Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels - 1973-03-20 - Oliver's, Boston, MA

Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels
(featuring Emmylou Harris)
March 20, 1973
Oliver's, Boston, MA
Complete show (both sets plus talk)
Audience master recording (taped by David M), Good quality
Available as both Lossless (FLAC) and
mp3 (320kbps) versions
Artwork Included

Gram Parsons is widely regarded as the originator, or father, of 'country-rock' as a musical style or genre. Not surprisingly, Parsons himself hated the 'country-rock' label, preferring to refer to his unique blend of country, rock, folk, gospel, and R&B as 'Cosmic American Music'. Gram was highly influential and immensely talented, but was also somewhat erratic, unfocused, and undisciplined, and, due to his involvement with drugs, ultimately self-destructive. In 1965, Gram formed the International Submarine Band, which may have been the first 'country-rock' band, but had absolutely no success. In 1968, he was invited to join The Byrds, and his influence resulted in a dramatic shift from their previous jangly folk-rock to a definite country-rock emphasis on Sweetheart of the Rodeo. But Gram left after that one album, taking Chris Hillman with him to form The Flying Burrito Brothers, with the specific intent of playing country music with a rock style and attitude. As indicated in my previous FBB post, Gram couldn't stay focused for long with the Burrito Brothers (he was more interested in hanging out with Keith Richards & the Rolling Stones, who he also was a big influence on at this time), so he was kicked out of FBB in 1970. After wearing out his welcome hanging out and doing drugs with the Stones throughout 1971, he returned to the US at the end of the year intent on recording his first solo album. On the recommendation of buddy Chris Hillman, Parsons went to hear a young female singer in D.C., Emmylou Harris, and was so impressed, he asked her to join him on his album on the spot. However, it was almost a year later before Parsons was ready to actually start recording. The resulting album, GP, was released in early 1973. Although the album was critically acclaimed, it was generally ignored by the public. The tour to support the album, with his band dubbed The Fallen Angels (which featured Emmylou and a young guitarist, Jock Bartley, who later formed Firefall), started slow and gained momentum as it went. By the time they played a week-long series of gigs at Boston's Oliver's (3/20 - 3/25), the band was in fine form (and Gram had promised to cut back on his drugs). Presented here is the full first night show (both sets, complete with all between song talk) of that Boston stint. At these Boston shows, the regular band was also joined by Barry Tashian, a Boston musician and friend of Gram's, who had played on the GP album, but declined to go on the tour. By Summer 1973, Gram started recording what would be his his second, and last album (Grievous Angel, 1974). After the album was finished and before they started to tour, Gram decided to take a brief vacation to one of his favorite places, Joshua Tree National Monument. Tragically, Gram died of an accidental drug overdose on that trip, on September 19, 1973, at the age of 26. Thus, this Fallen Angel tour was the last time anyone would ever get to see a live performance from Gram Parsons. Gram's fame and status rose considerably only after his death and the posthumous release of Grievous Angel, which was even more acclaimed than GP, as well as with other posthumous releases and collections of earlier recordings that inevitably followed. The genre and style he created lived on through numerous other country-rock bands over the years, and later in the alt.country and recent indie trends. But here we have the originator, Gram Parsons himself, at his best, with the Fallen Angels, in close harmony with Emmylou throughout. This was the first night of a 6-night (3/20-25) stay at Oliver's in Boston. The setlist primarily featured songs from the GP album, but also included 2 new songs ('Hearts On Fire', 'Love Hurts') that would be on the Grievous Angel album, as well as several older Flying Burrito Brothers songs and other country gems. This is another exclusive audience recording from our friend David M. This one had only very limited circulation (some mail trades with collectors, many years ago) prior to this. Once again, I have done some tinkering (primarily adjustments for volume fluctuations, drop-outs, and other minor corrections and improvements). However, to maintain this historic concert intact, I have not edited out any of the between-song talk, applause, or empty spaces. Thus, this is the full show, both sets, as it was presented, and is extra special because there are so few available recordings of Gram Parsons live shows.
Some flaws present in the tapes include a brief tape flip/cut near the end of each set, in which the ending of one song and the beginning of another is cut (as indicated in setlist), and there also is a section in set 2, including part of tracks 4 & 7, and all of tracks 5 & 6, where the right channel audio was lost, so for those sections only, a mono feed (from left channel audio) is used. Hope you enjoy this special presentation of Gram Parsons, and seek out his other material. For more info on Gram's life and musical history, check out Gram's Byrd Watcher pages here (http://www.ebni.com/byrds/memgrp1.html).

Tracklist
First set
1. Synthetic Flesh (Instrumental)
2. We'll Sweep Out The Ashes In The Morning
3. My Uncle
4. Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man
5. Streets of Baltimore
6. Country Baptizin' (Emmylou - lead)
7. Band Intros - The New Soft Shoe
8. Jambalaya (Emmylou)
9. Hearts On Fire
10. Merle Haggard Intro - California Cottonfields (end cut/tape flip)
11. Six Days On the Road (cuts in)

Second set
1. Synthetic Flesh (Instrumental)
2. Still Feeling Blue
3. That's All It Took
4. Big Mouth Blues
5. Love Hurts
6. Cry One More Time (Barry Tashian)
7. Sin City
8. Medley (part1): Hang On, Sloopy / B.J. Blues (cut/tape flip)
9. Medley (part2): Bonie Moronie/40 Days/Almost Grown
10. How Much I've Lied
11. Six Days On The Road

Gram Parsons: Vocals & Guitars
Emmylou Harris: Vocals & Guitar
Neal Flanz: Pedal Steel guitar
Jock Bartley: Lead guitar
Kyle Tullis: Bass
N.D. Smart II: Drums, Vocals
Special Guest
Barry Tashian: Vocals & Guitar

Taken directly from a previously very limited-circulation audience master recording by David M. Some editing, adjustments made for better sound quality and presentation. This version prepared exclusively for The BB Chronicles by BBKron (http://bbchron.blogspot.com)

mp3 version - set1 Gram_Parsons_1973-03-20_-_Boston_set1-mp3.rar.
                      set2 Gram_Parsons_1973-03-20_-_Boston_set2-mp3.rar.

Flac version - 1st set: Gram_Parsons_1973-03-20_-_Boston_set1-FLAC.rar.
                     2nd set: Gram_Parsons_1973-03-20_-_Boston_set2-FLAC.rar.
Links updated (04-08-2022)

The Flying Burrito Brothers - 1969-07-27 & 1970-05 - Woodenville, WA & Wynona, MN

The Flying Burrito Brothers
1969-07-27
Seattle Pop Festival, Woodenville, WA
Additional tracks - 1970-05, Wynona, MN
"The High Lonesome Sound of The Flying Burrito Brothers"
Sounboard recording, Very good quality
mp3 @ 320
Artwork Included

Here's some more Flying Burrito Brothers, this one from a little earlier, featuring a couple variations on their earlier lineups. In this way, we can hear how the music and sound from the varying personnel differed. This is a well-travelled bootleg release that combines 2 shows together, the first is the full show from the Seattle Pop Festival in July 1969, and featuring the original lineup (with Gram parsons & Chris Ethridge). The second part are some tracks from a show in Wynona, MN in May 1970. By this time, Chris Ethridge had left and was replaced by Bernie Leadon (with Chris Hillman shifting to Bass and Bernie playing lead guitar). This also was among the last of the shows with Gram Parsons still a part of the band (Thanks for the correction, David!). Gram had become unreliable (due to lack of interest & discipline, and the start of his drug problem), not showing up, missing gigs, etc., but was at this show. Within the next month Gram would be officially booted from the band. Much more about Gram Parsons in the next post. For now, just sit back and enjoy these fine, early vintage FBB shows.

Tracklist:
1. Close Up The Honky Tonks 2:40
2. Dark End Of The Street 3:54
3. Sweet Mental Revenge 3:15
4. The Image Of Me 3:22
5. Christine's Tune 5:34
6. Sin City 4:09
7. Man In A Fog 2:47
8. Wake Up Little Susie 3:11
9. You Win Again 3:38
10. We've Got To Get Ourselves Together 3:44
11. She Thinks I Still Care 5:29
12. Sweet Dreams Baby 2:55
13. Lucille 2:37
14. Take A Message To Mary 3:07
15. Train Song 3:28
16. Lazy Day 4:03
17. 100 Years Ago 3:09
18. My Uncle 3:02
19. High Fashion Queen 2:12
20. Cody Cody 3:03
21. Wild Horses 6:21

Tracks 1-15, 07-27-1969, Seattle Pop Festival, Woodenville, WA,
Lineup: Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman, Chris Ethridge, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Michael Clarke
Tracks 16-21, 05-1970, Wynona, MN,  Lineup: Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman, Bernie Leadon, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Michael Clarke

New Link! (Updated 08/27/21)
FBB_1969-07-27_HighLonesome.rar

The Flying Burrito Brothers - 1971-08-01 - Boston, MA

The Flying Burrito Brothers
1971-08-01
Boston Commons, Boston, MA
Audience Master recording, Good quality
Available as both Lossless (Flac)
and mp3 (320 kbps) files

OK, previously I have featured various shows with Chris Hillman (SHF, solo, band), Rick Roberts (Firefall), and Bernie Leadon (Eagles), as well as later shows where they reunited in various combinations (Chris Hillman 1975, 1984). Well, here is a great show from their earlier days when they all performed together in the legendary country-rock band, The Flying Burrito Brothers. Once again, this is a rare, previously uncirculated audience master recording from David M, featuring the last great lineup of The Flying Burrito Brothers, shortly before Bernie Leadon left the group (to join Don Henley and Glenn Frey in Linda Ronstadt's band and then form the Eagles), followed shortly thereafter by the departure of Chris Hillman and Al Perkins (to join Stephen Stills in Manassas). As most know, FBB suffered through many lineup changes in a relatively short period, and with no disrespect to the very talented Gram Parsons, who originally formed FBB with Chris Hillman in 1968, but I actually think that the band on this recording was the best overall FBB lineup. Bernie Leadon's banjo and multi-instrumentalism, as well as the addition of Rick Roberts songwriting and vocal style added diversity and new dimensions and musical directions for the band. But, it was to be very short-lived. This tour was in support of their third album (but first with this lineup), simply titled The Flying Burrito Brothers. So, here's where things really started for these guys (well, except Hillman who already was a veteran of the Byrds), before their more famous bands and careers, in one of the true pioneers of the 'country-rock' sound and style, the Flying Burrito Brothers.

Tracklist:
1. Six Days On The Road
2. One Hundred Years From Now
3. My Uncle
4. Four Days of Rain
5. She Made Me Lose My Blues
6. Bluegrass Breakdown
7. Why Are You crying
8  Dixie Breakdown
9. Sing Me Back Home
10. Can't You Hear Me Calling
11. Christine's Tune
12. Colorado
13. White Line Fever
14. Pay Day
15. Steel Guitar Rag
16. Wake Up Little Susie
17. Ain't That a Lotta Love

Chris Hillman: Bass, vocals
Michael Clarke: Drums
Bernie Leadon: Lead guitar, banjo, vocals
Rick Roberts: Guitar, vocals
Al Perkins: Pedal steel guitar, vocals

---------------------------- a BB Chronicles Exclusive Presentation -----------------------------
New Link! Updated 08/27/21
mp3 version: FBB_1971-08-01_Boston_mp3.rar

Flac version: FBB_1971-08-01_Boston_FLAC.rar

Taken directly from a previously uncirculated audience master recording by David M. Some editing, adjustments made for better sound quality and presentation. This version prepared exclusively for The BB Chronicles (http://bbchron.blogspot.com) by BBKron.

Eagles - 1974-05-02 - Providence, RI

Eagles
1974-05-02
Providence, RI
Audience Master Recording, Very good quality
Available as lossless (FLAC)
and mp3 (320 kbps) files
Artwork Included

Here is another rare, previously uncirculated audience recording from David M of an early Eagles performance featuring the original quartet. This one is from about 6 months after the Holy Cross show (previously posted), from May 1974, early in the On The Border Tour, shortly after the release of their third album. This recording is of substantially better quality than the previous one, and although this performance doesn't have anything as earth-shattering as the two previously unreleased songs featured on the last recording, it is nonetheless a great show from this period, and does feature some new elements. Overall, the show setlist is surprisingly similar to the previous Holy Cross show, despite this being a brand new tour in support of their new album, with the bulk of the material still coming from their first two albums, and only four songs from the new On The Border album ('Already Gone', 'Ol' 55', 'James Dean', and 'Good Day in Hell'). And, actually, 'Already Gone', which was the first single released from the new album, was the only new song addition from the previous Holy Cross show. This basic setlist and structure was used throughout this tour, and even on through subsequent tours. Still present was the inclusion of the 'Doolin-Dalton/ DD-Desperado Reprise' early in the show (although some other songs from Desperado present in the last tour ['Certain Kind of Fool', 'Out of Control', 'Bitter Creek'] were dropped by this time), as well as Bernie's Bluegrass/Banjo sequence ('Twenty-One', 'Blackberry Blossom', 'Earlybird', 'Shenandoah Valley Breakdown') in the middle of the set. In addition to the new On The Border songs, some other new aspects included in this show were a cool new extended Blues Intro to 'Witchy Woman', and this may have been the first show (or at least first recorded show) where the full version of  'Desperado' was used as an encore. Although it may seem odd now because 'Desperado' has become such a classic, but it was not really included in these early shows very often (usually only the abbreviated 'Desperado Reprise' was played). Later, it would become a regular part of their shows, but at this stage it was not played very often. It would not take it's place as their standard concert closer until the 'Hell Freezes Over Reunion Tour' in 1994, where it has remained right up to their most recent shows. But back in 1974, it was a rarity. This also was one of the last of the shows where they were still a quartet. Don Felder, who was brought in to add some slide guitar on a couple tracks on On The Border, really hit it off with the band and was made a member of the band soon after (Credited on the album as a "Late Arrival"). However, he was not part of the live band shows for at least the early part of the On The Border Tour (It is known he did not perform at their California Jam appearance in April, and according to David's notes was not present at this May concert either, but he was present when the band made their appearance on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert sometime in 1974, so exactly when he began touring with the band is uncertain). Anyway, this is another great Eagles show (of which there are very few available from this period), and this is a good quality recording. There were, however, some tape problems resulting in some speed/pitch fluctuations in some songs (particularly near the middle of the show), but they are mostly minor.  So, here once again, is a great 'new' recording from David M of a great old show by a great old group. Much thanks again to David M for making this available for all to enjoy after all these years.

Tracklist:
01 - Take It Easy
02 - Outlaw Man
03 - Already Gone
04 - Doolin-Dalton - Desperado Reprise
05 - Train Leaves Here This Morning
06 - Tequila Sunrise
07 - Ol' 55
08 - Twenty-One
09 - Blackberry Blossom
10 - Earlybird - Banjo Improv - Shenandoah Valley Breakdown
11 - James Dean
12 - Good Day In Hell
13 - Blues Intro - Witchy Woman
14 - Chug All Night
15 - Tryin'
16 - Desperado

---------------------------- a BB Chronicles Exclusive Presentation -----------------------------

New Links! (Updated 07/12/20)
mp3 version: Eagles_-_1974-05-02_-_Providence_RI_mp3.rar

Flac version: Eagles_-_1974-05-02_-_Providence_RI_FLAC.rar

Taken directly from a previously uncirculated audience master recording by David M. Some editing, adjustments made for better sound quality and presentation. This version prepared exclusively for The BB Chronicles by BBKron.

Up Next:  We go back a few more years to visit one of the Eagles forefathers, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and one of the last shows that Bernie did with them before leaving for the Eagles.