Where to start with Gram Parsons albums?

Agree. Gilded Palace and Griveous Ángel, two of the best albums of all.time!

 

This is great ! Thanks so much for the responses, all!

 

I find it interesting that almost everyone lists Grievous Angel as absolutely essential, while GP is kind of ignored other than the 2-fer and as part of his small discography. To me, they are like bookends, each equally essential - GP is probably the best expression of his 'Cosmic American Music' vision along with Gilded Palace, while Grievous Angel is more of a hardcore classic country duet record with Emmylou.

Both contain some of his most brilliant songwriting, although on GA he resurrected a couple of earlier compositions in "Brass Buttons" and "Hickory Wind". Both have well chosen covers, both contain some of his greatest vocal performances, and both have stellar backing bands, including the great James Burton and others from the TCB band. To me, they are impossible to choose between.

 

Is there anything a guy should look for in particular as for as pressings or reissues go for the “sleepless nights” album? Or “grievous angel” for that matter…..

I have seen on another thread that the original or early repressed Colombia is the way to go for “sweetheart of the rodeo”. You guys echo that?
Thanks!

 

The first ones seem to be the best; the 50th anniversary of Sweetheart on vinyl is not bad.

 

Huh?

 

Not strictly chronological, but you could start with Sweetheart, then move on to the FBB (available on a twofer), then onto the two solo albums (also available on a twofer).

 

On these "where do I start" threads, people invariably wind up recommending albums that aren't actually a good place to start. And when it's an artist with a very small catalog like Parsons, inevitably everything the artist released winds up being recommended. But this post is the best one in this entire thread, because it actually highlights the best three albums in Parsons' catalog (The Gilded Palace of Sin by the Flying Burrito Brothers, and his two solo albums GP and Grievous Angel) and it lists the best-mastered sources for these three albums (the two CDs pictured above). These two CDs are absolutely the best place to start with Parsons, no question. If you love them, then you can branch out to other stuff, but these two CDs give you his best work in the best available sound.

 

This is pretty much my plan …..can anybody speak to the most bang for your buck when going the vinyl route? From what I gather “sweetheart” on any early Columbia pressing should be good. How about FBB? Particularly “Gilded Palace of Sin”? Are the repressings from early 80’s or early 2000’s any good? Same question regarding “Grievous Angel”. I have heard the VMP of GA is outstanding, but does anything in a cheaper price range hold up? Or best to just get a VMP? Thanks !

 

Are the CD’s comparable to what a guy can find on LP? Are the CD recommendations coming from folks that strictly are into CD’s? No judgment here at all! Just curious if anyone has done comparisons. My setup is probably more geared to LP’s and I tend to listen to them more. (However I have contemplated buying more cd’s lately as they seem to be frequently suggested on the forum).

 

The original Reprise pressings of the two solo albums and the original A&M pressings of the first two Burritos records cannot be beaten, IMO. The GP/GA 2-fer CF sounds fine, but these records were meant to be heard on the OG vinyl IMO.

 

I find it odd, too. I myself consider GP to be slightly better than Grievous Angel, though I think both albums are pretty close in quality. So it's puzzling to me that there are people who think Grievous is significantly better. It's kind of a moot point anyway at this point, since the best way to hear them is on the twofer CD, so you don't have to choose.

 

Sleepless Nights CD has heavy-handed noise reduction. OG LP sounds better.

 

This is a great place to start! It has:
six of the nine tracks from the International Submarine Band's Safe at Home in their original stereo
Six of seven Gram vocals from the Sweetheart of the Rodeo sessions.
Eight of eleven songs from the Flying Burrito Burrito Brothers' Gilded Palace of Sin
Four songs from that band's Burrito Deluxe album including Gram's cover of Wild Horses.
Only two songs from the Burrito songs that make up Sleepless Nights. That's not a bad thing
Eight of eleven songs from Gram's solo debut
Three songs from the Live '73 Radio show,
Six of nine songs from Grievous Angel.

IMHO There are a couple of errors of omission, Either Zah's Blues Big Country from the Shilohs and the ISB's version of Truck Drivin Man should have been included. I would have found room for Grevious's version of Hickory Wind if someone had already thought to separate it from Cash On the Barrelhead as it appears on the Complete Reprise Sessions. I would have included both that and the original Byrds version. I once did a fade-in edit for a Gram collection.

The one bad move it makes is with Return of the Grievous Angel. It's called a remix, but there's a vocal that's not part of the originally released recording.

The OP should start here and then branch out. JMO

 

You have surmised correctly... I do not listen to records anymore, and I haven't done a direct comparison between any Parsons records and CDs. My recommendations are strictly digital. Those two CDs in the post I quoted are the finest digital representations of those albums. The Sin City CD (mastered by Gavin Lurssen) is particularly recommended, because there are a lot of less-than-stellar CD versions of the first Burritos album.

 

Geez Louise, I'm digging the OP's enthusiasm, but the core discography is basically only seven albums, right?

Roughly four hours of music. Start anywhere, the end will arrive pretty quickly!

 

Try this for the Burrito Tracks

https://www.discogs.com/master/2601...os-Dim-Lights-Thick-Smoke-And-Loud-Loud-Music

 

Good ol' Edsel Records. Releasing stuff before it was cool.

 

The CD layer on this sounds great
https://www.discogs.com/release/11113224-The-Flying-Burrito-Bros-The-Gilded-Palace-Of-Sin

 

These along with the single disc remaster of Sweetheart of the Rodeo were my first Gram,

 

You haven't heard the SACDs, have you?

 

Exactly. A comp is kind of pointless with such a small discography. Start with GP and GA, and Gilded Palace in whatever format you choose, and go from there. There's not a whole lot of real estate to cover here.

 

I have not. Never had an SACD player.

 

They sound fantastic.