# The Grateful Dead



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I don't think we have a thread for this legendary band, so I'm starting one. I grew up in the 1970s, so I've known about the The Dead for at least 40 years, but up until a few years ago I never bought one of their records. I finally relented and purchased a copy of Live/Dead, but rarely listened to it. But something clicked a couple of weeks ago and now I'm hooked. I think I bought every Dead title in the Barnes & Noble discount bin, and they had a lot of good stuff. Here's what I picked up and what I'm listening to.

Grateful Dead s/t debut
Anthem Of The Sun
Aoxomoxoa
Workingman's Dead
American Beauty
Grateful Dead s/t 1971 live album
From Mars Hotel
Blues For Allah
Terrapin Station
Red Rocks '78

So far my impressions tell me they had a great initial run from 1966-1974, and then things cool off a bit, and the inspiration isn't as strong. 1977's Terrapin Station is way too slick and overproduced for a band like the Dead, and there's a few throw away tracks. The previous year's Blues For Allah holds up a bit better, but it still sounds too clean, and the performances too reserved. Red Rocks is a decent show, but not as phenomenal as the CD liners hype it up to be. What are some of your favorite albums and/or live shows?


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I am not a Deadhead, and rely upon individual songs rather than whole albums for my enjoyment of the Dead: _Friend of the Devil, New Minglewood Blues, Loser, Jack Straw, Me and my Uncle_, and a few others. I was delighted to see that the Dead chose as their first avatar the rose-entwined skull that they found in the Edmund Sullivan-illustrated edition of Fitzgerald's Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. But I was disappointed that they never (to my knowledge) credited Sullivan as the source of the illustration. Also, they should have sung Aoxomoxoa in Malayalam, rather than in English, or so my friends Otto and Eve tell me.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

For song oriented listeners, it's hard to go wrong with American Beauty, and Workingman's Dead. Two great collections of down home folky/bluesy/country style tunes that have held up well over the years. All of the digi-pack 2000's re-issues are loaded with extra material with every CD clocking in at over 79 minutes. American Beauty sports a lovely live rendition of Friend With The Devil, among others, and Workingman's Dead includes Mason's Children, a song I first heard covered by Henry Kaiser in the 80s.

If you're into the jamming thing, Live/Dead or Anthem Of The Sun are recommended. And if you just want some great rock n roll, the self titled 1971 live album is a great choice.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Never was a fan of the Dead, but got more exposed to them through my liking of Dylan. I see a recent release, Red Rocks, on 3 CDs and it looks like an excellent album.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Florestan said:


> I see a recent release, Red Rocks, on 3 CDs and it looks like an excellent album.


Listening to it right now! Good sound and performance, but probably not the most inspired night of the late 70s era. Garcia sounds really good on all his lead guitar solos, but he does very little singing. It's mostly Bob Weir backed by Donna Godchaux. But I've always liked Weir's muscular baritone.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I agree with Starthrower as regards the deterioration of the Grateful Dead's studio output from Terrapin Station onwards. I suppose it could be argued that their reputation rested largely on being a live act anyway - be that as it may, but the triumvirate of _Aoxomoxoa_, _Workingman's Dead_ and _American Beauty_ nevertheless represented the group's high-water mark in the studio.

Those later albums from 1977 onwards didn't catch fire with me at all but I really liked _Reckoning_, an all-acoustic double live album released in 1981 (it's electric sister was _Dead Set_ but I didn't think so much of that one). I'd also recommend the triple live album _Europe '72_ as the group were largely on top of their game at that time (despite Pigpen's failing health and the Godchauxs still being 'bedded in') and their long sets provided a satisfying mixture of country, R & B and the occasional extended jam. In fact, the only really iffy live album from the 70s was _Steal Your Face_ from 1976 - a shambolic collection culled from 1974 dates which showed all too often in very stark terms how unfocussed and quite frankly dull the band could be when the stardust failed to land on them.

For absolute novices the compilation _What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been_ neatly covers most bases of the '67-'72 era.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

elgars ghost said:


> I agree with Starthrower as regards the deterioration of the Grateful Dead's studio output from Terrapin Station onwards. I suppose it could be argued that their reputation rested largely on being a live act anyway - be that as it may, but the triumvirate of _Aoxomoxoa_, _Workingman's Dead_ and _American Beauty_ nevertheless represented the group's high-water mark in the studio.


1974's From Mars Hotel is a great album. And Blues For Allah features a lot of good material. After that they signed with Arista, and gave the corporate record producers too much control. They turned Terrapin Station into a slick, glossy affair with a disco cover of Dancing In The Streets, and a synth laden title suite that went on too long.


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