The Great American Eagle Tragedy is a second and last album by the psychedelic band Earth Opera

Earth Opera

Earth Opera was an American psychedelic rock group, active during 1967-1969 and featuring Peter Rowan and David Grisman.-History:Both Rowan and Grisman were virtuoso folk and bluegrass performers in Boston clubs, who became caught up in the changes in the music scene in the mid 1960s...

, recorded in 1969. It is marked by departure of Bill Stevenson

Bill Stevenson (Canadian musician)

Bill Stevenson is an award-winning Canadian blues and jazz pianist, vocalist and songwriter, originally associated with the band Earth Opera, whose career in music has spanned over forty years.-Biography:...

 and his harpsichord sound, using more guest musicians then on the debut album and use of pedal steel by Bill Keith

Bill Keith

Bill Keith may refer to:* Bill Keith , painter, photographer and visual poet* Bill Keith , banjo player and innovator of the "melodic style" of banjo playing...

. The album also had better success on charts then the previous one, but soon after, the group disbanded, pathing the way for solo careers mainly for Pete Rowan and David Grisman

David Grisman

David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...

.

Track listing

All compositions by Peter Rowan, unless otherwise noted

1. "Home to You" –4:27
2. "Mad Lydia's Waltz" –3:47
3. "Alfie Finney" (Dillon) –2:35
4. "Sanctuary From the Law" – 2:54
5. "All Winter Long" – 5:56
6. "The Great American Eagle Tragedy" – 10:36
7. "Roast Beef Love" – 3:16
8. "It's Love" – 4:05

Personnel

• Peter Rowan – vocals, guitar, saxophone
• David Grisman
  David Grisman
  David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
  
   – mandolin
  Mandolin
  A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
  
  , mandocello, keyboards, saxophone, vocals
• Paul Dillon - guitar, drums, vocals
• Billy Mundi
  Billy Mundi
  Billy Mundi is an American drummer, who has played a multitude of sessions and been a member of countless bands, most notably The Mothers of Invention and Rhinoceros. He sometimes used the name Tony Schnasse.A former Hells Angel, his career dates back to the late 1950s, when he majored in music at...
  
   - percussion, drums
• John Nagy – bass, violoncello, mandocello

• Jack Bonus - flute, sax, wind
• Herb Bushler - bass
• John Cale
  John Cale
  John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
  
   - guitar, vocals
• John Cole - viola
• Richard Grando - saxophone
• David Horowitz - organ, piano, keyboards
• Bill Keith
  Bill Keith
  Bill Keith may refer to:* Bill Keith , painter, photographer and visual poet* Bill Keith , banjo player and innovator of the "melodic style" of banjo playing...
  
  - pedal steel, steel guitar
• Bob Zachary - percussion, triangle