The Grevious Angel Returns Once More

There is a vault somewhere, I kind of 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' style treasure chest, buried deep beneath the earth, that gets opened ever so often to satisfy and titillate hardcore fans of artists either deceased or no longer making music. This week, news broke of Amoeba Records releasing alt-country legend and all round genius Gram Parsons' lost material from a series of opening sets The Flying Burrito Brothers did for The Grateful Dead back in 1969. The venue was the legendary Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco, and the album's title will be called 'Gram Parsons Archives Vol. 1: Flying Burrito Brothers "Live" At The Avalon, 1969'.

The title's wording suggests there's more to come from Mr Parsons, and yes, I'm focusing on the "archives" and "vol. 1" bits here. Further releases will always be warmly welcomed, but something which fans are in severe need of is more visual footage of the great man himself. Sadly, television eluded Gram during his heyday and we're left to rely on grainy, hotchpotch efforts such as the one posted above. Still, it captures a man in his prime, albeit with peacock suits, an appalling disregard for the art of miming and a rather elaborate choice of head wear from Sneaky Pete on pedal steel guitar.