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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Burrito Deluxe
Georgia Peach\r\n(Lamon Records)
By Ken Shimamoto
Flying Burrito Brothers? If you ask me, there was only one, and they burned his body in the desert back in ‘73.
Surely I’m not the only one who finds it more than passing strange how Gram Parsons’ rep continues expanding even 30 years after his death. Trust fund baby, Haahvid man, junkie, Rolling Stones crony (responsible, some would say, for everything worthwhile in the Stones’ post-’69 music that wasn’t inspired by Ry Cooder), Parsons was an unlikely candidate for the mantle of country authenticity. Yet, he’s the one who blazed the trail that the whole Uncle Tupelo/No Depression crowd is still following.
Georgia Peach is, of all things, a Gram tribute disc, helmed by Fort Worth native and Nashville rebel Tommy Spurlock. The Burrito Deluxe lineup includes original Burritos Sneaky Pete Kleinow (now pushing 70!) on lap steel and the Band’s keyboard ace Garth Hudson. But the real story is the revolving cast of singers, including former EuroDisney performer Carlton Moody, newcomer Willie Watson, and Spurlock himself. Gib Guilbeau, who played in a latter-day, Parsons-less version of the Burritos, even puts in an appearance on a couple of tunes.
Moody has the most New Country-conventional voice of the bunch, and he takes the greatest number of lead vocals, including the Louvin Brothers’ bluegrass standard “Cash On the Barrel Head,” Tompall Glaser’s weeper “Streets of Baltimore,” and “Christine’s Tune,” the memorable opener from the Burritos’ now-classic ‘69 debut, The Gilded Palace of Sin. Watson, the closest Gram soundalike, sings lead on the Parsons originals “Wheels” and “Hickory Wind” and the GP-associated George Jones cover “She Once Lived Here.”
While not exactly pushing back any boundaries, Georgia Peach is a listenable reminder of Parsons’ rare talent.
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