Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Disc 1 Is Essential for any Collection, May 2, 2000
Amazingly, The Burritos debut masterpiece- Gilded Palace of Sin, is not available on CD, nor is the equally fine followup-Burrito Deluxe. This 2 CD set corrects that. Disc 1 includes both of these albums in their entirety. Disc 2 is more scattershot. Cover versions and the departure of Gram Parsons from track 8 forward make this part of the anthology less essential listening. A&M has kept their single disc anthology - Farther Along in print but it's missing 2 songs from "Gilded". For a few bucks more you get better liner notes, better sound and one of the greatest Country-Rock albums ever in Gilded Palace of Sin, in full.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Those Damn Flying Burrito Brothers, June 23, 2000
How do you know if a band is just a good band or a legendary one? By the amount of times they re-package the same material over and over again. The Burritos are legendary. I'm not complaining. I love it! I have every song on this two CD set but I bought it anyway for the liner notes. The Parsons-era Burritos recorded only two albums but the following are a list of some of the compilations: 1. Farther Along: The Best of the Flying Burrito Brothers. This is the official A&M greatest hits package. (contains different version of Sing Me Back Home and a truncated version of Dylan's I Shall Be Released) 2. Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Loud, Loud Music An import from the great Edsel Records out of England (contains the version of Sing Me Back Home which is on this package, but also includes, Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down, Crazy Arms, Green Green Grass of Home and several others) 3. Sleepness Nights - this is a hybrid of FBB outtakes and Gram Parsons solo outtakes which are worth the price of admission alone. The FBB selections are all covered elsewhere. 4. Hot Burrito - Yes there was already a release by A&M called Hot Burrito which was a single CD which contains all the aforementioned songs in another configuration. Hard to find. 5. Close Up The Honky Tonks - originally a Dutch release on A&M but I have never found on CD. But yes you guessed it, all the songs can be found elsewhere. 6. Out of The Blue - more of the same The repackaged Burritos, including this CD, more than triples the output of the FBB w/Gram Parsons. WHY? I'll tell ya why since you been good enough to read this far my friend, COSMIC AMERICAN MUSIC. If your an old fan, then sit back and enjoy what you already have enjoyed before. If you are a new fan, then make room in your CD collection because you will quickly add another 10 to 15 CDs to your collection. If your curiosity is peaked by what you have heard on these discs, particularly Disc One, then you will pass GO and move onto to the Gram Parsons solo material which will take you back to the Sweetheart of the Rodeo by the Byrds which may spill over into The Notorious Byrd Brothers by the Byrds. If not you may even go so far as to search out the Gram Parsons-led International Submarine Band's 1968 release Safe at Home. Now you're in trouble because you may search out Dillard & Clark's two great albums, The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard and Clark and Through the Morning, Through the Night. By now you are hopeless and you're searching out Clarence White's work with the Kentucky Colonels i.e. Long Journey Home which is their live recording at the Newport Folk Festival. Somewhere in between you'll end up back in the Byrds catalog for Ballad of Easy Rider and Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde and you may even venture off into the Eagles or Steve Earle or Elvis Costello. By now you're strung out and useless. Those damn Flying Burrito Brothers. God Bless 'em.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Probably Country-Rocks Greatest Collection, August 25, 2001
The Flying Burrito Brothers are perhaps the best band to epitomize what is now called "country-rock." They directly rode the heels of the Byrds classic country album, "Sweetheart of the Rodeo." For the newcomer, both the amount of material on this 2-disc set, and the sound might be a bit too much. When I first heard the Burrito's material 5 years ago that CD sat virtually unheard (perhaps because I was not used to the pedal steel sound, which band member Sneaky Pete Kleinow excellently plays). I guess I was just not ready for their pioneering sound. However, I would advise anyone who wants to sample some of the most influential and critically acclaimed material of the 60s and early 70s to buy this set. The first CD is certainly the strongest, and it consists entirely of songs on which Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman performed. Gram and Chris, as many already know, were members of the Byrds and credited with co-founding "country-rock." The material from FBB's first album, "Gilded Palace of Sin" stands out, and fortunately the entire album is here. The material from their second album "Burrito Deluxe" is weaker, but still stellar. For this latter album FBB added ex-Byrd Michael Clarke and future Eagle Bernie Leadon. Highlights of the first CD are the protest song, "My Uncle," the soulful, "Dark End of the Street," and the cover of the Rolling Stones hit, "Wild Horses." But again, every song is excellent and groundbreaking (Clarence White, guitarist extraordinaire and Byrds member, guests on "The Train Song."). The second CD is often panned, but in reality it is filled with some very good material, especially the first seven tracks where Gram and the boys belt out inspired versions of country standards (such as "Break My Mind"). However, the last 13 tracks on the 2nd disc lack the critically acclaimed combination of country and rock, as the Burritos slipped into a more slick and polished country-pop sound. Keep in mind Gram Parsons left here and future Firefall founder Rick Roberts took over as lead singer. While different than the first disc, the material is very similar to the Eagles sound, which is not a bad thing at all. Highlights from the second disc include "Six Days on the Road," "Here Tonight" where Gene Clark sings, and the Rick Roberts penned song, "Colorado." Overall, this collection, which goes on for about 130 minutes, is an excellent deal, and is essential to any country or rock collection. The 24-bit mastered sound is far superior to the previous FBB hits collection, "Farther Along." Since this set includes the entire first three Flying Burrito Brothers albums, various other songs which never made it to an original Burritos album, and live tracks (although the 2 live tracks are the weakest on the album), it will satisfy the true fan, but possibly might overwhelm the newcomer. However, to all newcomers: Trust me, listen to the material, maybe over and over again if you have to, you WILL come to appreciate it. By the end of the first week you will be singing along to every tune in your car.
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~ Gram Parsons
~ Gram Parsons
~ The Byrds
~ Gram Parsons
~ The Flying Burrito Brothers
by The Flying Burrito Brothers 
