[Review] The Flying Burrito Bros: Last of the Red Hot Burritos (1972)

The last legitimate Burritos album, recorded live without Gram Parsons, Sneaky Pete or Bernie Leadon.

Kronomyth 4.0: It’s bean fun, but we have to go.

The Flying Burritos Bros wrap a little bit of everything into their first live album: country rock, rhythm & blues, and bluegrass. Among their contemporaries, I’d place this a notch above New Riders’ Home, Home on the Road and a notch below Grateful Dead and Poco’s Deliverin’. Now, maybe you’re notch interested in my opinion on these matters, since I run kind of cool on country music. For me, the R&B tunes (Ain’t That a Lot of Love) and the country-rock numbers (Hot Burrito #2, Losing Game) are the most fun. The bluegrass break in the middle of the record is enjoyable for what it is, but that’s not really The Burritos’ legacy (at least not in their original incarnation). The set features a few Gram Parsons tunes (including Devil in Disguise and My Uncle). What it doesn’t feature is Gram Parsons. He and Bernie Leadon had left the band, and what was left included only two original members, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke. Al Perkins and Rick Roberts were fine additions, and inviting Roger Bush and Byron Berline from Country Gazette on stage must have delighted bluegrass fans, so there’s still plenty of beef in these Burritos. That said, this is the last album that could lay legitimate claim to the name of The Flying Burrito Bros; Flying Again featured a completely new crew with no original members. Take this for what it is: the last ride from a talented band that still had some of its original parts plus some high-end mods. As a live album, it’s over too soon, but somehow that’s fitting for a band that only lasted three years.

Original elpee version

A1. Devil in Disguise (Gram Parsons/Chris Hillman) (3:55)
A2. Six Days on the Road (Earl Green/Carl Montgomery) (3:04)
A3. My Uncle (Gram Parsons/Chris Hillman) (2:20)
A4. Dixie Breakdown (Don Reno/Jimmy Lunceford) (2:16)
A5. Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down (Wayne Walker/Louise Certain/Gladys Stacey/Jerry Organ) (2:21)
A6. Orange Blossom Special (Ervin T. Rouse) (3:46)
B1. Ain’t That a Lot of Love (Homer Banks/Dean Parker) (3:23)
B2. High Fashion Queen (Gram Parsons/Chris Hillman) (3:17)
B3. Don’t Fight It (Wilson Pickett/Steve Cropper) (2:55)
B4. Hot Burrito #2 (Chris Ethridge/Gram Parsons) (4:43)
B5. Losing Game (James Carr/Denny Weaver) (2:59)

The Players

Michael Clarke (drums), Chris Hillman (bass, mandolin, vocals), Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar), Rick Roberts (rhythm guitar, vocals), Kenny Wertz (acoustic guitar, banjo) with Byron Berline (fiddle), Roger Bush (acoustic bass). Produced by Jim Dickson; engineered by Ed Kramer; remix engineered by Dick Bogert.

The Pictures

Art direction by Roland Young. Design by Chuck Beeson. Illustrations by Joe Garnett. Photography by Jim McCrary.

The Plastic

Released on elpee and 8-track in May 1972 in the US and Canada (A&M, SP/8T-4343), the UK (A&M, AMLS-64343), the Netherlands (A&M, 86116-IT) and New Zealand (A&M, SAML-934559) with gatefold cover. Reached #171 on the US charts. (First appeared on 5/13/72 in Billboard.)

1. Re-issued on compact disc and cassette on April 16, 1995 in the US (Rebound, 520 329-2/4) and in 1995 in Japan (A&M, POCM-2031).