Review
'... a crucial influence on where American rock went in the '70s.' --UNCUT, January 2009
Product Description
Country-rock renegades, outlaws, desperados in sequined Nudie suits on the lam from the commercial music machine with a dream to pull rock music back from the psychedelic abyss and return it to its pure and simple country roots, The Flying Burrito Brothers were avatars of a whole new genre that continues to resonate today. Widely regarded as the original country-rock band, you can hear their influence in the entire mainstream Southern California mid 70s country-rock of artists like the Eagles, J.D. Souther, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt, as well as the current crop of Nashville country-pop including Alan Jackson and Brad Paisley and the alternative No Depression/ alt.country/roots rock/Americana music underground.In the brief four-year span of the original group, The Flying Burrito Brothers have transcended cult status to earn universal respect and admiration. "Hot Burritos" is the colourfully detailed, deeply insightful, hard-hitting and personal insider account of one of contemporary music's most beloved, respected, innovative and daring maverick bands as told to writer John Einarson by founding Burrito Brother Chris Hillman and other group members and associates.Previously guarded about the group's colourful history, Hillman shatters the myths surrounding the legendary band, taking readers for the first time inside the creative Parsons-Hillman partnership, their notoriously extravagant 1969 train trip tour, country-rock bastions like the Troubadour and Palomino clubs, the doomed Altamont Festival, Festival Express, the Rolling Stones inner circle, Parsons' overindulgence and ultimate dismissal, discovering Emmylou Harris, bringing bluegrass-flavoured country rock to ecstatic college crowds, and the legacy the group left behind. Hillman's personal insights into enigmatic icon and friend Gram Parsons offer an intimate portrait of the doomed cult hero who, since his tragic death at age 26, has received an inordinate amount of credit for giving birth to country rock.
About the Author
John Einarson is the author of 12 books including the critically-acclaimed Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of The Byrds' Gene Clark (Backbeat Books, 2005), voted among the 20 best books of 2005 by Uncut and Record Collector. Musician and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Chris Hillman is a founding member of folk-rock pioneers The Byrds, country-rock rebels The Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas, Souther, Hillman and Furay, and the Desert Rose Band. He is a widely respected musical innovator and is regarded as one of the founding fathers of country rock.
