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The Gilded Palace of Sin is an album by the country rock group The Flying Burrito Brothers, released in 1969. It continued Gram Parsons' pioneering work in modern country music, fusing traditional sources like folk and country with other forms of popular music like gospel, soul, and rock & roll.
By 1969, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, and others had already built the foundation of the agrarian movement in rock & roll; Dylan through "The Basement Tapes" and John Wesley Harding, and Parsons through his work with The International Submarine Band and The Byrds. After the release of the groundbreaking Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Parsons left the group on the eve of a South African tour. Chris Hillman, bassist for The Byrds, soon left as well and eventually joined Parsons in his new band, The Flying Burrito Brothers as guitarist.
Their first album as The Flying Burrito Brothers was The Gilded Palace of Sin. Most of the songs were written in collaboration with the vastly more disciplined Hillman at a house in the San Fernando Valley dubbed "Burrito Manor"; consequently, Parsons delivered some of his most celebrated compositions. This uncharacteristic focus extended to his personal life; during recording, he had reunited with his longtime girlfriend and their daughter Polly, only to desert them once more shortly thereafter. The two R&B standards covered on the album, "Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman", are examples of his country-soul fusion that he would often refer to as "cosmic American music."
"My Uncle" and "Hippie Boy" address then-contemporary countercultural concerns: the draft and 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. Rather than playing in an orthodox fashion, visual effects artist-turned-pedal steel guitarist "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow often utilized a fuzzbox and/or played the instrument through a rotating Hammond Leslie amplifier, adding a psychedelic touch to several songs.
Like Sweetheart of the Rodeo, The Gilded Palace of Sin was not a commercial success - to date, the RIAA has not certified it gold. However, its impact on popular music has grown over the years, influencing, for example, The Eagles. During the 1980s, the New Traditionalist movement in mainstream country music was clearly influenced by Parsons and The Gilded Palace of Sin, with artists like Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, and Randy Travis moving country music closer to Parsons' vision of "Cosmic American Music."
Even today, the influence of Parsons and The Gilded Palace of Sin looms large over the alternative-country movement, often referred to as 'alt-country.' Bands like Wilco, Son Volt, Whiskeytown, and the Jayhawks as well as individuals as Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris (Parsons' one-time singing partner), and Steve Earle all have recorded music that bears traces of The Gilded Palace of Sin. Even non-country artists like Elvis Costello have cited the album as a particular favorite, with Costello covering several cuts during his career.
For many years, the album was never re-issued in its entirety on compact disc in the United States. However, in 2000 the complete album was finally re-issued as part of a two-disc set, Hot Burritos! The Flying Burrito Bros. Anthology 1969-1972. In 2002, a new mastering was issued on a single-disc two-fer, Sin City: The Very Best of the Flying Burrito Brothers, which packaged The Gilded Palace of Sin with its successor, Burrito Deluxe, as well as a few outtakes from the same period.
Track listing
1. Christine's Tune (Parsons, Hillman) - 3:04
2. Sin City (Parsons, Hillman) - 4:11
3. Do Right Woman (Chips Moman, Dan Penn) - 3:56
4. Dark End Of The Street (Spooner Oldham, Penn) - 3:58
5. My Uncle (Parsons, Hillman) - 2:37
Side Two
1. Wheels (Hillman, Parsons) - 3:04
2. Juanita (Hillman, Parsons) - 2:31
3. Hot Burrito #1 (Ethridge, Parsons) - 3:40
4. Hot Burrito #2 (Ethridge, Parsons) - 3:19
5. Do You Know How It Feels" (Parsons, Barry Goldberg) - 2:09
6. Hippie Boy (Hillman, Parsons) - 4:55
Personnel
Gram Parsons: lead vocal, rhythm guitar, piano, organ
Chris Hillman: harmony and lead vocals, rhythm guitar, mandolin
"Sneaky" Pete Kleinow: pedal steel guitar
Chris Ethridge: bass, piano
with
Jon Corneal, Eddie Hoh, Popeye Phillips and Sam Goldstein: drums