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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Image Entertainment
Salesrank: 67903
Released: March 22, 2005 |
| Our Price: $7.99 |
| Used Price: $5.99 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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| Features:
Closed-captioned Color Compilation Dolby DVD NTSC | |
Editorial Review:
Return to Sin City: A Tribute to Gram Parsons celebrates an artist who made his greater mark in the years following his death and has become a contemporary music icon. The late, great Gram Parsons refused to let anyone call his music "country rock." With the soul of a true cowboy, he just couldn't be fenced in. His vision was much more grandiose than the words "country rock" would allow. The cosmic American music of Gram Parsons celebrated diversity. Sure, the broken hearted sentiment of country music was firmly rooted in his musical upbringing. But so was the burning urgency of soul music's dramatic melodies as well as the sweet, uplifting, revelatory harmonies of gospel choirs and of course the hip shaking, hand clapping strut and boogie of rock and roll music. Thirty years after his untimely death in Joshua Tree, CA., musicians and music lovers still name check Gram Parsons with the utmost awe and respect. He saw beyond labels and boundaries in music and in life. In his time he influenced the music of his prot#g# Emmylou Harris, as well as his friends the Rolling Stones and the Byrds. He was the first longhair country boy-just ask any of the outlaws from Willie Nelson to Kris Kristofferson-someone who could bring country music to the closed minds of those who previously dismissed it as "hillbilly" or "hick" while turning on many a good ol' boy to the sounds of sweet soul music. Staying true to her father's vision of diversity in music, his daughter Polly organized Return to Sin City: A Tribute to Gram Parsons. She recruited both close friends and ardent fans of her father and his music as well as contemporary artists inspired by his work and vision. "He changed the face of country music without anybody ever knowing it. After he died, there was this whole different aspect of country music which pervades to this day." -Keith Richards, According to the Rolling Stones.
Description of Return to Sin City - A Tribute to Gram Parsons:
Return to Sin City - A Tribute to Gram Parsons offers clear evidence that Parsons, who died at age 26 and whose output consisted primarily of just five recordings (one with the Byrds, two with the Flying Burrito Brothers, and two solo albums), commands a degree of respect and influence these days that’s far greater than the modest success he enjoyed before his death in 1973. Recorded in Los Angeles, this 106-minute, 21-song concert features some big names (Keith Richards, Norah Jones) and slightly lesser lights (Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle, John Doe) performing tunes Parsons wrote and/or recorded before his career was cut short by drug and alcohol problems (executive produced by Parsons’ daughter, Polly, the concert and DVD will help raise funds to battle substance abuse). And if the material’s country-rock flavor (Parsons disdained that label, preferring to call it "cosmic American music") sounds a bit hackneyed nowadays, well, it’s not his fault; after all, Parsons was only around to help invent the genre, not run it into the ground. On this night, it’s left to the artists with unique voices and personae to lift the flavor of the proceedings from the merely pleasant to the truly inspiring, and that’s precisely what Doe ("Hot Burrito No. 2"), Earle ("Luxury Liner"), Williams (a raw, somewhat ragged, and unabashedly vulnerable "Sleepless Nights"), Yoakam ("Sin City"), and Richards (who croaks his way through "Love Hurts," a duet with Jones, and "Hickory Wind") do. After that string of remarkable performances, closing the show by bringing everyone (including the great guitarist James Burton) onstage for "Wild Horses" and "Ooh Las Vegas" may be a tad anti-climactic, but Return to Sin City is still a fine way to remember a music legend. --Sam Graham
Return to Sin City - A Tribute to Gram Parsons Reviews:
An Outstanding "Allstar" Tribute to the Late/Great Gram Parsons & His "Cosmic American Music" = An Outstanding Concert DVD !!!! 
2009-03-19 - SIMPLY AWESOME!!! This is one of the greatest tribute concerts ever!!! I'm not concerned about the "stars" who were not in it. I'm just thankful for the "stars" who are in it. Gram's daughter - Polly Parsons did a fantastic job of putting this together. She even appears in the concert and gives some great commentary. Everyone in this tribute concert shows sincere respect for Gram, and they perform at their best. This concert is simply outstanding, and a "must-have" for any music lover period!!! I love the way they had Gram's picture in the background. This concert consists of 21 great Gram Parson's Classics. It has a running time of 106 minutes.
The concert is as follows: (You get the Legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, Guitarist - James Burton, who played guitar on a lot of Gram's albums - he plays guitar on stage througout the concert):
Six Days on the Road - Sin City Allstars
Big Mouth Blues - Jim Lauderdale
Drug Store Truck Driving Man - Jay Farrar
Devil in Disguise - Jay Farrar
Hot Burrito #1 - Raul Malo (I love this song!!!)
Still Feeling Blue - Jim James
Hot Burrito #2 - John Doe
We'll Sweep out the Ashes in the Morning - John Doe & Kathleen Davis
Do Right Woman, Do Right Man - Susan Marshall
Luxury Liner - Steve Earle
My Uncle - Steve Earle
Sleepless Nights - Lucinda Williams
A Song for You - Lucinda Williams
Wheels - Dwight Yoakam (I love this song also!)
Sin City - Dwight Yoakam
She - Norah Jones
Love Hurts - Keith Richards & Norah Jones
Hickory Wind - Keith Richards (I love this song also, very much!!!)
In my Hour of Darkness - Susan Marshall & the House of Blues Gospel Choir
Wild Horses - All Artists
Ooh Las Vegas - All Artists
This is one of the greatest tribute concerts ever to one of the greatest Musical Artists ever - the late/great Gram Parsons. I highly recommend this one. Thanks!!!!
GP Defiled 
2008-11-11 -
Why no Emmylou Harris & Chris Hillman? This "Tribute" DVD is overblown crap, including the worst of Grams' legacy. Some involved remind me of the hangers on and losers who would bring him down to their level and eventually down to his early death. Shame on the producers of this trash -he deserves better (apologies to Dwight, Lucinda, & Steve).
Do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy of "Gilded Palace of Sin" & "Grievous Angel" instead.
Touching Tribute with Heart and Soul!
2007-11-12 - This tribute concert touched me. I cried a few times and got goosebumps from the heartfelt testimonies made by the friends, fans and family of Gram Parsons. Keith Richard's performance of Love Hurts is unforgettable. There are so many amazing artists that performed in honor of an artist that died too soon. I loved it.
At its best :Rough . At its worst: Creepy
2007-09-13 - None of the numbers comes any where near Parson's originals. Would it have dishonored the spirit of the event to have practiced just a little?
Sound quality is rough.
The low point of the show was the awkward pairing of Keith Richards and Norah Jones for Love Hurts. Keith croaked and leered.(Did he drool? It looked a little like he drooled.) Norah seemed to struggle to hide her revulsion throughout the duet. It was just creepy. Who was more relieved to have the song finally end? Me or Norah?
Sin City Forever
2007-03-30 - Even if you are not a fan of Gram Parsons, have a look and think again. This tribute to Gram & his music is made up of old friends, and young musicians who love music that tells a story and makes you wish you could play a guitar or sing a song, or both. Gram Parsons influenced a whole generation of blues, country & rock stars and is still doing so 30 years after his untimely death. The music is absolutely sensational and the feeling of being at Sin City with all these great players is just wonderful. From his old mate Keith Richards to the very young and sweet Norah Jones, they all sing with their hearts and pay tribute in their own way, with their own styles and voices and it comes together beautifully. A great DVD that you want to play over and over again. I think the man himself would be proud of what he began all those years ago and to see that his influence is still going strong in the world of music today.
