Anyone care to talk about The Legend of Jesse James?

I picked this up a pristine copy of this lp for 92 cents before the holidays. It was a c&w "rock opera" concept album from 1980 masterminded by Paul Kennerly, who succeeded Brian Ahern as Mr. Emmylou Harris if I remember correctly. It stars Levon Helm as Jesse, Emmylou as his wife, Johnny Cash as his brother, and Charlie Daniels as one of the James Gang boys. Roseanne Cash and Rodney Crowell have bit parts. I was surprised by how good it was, although the role of Jesse is vastly underdeveloped and Levon -- who gets top billing -- seems to have the least to do of anyone. How did this thing come about? I think it was a huge flop. Why? It doesn't even get a write-up at allmusic.