The Coal Porters - The Gram Parsons Tribute Concert (Live, The Garage, Islington, London, 19 September 1998) (2022)

Although the Gram Parsons tribute CD on Almo Records may seem like the last word on the matter, it really isn't. Country music, in its purest form, is road music, meant to be played by and for the people. Like the blues, it comes alive on the stage. Gram Parsons -- one of the most revolutionary practitioners of the form -- knew this intrinsically, and to that end, the Coal Porters disc The Gram Parsons Tribute Concert accomplishes this simple but necessary phenomenon with grace and style. Led by Sid Griffin, who was the founder of the Long Ryders -- one of the most influential roots-based bands performing in Los Angeles in the 1980s -- the Coal Porters are a band who are not only trying to emulate Parsons' freewheeling spirit, but are also emulating what quite simply can be called a friggin' great evening on a Saturday night in a club in north London. This factor is important, because Parsons' music is neither heavy-handed nor ponderous. Spontaneous soul, direct and to-the-heart, is the agenda here, and the Coal Porters (aka "the Bootleg Burritos," for this evening) deliver that on this recording. And how. The liner notes on this CD explain that certain tunes were lost due to curfew, technical difficulties, and the like. "Wires went unplugged due to stage diving. The heat was affecting everyone." No matter; in the end, you have a recording that captures the ambience and spirit of the evening perfectly. Of course, the music deserves it -- so do you. ~ Matthew Greenwald