Airborne/Flying Again
Make no mistake -- the Flying Burrito Brothers versions 2.0 and 2.1 were not in the same league as the first incarnation of the Flying Burrito Bros. Burritos 1.x were musical pioneers, guided by two genuine musical visionaries, Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman.
In the mid-1970s, a couple years after the original Burritos disbanded, interest in the group was renewed by Emmylou Harris's emergence as a country superstar, frequently covering Parsons's Burrito-era hits.
Steel guitarist Sneeky Pete Kleinow formed the new group, and he was certainly as entitled as anyone to use the name -- he being a key architect of the Burrito's steel-driven arrangements. Original bassist Chris Etheridge was also enlisted, along with Vocalist Joel Scott Hill came over from Canned Heat, Gene Parsons from the latter-day Byrds (though Gene Parsons is a credible musician, one must assume the prospect of having original tunes attributed to "G. Parsons" had something to do with earning a spot in the band). Gib Guilbeau was a cajun musician long in Kleinow's orbit.
The first two releases bore little resemblence to the Burrito sound, but they were well-produced albums and can be described as entertaining country/rock.
These two albums are packaged here for the first time on CD. Had the band chosen a different name, its lot may have been different. Certainly, they were no worse (or better) than albums by bands like New Riders of the Purple Sage, Commander Cody and even the reconstituted Byrds, which received more kindly. But, given the rock press's protectiveness of Gram Parsons and his legacy, these releases were greeted with critical hostility. Flying Again was put out in 1975, and its closing track, "Hot Burrito #3," inevitably invited comparisons to Gram Parsons's first two "Hot Burrito" compositions. Those were classics, "#3" is mere pretending.
The rest of the first album is a mix of country soul (highlighted by two originals by Dan Pann). Hill proves to be an adept lead vocalist on these cuts. Country rockers like "Bon Soir Blues" and a couple of country covers round out the album.
By the time the second record, Airborne, was released a year leader, the band already began losing members (Skip Battin replacing Chris Etheridge). The second album suffers from some strange choices (a reggae version of John Prine's "Quiet Man" and a guest shot by stevie Wonder on his "She's a Sailor"). The group already sounds like it's running out of steam.
After Airborne, Columbia dropped the band, and Kleinow and Guilbeau would spend the next two decades anchoring an evolving cast of b-players from the SoCal country/rock scene, releasing albums under the Burrito monicker every year or two. Which wouldn't be so bad, except that as the band moved further away from Gram Parsons's original vision, it began to evoke his imagery more and more. Ultimately, the charges that the latter day Burritos were merely trading on the reputation Parsons built came true.
Still, for what they are, these two albums are fine bits of 1970s country rock, and contain some tasty Kleinow steel solos.
In the mid-1970s, a couple years after the original Burritos disbanded, interest in the group was renewed by Emmylou Harris's emergence as a country superstar, frequently covering Parsons's Burrito-era hits.
Steel guitarist Sneeky Pete Kleinow formed the new group, and he was certainly as entitled as anyone to use the name -- he being a key architect of the Burrito's steel-driven arrangements. Original bassist Chris Etheridge was also enlisted, along with Vocalist Joel Scott Hill came over from Canned Heat, Gene Parsons from the latter-day Byrds (though Gene Parsons is a credible musician, one must assume the prospect of having original tunes attributed to "G. Parsons" had something to do with earning a spot in the band). Gib Guilbeau was a cajun musician long in Kleinow's orbit.
The first two releases bore little resemblence to the Burrito sound, but they were well-produced albums and can be described as entertaining country/rock.
These two albums are packaged here for the first time on CD. Had the band chosen a different name, its lot may have been different. Certainly, they were no worse (or better) than albums by bands like New Riders of the Purple Sage, Commander Cody and even the reconstituted Byrds, which received more kindly. But, given the rock press's protectiveness of Gram Parsons and his legacy, these releases were greeted with critical hostility. Flying Again was put out in 1975, and its closing track, "Hot Burrito #3," inevitably invited comparisons to Gram Parsons's first two "Hot Burrito" compositions. Those were classics, "#3" is mere pretending.
The rest of the first album is a mix of country soul (highlighted by two originals by Dan Pann). Hill proves to be an adept lead vocalist on these cuts. Country rockers like "Bon Soir Blues" and a couple of country covers round out the album.
By the time the second record, Airborne, was released a year leader, the band already began losing members (Skip Battin replacing Chris Etheridge). The second album suffers from some strange choices (a reggae version of John Prine's "Quiet Man" and a guest shot by stevie Wonder on his "She's a Sailor"). The group already sounds like it's running out of steam.
After Airborne, Columbia dropped the band, and Kleinow and Guilbeau would spend the next two decades anchoring an evolving cast of b-players from the SoCal country/rock scene, releasing albums under the Burrito monicker every year or two. Which wouldn't be so bad, except that as the band moved further away from Gram Parsons's original vision, it began to evoke his imagery more and more. Ultimately, the charges that the latter day Burritos were merely trading on the reputation Parsons built came true.
Still, for what they are, these two albums are fine bits of 1970s country rock, and contain some tasty Kleinow steel solos.
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