Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel

Gram Parsons Grievous Angel on numbered limited edition hybrid SACD from Mobile Fidelity

1974 record among best harmony LPs ever recorded, replete with Emmylou Harris and Parsons' matched voices

Parsons' swan song achieves goal of bridging '60s rock consciousness, traditional country sounds, folk roots

Grievous Angel has been called one of the best harmony records of its era. Actually, it's one of the best of all-time. Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris' voices seamlessly match in a wedding of deep emotion, graceful beauty, and soulful communion. Audiophiles will revel in the distinctive channel separation and extra-wide soundstage in which Parsons' voice is on the left and Harris 'on the right. Despite having used different microphones, the pair recorded close enough together that they stared into one another's eyes while singing, lending to the beauty contained within. In addition, a majority of the sessions were captured live in the studio, with scant overdubs smoothing out a ragged edges. Mobile Fidelity's reissue preserves the album's prized combination of intimacy, warmth, and rawness.

Most famously known for the inclusion of the definitive version of "Love Hurts," Grievous Angel is widely considered Parsons' most cohesive and consistent work. While it only features two new Parsons compositions, the record works as a synthesis of time, place, spirit, and kindred togetherness.

1. Return of the Grievous Angel (Gram Parsons, Thomas Brown)

2. Hearts on Fire (Walter Egan, Tom Guidera)

3. I Can't Dance (Tom T. Hall)

4. Brass Buttons (Parsons)

5. $1000 Wedding (Parsons)

6. Medley Live from Northern Quebec:?(a) Cash on the Barrelhead (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) Hickory Wind (Parsons, Bob Buchanan)

7. Love Hurts (Boudleaux Bryant)

8. Ooh Las Vegas (Parsons, Ric Grech)

9. In My Hour of Darkness (Parsons, Emmylou Harris)