You know I can't let you slide through my hands…

Occasional Albums Thing 073 - The Flying Burrito Bros “Close Up The Honky Tonks 1968-1972”

Gram Parsons is someone we’ve talked about in this Blog quite a lot. He joined The Byrds, they thought, as a piano player but that was never Gram’s goal. He leaned on Chris Hillman’s existing love of Country Music and talked Roger McGuinn out of making an album covering all forms of American music and led The Byrds to make what is widely regarded as the first Country Rock album, “Sweetheart Of The Rodeo”, released in 1968.

Via a series of fortunate meetings and events, added to Gram’s refusal to tour South Africa with The Byrds, he departed and took Hillman with him. They formed The Flying Burrito Brothers and made two seminal Country Rock (or Cosmic American Music as Gram referred to it) albums, “The Gilded Palace Of Sin” and “Burrito Deluxe” (actually the Burrito’s made many more albums than two but just this first pair with Gram). Gram then went off and made his two incredible solo albums before departing this life way too young.

“Close Up The Honky Tonks” is a 2 LP compilation. LP 1 draws from those first 2 albums plus an orphaned single while LP 2 collects up a bunch of (at the time) unreleased tracks and some frankly ropey live stuff without Gram. But the reason I bought this album is purely for one track and it has just started playing as I write this.

In 1969/70 the Rolling Stones were writing and recording what would become “Sticky Fingers”. Gram Parsons had been hanging out with the Stones after meeting them in London (in fact many believe the reason he didn’t want to got to South Africa with The Byrds was less to do with cultural boycotts and more because he wanted to remain hanging out with the Stones) and striking up a close friendship with Keith Richards. He no doubt told them all about his new band. The Stones had a song they thought would benefit from some pedal steel guitar so sent a rough studio copy over to Burrito’s steel player Sneaky Pete Kleinow for him to sweeten up. Due to a label change the Stones had to re-record “Wild Horses” for “Sticky Fingers” but in the meantime the Burrito’s had added it to their set, recorded it and released it as the final track on “Burrito Deluxe”, a full year before the Stones.

Now I know this may well surprise or even anger some folks, as “Wild Horses” is such a revered song in the Rolling Stones canon, BUT, this version by The Flying Burrito Brothers does do-do’s all over the Stones take from a great height. Yes you read that right and I mean every word. Gram’s voice is cracked and fragile, the bands harmonies are perfect, Sneaky Pete really does sweeten things and if all that isn’t enough as we approach the final chorus Leon Russell adds a fractured, stumbling, yet at its close, strident piano solo that sends me right over the edge. The Stones made Gram promise not to release the Burrito’s take as a single and I can fully understand why.

Gram Parsons had a way with interpreting other people’s songs and leading them out into the Country. On side 3 here is the Burrito’s cover of The Bee Gee’s “To Love Somebody” (and if you’ve never heard James Carr’s Southern Soul take on that song what are you waiting for ???) which is a real heart-string tugger. 

Gram died tragically young and I can only imagine what he would have gone on to create had he not. One of the great lost ones…

Wild Horses - https://youtu.be/nV5ncVn15y0?si=IMj00Gwf3QUtl0Eu