Grievous Angel

Gram Parsons Grievous Angel on numbered limited edition hybrid SACD from Mobile Fidelity

Parsons’ swan song achieves the goal of bridging ’60s rock consciousness, traditional country sounds and folk roots.

Grievous Angel has been called one of the best harmony records of its era. Actually, it’s one of the best of all-time. Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris’ voices seamlessly match in a wedding of deep emotion, graceful beauty, and soulful communion. Audiophiles will revel in the distinctive channel separation and extra-wide soundstage in which Parsons’ voice is on the left and Harris’ on the right. Despite having used different microphones, the pair recorded close enough together that they stared into one another’s eyes while singing, lending to the beauty contained within. In addition, a majority of the sessions were captured live in the studio, with scant overdubs smoothing out a ragged edges. Mobile Fidelity’s reissue preserves the album’s prized combination of intimacy, warmth, and rawness.

Most famously known for the inclusion of the definitive version of “Love Hurts,” Grievous Angel is widely considered Parsons’ most cohesive and consistent work. While it only features two new Parsons compositions, the record works as a synthesis of time, place, spirit, and kindred togetherness.