Grievous Angel 40th Anniversary Party
The Mill – Friday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. ($8)
What do you say about one of the greatest albums of all time, forty years after its release? After all, there’s not much that hasn’t been said about Grievous Angel, Gram Parsons’ second and final solo record.
He’s been described as “the most convincing singer of sad songs” by Rolling Stone, which also ranked Grievous Angel at 429 in its list of The 500 Greatest Records of All Time. Featured on the album are members of Elvis Presley’s “Hot Band,” Linda Ronstadt, and most notably, Emmylou Harris, who appears on nearly every song with some of her best performances. The ten songs on the album are at times sublimely simple, and at other times, wild and drifting. Ultimately, the album was released posthumously — Parsons passed away from a drug overdose just months after recording it.
So it’s a legendary record, okay? A legendary record that you’ll be better for listening to, and a legendary record released in January of 1974. In honor of its 40th anniversary, a number of local singers — Seth Wenger, Ryan Bernemann, Scott Cochran, Laura Goddard, Joe and Coleen Peterson, and Marty Letz — are gathering at The Mill this Friday to perform these classic songs.
Grievous Angel took many years before becoming a commercial success. This show will prove to be the sort of album release show Parsons deserved.
The show starts at 8 p.m. and costs $8 at the door.
