While inducting Neil Young into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, Eddie Vedder dubbed Young's trademark sound "Mountain Funk." Overexcited fans and critics alike tag it anything from "alt- country" and "country punk" to "No Depression"-– a reference to the traditional Carter Family song Uncle Tupelo electrified on their debut album of the same name. Whatever you want to call the blend of country and rock music (mixed potently in country's favor), popular consensus traces its roots to Gram Parson's grave.

While I prefer Parson's moniker for the genre ("Cosmic American Music"), I split with the pundits on its origins. Rock n' roll itself is merely a synthesis of country music and its Southern neighbor, rhythm and blues. As such, country rock can be tracked back to the Texas twang of Buddy Holly's Fender, Elvis Presley, and the Everly Brothers, and perhaps even further to the likes of Hank Williams (that'd be "Senior," kids).

Regardless of where country rock was conceived, certainly its rebirth is attributable to Parsons. What the Velvet Underground was to the '80s alternative rock scene, Parsons is to the wave of country rockers that have sprung up like weeds during the '90s. Though only a small percentage of the population can claim to have heard Gram in his lifetime, they all seem to have started bands.

Born into a Southern plantation fortune, Gram Parsons dropped out of Harvard and joined the Byrds as drummer in the late '60s, but quickly transformed the already entrenched folkies into country rock innovators on 1968's Sweetheart of the Rodeo. After his erratic behavior and determined carousing cost him his gig with the Byrds, he went on to record two albums with the Flying Burrito Brothers and two solo before he met his end in Joshua Tree National Park at the hands of a lethal combination of tequila and morphine.

Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons is the pet project of Parsons' last collaborator, Emmylou Harris, who also appears on a number of the albums' tracks and finds success in both roles. Unlike most tribute albums, Return lives up to its name, gloriously illuminating Parsons' talents as a songwriter. That the Pretenders' rendition of "She" is inarguably their most notable work in years is most certainly a nod to Parsons' craftsmanship, as are the surprising performances by Evan Dando, Sheryl Crow, and the Cowboy Junkies. A sense of worth sorely lacking in their own work buoys both Dando and Crow, paired with Juliana Hatfield and Harris on the traditional takes "$1,000 Wedding" and "Juanita," respectively. On the other hand, the Junkies' spaced out read on "Ooh Las Vegas" is inspired and haunting, providing the album's unexpected high water mark.

Harris strikes gold again with Beck, who manages to conjure up a nasal expression of an aging countryman on the clever L.A. basher "Sin City," while Elvis Costello turns in an expected but nonetheless estimable piano lament, "Sleepless Nights." Both Lucinda Williams (teamed up on the album's title track with David Crosby) and Gillian Welch find their respective tracks a simple step from their own visual roots ponderings, but Wilco nearly trip over themselves transforming "One Hundred Years From Now" into a Southern rock anthem.

No matter the treatments these songs received, the performers on Return of the Grievous Angel are most certainly galvanized by Parsons' genius. This is a collection of work timeless and complex, as current and engaging now as it was during his lifetime. That this record even exists is a testament to Parsons' influence on today's music scene. That it finds success so easily is truly a tribute to his vision.

-Neil Lieberman