We've gone through a full cycle of our album reviews, so now it's back to stage one — the "One-album wonder" category. Even though the second album from this band was okay, the first album was a masterpiece, and we're glad to get a chance to review it here. It's The Gilded Palace of Sin by The Flying Burrito Brothers, and it's a sadly overlooked album for a large cross-section of the music listening audience. One of the "Old Testament" albums of the country-rock hybrid that would come to dominate the Southern California sound over the next decade, this album is a slab of genius, the full flowering of a sadly neglected partnership between troubled genius Gram Parsons and the workmanlike Chris Hillman. Country rock? Soul? Balladry? Electrified folk? Nudie suits? All of that and some social commentary to boot on this album.
Be sure to subscribe to Cosmic America on iTunes, and tweet us with your musical thoughts and review ideas at @doctorgc and @akmccarthy. Thanks for listening.