Flying Burrito Bros 5: Close Up The Honky Tonks and Sleepless Nights

Like any smart label, A&M cashed in on both Gram Parsons’ death as well as the first breakup of the Flying Burrito Brothers with a double-LP compilation. Close Up The Honky Tonks devoted the first half to a side each of selections from Gilded Palace Of Sin and Burrito Deluxe, plus the single “The Train Song”. The second half was all previously unreleased material. Side three was all covers—mostly country, but also the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody”—from a session recorded with Gram shortly before Altamont, and side four came from the sessions for the third album: more covers, as well as the lost classic “Did You See”, Sneaky Pete’s workout “Beat The Heat”, and Gene Clark’s “Here Tonight”, the one song recorded the week he was in the band. (This album would be superseded by later Burritos compilations, and many of the rarities made it to 2000’s Hot Burritos! double-CD anthology, along with the first three albums in their entirety.)

Two years later, with Gram’s legend growing, they decided to spotlight their onetime artist with another set compiled from the same source as side three of the last album, giving him top billing and a moody cover shot on Sleepless Nights. These were more country weepers, with the exception of “Honky Tonk Women”, taken even cornier than the Stones’ own “Country Honk” variation. But nine tracks weren’t enough to fill up another album, so they wisely licensed three outtakes from Grievous Angel, all duets with Emmylou Harris. Besides sounding better from being actually produced instead of just recorded, they shine compared to the others, particularly on the title track.

Overall Sleepless Nights is more country than rock, and doesn’t really spotlight the band, who could certainly cook when given the opportunity. If its legacy means anything, the album meant a lot to Elvis Costello, who would mine this and other Gram Parsons performances for the selections on his own Almost Blue five years later.

The Flying Burrito Brothers Close Up The Honky Tonks (1974)—3
Gram Parsons/The Flying Burrito Bros. Sleepless Nights (1976)—3
The Flying Burrito Brothers Hot Burritos! The Flying Burrito Brothers Anthology 1969-1972 (2000)—3½

Queen 13: The Works

The lukewarm reaction to Hot Space was enough to suggest that Queen would do well to take a bit of a break after a mostly busy ten years. So Roger Taylor worked on his second solo album, and Brian May released a mini-album called Star Fleet Project, a jam session with the drummer from REO Speedwagon, bassist Phil Chen, and Eddie Van Halen, who proved that he simply could not play the blues. Freddie Mercury started his own solo album, but put it aside for the band to complete The Works.

While they seemed to embrace their established style and turn up the guitars, in a reversal from the last album, synthesizers still figured prominently, right from the opening track and lead single. Yet “Radio Ga Ga” is full of trademark Queen majesty, with soaring vocals and a memorable, catchy chorus. For a song about radio, the video was clever, interspersing scenes from the silent classic Metropolis and showing off John Deacon’s unfortunate mop. (It would also inspire a kid from Manhattan to take a stage name.) Regardless, Brian May’s riffing drives “Tear It Up” over a pounding beat right out of “We Will Rock You”, as if the previous song hadn’t happened. Even earlier triumphs are echoed on “It’s A Hard Life”, which earns the operatic tag even without the Pagliacci melody at the top (think “no more Rice Krispies”). It continues as something of a musical sequel to “Play The Game”, and that’s fine. Speaking of familiar sounds, “Man On The Prowl” is a crazy little thing called rockabilly, only with more Elvis swagger and prominent piano.

Unfortunately, “Machines (Or ‘Back To Humans’)” doesn’t have the balance of vintage and modern that made “Radio Ga Ga” work. It does improve anytime the vocodered vocals are out of the mix, but it’s just too robotic-sounding, even for irony. While it’s in the same tempo, “I Want To Break Free” is best known today for its video, which traumatized homophobic American radio programmers, maybe not so much for Freddie’s getup (with mustache intact) but for Roger’s rather fetching portrayal of a teenage girl. Still, the song, while simple, has rightfully become an anthem. More empowerment, this time against suicide, comes in “Keep Passing The Open Windows”, left over from the band’s brief, unrealized contract to score the film version of The Hotel New Hampshire. It’s that much closer to straight rock, and a good lead-in to the hook-heavy “Hammer To Fall”, one of which reminds us of “Now I’m Here” in a good way. “Muscular” is a good word for this one, and the call-and-response vocals are perfect. From there, “Is This The World We Created…?” is a particularly quiet finale, with just Freddie and Brian.

The Works was a big deal for the band, particularly in America, where they had left Elektra for Capitol, in line with their worldwide EMI contract. The album did okay, but not as well as it should have, especially Stateside.

The first expanded CD added the rockin’ contemporary B-side “I Go Crazy” and 12-inch mixes of “Radio Ga Ga” and “I Want To Break Free”. Only the B-side was included on the second expansion, alongside different mixes of “I Want To Break Free” and “Hammer To Fall”, two songs from Rock In Rio (the closest stop on the tour to the U.S. in this hemisphere), and the holiday single “Thank God It’s Christmas”, which barely dented the charts in the UK in the wake of Band Aid and Frankie Goes To Hollywood, and didn’t chart at all here.

Queen The Works (1984)—3
1991 Hollywood reissue: same as 1984, plus 3 extra tracks
2011 remaster: same as 1984, plus 6 extra tracks

Dwight Twilley 7: The Great Lost Twilley Album

Power pop started getting something of a resurgence in the ‘90s, and thanks to Shelter Records’ distribution deal with the DCC Compact Classics label, the first two Dwight Twilley Band were reissued on CD. Hopefully this was a financial boon for Dwight Twilley, who’d retired from the major label biz a few years earlier, as well as Phil Seymour, who was losing his battle with lymphoma, to which he would succumb in August 1993.

But a few months before that sad occasion, The Great Lost Twilley Album presented an overdue peek into the vaults. This packed CD compiled tracks from their earliest sessions through the drawn-out recording of their two albums together, as well as solo Twilley songs intended for the album that became Scuba Divers after taking so long. These are hardly leftovers; beginning with the original single version of “Somebody To Love”, it’s a non-chronological journey through 25 could’ve-been-hits, including the discarded single “Shark (In The Dark)” and its intended B-side “Please Say Please”, the original mix of “I’m On Fire” and its long-lost B-side “Did You See What Happened”, songs that would be rerecorded for Phil’s first solo album, and other alternate takes and mixes, with most tracks clocking under the 2:50 standard.

The presentation is designed more for listening than strict history, though session details for each track are included. So it’s not really a lost album per se, but a good chance to hear what else had been in the hopper. Most of all, it demonstrates once again how much these guys loved to make records, whether throwback tracks like “I Don’t Know My Name”, slow burners like “No Resistance”, or big productions like “Burnin’ Sand” and “Dancer”.

Thanks to another label switch, The Great Lost Twilley Album soon went out of print and was lost again. Luckily, it’s accessible on all the streaming services, and should be sought.

Dwight Twilley The Great Lost Twilley Album (1993)—3
Current CD availability: none; streaming only

Jerry Garcia 9: Garcia/Grisman

David Grisman was the originator of “Dawg” music, a mix of bluegrass and jazz that highly appealed to his buddy Jerry Garcia. Deadheads would have heard his mandolin on “Friend Of The Devil” and “Ripple”, and he was a key component of Jerry’s Old & In The Way project. The two of them loved sitting and picking together, with Jerry on guitar and sometimes banjo, and once Grisman installed a studio in his house, it was only natural that they’d record some of their sessions.

Released on Grisman’s own label, Jerry Garcia/David Grisman was the first of the albums that have commemorated their collaboration. With occasional fiddle from Joe Craven, who also adds percussion, the overall feel is very much in the tradition of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli, which was the point. They loved playing pre-war tunes, like “Russian Lullaby” and “Rockin’ Chair”, and “Two Soldiers” was likely the source for Bob Dylan’s own cover. Their take on the blues classic “The Thrill Is Gone” is way cool, but the retread of “Friend Of The Devil” is unnecessary. Just as impressive are the instrumentals “Grateful Dawg” (which lent its title to a 2001 documentary about the pair, which spawned a soundtrack album including live performances among previously released material) and “Dawg’s Waltz”. “Arabia”, which incorporates a Cuban melody, is a bit much at 16 minutes, but it does include an upright bass solo.

Two years later, Not For Kids Only took a similar approach, leaning heavily on traditional songs and the occasional nursery rhyme. It really does live up to its title, with charming lyrics, helpful liner notes, and familiar tunes, like “There Ain’t No Bugs On Me”, and “A Horse Named Bill” sung over “Dixie”. The tune of “Teddy Bear’s Picnic” might be familiar to tapers as one of Nicky Hopkins’ go-to timekillers onstage; here it’s got a more ragtime feel. Jerry’s voice isn’t as strong as before, but his cover art is very sweet, as are the pair’s goofy exchanges on “Arkansas Traveller”. Nice as the album is, Grisman took it upon himself to add other musicians, including the Wrecking Crew’s Hal Blaine, on a variety of instruments “while Jerry was out touring”. That’s fine sometimes, except when the Jew’s harp and animal sounds get in the way. (In 2024, the Bare Bones: The Duo Recordings download presented three discs’ worth of alternate and pre-embellishment tracks from this and other Garcia/Grisman albums, making it easier to focus on just them.)

After Jerry died, Grisman added more volumes to their catalog, drawing from the same fertile period. Shady Grove focused again on traditional and folk songs; with the exception of “Stealin’” and “Jackaroo”, many of these hadn’t made it to any stage Garcia was on since before the Dead formed. A thick booklet provided recording details as well as the history of the songs, with lyrics, in an attempt to suggest that the album was a through line to the work of Harry Smith and Alan Lomax. Even when there are other players, the approach throughout is laidback and relaxed, with between-take chatter too, but Jerry’s voice is shot for most of it.

That’s not an issue for So What, which presents three takes of the title track and two of “Milestones” (both by Miles Davis) plus two of Milt Jackson’s “Bags’ Groove” (also recorded by Miles) and one of Grisman’s own, “16/16”. These were all tried at different sessions, so any similarities end beyond the basic framework of each. The rhythm section and occasional flute are present but not obtrusive. The two friends are the focus and play off each other so well, it’s clear they know these tunes inside out. And with no singing, one can concentrate on their phenomenal fretwork. It’s too bad there isn’t more of this mode.

A unique tangent to these albums is The Pizza Tapes, which got its moniker from the highly plausible tale of a dub being given to or stolen by a pizza delivery driver at Garcia’s house, after which it became a widely traded bootleg until Grisman made it official. This was a trio session, recorded over two days with legendary bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice sitting in with the pair. Given the pedigree of their guest, most of the material leans towards the songs already heard on the albums already described, but with some other familiar tunes, like “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”, “Long Black Veil”, “Summertime”, “House Of The Rising Sun”, and supposedly Garcia’s only known performance of “Amazing Grace”. Throughout, Rice adds a wonderful dimension, and they’re clearly having a ball, and not just when goofing on the Addams Family theme and the Good Humor truck jingle in the sections indexed as “Appetizers”. (Ten years later Grisman released a three-CD expanded “Extra Large Edition”, which added more rehearsals and takes of the songs on the album, and further chatter.)

A few years went by what was stated as the final volume was released, and to date, it still is. Been All Around This World is the most wide-ranging of them all, running the gamut from standards like the title track (which the Dead had played for years, and was also a staple of the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band) and tunes by Merle Travis, Jimmie Rodgers, and Mel Tillis to surprises like Dylan’s “Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest”, Jimmy Cliff’s “Sittin’ Here In Limbo”, “Take Me” by George Jones, and wackiest of all, James Brown’s “I’ll Go Crazy”. “Handsome Cabin Boy Waltz” had already appeared on Shady Grove, but this instrumental version with flute is lovely.

While Grisman did manage to get several albums out of a finite well, the good news is that it’s all high quality. If you like one, you’ll probably like all the others.

Jerry Garcia/David Grisman Jerry Garcia/David Grisman (1991)—3½
Jerry Garcia/David Grisman Not For Kids Only (1993)—3
Jerry Garcia/David Grisman Shady Grove (1996)—3
Jerry Garcia & David Grisman So What (1998)—3½
Jerry Garcia/David Grisman/Tony Rice The Pizza Tapes (2000)—3½
2010 Extra Large Edition: same as 2000, plus 19 extra tracks
Jerry Garcia & David Grisman Grateful Dawg: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2001)—3
Jerry Garcia & David Grisman Been All Around This World (2004)—3

Robert Hunter 2: Tiger Rose

Only a year after his first solo album, Robert Hunter had amassed enough lyrics and music for another. Maybe guessing he needed the help, Jerry Garcia took a more active role on Tiger Rose, not just contributing guitar, vocals, and synth, but producing the album. Expatriate Mickey Hart provided the studio and added percussion (as well as drums under a pseudonym); other familiar names included David Grisman, Dave Torbert, Donna Godchaux, Pete Sears, and David Freiberg, the latter two most recently associated with Jefferson Starship. Yet the auteur still did all the singing, for better but mostly worse.

The title track has something of a traditional bayou feel, while “One Thing To Try” packs on the platitudes for a more contemporary sound. “Rose Of Sharon” is very sweet, and we’re surprised that this one hasn’t been covered more; indeed, none of the songs here made it into any Dead set. He yells his way through the shaggy Western saga in “Wild Bill”, and manages to keep up with all the disparate parts of “Dance A Hole”. One of those parts recalls the sea chanteys of his first album, as does “Cruel White Water” with its imagery and metaphors. “Over The Hills” is pleasant adult contemporary pop about the power of music, but “Last Flash Of Rock And Roll” fails at the same effort. “Yellow Moon” is just him strumming and singing with Jerry playing along, so it’s a nice break. Mickey provided the music for “Ariel”, bringing the set to a stately close. (This is another one that could have soared onstage.)

While some of the arrangements are a little dated, the production thin, and the vocalist subpar, Tiger Rose is still a worthy chapter in the Grateful Dead saga. The songs deserved better. Even Hunter himself knew his vocals weren’t his strong suit, so when the album was reissued by Rykodisc in 1989, he took the opportunity to redo them, as well as shuffle the tracklist. Decades later, the album was expanded for its 50th anniversary, using the original sequence and vocals, and adding a bonus disc of alternates.

Robert Hunter Tiger Rose (1975)—2½
2025 Deluxe Edition: same as 1975, plus 9 extra tracks

Robert Plant 16: Saving Grace

The 21st century has seen Robert Plant boldly walking his own path. Generally he’s found a collective of eager players, usually unknowns, and together they’ve worked up arrangements of arcane songs old and new. It’s more about interpretation and feeling than creation, and it’s kept him very happy.

Saving Grace is also the name of the outfit that recorded it; vocalist Suzi Dian gets prominent billing alongside the title, and rightfully so, given her pristine pipes. The sound is somewhere between Band Of Joy and his collaborations with Alison Krauss, and the key participants on those albums are acknowledged here. Some of the song choices are right in line with what he strove for on Dreamland. Where applicable, a song’s history in the Roud, Laws, or Child indexes are detailed.

To wit, “Chevrolet” was first recorded under another title by Memphis Minnie a century earlier, but we’re guessing Robert was most familiar with Donovan’s version as “Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness)”. There’s more of a sinister undertone here, as there is on the ancient “As I Roved Out”. We have to smile at the line about “The green, green grass/Trampled under foot”, especially considering the album’s release was preceded by an EP of vintage live Zeppelin tracks from Physical Graffiti. Things lighten for the hippie vibe of “It’s A Beautiful Day Today” by Robert’s beloved Moby Grape, and proof that the band is a democracy comes when Matt Worley sings the lead on Blind Willie Johnson’s “Soul Of A Man”. The lovely “Ticket Taker” comes from Americana band The Low Anthem, with only its occasionally modern references giving away its modern composition.

Robert takes the lead on “I Never Will Marry”, despite the female point of view, with rich harmonies behind him. Suzy takes center stage on the next two: “Higher Rock”, a modern gospel stomper by Martha Scanlan (who’d appeared on T Bone Burnett’s soundtrack to Cold Mountain); and Sarah Siskind’s “Too Far From You”, a soulful country weeper that got its previous widest exposure on the Nashville TV show. The volume goes way up again for “Everybody’s Song”, Robert’s third career cover from Low’s The Great Destroyer. The traditional “Gospel Plough” provides a somber conclusion to the journey; in the distance after the fade we hear echoes of “Chevrolet”, bringing us full circle.

Saving Grace is another enjoyable chapter in the journey Robert Plant had been pursuing for sixty years. Hopefully he’ll get to keep traveling, and we’ll hear more from his worthy companions too.

Robert Plant Saving Grace With Suzy Dian (2025)—3½

Fairport Convention 5: Full House

While the band had found something of a marketable direction, 1970 found Fairport Convention now working not only without Ashley Hutchings—who left to form Steeleye Span, and was replaced on bass by the soon-to-be-legendary Dave Pegg—but also without Sandy Denny—who left to form Fotheringay, and was replaced by nobody, as that was impossible. Full House was therefore a hopeful title, as they continued to imbue folk songs and influences with electricity and a rhythm section. (In keeping with the old-meets-new theme established by the last album, this time the liner notes featured descriptions of allegedly ancient sporting games and the scores achieved.)

Once again they open with something of a call-to-arms (for lack of a better term) in “Walk Awhile”, with rotating vocalists on the verses, guitars balancing Dave Swarbrick’s violin over the tight rhythm section. “Dirty Linen” is another example of the band adapting and medleying traditional reels, and the new guy’s bass parts are virtuosic in their precision. The balance of side one is filled by the slower “Sloth” (rhymes with “growth”), which manages to stay interesting over nine minutes and a wonderful Richard Thompson solo without increasing tempo.

“Sir Patrick Spens” is an old tune about a shipwreck, and another case where the men’s close harmonies have us missing Sandy big time. The nautical theme continues in the opening melody of “Flatback Caper”, another medley, this one dominated by mandolins. Written by Richard and Swarbrick, “Doctor Of Physick” is something of a gothic cautionary tale warning adolescent girls against impure thoughts. Finally, the ancient “Flowers Of The Forest” is dominated by an electric dulcimer for a hypnotic drone.

While Full House is successful, it’s just not the same band without Sandy. Richard started to think so too, as not long after their American tour—later spotlit on the official release Live At The L.A. Troubadour, which was itself later replaced by House Full—he quit too, off to a quirky yet intriguing solo career.

Some early copies of Full House sported a slightly different track listing, which listed one song that had been pulled at the last minute. When the album was upgraded (overseas) in this century, the original sequence was restored, including “Poor Will And The Jolly Hangman”; even Richard himself has agreed that leaving it off in the first place was a mistake, as it provides even more balance to the album as a whole. Bonus tracks included mono and stereo mixes of the standalone single “Now Be Thankful”, as well as its B-side, another medley of reels, this time given an interminable gimmick title.

Fairport Convention Full House (1970)—3