Search - Gram Parsons :: Safe at Home

Gram Parsons' earliest masterpiece.

Matt Coker | Davis, CA, USA | 04/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's been said that with the exception of a few missteps. SAFE AT HOME is on the par of SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO. It's equally good, I think the mistakes are exaggerated. SAFE AT HOME is definately at the top of most similar releases. Yes, "I Still Miss Someone" isn't quite as realized as some of the later recordings (Nobody does that song like Emmylou Harris), but it was a blueprint. There are marvelous versions of Country standards like "Satisfied Mind" and "I Must Have Been Somebody Else You've Known". The Parsons' originals are exceptional. "Blue Eyes", the opening track, doesn't get all the attention it deserves, but it's an excellent song. "Luxury Liner" is awesome, as is "Do You Know How It Feels To Be Lonesome". Once you press play, you can't turn it off. True, Gram Parsons would make better masterpieces later in his too-brief career, but SAFE AT HOME is the first, and after you've listened once, unforgettable.TRACK LIST: 1)Blue Eyes, 2)I Must Have Been Somebody Else You've Known, 3)A Satisfied Mind, 4)Folsom Prison Blues/That's All Right, 5)Miller's Cave, 6)I Still Miss Someone, 7)Luxury Liner, 8)Strong Boy, 9)Do You Know How It Feels To Be Lonesome?"

Country Rock in 1967: a milestone

Christoph Deschner | Berlin, Germany | 08/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an interesting record, to say the least: I can't think of any other group that played Country Rock in 1967, the "Summer of Love" season. Even though this is one of the earliest published examples of a Gram Parsons performance on record, his voice sounds already very mature here and carries a lot of emotion. Furthermore it features some early examples of his now classic song material such as "Luxury Liner", "Blue Eyes", "Strong Boy" and "Do You Know How It Feels To Be Lonesome", later re-recorded with the Flying Burrito Brothers. "Luxury Liner" has even more punch than the version covered later by Emmylou Harris. The real treat of the album though is a cooking rhythm section along with some great soloists, including John Nuese on lead guitar, J.D. Maness on pedal steel and Earle Poole Ball on piano. If you like pedal steel guitar, you're gonna hear some of the most sophisticated and progressive sounds on that instrument ever recorded. "A Satisfied Mind", "I Still Miss Someone" and "Folsom Prison Blues" remain as Country standards, but they are presented here in a fresh, unusual fashion. Try to get the mono version, the master is recorded on three-track!



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A portrait of the Artist as a young man.

R. Eskin | Orlando, Florida United States | 12/04/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who loves real, honest, down to earth music should give this album a listen. Compared with all that has come since, it may be hard to put yourself in the proper frame of mind but hardly anyone was doing what Gram and his buddies did on "SAFE AT HOME" at the time. And even though this is technically far from being perfect, it represents to country music what the Beatles Anthology represents to Pop/Rock. Interviews I have read indicate that the musicians involved in this project weren't even the original International Submarine Band line up and that Gram was particularly unhappy with the piecemeal,overdubbed method used to record it as opposed to "live in the studio". In spite of all this the album has a timeless charm which captures Gram Parsons' talent at the moment it was about to kick into high gear. I first found this album in vinyl on a cut-out rack many years ago and while I later acquired just about everything commercially available by Gram Parsons, this will always be my sentimental favorite."