The Complete Reprise Sessions [Box]

Performer: Gram Parsons
Engineer: Hugh Davies; Ed Barton
Producer: Gram Parsons; Rik Grech; Emmylou Harris (Compilation); James Austin (Compilation)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel include: Gram Parsons (vocals, acoustic guitar); Emmylou Harris (vocals); Barry Tashian (guitar, background vocals); Bernie Leadon (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro); Herb Pedersen (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); James Burton (electric guitar, dobro); Al Perkins, Buddy Emmons (pedal steel guitar); Alan Munde (banjo); Byron Berline (mandolin, fiddle); Hal Battiste (baritone saxophone); Glenn Hardin (piano, organ); Steve Snyder (vibraphone); John Conrad, Emory Gordy, Rik Grech (bass guitar); Sam Goldstein, John Guerin, N.D. Smart, Ronnie Tutt (drums); Linda Ronstadt (background vocals). Taking the place of the obligatory cd two-fer of GP and GREVIOUS ANGEL, Gram Parsons's THE COMPLETE REPRISE SESSIONS covers it all and then some for Grampires of all stripes. Produced by Emmylou Harris and Parsons cohort James Austin, this beautifully designed three-disc set includes one disc devoted to each solo record and a third featuring outtakes from each album's sessions. With fewer overdubs and Gram and Emmylou's vocals front-and-center in the mix, the final disc brims with the emotive soul and earthbound angelic vocals the two perfected. Among the final discs many highlights are looser alternate takes of "She" and "Streets of Baltimore" from GP and a "Hickory Wind" unadorned by the ridiculous fake crowd noise that mars the GRIEVOUS ANGEL version. The latter is the best and most stirring recorded performance of Parsons's signature song and alone worth the box's sticker price. Other features scattered on the first two discs include radio interviews (with Parsons's southern hippie charm in overdrive); captivatingly raw acoustic performances with him, Harris, and drummer N.D. Smart; and an instrumental version of "Return of the Grievous Angel" that reveals just how ace a country band the Waycross longhair had.

Rolling Stone (p.100) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "It's the third disc that has the unreleased treasures....On these scratch vocals, you can hear Parsons and Harris finding their way inside each song." Spin (p.58) - Ranked #8 in Spin's "The 10 Best Reissues of 2006" -- "[N]ot just creating alt-country but striving for a utopian Southern music..." Entertainment Weekly (p.69) - "[With] some of the most beautiful songs country ever produced." -- Grade: A- No Depression (p.99) - "Most of the takes are stripped of overdubs and move the vocals to the center. This unadorned state allows us to appreciate anew Parsons' unaffected singing." Mojo (Publisher) (p.113) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Parsons laid a foundation here that still stands more than three decades [later]..."

Gram Parsons was one of the prime movers of country-rock. After forming one of the first country-rock groups, the International Submarine Band, he led the Byrds down a similar path on SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO before splitting with Byrd Chris Hillman to form the Flying Burrito Brothers. The Burritos combined a 1960s stoner/rocker sensibility with country roots and a touch of soul, cutting far deeper than most of the alt-country bands they inspired. In the early 1970s Parsons became a solo artist; his two studio albums GP and GRIEVOUS ANGEL are masterpieces that also kick-started the career of another progressive-country icon, his duet partner Emmylou Harris. Unfortunately, Parsons's long-standing substance abuse finally killed him in 1973 at the age of 26, a monumental waste of talent.

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