Burrito Deluxe

Burrito Deluxe is a country-rock band with an unusually impressive heritage; the group evolved from a latter-day version of the Flying Burrito Brothers, the pioneering country-rock outfit fronted by Gram Parsons, and featured Sneaky Pete Kleinow, the Burritos' original pedal steel player. While Parsons left the Flying Burrito Brothers in 1970, the band continued to record and tour without him, and with time Kleinow would become the group's longest running member. While Kleinow occasionally took leave from the band to pursue his other career as a special effects animator, he continued to play with the Burritos up until their final studio album, 1999's Sons of the Golden West, but in 2000 Kleinow chose to retire the Flying Burrito Brothers and assembled a new group under a new moniker, Burrito Deluxe. Focusing on the rootsy but expressive country-rock that had been the old group's trademark, the first Burrito Deluxe album, 2002's Georgia Peach, was a tribute to the songs of Gram Parsons, and along with Kleinow and guitarist Carlton Moody (formerly of the Moody Brothers) it featured an all-star collection of sidemen and guest musicians, including Garth Hudson, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, and Jim Ed Brown. 2004 brought a second Burrito Deluxe album, The Whole Enchilada, and a more concise lineup of the group, with Kleinow and Moody joined by bassist Jeff Davis (ex-Amazing Rhythm Aces) and session drummer Rick Lonow. In 2006, the band recorded a third album, Disciples of the Truth with the group's strongest lineup to date -- Kleinow, Moody, Davis, keyboard player Richard Bell (who previously worked with the Hawks and Janis Joplin's Full Tilt Boogie band), guitarist Walter Egan (best known for his 1978 hit "Magnet and Steel"), and drummer Bryan Owings. However, before it reached stores, Kleinow died on January 6, 2007; the album was released in late February 2007, with the group soldiering on in tribute to their fallen comrade.