GP / Grievous Angel

Gram Parsons' two solo albums include New Soft Shoe; Love Hurts , and $1000 Wedding .

On his two early-1970s solo albums, collected here on one disc, Gram Parson lends his fragile, aching tenor to music that's the definition of what he called "country soul." Neither of these titles is quite as strong as the work Parsons had previously done with the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, but with originals as great as "She" and "In My Hour of Darkness"--not to mention backing from Emmylou Harris and the core of Elvis's early-'70s band--both GP and Grievous Angel still stand as country-rock classics. --David Cantwell