Falling in Love Too Late

All the wasted moments, the lonely days, the silent hours. Lost. All the time, my whole life of almost two decades that I could have been listening to Gram Parsons, and I hadn't been. And yet, up until a few long years ago, I walked around, fancying myself some sort of musical expert, an alt-country connoisseur. I gobbled up everything I could get my hands on from the Bottle Rockets to Uncle Tupelo. I'd gotten close to Parsons with Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Sure, I'd read his name on some track credits. But there was a time, not too long ago, when I didn't know the difference between Gram and Gene. I thought Roger McGuinn or David Crosby had fathered the sound that I so blindly sought in my own songwriting. Now, a life where the Flying Burrito Brothers is just a mexican restaurant in New Zealand seems to me a sad existence.

The band I played with in college was often pegged as "alt-country", which was triumph for my songwriting aspirations. I was, and still am, a huge fan of Wilco, so to even be lumped into the same genre as my heroes was great for me. But I didn't understand where it all came from. I knew the Bakersfield sound. I'd heard Merle Haggard. But I couldn't see where the leap was made. What made the genre new? How did the "alt" come to be? The answer, of course, is Gram Parsons.

Arguably, it came about from the first time ol' Sneaky Pete plugged his pedal steel into a fuzz box. Kleinow has been hailed as the Hendrix of pedal steel for more reasons than that. He really brought an edge to the Burrito Brothers that was missing in contemporary acts like the Byrds. McGuinn and Co. were too pop oriented. Certainly, what they did could be considered country/rock*, but alternative they were not. Country music has always had a love affair with the Bad Boy, the Outlaw, the Drifter. They drink and fight and leave their women (though they often regret that decision). But all those characters have charm, charisma. They didn't have songs about the lonely kid in the corner, lost in a dark thought, or crying with a woman they love. They didn't talk about succumbing to a world of narcotics or issues of the day. Parsons brought this voice to life. He blended heavy elements of country twang and R&B soul with the free thought of a new generation and the tortured dichotomy of a cynical gospel.

Parsons became the grievous angel, a label that only really makes sense after you've immersed yourself in his music. A love song has never been as true to the heart as "A Song For You", and "Juanita"; Don't even get me started on that song. The arrangement, the lyrics, and that classic but compelling chord progression that provide a full, dusty canvas for Pete's rhythmic rolls and perfect sweeping bends. Parsons and Chris Hillman are really on point in this track, too. Each soulfully wandering around those harmonies, occupying their own side of the stereo. It's perfection. That whole album (Guilded Palace of Sin) is close to perfect.

But perfect wouldn't be the Burrito Brothers. It wouldn't be Gram Parsons. His songs *may* have been perfect. I say this only because I stumbled upon this fantastic compilation several months back. I really enjoy Beck and Emmylou on "Sin City", really I do. It just doesn't even compare to this. And I thoroughly appreciate Whiskeytown's version of "Song for You", but c'mon (skip to about 1:19 if you don't enjoy vintage crowd fodder). There isn't that melancholy, that soul of that original voice (a voice that even came through in his covers.  It's all too polished, too sterile. Gram and Emmylou had a special connection that is so rare to witness. I wish I could have been at one of The Fallen Angels shows. It must have such an inspiring performance. Sometimes I think about what it would have been like to live in that era. Then I realize that if, on the off chance, I happened to have heard of Gram Parsons when he was still kickin' around in 1973, I would have had to travel long distances to see him. 2013 offers me the opportunity to discover music like Gram. Music that has a real, profound effect and resonance. I guess it's never too late to fall in love. Some might say I lack any imagination in my time-traveling fantasy. Maybe. Maybe I just don't know how to end this post.

*Not like the Eagles. Gram greatly disliked the Eagles.