- ISBN13: 9780345503367
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
As a singer and songwriter, Gram Parsons stood at the nexus of countless musical crossroads, and he sold his soul to the devil at every one. His intimates and collaborators included Keith Richards, William Burroughs, Marianne Faithfull, Peter Fonda, Roger McGuinn, and Clarence White. Parsons led the Byrds to create the seminal country rock masterpiece Sweetheart of the Rodeo, helped to guide the Rolling Stones beyond the blues in their appreciation of American roots… More >>
Twenty Thousand Roads: The Ballad of Gram Parsons and His Cosmic American Music
Tags: American, american roots, Ballad, byrds, clarence white, Cosmic, cosmic american music, Gram, gram parsons, keith richards, marianne faithfull, music, musical crossroads, Parsons, peter fonda, remainder mark, Roads, rock masterpiece, roger mcguinn, sweetheart of the rodeo, Thousand, thousand roads, Twenty, william burroughs
#1 by Alan Rockman on May 1, 2010 - 11:28 am
Yet another biography of Mr. Gram Parsons – as if three or four others were not enough about this very talented, good looking, rich kid who squandered away everything – and I do mean everything, including his own life in pursuit of a drug-laden hedonistic lifestyle.
While this new biographer Meyer does openly admit – golly gee – that Parsons was his own self-destructive worst enemy, he also regurgitates a lot of the same old idolatory nonsense that others, with the possible exception of Ben Fong-Torres have done and still continue to do. For example, Meyer opens his book with a “review” of the Gram tribute concert featuring Norah Jones and Keith Richards. Why? To prove that Gram still has many fans and a following. To be sure he does. I still like his music too, and I also like David Crosby – even if both were and are stupid in their personal lives.
But he wasn’t the only pioneer or innovator – Chris Hillman, Gene Clark, Rick Nelson, Larry Murray, Clarence White, Steve Young, the Nitty Grittys – even Michael Nesmith – and a man who deserves much more credit from the “hip” – Buck Owens – were charting new musical ground in merging Country and Rock in L.A. – Parsons wasn’t the only one. The Byrds too, not the “nest of vipers” as Meyer so poorly describes them to be – were, with the notable exception of Crosby, open to Country sounds. When Crosby was fired, and Gram was hired as a sideman AT Chris Hillman’s suggestion, the door was open to “Sweetheart of the Rodeo”, the first true California Country Rock album. They’re described as such by Meyer because surviving Byrds Hillman and Roger McGuinn wouldn’t dance to Meyer’s tune.
Indeed, his musical partner, Chris Hillman, deserves much, much more credit than he usually gets. It is Chris, who in reality did more to get that musical genre known as California Country Rock off the ground than Parsons who gets the short end of the stick by Meyer, who calls him a “Bitter Lieutenant”. To put it very mildly, that’s not only unfair but ridiculous – and Meyer didn’t even interview Hillman. But even if he had, who would want to be approached time and time again about a guy who chose depravity and death over life and creative and personal success?
Think of what might have been if Parsons stayed sober, focused, disciplined, and if Hillman had been more assertive, vocally, as he was in both the songwriting and organizational areas of the Burritos. There might not have been a monster called the Eagles. But Gram wanted to be Mick Jagger with Keith Richards’ drug appetite – and that’s not only what terminated the first “Sin City” Burritos – it was what killed him too.
Meyer’s book may shed light on what made Gram tick – and outside of NOT interviewing Hillman he did talk to others, including Emmylou, Bernie Leadon, John Beland, Pamela DesBarres and Margaret Fisher. I almost gave it three stars for the amount of research and work he did on a subject reguritated once more.
But the book is full of gossip, innuendo, and just “hero” worship of a non-hero. The put down too, of Chris Hillman also leaves me very cold. He lived, and lives well. Parsons died and became Country Rock’s Kurt Cobain. Read Ben Fong Torres (who is also a bit idolatory, but reaches his point in a short and much more succinct fashion.
Rating: 2 / 5
#2 by sh on May 1, 2010 - 2:13 pm
It’s a shame that book meant to be as comprehensive as this did not have better editing. But toss aside probs with the writer’s ability to construct well-crafted sentences; a worse problem is that this book is not nearly as balanced as many claim. While it airs so much dirty laundry it persists in supporting too much myth about GP but overrating how involved and how central GP was in the development of country and bluegrass influenced rock n roll (”country rock” for lack of a better term.) The style(s) predated GP’s by many years and much of that early work was important inspiration for GP (for example, Buck Owens). A great many others were involved an ultimately did much more before and after GP — after all, an important part of developing a musical style is showing up at the sessions and performances where the work is done. Indeed, GP had a lot of talent; no argument there. But this book doesn’t put GP’s role in Country Rock into perspective; instead, ultimately, it tends to further the mythology.
For just one example, Hillman’s tunes on the Byrd’s albums prior to “Sweetheart” evidence his well-respected musical background in country and bluegrass and attempts to bring these into play in rock n roll. Good that some reviewers have mentioned many of the others that did similar things prior to GP’s work on “Sweetheart”. Hillman hired GP for the album that became Sweetheart rather than make him a member of the band to ensure that he would show up for sessions — already his drug addictions and unreliability were a concern to his friends and fellow performers. Hillman and McGuinn knew they were taking risks using Parson and as it turned out, GP’s prior contractual obligations essentially precluded his vocal tracks being used on “Sweetheart.” Hillman attempted again to put GP to work and develop further country rock with the Burritos but before too long had to fire him because he failed to show up at too many sessions, too often showed up in no condition to work, and too often just couldn’t get along with the other members — he was expending more energy as a Stones groupie than as a band member. It’s unfortunate that GP’s romanticized irresponsibility produces a myth that outshines the contributions of Hillman and the many others that did so much more for country rock, the California sound, and music in general.
Rating: 2 / 5
#3 by W. Senn on May 1, 2010 - 2:36 pm
This book starts REALLY slowly!!! It digs really deeply into Gram’s family ….. generations before he’s born. I’m sure the stories about his well-to-do family was meant to add background to his own messed-up personality. But it was really boring. The book picks up when Gram finally gets out and starts making music.
Rating: 3 / 5
#4 by Wesley A. Cooksey on May 1, 2010 - 4:52 pm
The book was very informative to the point of being a very dry read for me. Probably a great book for avid Gram Parsons fans….but only 3 or 4 chapters interested me.
Rating: 3 / 5
#5 by Joe Cicero on May 1, 2010 - 7:40 pm
Give David Meyer credit. He did a ton of interviews to create “Twenty Thousand Roads.” To his discredit, he seems to have included every one of them in the book, no matter how redundant or extraneous. With several other Gram Parsons bios in existence, one wonders why yet another is necessary, especially when it reveals no new insights, is not in any sense definitive, does nothing to substantiate Parsons’ musical contributions, which are debatable, and indeed, is not written by an author with the musical credentials to make a final call.
This isn’t a bad book, but at 455 pages, it’s more effort than it’s worth. Read a few articles in rock encyclopedias to get the basics of Parsons’ youth (way overdone here) and skip the first 150 pages.
Parsons was a rambling wreck — a liability to himself and damaging to those around him. Then again, those who have lived the sex-drugs-and-rock-and-roll life and pulled themselves back from the edge (Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Keith Richards, fill in the blank) have been some of the most influential musicians in rock — and those cited above all had some influence in blending country and rock, as Parsons did. Who knows what could legitimately be said about GP’s legacy if he had found a way to channel his destructive compulsions? As it is, he doesn’t even make a particularly interesting cautionary tale.
Rating: 3 / 5