The Gilded Palace Of Sin

This record is the result of an ill-advised experiment between four men and their insatiable lust for having sex with burritos. It burnt each of their dicks off, Peter. For Christ's sake, their handsome penises are ruined. In tatters. They can still fly though. But what use is flying if your burnt, limp cock is hanging on by a thread?

A beautiful slow burn. Everything I love about the Eagles but with way more substance. Gram Parsons was an interesting character by all accounts.

The progenitors of country-rock/cosmic American music create one of the greatest albums of all time and Gram Parsons cements himself as one of my favorite songwriters and arrangers. 9.7/10 Best Tracks: "Christine's Tune" "Sin City" "Dark End of the Street" "Wheels" "Hot Burrito #1" "Hot Burrito #2"

Nah mate, I'm a taco man and generally I prefer my Mexican food not to be airborne.

We have both types of Music here, Country and Western !

Band choose After three listens, I still wasn't feeling like any of it had drawn me in, or that I was able to distinguish any key tracks/moments. I expected an album called "The Gilded Palace of Sin" by "The Flying Burrito Brothers" to be daring, bold, eclectic. It may have been all of those things at the time for country fans and rockers, bringing the genres together in a new and radical way at the end of the 60s. But it doesn't feel any more special than the other albums already attempting this: Neil Young's early output, Dylan's Nashville Skyline, the Band, even the Byrds' own "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" before Parsons and Hillman broke away to set up the Burrito Brothers. The album feels very of its time to me, and seems more like they were following a trend than making a bold move against the grain. Some reviews (and Wikipedia) seem to herald the album as an exciting crossover between country and 60's rock/soul/psych, which could have been amazing. But to my ears, country is by far the strongest flavour, from the lap steel guitars to the incessant piano trills, simple two part harmonies, four chord strum-a-longs, and generic lyrics. A couple of soul covers thrown in don't do a great deal to change this. And the songs are... okay. "Christine's Tune" gets things going at a decent pace, the two "Burrito" tracks have decent melodies and chord progressions. None of it is offensive or head-turning... but that's part of the problem, it just doesn't leap out of the speakers. It's also supposedly significant for spurring on 70s country-rock bands like the Eagles... I'm dreading them coming up on here.

I have no words to describe how bad this is. I only have questions about how such an obscure and unsuccessful album can make this list. A generous 1 star.

So very good. Great covers along with some stellar originals that live on.

I reaaaaally liked this

bless up

This was a fantastic surprise of an album, from a band I had never heard of before! These guys are not well known, but they're quite good at what they do, which I would say at the time would have been alt-country. This album took country music and infused it with rock, folk rock, gospel, soul, psychedelia, and more. At the time, that was virtually unheard of. Furthermore, I would go as far as to say that this album is extremely influential to music moving forward, due to the time that it came out and the genres it intersected. First, the country side of things. Country was incredibly stagnant during the 60s. Going into the 70s and into the 80s, country music would hugely benefit from a revitalization as the mainstream bands in the genre began to incorporate these same genres and sounds found on this album into their country music. These country artists were no doubt inspired by this album. It's wild to think that The Flying Burrito Brothers, an obscure band that never experienced much commercial success, could change the trajectory of an entire genre for decades to come. And similarly, I can see where rock artists were also likely influenced by the sounds here, as the 1970s gave rise to a large amount of folk rock artists and groups. This album possesses the blueprint for that type of music, as well. Honestly, a lot of alt-country, indie folk, and other musical acts of today have styles that sound similar to this album. They were no doubt ALSO inspired by this album. The unlikely fusion of country with so many other genres birthed a musical revolution. And these fairly unknown gents had the foresight to see that those genres could successfully exist and thrive together during a time when these genres were all existing wildly apart from each other. Probably a 3.5 for me, but I feel justified in bumping it up to a 4 for the creativity and influence shown here.

Thought The Gilded Palace of Sin might be a little more risque than what it ended up being. What it was, was a perfectly average Country Rock album that helped bridge the gap of the old style Country into what we now know country as. Best: Sin City Worst: Do You Know How It Feels 2.5 Stars

I expected and hoped for something more ridiculous from “The Flying Burrito Brothers” Instead I got relatively straight forward dusty trail music. Not my cup of tea, but it’s decent. Wheels I think I liked best.

When I saw this was another late 60’s folk rock album I was a little disappointed because I didn’t think I was in the mood. However from the start this felt like quite a fun album and I ended up really enjoying. The mix although strange was great and I love high notes on bass and it was super prominent in the mix. Although there were points it felt a little bland I would focus more on the calm instrumental and it would make up for the poorer songwriting. Only other real negative was the ending, great albums need a well written ending and it is a shame this didn’t have that but still didn’t completely kill it. Going to give it a generous 4/5 because it was a great first listen. Stand Out Songs: Christine’s Tunes My Uncle Hot Burrito #1

Exceptional blend of psychedelic and country, with heaping portions of expertly played and often fuzzed out steel guitar.

I'm not usually a fan of country and western, but the Gram Parsons and the Burrito Brothers had a different approach to the genre. While the music has styling of folk and country, they also fused in elements of gospel, soul and rock. The results are heard on this album and were influential to the country-rock genre and alt-country rock bands from the late 80's and 90's. They owe a lot of their influence from this record. Gram Parson proved in his short tragic career that quality over quantity was more important and Gilded Palace is a good starting point when examining Parson's career.

Great fun album. Reminds me of Cake and PUSA that I listened to growing up. Cool tunes and offbeat lyrics.

This has a California drug-fueled country rock vibe.

Seminal...

I had zero expectations for this record and was really pleasantly surprised. I'll come back to this one.

Cool country rock vibes. Best song is the last one Hippie Boy. High 3.5

First time listening - Sort of southwest country rock - hold school. pretty good. However, most of the songs sound similar... with the steel guitar twang and weepy lyrics.

If The Beatles, "Baby's In Black" was a whole album. Everything is played and performed well, just is very slow. Overall, mid album.

Not my thing at all but I can hear it's very well executed and I can see how the different styles meld together very pleasantly. I do like it but from a distance.

Genre: Country Rock 3/5 Gram Parsons, one of the founding members of The Flying Burrito Bros, is the man who is credited with being one of the first artists to truly push the envelope of country music. He, along with band member Chris Hillman, took country music to a much more rockin' place, generally speaking. They never received the commercial success contemoprarily, but posthumously, Parsons is lauded by artists and critics alike. While I thoroughly enjoyed The Byrds album that Parsons was a part of, released just a bit before this album was, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, this album almost plays like you'd expect an old country album to play like. There are some new ideas here, heavier usage of steel guitars being the main and most prominent one, but it sounds too much like its influences rather than sounding like something brand new. Enjoyable, but not groundbreaking or breathtaking.

Pretty gloomy and not a lot of variation. 5/10

meh. I'm an anxious mess today. inoffensive enough.

This is more country than rock for me: not my cup of joe. And the band name is just embarrassing. Sorry to be in a bad mood with a headache while listening - if I felt better, I might be a bit more generous with my rating.

It gradually got worse

I fancy some country-folk stuff but these burritos are far too fatty for my taste. Just boring and I can't figure out why this album is on list 1001 list.

Fer fex sake, this is pure country, I don't care what you claim it is. A Hammond or electric guitar is not going to change any of that. It's also not something I have zero interest in.

The sixties were a time of experimentation in music - The Beatles turning from boy band to studio wizards, Jimi Hendrix doing things on the guitar that defied logic etc. And then there is The Flying Burrito Brothers, producing an album of stupidly simple country ditties devoid of any spark of innovation. I hated every twang and slide.

Moronic and simplistic lyrics and boring tunes.

Terribly boring in that it was the same song over and over.

Portada magistral e icónica, con Gram Parsons luciendo el traje de Elvis. ¿Qué aporta este debut que no tenga The sweetheart of the rodeo? Sin ir más lejos, la voz de Parsons que fue borrada de aquel fabuloso álbum. También están Hillman codo a codo con Parsons y Crosby en los coros (Dark end of the street). Además imponentes temas como la inicial Christine´s tune, o las eternas Hot Burrito#1, Sin city y la magistral versión soul-country de Do right woman (que siguen la racha de inspiración del disco compuesto con los Byrds). Otra versión absolutamente sensacional es la de James Carr de Dark end of the street (Black Francis, aka Frank Black, bien lo sabe). Imprescindible. Dylan, Stones, Byrds, cualquier banda decente y las de medio pelo, cualquiera se ha visto influenciada por este disco. La carrera de Parsons seguiría, después de Burrito Deluxe, con los también exquisitos G.P (72) y Grievous Angel (73), antes de una muerte digna de película.

Love these weird dudes

Thoughts before listening: Gram Parsons led group playing a combo of country and stoner rock...or something like that. The actual sound may be pure country that just happens to be played by hippies. Anyway, I feel like this band was important to a lot of the alt-country music I enjoy. Review: Man I love this sound. This is right up my alley, and I'm surprised that I haven't actually listened before (I do recognize a few songs). The opener "Christine's Tune" is a perfect blueprint for their sound: it's a country song played at a rock n roll pace with distorted guitars leads sprinkled in throughout. They then follow this up with a full country ballad with little rock influence...and it's also great. Overall this is a strong album that influenced a ton of much more popular 70s albums, as well as countless bands sense. 5-stars

Gram Parsons is the man

I'm super excited for this one. I have a feeling it will be one of my favorite records I've had the opportunity to review yet. Not only is this kind of alt-country/Laurel Canyon usually my favorite genre of music, but I've been meaning to listen to this for a long time. By the second song, something occurred to me. It's clear that these dudes know their country music shit. It's a level of musical understanding that I consider to be impressive, especially when you think that Gram Parsons was 25 years old. I'm glad that I listened to this one twice, both on speakers and then on my nice headphones so I had the opportunity to hear the mono recordings separated. The two vocalists that are present through the whole record, sound great individually as well as in stereo. I wish I could interview the members of this band to learn about their musical education. Maybe it's just that I'm over 30, but I feel like the Flying Burrito Brothers are quite precocious. The cover of "Do Right Woman" almost made me cry it was so good. I especially love the harmonizing during the chorus. Hot Burrito #1, wow. I love a good sort of sad love song. Going into Hot Burrito #2, it really sounds like the follow up conversation to Hot Burrito #1. I wonder if they intended that...I mean with the names and everything I think so? Even the next song seems like the next step in this love affair that he's sad has ended. Interesting, that wasn't something I noticed as much on first listen. The final track reminds me a lot of church, when a pastor is giving the sermon over music. Is it music? Is it sermon? It's both! ha. The organ here is gorgeous. Congrats to the Flying Burrito Brothers, they've given me my first 5/5 thus far.

I was not expecting this to be such an easy and obvious 5 star album. Feel like I have been blowing it not checking out this band and Gram Parsons more specifically up until now.

One of my favorite albums, even if it may have helped to spawn the Eagles.

Not much to say besides it just being some damn good country. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5, and I refuse to be shamed for it. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again; I’m a sucker for old country music like this. I’m also fully biased, and I’ll admit that every single time. I feel justified in bumping this up to a 5 though – I thought this was a really well done blend of country music with a bit of rock/psychedelic rock-driven influence that blended the best of both worlds, while still feeling distinctly like a country album. It sticks pretty closely to the country side, and I suspect that’s why this album has such a low average rating on the site, but when this album chooses to let loose (especially so on “Hot Burrito #2”) and lean into the rock side, it really opens up. That’s not to say the country side of this is bad at all – the lovely sound of the steel guitar behind some more rock-driven instrumentation is like, almost heaven for me. Lyrically, I can see the complaint that some of this is rather basic, but like… what country music isn’t basic at a pure surface level? It’s about the imagery, and this album does a pretty solid job of setting the imagery throughout, enhanced further by the despair in the vocals (which thankfully, get less nasally as the album moves along). I thought every instrumental did a pretty good job of setting an emotional tone as well, even if it did enter a sort of homogeny on a few tracks. I don’t know how many more times I’ll have to justify giving old country music such high ratings, but for my money’s worth, this album earned it – I thought it had a nice energy, some good variance in the subject matter, and the soundscapes are right down my alley. I can totally understand someone else giving this a 3, or even a 2 if they despise country music to hell… but I’m at a 5, and I do not care. Send all complaints to the people who raised me on this type of music.

Great songs. Great sound. Country as a serious, grown-up musical genre; sans rhinestones and cowboy hats. Nothing wrong with a bit of dress up now and then and authenticity and seriousness are often overrated but this album takes the country vibe and instrumentarium and makes something timeless out of it.

had no expectations going into this and ended up really loving it! country psych rock. one of my favorites so far.

Very nice.

I love burritos. I wish I could fly. And I love my brother. This album is great! Gram Parsons might be my (grievous) guardian angel. The Byrds and his solo stuff, all of it, yeah, amazing. I love hippie music, I love country music, so this just hits. The opening of Hot Burrito #1 still gets me every time I hear it. And I didn't even get to the nudie suits from the album cover. Scott Pilgrim must love this album! (I need to re-listen to the Bandsplain on Gram Parsons. I remember driving back from a hike in Arkansas, and it was getting icy and late, late at night. It's just one of those memories that sticks with me, and these songs bring me back to that weekend.)

Never heard it before and was very surprised to find something I should've known about already

Another unknown group.

and suddenly my ears perk up for country rock 10/10

I loved this album. Countercultural classic country had me smiling the whole way through.

Very enjoyable from start to finish!

Superb songwriting Twangy soothing melodies Lovely country rock

Awesome album. This is one I’ve loved for a while now. I grew up hearing a lot of Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers, so I definitely have a soft spot and early education. This is bedrock for country rock. Parsons vocals are unique and emotive. The songs are classics. The Nudie suits are classic. *****

Sounds good to me

Amazing. Somehow like the Dead, but better. Love these guys.

Is it a five for gram parsons tortured songs/singing? The harmonies? "Sneeky" Pete's nickname and pedal steel? the barbituate/cannabis nudie suit? The sawtooth organ that swells at just the right moment? Possibly the definitive "dark end" take (memphis shit!)? Wheels? You'll never know. Not afraid to ride or die, but 31st floor notwithstanding, your gold plated door won't keep out the Lords burning rain!

I liked it a lot actually, listened to the whole thing a couple times

Early country rock album by Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman. They also worked together at The Byrds (Sweetheart of the Rodeo). Most of the songs are classics. Nice pedal-steel guitar by "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow.

Why have I neglected this record for so long?

Not something id usually listen to but very thought provoking

Love me some Gram Parsons. A very nice slice of old fashioned country music with a bit of soul and rock mixed in for good measure. The only thing that would make it better is adding Emmylou Harris to the mix.

Coincidentally, the past few month, I’ve started dipping my toes in Gram Parson’s tragically smaller-than-it-should-be discography. I hadn’t listened to this one yet. I loved it. I used to hear about The Flying Burrito Brothers and I think the name made me feel like they were a novelty country group more akin to Homer and Jethro. No shade on Homer and Jethro, as I have a particular fondness of especially Jethro from his association with Steve Goodman. But it prevented me from checking out the Burrito Bros. A shame, as I’ve been learning how good they were.

I just love this album, a perfect meld of rock and country that stays true to each genre but yet creates something entirely new. This album really showcases the genius of Gram Parsons.

cool

this album really surprised me and blew me away. it’s a masterpiece.

I really love this even tho it just kinda sounds exactly like The Byrds country era - 9/10

A touchstone of country rock. Having already created one classic with The Byrds, Parsons defined a sound with this album. Gritty and lo fi and perfect in every way.

I personally love this album, spin it all the time around the house. Great slide guitar, vocals, cool country feel. If I was trying to be totally objective I'd say a 4, but this is a fave for me so it's a 5 - All-time classic

Un impresionante disco de country psicodélico, que mezcla lo mejor del género con el rock y los aprendizajes que los miembros fundadores de TFBB adquirieron en The Byrds. Para ser un álbum debut es sumamente prístino, con ideas refrescantes y coros pegajosos. Un indispensable para toda la corriente del country alternativo.

4 stars for the music and I felt compelled to throw on the 5th for the influence Gram and company had on cosmic country and the country-rock blend. I’m a sucker for pedal steel and 3/4 time, and this album had it in bunches. If you like Gram Parsons, it’s also worth checking out: Sweetheart of the Rodeo GP Grievous Angel

Love this one great songs throughout I love the subtle irony that seams so ahead of it’s time for a 1969 release

This is an incredibly influential album; Bob Dylan called it one of his favorites and it has been cited by a diverse array of artists as a formative record from neo-traditionalist country artists in the 80s and 90s, to post-punk and grunge artists. The music is primarily country rock with a dose of psychedelia. This is some of Gram Parsons best work as well.

Love that you can hear the development of an entire genre. Great music. Transitional and ground breaking.

Own on Vinyl

There were 3 ways I just listened to this. An original vinyl (Aust. Stereo pressing), a 1988 vinyl best of (Aust pressing - with the whole album compressed onto one side) and on a 1997 cd with Burrito Deluxe on the same disc. And without a doubt the original vinyl sounds best. I missed The Byrds with Parsons & Really I missed The Burritos with Parsons when they were briefly around. It wasn’t until I discovered Grievous Angel (1974)his 2nd solo album, that I fell in love with Gram Parsons. And by that time he was already gone. I love Grievous Angel & G.P., the 2 studio albums he did with Emmylou Harris, but, as good as they are, they don’t match this album. So accomplished for a debut release by such a talented band. Terrific songwriting by Parsons (sometimes with Chris Hillman, sometimes with Chris Etheridge & even one with the great Barry Goldberg). And beautiful covers of two Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham standards - Do Right Woman, Do Right Man & The Dark End Of The Street. The greatness here lies in the great harmonising of Parsons & Hillman (Parsons vulnerable voice always sounded better with another voice) & the quality of the band’s musicianship, with special mention to the pedal steel of Sneaky Pete, & Etheridge’s bass. So influential - I’d totally forgotten that Elvis Costello had included Hot Burrito #1 on his country album, Almost Blue, but renamed it I’m Your Toy (from the song’s refrain). And hard to believe that the Stones weren’t thinking of Hippie Boy when they did Faraway Eyes. No duds on this one. A pleasure to hear from go to whoa!

This album just rules. Obviously, Christine’s Song is a banger, but the ballads rule too and I have always loved this cover of Dark End of the Street.

I noticed that the further we are into the 1001 the more I only give top ratings to albums I know. Since I don't want to be that person who thinks good music is made only by bands that I have been listening to since high school / university, I'm so pleased that I really like this album that I never listened to before. I heard of the group's name before but would never take any positive steps to listen to it since their name was too wonky.  Well, I really like it. Gram Parsons is an excellent song writer. The music from this album has influenced many bands I quite like such as Wilco and The Jayhawks and also seems to have been an influence on songs like Neil Young's "Roll Another Number" and other tunes from Tonight's The Night. The country styled twangy vocals in "not even trying to be perfect" harmony work very well.

The vibes in this album were elite, great sounds and story telling I really enjoyed this album. Country rock origins album they don’t make them like this no more.

👍

I didn't always love this album, but it grew on me over time. It's the kind of album I could have on repeat all day long. It's one of the great seminal albums of country rock and has also got to be one of the best debut albums by a band ever. Musically, the Burritos are stellar, with gorgeous pedal steel guitar, heartfelt vocal harmonies, and disarmingly vulnerable lyrics. Gram Parsons' artfully flawed vocal style can be a bit of an acquired taste, but once you settle into it, it's really expressive and hauntingly beautiful. Fave Songs (All songs, from most least favorite): Hot Burrito #1, Dark End of the Street, Juanita, Wheels, Do Right Woman, Hot Burrito #2, Do You Know How It Feels, Sin City, My Uncle, Hippie Boy, Christine's Tune

Better than any and every Byrds album. Better than a number of country albums on this list. It should be a requirement that one only listens with good headphones, as you get Gram Parsons' vocals on the left and Chris Hillman on the right, and whoever's voice you choose to focus on tells me everything I need to know about you.

Fantastic stuff, really great old folk-country

Beautiful. They sure love their 3/4 time. Not at all what I expected from the band name, but it's great!

I love when an absolutely ridiculous band name shows up and DELIVERS. This had great songwriting, great performances, and I can see the way it trickled into country after it came onto the scene. Excellent.

Just teeters the line a bit dangerously between the early country/western sound I like and the polished country sound I disdain, but the back end really pushes it up to that final star. Great lyrics, great performances, concise album.

I love this genre. The Byrds have a great album in it too.

His own health aside, anything Gram Parsons touched was gold. While I don’t think anything can top Sweetheart of the Rodeo, this is one of the defining alt-country albums. It’s a blast to listen to, and the songwriting is excellent throughout. There are too few country records like this on the list!

Amazing!

Can’t believe I’ve listened to this before

Soulful and Bluey without getting too twangy. Excellent country album.

The anti draft song is still relevant today.

Charming, alt country psychedelic. I enjoyed this one and it was pretty unexpected

Not my first time with this one but definitely the first really active listening experience. Love the sound of this in the same way I love Exile. Rock/Psychedlic/Country with some R&B covers. Feels like a 5 but I'm going to play it safe.

Finally some good fucking food. I like this a lot, even though I'm not all hyped up for it.

Finally a decent country album on this list. Sounded to me like early Beatles doing a country album.

why is a song called “hot burrito #1” so damn sad

Very pleasantly surprised by this, maybe I'm being converted into liking country. Thought 'The Flying Burrito Brothers' might have been a bit more out there, but this is a very solid album. Fav tracks: Hot Burrito #1, Hippie Boy, Sin City

Just like many albums on this list, if you like the alt-country genre, you'll like this album. If you hate it, you'll hate probably hate this. Personally, I think its great and you can hear where the Eagles, Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown, The Jayhawks, Blue Mountain, etc drew inspiration from.

I liked this album. The bands name made me giggle. There were actually a few tracks I would listen to again and I didn’t hate listening to the album.