Amoeba Records
2007
Live At The Avalon Ballroom [2 April 6, 1969]
About This Album
It's very easy to underestimate the importance of Gram Parsons to American music. He never had anything close to a hit, and while he was pivotal in the creation of country-rock, and by rote, alternative country, none of his direct efforts at it (the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, an album and a half with the Flying Burrito Brothers, his own two solo albums) stirred up any kind of mass public acceptance. Yet three decades and on past his death, Parsons' fragile version of what he called "cosmic American music" (a seamless blending of country, blues and rock) continues to make him a both a cult figure and a continuing influence on musicians traveling a similar path and synthesis in the 21st century. Parsons probably came closest to realizing his "cosmic American music" dream during his brief stay as a founding member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and so this double-disc release, which features well-recorded live sets from 1969 of the original Burritos lineup (Parsons, Chris Hillman, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Chris Ethridge, and Mike Clarke) opening two shows for the Grateful Dead at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco on April 4 and April 6, is a true archival treasure, perhaps doubly so because it comes direct from the famed Grateful Dead tape vault.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 10)

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Disc 2 (try tracks 7,10,11 and 13)

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