexuality. The arrangements come close to perfection, one more reason why The Gilded Palace of Sin is a cult album today. We get back on the horse for “Sin City“. We ride through that crazy town, Blanton’s in hand. We think the bottleneck is marvellous, and that a life of idleness must be the answer. Close behind comes “Dark End of the Street“, another track written by Moman and Penn, this time for James Carr (link). The Flying Burrito cover strays from the band’s country rock world and is surely closer to sixties standards. It took some nerve, covering R&B standards… To balance things out, “My Uncle” brings back a bit of the Far West. It is the last track on Side A.
“Wheels” may seem similar. It is nothing of the sort. The band uses a fuzzbox where no other band in the genre had dared until then. Country can have psychedelic sides. An album can glorify one musical style while reaching out to its opposite; that is another of the lessons of The Gilded Palace of Sin. The more classic “Juanita” paves the way for the titan that follows it. That monster is “Hot Burrito #1“, one of the most beautiful love songs of the sixties (and there was no shortage of those). Parsons’s emotion grabs you by the gut. His TV performance is a perfect example, a masterpiece you absolutely must not miss (link). The second verse will stay with us for a long time, “He may feel all your charms. He might hold you in his arms, But I’m the one who let you in“.
“Hot Burrito #2” follows with less grace and more drive. “How It Feels” walks us back towards the dusty road before the track “Hippie Boy” closes The Gilded Palace of Sin. This last track is a lovely story that I will leave you to read (lyrics). Parsons later confided, “We kept saying we got to do a song called ‘Hippe Boy’ about Chicago, and it’s got to be a narrative song, and Chris Hillman has to do it…It was the toughest challenge on the album“.
So yes, The Gilded Palace of Sin may at first give an impression of too much uniformity. But the thing is, this album is too rich for even the most reluctant listeners not to get past the country rock veneer. Each of the tracks on The Gilded Palace of Sin is a classic in the making. Try it! And besides, it is precisely that packaging, at once reactionary and revolutionary, that makes it such an innovative album.
When I listen to the Flying Burrito, not only am I transported into that deep America the album lets you hear from the very first notes, but I also find in it the sensitivity of the greatest pop songwriters, that of the Beatles, that of the Beach Boys. And the Flying Burrito remind me of the genius of the greatest albums, the ones that capture a piece of the universal.
The Flying Burrito’s influence is Bob Dylan (who, though he started before the Flying Burrito, would say that The Gilded Palace of Sin is his favourite country album), today it is Kurt Vile, and it is also certain Stones tracks. Parsons was a close friend of Keith Richards; they actually wrote “Wild Horses” together. His rock’n’roll friendships would burn his wings: Parsons died at 26 from a mix of alcohol and drugs. He never knew success, none of his songs ever having reached the charts. No comment.
So there you go: Still in Rock announced it on the occasion of the article on J.J. Cale, a horde of country-inspired articles was in the works. With The Gilded Palace of Sin, one of the greatest masterpieces of the genre has just been put under the microscope. One day, The Band, Neil Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival & co will join the dance…
Related links:
Article on Van Morrison
Link to ALL the anachronique articles
Original version (French)
“Wheels” peut sembler similaire. Il n’en est rien. Le groupe use de fuzzbox là où aucun autre groupe du genre ne s’y était osé jusqu’alors. La country peut avoir des aspects psychédéliques. Un album peut glorifier un style musical tout en tendant la main à son opposé, c’est l’une des autres leçons de The Gilded Palace of Sin. Le plus classique “Juanita” vient amorcer le titan qui le succède. Ce monstre, c’est “Hot Burrito #1“, l’une des plus belles chansons d’amour des sixties (et ce n’est pas ce qui manquait). L’émotivité de Parsons nous prend aux tripes. Sa performance télé en est un parfait exemple, une masterpiece à ne surtout pas manquer (lien). On se souviendra longtemps du deuxième couplet, “He may feel all your charms. He might hold you in his arms, But I’m the one who let you in“.
“Hot Burrito #2” enchaine avec moins de grâce et plus d’entrain. “How It Feels” nous raccompagne en direction du chemin poussiéreux avant que le titre “Hippie Boy” ne viennent clôturer The Gilded Palace of Sin. Ce dernier morceau est une belle histoire dont je vous laisse avec la lecture (texte). Parsons le confiera plus tard, “We kept saying we got to do a song called ‘Hippe Boy’ about Chicago, and it’s got to be a narrative song, and Chris Hillman has to do it…It was the toughest challenge on the album“.
Alors certes, The Gilded Palace of Sin peut, de prime abord, donner une impression de trop grande homogénéité. Mais voilà, cet album est trop riche pour que les plus réfractaires ne puissent passer outre le vernis country rock. Chacun des titres de The Gilded Palace of Sin est un classique en devenir. Faites l’expérience ! Et puis, c’est précisément cet habillage-là, à la fois réactionnaire et révolutionnaire, qui en fait un album si novateur.
Lorsque j’écoute les Flying Burrito, je me trouve non seulement transporté dans cette Amérique profonde que l’album donne à écouter dès les premières notes, mais j’y trouve aussi la sensibilité des plus grands songwritters de pop, celle des Beatles, celle des Beach Boys. Et puis, les Flying Burrito me rappellent le génie des plus grands albums, ceux qui capturent une part de l’universel.
The Flying Burrito Brothers – Hippie Boy(1969)