The Flying Burrito Brothers’ 1969 studio debut The Gilded Palace Of Sin is set to be reissued on vinyl as part of UMe’s Vinylphyle series.
Each Vinylphyle release features all analog mastering from original sources by an elite group of today’s top vinyl cutting engineers (unless sequenced analog masters don’t exist). The LPs are pressed at the world-class audiophile vinyl record pressing plant RTI, on 180-gram black vinyl.
The Gilded Palace Of Sin comes with a gatefold jacket in satin matte finish, printed on clay-coated board, with archival poly sleeves and a four-panel insert featuring new liner notes by Scott Bomar in conversation with original band member Chris Hillman.
The album has become a hit among country and folk fans alike, and as such has earned a status as one of the defining albums of both country-rock and Americana music. The Flying Burrito Brothers earned some big fans with the release, too. Bob Dylan said the record “knocked me out” and Elvis Costello named it as one of the 500 essential albums all music lovers should own.
Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman formed the band after they both decided to depart The Byrds. They rounded out the group with bassist Chris Ethridge and pedal steel guitarist Pete Kleinow. Regarding their sound, Parsons explained: “We’re a rock’n’roll band that sounds like a country band.”
On The Gilded Palace Of Sin, the group showcased plenty of stellar originals (like “Hot Burrito #1” and “Sin City”), and brought serious original flair to cover songs, too. “We also took the interesting song ‘Do Right Woman, Do Right Man,’ which was Aretha Franklin’s big soul song at the time, but we did it country. That was the genius of Parsons. He got me into looking beyond the country parameters,” explained Hillman.
The album is accented by its one-of-a-kind cover art, which was overseen by Tom Wilkes and highlights the album’s freewheeling approach to genre. He explained: “We decided to take them out to the desert and do something kind of surreal with the Nudie suits, shot by Barry Feinstein. And they looked great anyway. They looked funky and kind of country-western and kind of rock.”
Buy the Vinylphyle edition of The Flying Burrito Brothers’ The Gilded Palace Of Sin here.
