The Smiley Smile Message Board

I couldn't find a thread about these guys, so I thought I'd start one up. I mean, how could nobody be talking about this great band?

(From Wikipedia) The Flying Burrito Brothers were an early country rock band founded in 1968 on the West Coast of the United States by former Byrds members Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, as well as pianist and bassist Chris Ethridge and pedal steel guitarist Sneaky Pete Kleinow. The band is best known for its influential debut album, The Gilded Palace of Sin.  Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with Parsons and Hillman, the group underwent many (many) personnel changes.

So, if you like the Byrds or Gram Parsons, check out The Flying Burrito Brothers. If, you already know who they are: wonderful! Here's a place to talk about them.

Some of their more popular tunes:

"Wild Horses": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MchWI3sLUQo
"Christines Tune": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BITiY8M_oDo
"Hot Burrito #1": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rrqBsG1yXs

That first LP was a classic but that was pretty much it in terms of top tier music.  But a very important record for which Hillman deserves pretty much equal credit with Parsons but doesn't get it.  Although GP/Grievous Angel are right there.

Yup, one good record, one weird Grateful Dead-ish Single (Train Song) and then not much. But That one record is almost perfect (Hippy Boy? not so much).

Burrito Deluxe clearly isn't as good as the first album but let's not be too quick to dismiss it out of hand entirely.  Here's a great video clip of Older Guys with Gram putting on his very best Jagger moves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bmcT4qieI4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bmcT4qieI4)

Hippie Boy is hilarious. As it's clearly intended to be - warbling 'There'll Be Peace In The Valley' offkey is such a deft stroke.

But, the Hot Burrito tunes, their version of Dark End Of The Street, Sin City... the Gilded Palace of Sin is pretty classic. Although I prefer Gram gone solo as it doesn't have that asshole Michael Clarke drumming.

Have you heard the live set from 1969 they put out? It's half genius and half 'oh my god, guys, you should probably rehearse a bit more often'.

To me their biggest influence is the impression they had on other groups coming out of the south (particularly Florida) at that time most notably Mudcrutch which featured among others Bernie Leadon's brother Tom.  Mudcrutch despite having earned a record deal in 1974 broke up prior to releasing an album of their own and several months later reconfigured themselves as Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

 

I recently found this. One of the best versions of this song, other than The Band's version. A shame it wasn't completed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AUInYhvjkA