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So the other day I decide to stroll down to Amoeba Music on Sunset.  Now for some reason, I always think it's necessary to plug the meter for 2 hours knowing full well that if I'm not out of Amoeba in 30 minutes or less I will have spent in excess of $300.  You see, Amoeba is heaven on earth for music and video lovers.  It also has all the temptations of hell.

Anyway, I walk in and right there in front of me, a product display of Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers Live '69.  Without hesitation, I picked it up.  I don't know much about Gram, but I know enough that he basically created country rock.  It would be difficult to find any other artist that had so much influence in such little time.  One might argue, Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughn maybe even the Doors...and that would be fair, but  Jim, Jimi and Stevie, while certainly legends, didn't create a whole new movement of music.  Jimi and Jim were a part of a movement...(late 60's) they helped form and perfect it. But the didn't create it.  Whereas Gram Parsons,  his sound created an entire new genre of music altogether; country rock.    

So on to the album, it's a double live set with some gorgeous liner notes.  This is an example of a purchase you do not want to make through Itunes (I don't think it's even available).  That night, Gram was opening for The Dead. It was recorded at the Avalon Ballroom In San Francisco. by Owsley (Bear) Stanley the long time Grateful Dead artist and chemist. 

The songs, his voice and the lyrics will make your heart melt.  I think he was about 23 when it was recorded but listening to the lyrics and the way he sings them, you'd think he lived 10 life times.  And in the end, that's no doubt why he and all the greats die.  They are too big and cannot be limited by earthly laws.  Yeah, yeah.. I know it sounds gay...but listen to this album and you'll know what I mean.

After reading how this album came to light and the passion that David Prinz had for this man, I had no choice but to fall in love with it.  I've been listening to it ever since and look forward to getting deeper into Gram.  If you're looking for some good heart wrenching folk and country rock (and gee, who isn't) then I highly recommend getting this album.  If not, and you just wanna learn a little more about the original West Coast sound, then read a little here.  In fact, music aside, I think he even managed to create rock and roll mysticism. 

Gram Parsons (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. A solo artist as well as a member of the International Submarine Band, The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, he is best known for a series of recordings which anticipate the so-called country rock of the 1970s and the alt-country movement that began around 1990. Parsons described his records as "Cosmic American Music". He died of a drug overdose at the age of 26. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #87 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Source

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