Customer Reviews

Live 1973

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This CD proclaims itself as an "Original Unedited Broadcast". That is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, the sound quality is great, sounding as good as anything you might hear on the radio, and you get the amusing interactions of Parsons, The Fallen Angels and the host.

On the other, the production of this CD actually *needed* some editing. Not necessarily to take things out, but to organize the material better. Inexplicably, they left the verbal introductions to each song at the end of the previous track -- which means if you're strictly in the mood for the music, you'll have to wade through a lot of talking after each song is done. The worst case, however, is that the verbal intro ("Sometimes all you can do is sing gospel music...") and opening chords of "Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man" ended up as the ending of the track "Country Baptizing", effectively divorcing the two parts of the song. I don't mind including the radio chatter as part of the atmosphere of this thing, but they should have done what Roger McGuinn's Live from Mars did -- separate the banter into separate tracks whenever the banter lasts too long and doesn' t relate to the song at hand. In the case of "Drug Store Truck", I had to edit the tracks back together myself just to preserve the original song.

This technical criticism aside, I love the music. Parsons' music is heartfelt, easygoing and melodic, and his vocal interplay with Emmylou Harris (while obviously more polished on their studio recordings) makes for my favourite harmony team of all time. And Parsons and the Angels prove they can rock out on the "encore medley", which includes two Chuck Berry compositions, while the musical beauty of "Streets of Baltimore", "Country Baptizing" and "The New Soft Shoe" is pristine.

A flawed release that needed some more judicious technical polish, but whose content warrants praise.

This is a "live in the studio" performance recorded before a small audience for an "underground FM" station in Long Island (remember those?).

"Uneven" is the word that springs to mind. It starts out with a great version of "We'll Sweep Out the Ashes," and radiates a certain loose charm throughout... but Emmy Lou has a terrible time staying on mike (at one point someone jokingly tells her to "sing into the little black thing"). And some songs work a lot better than others. If it were an LP and I had to listen to every track in order, it probably would stay on the shelf, but I've actually listened to it quite a bit, track-skipping past the dubious moments.

If you like Gram Parson, it's worth buying, but it's not "Gram Parsons at his best."

Having an opportunity to hear Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris perform in front of a live audience is too much to pass up - and despite some decidely '70s-ish prattle between songs, Gram, Emmylou, and the Fallen Angels give a wonderfully loose-but-right performance. As one would expect, the vocals are otherworldly - "Love Hurts" is more heartbreaking than the "Grevious Angel" version, and new life is breathed into "Streets of Baltimore," aided by Neil Flanz's discrimiating pedal steel work.

I struggled between 4 and 5 stars for this, as the band's performance is a bit uneven - but the vocals are fabulous, and the recording is a further reminder of the vision (and untimely death) of a seminal figure in modern country music. Gram Parson's influence continues to this day.

For those of us who saw Gram on this tour, this is the record. Just a night or two before this was broadcast, Gram played almost the same set at Max's Kansas City--the only difference was his encore of Hank Williams's Jambalaya. What a night! I heard the original broadcast and taped it on a reel to reel and later transferred it to a cassette long before the complete concert was eventually issued. This is Gram. And Emmylou. And the touring band. Great songs and feeling that you don't find every day. Yea, I like the little that Gram left behind, but as far as live shows go, it beats the bootlegs of The Burritos or endless outtakes of the Reprise sessions. When I wish there were one more Gram Parsons album out there somewhere, I put this one on, and Gram lives.

this is a good live cd.i think the sound is better on this disk than any other of grams cds.it is a must have for any GP fans.the interviews between the songs are really cool.its geat to get to here GP singing DRUG STORE TRUCK DRIVIN MAN.CRY ONE MORE TIME might be the best song on here.SIX DAYS ON THE ROAD is really cool to, GRAM changes the words a little bit to more fit him. THE NEW SOFT SHOE,COUNTRY BAPTIZING,STREETS OF BALTMORE,THATS ALL IT TOOK, and CALIFORNIA COTTONFIELDS are really great versions too.

Essential CD! Some of the reviews have mildly complained about quality and lack of perfection. As one who cut his teeth on country in rough and tumble honky tonk bars I must say these "flaws" make it more accessible to my ear, more authentic. This cd is crakling with energy. I love the solos on "6 Day On The Road". Textbook country rock. This aint no watered down slickly produced Eagles or latter day Emmilou. This is a document of a working band on the road tearing it up just the genre demands! Look elsewhere for perfection look here to ROCK!
W!

What a treat! This live album gives us all a chance to here Gram live with a crackerjack band. Gram left us way too early but at least we have this live disc and some tapes from this tour to experience Parsons at his top. The band which includes Emmylou Harris on harmony and lead vocals really knows how to deliver the goods. Anyone who is a GP fan should have this concert. Let's hope the record companies find and release some more concert recordings they might uncover.

This is the album that turned me onto Gram Parsons and then the Flying Burrito Brothers. I came across this purely by accident but what a gem it is. A long time fan of Emmylou Harris I'm simply blown away by the energetic yet beautiful duet. About the only thing more I could wish for is this CD to be longer or have a second disc I could buy.

I would personally place this album ahead of GP and slightly behind Grievous Angel in quality of performance. I find the DJ chat interesting in what it reveals about the personalities of the musicians on that fabled tour. The band sounds generally tight and exuberant, and I think this reflects the fact that they had been on tour for several months and had reached a level of comfort with each other. Several of the cuts are superior to their versions on the studio albums, particularly Love Hurts, The New Soft Shoe, and That's All It Took. Gram's voice is smoother here than it often was on GP. As has been mentioned, Glanz' performance on steel guitar is terrific, and I think that tour guitarist Jock Bartley's rock sensibility compares favorably with Jimmy Burton's work on the studio sides.
This album gives a wonderful insight into what those legendary tour shows must have been like, and for those fans who didn't or couldn't see Parsons live, this one is indispenseable.

This is an excellent live recording of music. Unfortunately it also features several overlong sections of the band talking in a pointless, boring way between songs. Some of these passages of blather last for three minutes. If you can program out the passages of talking on your CD player, you will enjoy the album a lot more. Gram and Emmylou are in great voice and the material, mostly drawn from the "GP" album, is excellent.