Great country recording

Now that Gram Parsons has been mentioned, here's more:

Gram was brought into The Byrds by bassist Chris Hillman, to replace the recently-departed (from The Byrds, not Earth) David Crosby. Gram (real name Ingram Cecil Parsons III) was a student at Harvard, playing music in a Folk group. Chris, a former member of Bluegrass group The Hillmen (guess he was the leader ;-) knew of Gram, and between the two turned The Byrds from a Folk-Rock group to a pretty hardcore Country band with the Sweethearts Of The Rodeo album.

Chris and Gram then left The Byrds and started The Flying Burrito Brothers. After a coupla FBB albums, Gram left and started his solo career, bringing along Emmylou Harris, a singer he had heard at a Folk club in the Washington D.C. area. Gram was a huge George Jones and Merle Haggard fan, and the two albums he made before he overdosed in Joshua Tree are classics. Gram and Keith Richards became close friends, and Gram's influence on Keith can be heard on The Stones' "Country Honk" track on Let It Bleed.

Gram and Emmylou's recording of "Love Hurts" is well known, thought by many to be a Gram song. It is actually a song first recorded by The Everly Brothers, written by Felice & Boudleaux Bryant.

I used Iris Dement's My Life album as source material at one CES Vegas. Sounded great on Crosby-modified QUAD 63's. Stuart Duncan, a great fiddle player, is one of the superb musicians on the album.

Chris Hillman's (The Byrds bassist) albums on Sugar Hill records possess great sound quality, and are musically great (a nice "bonus" ;-), His albums as a member of The Desert Rose Band as fantastic as well. His latest album was produced by Mike Campbell of Petty's Heartbreakers.

T Bone Burnett's (producer of the O' Brother soundtrack, as well as The New Basement Tapes) Truth Decay album (originally on Takoma, a label known for good sound and artists) sounds REALLY good.

I'll think of some more if you want.

Tim McGraw is of the mainstream Country I mentioned above. For artistic integrity and stunning sound quality recordings, give a listen to Buddy Miller. He has turned the "front parlour" of his Nashville home into a recording studio. He produces recordings there, when he's off the road with Emmylou Harris, whose band he leads. He also leads the band at the annual Americana Music Awards Show, hosted by Jim Lauderdale, with whom he made a duet album. He is a major player in the Americana scene, where gen-u-wine Country music is being made.

The majority of the "Country" music coming out of the mainstream music factories owes more to The Eagles than to true Country/Hillbilly music: Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, George Jones (including his Rockabilly recordings under the name Thumper Jones!), Lefty Frizzell (The Band covered his "Long Black Veil" on their debut album), Ernest Tubb, Bob Wills, Moon Mullican (Nick Lowe has recorded his "7 Nights To Rock", Springsteen performs it live), Faron Young, early Johnny Horton, The Stanley Brothers, The Carter Family (Country royalty), Johnny Cash (my mom's favorite male singer), Patsy Cline, Wanda Jackson (she dated Elvis for awhile), Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Snow, Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt (Marty Stuart joined his band at age 14!), The Louvin Brothers (I hear them when The Everly Brothers are singing), Webb Pierce (John Fogerty included his "I Ain't Never" on his debut solo album, put out under the name The Blue Ridge Rangers! A great album of Country-inspired music), hundreds more.

Iris Dement (Merle loved her, recording her "No Time To Cry"), Patty Loveless, Emmylou, Rosie Flores, Jann Browne, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Carlene Carter (June Carter’s daughter), Kasey Chambers (good Australian singer), Randy Travis, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, Jim Lauderdale, Vince Gill, Albert Lee (guitarist in Emmylou’s band for years, also played for The Everly Brothers), Steve Wariner, Joe Nichols, Jerry Douglas (the greatest living dobro player, in Alison Krauss’ band), Rodney Crowell (one time member of Emmylou’s band), Marty Stuart (his band The Fabulous Superlatives are imo the best band in the world at the moment), David Ball (great true Honky Tonk singer), Buddy Miller (Emmylou’s longtime guitarist/bandleader/harmony singer, also a great solo artist and producer), Ricky Skaggs (on the Bluegrass side of Country as of late), Doug Seegers (a true Hillbilly, with the twang to prove it), Asleep At The Wheel (Western Swing), The Del McCoury Band (as Hillbilly as it gets. Start with the album they did with Steve Earle---it won’t sound so "foreign"), dozens of others, but that’s a start ;-) .

Unfortunately, the greats from the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s---Hank Williams, Hank Thompson, Lefty Frizzell, The Louvin Brothers, Webb Pierce, Bob Wills (Merle Haggard’s favorite musical artist---he recorded a tribute album to the man), Ray Price, Merle of course, Buck Owens (Dwight Yoakam’s stylistic model), George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn---were recorded in indifferent sound quality, not what I think you’re looking for. That, plus it was really, really Country, if you get my drift. Way more Hillbilly than you younger fellas can stomach.

But if you want some great pedal steel guitar, you gotta get a Speedy West collection. He was THE player in the 50’s/60’s, and is who all the young players study. Acoustic guitar, steel guitar, fiddles, and harmony singing is now heard in Bluegrass music, not what is being called Country. That is, mainstream Country. Americana is where real Country made by "artistic" practitioners (rather than mere entertainers) is heard (many of them listed above). Head over to the No Depression website to read all about it.