Gene Parsons – I Hope They Let Us In

The curious career of Gene Parsons stretches back to the mid-1960s, when, with guitar legend Clarence White, he founded the woefully under-recorded proto-country rock outfit Nashville West. Later, he was a key member in both the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, and recorded two critically acclaimed solo albums in the ’70s. A talented player on banjo and guitar (in fact, he invented the StringBender guitar accessory) and on drums, but less so as a singer or writer, Parsons has long been sought as a studio player, but in recent years he’s devoted more time to his duo act with his wife, Meridian Green.

I Hope They Let Us In is Parsons’ first-ever solo acoustic album, and is a kind of live career retrospective. A low-key presentation, it’s strong on Parsons’ expert, impeccable technique with various stringed instruments (including, of course, StringBender guitar) but short on dramatics or vision. The affable Parsons runs through perhaps his best-known Byrds composition, “Gunga Din”, and does a nice version of “Bugler”, a latter-day Byrds classic written by Hearts & Flowers’ Larry Murray. He pays tribute to lost folk legend Bob Gibson with a singalong of his memorable tune, “Abilene”. Several Cajun-flavored numbers (Gib Guilbeau’s “Take A City Bride”) and cowboy-inflected pieces (“Way Out There”) emerge as pleasant, if less than riveting diversions.

A downcast rendition of Little Feat’s oft-covered trucker anthem “Willin'” is the showstopper, with Parsons capturing its cascading tones perfectly. The instrumental “Banjo Dog”, though, more truly reflects Parsons’ place in the musical pantheon: A simple, rustic instrumental, it does all its talking with its strings.