Gram Parsons
Under Your Spell Again (Colosseum)


By Paul Cantin Author�s blog �


The brevity of Gram Parsons� life inherently magnifies the importance of any documents that can inform our understanding of his talent.
Though the official Parsons canon contains more than enough to justify his stature, it�s a meager catalogue compared to other legends
who stuck around this mortal coil a good while longer. As such, it�s no surprise to see bits and pieces of Parsons� rarities,
unreleased cuts and live work surfacing on bootlegs, with mixed results.

Resourceful Gramophiles have been blessed with a minor flood of illicit releases.
The Tendolar label�s Byrdaholics includes a live tape of the Gram-era Byrds in Rome circa 1968.
The same label also issued Saddle Up The Palomino, described as a sound board recording from a June �69 Los Angeles Burritos performance
but obviously sourced from a tape many generations removed from the master.
Much more rewarding are a pair of quality live Burritos �69 CD-Rs released by unnamed labels: Sin City and The High Lonesome Sound Of

Now comes the double-disc compendium Under Your Spell Again, by far the most ambitious attempt yet to scoop the choicest unreleased material. Apart from some steep dropoffs in sonic quality, there�s plenty here that warrants an alert to the Parsons faithful.
Under Your Spell Again runs in roughly chronological order, beginning with a raw-quality radio tape of Parsons� early combo, the Legends,
performing �Rip It Up�, followed by the wonderful �Sum Up Broke/One Day Week�, a jangling,
pounding single by the International Submarine Band, captured here in perfect audio quality.

Things then leapfrog ahead to a muffled audience recording of the Byrds� eight-song 1968 set at London�s Roundhouse,
described here as Parsons� Byrds swan song. What it lacks in sonic fidelity is more than compensated by the chance
to hear the short-lived Sweetheart-era Byrds backing Parsons on �Hickory Wind�, �Sing Me Back Home�, �The Christian Life�,
Buck Owens� �Under Your Spell Again� and �You Don�t Miss Your Water�, as well as hearing Gram pitch in on �Eight Miles High�.

A six-song tape from the Burritos� set at the �69 Seattle Pop Festival is marginally better sound quality,
mixing covers such as �Take A Message To Mary� with their own �Sin City� and �Christine�s Tune�.
Although excerpts from the Tendolar Palomino tape pop up on disc two, Colosseum also has unearthed a better-quality tape
from a different Palomino set, including a rigorous workout on Owens� signature tune, �Buckaroo�.
Parsons� vocals are occasionally shaky, and his between-song patter is all but drowned out by audience chatter.
It�s an important reminder that although he is celebrated in death, he spent most of his life struggling for recognition.

The second disc yields the most startling artifacts. A 1964 �House Of The Rising Sun� sound-alike demo called �Race With The Wind�
leads into a stunning six-song tape of a �72 acoustic demo session. Although the sound is only so-so,
it�s a thrill to eavesdrop as Gram yells for Byron Berline to take a fiddle solo on �Still Feeling Blue�
or leads his troupe through a tentative version of �A Song For You�.

Further on, there�s a superlative tape of a �73 Boston radio session with the Fallen Angels.
�These are bus songs we sing at the back of the bus,� an impossibly young-sounding Emmylou Harris tells the DJ.
Apart from Parsons� cynical, road-weary banter, there are some exquisite performances, including wrenching duets with Harris on �Love Hurts�
and �Sin City�.

After that, disc two�s Burritos live tracks and a handful of muddy �73 Fallen Angels cuts are anticlimactic.
But a pristine live version of �We�ll Sweep Out The Ashes� and studio outtakes of �Return Of The Grievous Angel� and �Hearts On Fire�
bring matters to a fitting, fine close. Photos of the Burritos onstage have been surprisingly rare, but the deluxe packaging includes
color shots of Gram and band in full flight. The 12-page booklet includes an offbeat �69 interview from Fusion magazine plus rare photos
and single picture sleeves.


Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

Images for this show:

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