Breakfast in Nudie Suits

by Ian Dunlop

BREAKFAST IN NUDIE SUITS is the story of a bunch of musicaldesperados fighting the business, fighting audience indifference andfighting musical prejudice as they played a new kind of country.Ian Dunlop and his friend and fellow International Submarine Bandmember Gram Parsons travelled across America playing against abackdrop of Hollywood hopefulness, the Vietnam draft dodge and theband's dogged insistence that unfashionable country music could beany kind of creative force in the rock era. This is a road trip in the great American tradition and the events of the mid-sixties crackle off the page. The book contains a glimpse into the Parsons legend that has neverbeen offered before; a look at the life-line on his palm, an ear tohis spontaneous banter and a candid portrait sketched during aformative, creatively productive and happy era of his life.Reviews‘It ended too soon for me, I wanted more.’Dave Griffin, ‘the Gram Parsons’ Guitar Pull’‘..Straight from the heart.’Billy Ray Herrin, ‘Hickory Wind Music’‘Ian Dunlop is a masterful storyteller, who bore witness to and participated in the birth of country rock.’Holly George-Warren, author, music journalist and co-editor The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll‘This isn’t a book. It’s a journey, the trip through the ‘60s we all either dreamed about, lied about or actually took. Coolest road read since Kerouac left the Flamingo Bar.’Pete Gallagher, WMNF Radio ‘Part Kerouac, part Tom Robbins, it’s a transcendental road trip down a lost highway that leads to the roots of the Americana music movement.’Jim White, musician, writer. Presenter of the BBC film ‘Searching for the Wrong-eyed Jesus’ ‘I know what you’re just what the world needs, another memoir by another musician. Well, the world needs this one. Forget the cliche that if you can remember the ’60s, you weren’t there. Fortunately, Ian remembers, and his accounts of his adventures are frequently inspiring and often hilarious. He makes me wish I’d been there too.’Scott Schinder, writer, Time Out, New York.

Genres: Music

323 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2011

Reviews

[Sansan Gilbreath · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good “on the road “ story .. there’s not really much gram parsons , editing or proofreading

[celia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great read for anyone with an interest in 60s popular culture and the birth of country-rock, however the Gram Parsons photo and references on the cover are misleading and are there merely to aid sales. Although Gram is mentioned constantly through the book through the recollection of his friendship with Dunlop, this is the story of the author's roadtrip back to the East Coast from LA after quitting The International Submarine Band and the first incarnation of The Flying Burrito Brothers, with flashbacks to past episodes with both bands.

Ian Dunlop's story is interesting enough in itself and although the book could have done with better editing, especially with the abuse of written slang dialogues, I think it mostly just suffers from readers being let down expecting to find a Gram Parsons/ISB biography.

[E. B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

So fucking good and very personally and artistically written.

[Lhizz Browne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read about a third of this before it was due back at the library, but it's very meandering and the issue I had was badly typeset so hard to read. I might go back to it again sometime, but what I read wasn't really interesting enough to rush back to!

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring.

[Lala Krueger · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. his recollections are good but not enough Gram.