Emmylou Harris came to the world’s attention when she duetted with Gram Parsons on his two solo albums (“GP” and “Grievous Angel”) and toured as part of his band the Fallen Angels. She’d been “discovered” by Chris Hillman singing in a folk club in Washington DC. Hillman told Parsons about her as he knew he was looking for a female singer to work with and the rest, as they say…

“Pieces Of The Sky” is Emmylou’s 2nd solo album (she had released an obscure folky album “Gliding Bird” in 1969 that I think she now disowns). Following Gram Parson’s death in 1973 she formed a writing and performing partnership with Texan Rodney Crowell and released this album in 1975. Alongside Crowell the album features some Country music heavyweights, James Burton on guitar, Ricky Scaggs on fiddle, a fresh from the Eagles Bernie Leadon and Little Feat’s Bill Payne on piano.

The songs are a mixture of Crowell originals (the wonderful opening “Bluebird Wine”), country standards (the Lovin Brothers “If I Could Only Win Your Love”) and songs by contemporary Country artists (Merle Haggard’s “Bottle Let Me Down” and Dolly Parton’s “Coat Of Many Colours”). There’s even a Beatles song (“For No One”). However, the absolute highlight of this album is Emmylou’s hymn to Gram Parsons, “Boulder To Birmingham”. 

Co-written with Bill Danoff (the writer of “Take Me Home, Country Roads”) “Boulder To Birmingham” has become Emmylou’s signature song. Gram Parsons had been a friend, mentor, teacher and possibly much more to Emmylou and this song lays out in no uncertain terms her feelings about Gram after his passing

“I would rock my soul in the bosom of Abraham, I would hold my life in his saving grace, 

I would walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham, If I thought I could see, I could see your face"

Although in years to come she would cover many of Gram’s songs Emmylou didn’t write so openly about him for over 30 years. I found Emmylou via her duets with Gram Parsons and the reason I own so many of her records is because of her versions of Gram’s songs and because I’ve become captivated by her voice. It’s high and pure and clear with a sadness you can feel. If I was to understand the Country music term “high lonesome” I’d understand it as Emmylou Harris’ voice. 

At the time it was made, due mainly to the stellar musicians involved, “Pieces Of The Sky” was one of the most expensive records produced in Nashvile to date. Emmylou along with Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and the Bakersfield Outlaws (Willie, Merle and Waylon) helped drive a move toward more authenticity in Country music which, in the mid 70’s, was getting lost in the glamour and glitz of poppy Nashville produced Country & Western (I will always maintain there is a difference between Country music and C&W). She may not be for everyone of you but you’re gonna have to stick with me while I work through the 9 albums of hers that are in my collection. Who knows, you might find something you didn’t even know you liked.

Boulder To Birmingham - https://youtu.be/xaIe_e4nxBY

I've been asked many times in the shop what I think the best live album is. In my world the hierarchy of the great live albums goes like this

1. Slade Alive !
2. Ramones “It’s Alive”
3. Hanoi Rocks “All Those Wasted Years”
4. Bob Marley & The Wailers “Live!”
5. It doesn’t really matter after those 4…and those that make a case for the Allman Brothers, no, OK, just NO!

The first time I heard Hanoi Rocks was live. Live was where Hanoi Rocks made perfect sense and because of that this is probably their best album. Over 4 sides they run you through the “greatest hits” from their 4 studio albums up to that point (“Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks”, “Oriental Beat”, “Self Destruction Blues” and the one you read about yesterday “Back To Mystery City”). All delivered in that atmosphere of fag smoke, hairspray and glitter that seemed to surround them onstage.

After I’d seen them live (also see yesterday) I’m pretty sure my dear friend Phil Barlow told me he had this, their live album, and on hearing it, it confirmed everything I’d thought about them at the Tower Ballroom. Hanoi Rocks were never gonna change the world but if you just wanted a Rockin’ good time then this was the band you needed playing.

Some years later I worked 2 UK tours with a band called Cheap ‘n’ Nasty led by Hanoi Rocks guitarist Nasty Suicide and with Hanoi’s old roadie Timo Kaltio on 2nd guitar. Took me some time to get into them but to be around 2 guys who’d been a part of this whirlwind was a joy, and the stories were glorious. Timo sadly passed away in 2021 but I’ll never forget him greeting anybody and everybody with an enthusiastic “Heeeeey didn’t I meet you in Helsinki ?”

The video below is the first part of the “All Those Wasted Years” video release, you can find the whole show on YouTube if this has intrigued you. Hanoi Rocks were one helluva live band.

Pipeline/Back To Mystery City - https://youtu.be/Ik0n5ZYzl5Y

We’ve already figured out that I’m not a fan of Prog Rock. Neither am I a fan of Heavy Metal. It always struck me as a ridiculous genre of music suitable for teenage boys  but something that they should grow out of by the time they leave school and enter the real world. Long haired (grown) men in too tight spandex trews squeeling songs about pixies, demons and their sexual proclivities while fretw@nking and showing off how fast they can play (look how fast/big mine is) was never gonna do it for me.

So some of you might reasonably ask “if you don’t like Heavy Metal what are you doing with records by Hanoi Rocks ?” and the answer dear reader is this…although I’m sure people would pigeonhole Hanoi Rocks into the HM genre, they’d be wrong. This ain’t heavy metal, this is good ol’ Rock ’n’ Roll, or in Hanoi’s case Glam rock ‘n’roll and we’ve already ascertained that Glam I do like. I also enjoy Motörhead, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy and Aerosmith, it’s just great rock music, nothing to do with that ridiculous genre we mentioned earlier.

I first encountered Hanoi Rocks when another of those friends whose identity is lost to the mists of time asked if I wanted to go to a gig as he had a spare ticket. The gig was at the Tower Ballroom in Edgbaston, a building sat next to Edgbaston Reservoir, a genuine former old-time ballroom built for ballroom dancing with a beautiful maple dancefloor, full size plastic palm trees arranged around the room and very likely a bar name the Bali Hai or some other faux exotic moniker. I went because I had nothing better to do.

Info available online tells me the support were Brummie Post Punk/proto Goth lords Ausgang, I honestly don‘t remember and as they’re a band I only grew to appreciate later I likely wasn’t too impressed. The room was full of Heavy Metal types, long hair, cut off denims festooned with sew on patches over leather jackets, you know the types, which probably wasn’t improving my mood either.

Then the lights dimmed, the intro tape started and the next 90 minutes or so were a blur of glitter, fag smoke, bleach blond backcombed hair, silk scarves, big hats and something that sounded like a fight between The Stooges, the New York Dolls and the Spiders From Mars in a back alley arguing over who had pinched who’s lipstick ! Heavy Metal be damned this was as Punk Rock as anything I’d seen or heard in a long old time. It was incredible.

I’m pretty sure the opening song was this albums title track “Back To Mystery City”, a song which perfectly represents what Hanoi were about. You can almost hear the cigarettes permanently hanging from guitarists Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide’s lips, see how low those guitars are slung, was Mike Monroe the greatest singer in the world ? Absolutely not but he looked bloody fantastic, danced around like a demented dervish and blew the most asthmatic saxophone you’d heard since Bowie. Razzle was a proper tubthumper and alongside the other pretty boy in the band, bassist Sam Yaffa, made up a pretty fearsome rhythm section. Oh and all these names are pseudonyms as four of the band were from Finland, yes Finland that well known hotbed of sleazy rawk ‘n’ roll !

“Back To Mystery City” was Hanoi Rocks 4th album and bought them to a much bigger audience. It doesn’t move far from the formula of the title track (have a listen below), they knew what they were good at and stuck to it. Other highlights on here include the “ballad” “Until I Get You”,  “Mental Beat” and the single “Malibu Beach Nightmare”. Now I’m aware this has been more of a gig review than an album one but live is where Hanoi Rocks made sense. This is a great album (arguably their best in the studio) but tomorrow’s is the one where they get it all right on record.

After this album they signed to a major label and released one more studio album “Two Steps From The Move”. On the eve of the tour for that record, for which we had tickets, drummer Razzle tragically died in a car accident and it was all over. Hanoi Rocks didn’t make music that was clever, innovative or lyrically deep, they made good time Glam rawk ‘n’ roll and sometimes that’s all you need.

Back To Mystery City - https://youtu.be/mOqM8zWKNS8