It’s always great to hear Gram Parsons solo, with the Byrds, or with the Flying Burrito Brothers. I’ve heard of these guys but never listened to them. I’m happy I did now. It’s the so-called country rock, but with harmonizing that sounds great.
They were one of those bands that existed for only a short time but left a legacy. They formed in Los Angeles in 1966, and the band was built around singer, songwriter, and guitarist Gram Parsons. Parsons was interested in mixing traditional country music with rock, soul, and folk, long before the style had a name. At a time when psychedelic rock was dominating California, they were heading in the opposite direction. They were more toward pedal steel guitars and country storytelling.
The original lineup shifted a few times, but the best-known version included Parsons alongside bassist Chris Ethridge, guitarist John Nuese, and drummer Jon Corneal. The group played clubs around Los Angeles during a period when country music was still looked down on by much of the rock crowd. Parsons admired artists like George Jones and Merle Haggard, and he wanted to bring that sound into a younger rock audience. The band shared stages with folk-rock and psychedelic acts while carving out a different identity.
In 1968, the band released its only album, Safe at Home. Though it did not sell well at the time, the record later became recognized as an early blueprint for country rock. By the time the album arrived, Parsons had begun drifting toward The Byrds, where he would push country influences even further on Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
Years later, he revisited this song during his solo period, and it became one of the songs most tied to him. It also found new life when Emmylou Harris recorded it for her 1977 album Luxury Liner, helping introduce it to a wider audience.
Luxary Liner
Well a luxury liner, forty tons of steelIf I don’t find my baby now then I guess I never will
I’ve been a long lost soul for a long long timeI’ve been around, everybody ought to know what’s on my mindYou think I’m lonesome?So do I, so do I
Well I’m the kind of guy that likes to make a livin’ runnin’ ’roundAnd I don’t need a stranger to tell me that my baby’s let me downYou think I’m lonesome?So do I, so do I
Well a luxury liner, forty tons of steelNo one in this whole wide world can change the way I feel
I’ve been a long lost soul for a long long timeI’ve been around, everybody ought to know what’s on my mindYou think I’m lonesome?So do I, so do I
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Great tune Max. Gram was a square peg in the round hole of life was he not. But Emmylou certainly understood him. As you say it’s a pioneering song in Country Rock for sure. One I’ve tended to overlook in this regard. Like you say this phase was a short one before on to the next.
Thats what he seemed to do…like Clapton did in a way…he would dabble with this band, The Byrds, and the Flying Burrito Brothers…but his solo stuff is great.
Not to be confused with the International Silverstring Submarine Band …
https://youtu.be/IGV_81YNP5o?si=HqAPxzRa6V6UdaYd
Thanks Keith! That is awesome! This is where they got their name!
I wondered….
Yep I just looked it up
While I’ve heard a good deal of music between Gram Parsons, Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, The International Submarine Band is all new to me. Based on “Luxury Liner,” which I believe I had heard by Emmylou Harris before, and several other tracks from “Safe at Home” I sampled, that music is definitely up my alley. Over the past 6 to 8 years, I’ve really come to dig pedal steel guitar driven country and country rock.
When I started to listen to them…I thought…they did this before the Byrds…I wish they would have given more. It’s some really good music on that album!
Gotta love Gram for his vision. This is a great song, but the standout version is by Emmylou Harris with Albert Lee on guitar.
Great choice.
I did like Emmylou’s version as well…but I had never heard it before.
Never even heard of this group, but I know of Parsons of course . This is a nice little tune, good Byrdsy guitar bit,as you said, good harmonies. The chorus seems a little unfinished but still a catchy enough single. Did any of them besides Parsons do much musically after?
I don’t think so…not as far as household names…but I would need to dig a little more.
Yea it was the country Byrds before the country Byrds…it shows where Gram took the Byrds.
Chris Etheridge and Jon Corneal were part of the developing Flying Burrito Brothers, which makes sense considering the Parsons link. Etheridge has done other stuff, but never got much attention.
That Emmylou Harris video has an exceptional quality, as everything looks really clear.
It really is…she was amazing in that.
That Harris cut is crazy good. I liked her stuff back then. What a band. Albert Lee doing it. I think that’s the Hot Band with her
I meant to mention Albert Lee…I didn’t realize he played for her or that band. I always had mad respect for him though…great guitar player.
Yes he’s flown under the radar for sure. He’s flat out good. That band is something. James Burton is in there also.
He is an artist I need to know more about. Heard his name constantly but never really heard him.
I was familiar with him then I caught him and his band backing up the Everly Brothers. Seeing him live was a treat. The Brothers gave them a set in the show. It blew me away.
Yea I can’t imagine seeing him live. I’ve seen clips that are unbelievable…when Clapton praises someone…I listen…because Clapton loves his playing.
The last video is so great. It hits the spot this sunny Sunday afternoon. You’re right, their voices sound so good and all of that support instrumentation is ear candy to me. I think I remember reading about this short lived group in a book on Gram but first time hearing them.
I was going to ask you if you knew them. I briefly read about them but never investigated until this past week. It was the country Byrds before the country Byrds…this tells it…Gram brought that vision.
p.s. there is def a byrds flavor to this
Emmylou and the band really extend this one out in a nicely crossover way; some fine picking going on there.
Funny how the innovators only get the recognition they deserve once that side alley/path they took eventually becomes the big mainstream highway.
Albert Lee is incredible…I should have mentioned him.
Pioneers are usually doomed…until 50 years later.
Ive never listened to that ISB album, but this sounds great. I like the Emmylou version a lot.