Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Almost Blue - the original versions - a Spotify playlist

Joe writes: While setting my dad up with an iPod (it's the future you know), I got distracted and ended up making this Spotify playlist of the original versions of country songs covered by Elvis Costello & The Attractions on the 1981 album Almost Blue (except where the originals weren't on Spotify, in which case I've gone for the next best thing).

just found out that Chris Ethridge from The Flying Burrito Brothers died earlier this week

Joe writes: He co-wrote my favourite Burritos song, Hot Burrito #1, as covered by Elvis Costello under the title I'm Your Toy

County Line by Cass McCombs, and Gram Parsons revivalism

Joe writes: This is lovely.



Country Line reminds me of the mini Gram Parsons revivalist that was around in the nineties. Here are The Rockingbirds with Restless:



Here are my two favourite Gram Parsons tracks, A Song For You and The Return Of The Grievous Angel, both featuring Emmylou Harris. I once put one or both of these tracks on a CD for a girl at my sixth form college, along with Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell etc. She couldn't handle the country twang.

Emmylou and Gram

Phil writes: When Gram Parsons died, a devastated Emmylou Harris wrote the extremely moving 'From Boulder to Birmingham', a magnificent song. Now on her new album she has produced a more measured and reflective song about their relationship and how it, and his death, have affected her life. Perhaps not as great a song, but still a great song:



(There's also a very fine live acoustic version on YouTube which can't be embedded.)

This video gives a glimpse of them on the road and also includes their wonderful version of 'Love Hurts':

A Song For You

Joe writes: Two of my favourite tracks are called A Song For You and it turns out there's a link between the two.

First, Gram Parsons again. For me, his four classic compositions are Hot Burrito #1 (AKA I'm Your Toy - see below), Hickory Wind, Return Of The Grievous Angel and A Song For You. Then there's Wild Horses which is credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards but Gram is rumoured to have co-written. There was more than one controversy over credits in Gram's short career as this article about Hickory Wind suggests.

The essential Gram Parsons purchases are the Flying Burrito Brothers album Gilded Palace Of Sin, the two Gram Parsons solo albums (on which Emmylou Harris deserved a credit), and the Byrds album Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.



Robert Sandall's interview with Emmylou Harris says "The last time they spoke, Parsons phoned (Emmylou) to tell her that her favourite track from their recent sessions had been left off the Grievous Angel album but would definitely feature on the next". What was that song, I wonder? Presumably it's one of the Emmylou duets on the posthumous Sleepless Nights album.


The other A Song For You was immortalised by Donny Hathaway, an artist who, like Gram Parsons, died too young. But it was written by Leon Russell who has also recorded Wild Horses, so there's your link with Gram. Leon also wrote Superstar, one of my two favourite Carpenters tracks (the other being Goodbye To Love) - what a songwriter.

There's a remarkable film about The Carpenters, made by Todd Haynes of Dylan biopic fame while he was still at film school. It's banned following legal action by Richard Carpenter, but thanks to YouTube it's easy to find it.



Donny Hathaway has legendary status in some quarters but is barely known in others. That's starting to change thanks to lyrical name checks from Wyclef Jean and most notably Amy Winehouse. I was recently discussing him with James McMorrow, a new artist from Dublin whose voice is pure magic. Donny's A Song For You is one of James's favourite tracks of all time too, and I'm sure he loves Gram Parsons as well. James told me that it was the greater success of Stevie Wonder that drove Donny to suicide. I don't know whether this is true, but if so, at least he didn't live to hear Ebony & Ivory.

Gram Parsons - A Song For You (iTunes)



Donny Hathaway - A Song For You (iTunes)



(update of post originally from 06/06/08)

Emmylou Harris was just interviewed in The Times

Joe writes: The piece mostly focuses on how attractive she is for a 61 year-old, and Gram Parsons.

Still, at least this gives me a chance to post Boulder To Birmingham, one of my all-time favourites and surely one of the saddest songs of all-time (if you've read the Times article you will be able to hazard a guess at what the lyrics are about).

My dad introduced me to Boulder To Birmingham and he's going to see Emmylou live on her current tour. He also has her new album so will hopefully post something from that, if it's great.

Boulder To Birmingham was written by Emmylou and Bill Danoff. Bill's other credits include Take Me Home Country Roads, a smash for John Denver and Hermes House Party (I will resist the temptation to include a Hermes House Party track on the same thread as Boulder To Birmingham, but I must do a John Denver post and a Gram Parsons post before long).



Emmylou Harris - Boulder To Birmingham (iTunes)