“The Gilded Palace Of Sin” by The Flying Burrito Brothers - album review

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TJR says

Formed by Byrds dropouts Chris Hillman (24, electric and acoustic guitar, harmony, lead and backing vocals, mandolin) and Gram Parsons (22, lead and harmony vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, organ), the Flying Burrito Brothers line up was completed by Pete Kleinow (34, pedal steel guitar) and Chris Ethridge (22, bass guitar, backing vocals, piano). Of their debut, the Rolling Stone at the time said: “Together, the mercurial Gram Parsons and the level-headed Chris Hillman have concocted a crazily coherent statement of irony-fuelled hillbilly anthems, inventive covers and achingly beautiful two-part harmonies, all underscored by Sneaky Pete Kleinow’s radical pedal-steel guitar.” They’re certainly on the right side of the country track, with soulful and bluesy inflections that create a whole lot of genuine warmth. The best tracks are all killer, including the sensational “Sin City”, where the Everly Brothers meet Hank Williams downtown. In it, there’s a mention for The Byrds’s manager Larry Spector (“a gold plated door”) and Robert F. Kennedy (“tried to clean up this town”). It’s an ode to L.A. on one level – but hits out at the fat cats who would dance with the devil. Speaking of his former manager, Chris Hillman said: “Spector was a thief, it was as simple as that. And his condo – he lived on the 31st floor behind this awful, garish gold door.” Ooft. Is there any better place than the worldwide stage of an LP to wreak you revenge? The cryptic, hard-hitting dis may not have hit so hard at the time – the album was critically acclaimed, but a commercial flop – but it continues to charm new fans decades down the line. A familiar story for my kinda music…

The Jukebox Rebel
11–May–2006

Tracklist
A1 [03:04] 7.0.png The Flying Burrito Brothers - Christine’s Tune (Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons) Country
A2 [04:11] 10.0.png The Flying Burrito Brothers - Sin City (Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons) Country
A3 [03:56] 7.0.png The Flying Burrito Brothers - Do Right Woman (Dan Penn, Chips Moman) Country
A4 [03:58] 4.7.png The Flying Burrito Brothers - Dark End Of The Street (Dan Penn, Chips Moman) Country
A5 [02:37] 5.1.png The Flying Burrito Brothers - My Uncle (Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons) Country
B1 [03:04] 8.8.png The Flying Burrito Brothers - Wheels (Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons) Country
B2 [02:31] 8.0.png The Flying Burrito Brothers - Juanita (Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons) Country
B3 [03:40] 8.9.png The Flying Burrito Brothers - Hot Burrito #1 (Chris Ethridge, Gram Parsons) Country
B4 [03:19] 5.5.png The Flying Burrito Brothers - Hot Burrito #2 (Chris Ethridge, Gram Parsons) Folk Rock / Americana
B5 [02:09] 9.3.png The Flying Burrito Brothers - Do You Know How It Feels (Barry Goldberg, Gram Parsons) Country
B6 [04:55] 7.3.png The Flying Burrito Brothers - Hippie Boy (Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons) Country

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