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Key · 08-05-2016, 05:31 PM

Grateful Dead - Anthem of the Sun (1968)

I told you this wasn't going to be a waste. I'm currently giving the second album of Grateful Dead a listen and I want to throw out my thoughts about it.

So yes, Anthem of the Sun is the second Grateful Dead in their discography released in 1968. While I was very positive about listening to their debut, this one definitely has a bit more to offer, and considering it's only 5 tracks long, it's pretty impressive that they've been able to get as much into the tracks that they did. Each track is pretty fantastic, however the opening track is something you'd hear out of a prog album. Yes, I did mention prog while talking about Grateful Dead. Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are. Originally I claimed to know about Grateful Dead and how they don't have a single proggy bone in their body, but the opening track That's It For The Other One reminds me of Yes's Close To The Edge. I don't mean that as an offense to that either because Close To The Edge is one of my all time favorite albums. Certainly in my top 20 for sure.

Production wise, I can definitely say with certainty that this one has that late 60's feel to it, as opposed to their debut which sounded a lot more polished. I'm sure there's reason for that, and I'm not saying I hate it either, it's still a joy to listen to, mostly because the vocals are still so nice to listen to and lyrically, it's all fantastic. Again though, it does sound like Close To The Edge in terms of production value, and again, I don't mean that as an offense. There's a bit of Floyd in there as well, but I would be reaching if I said that for certainty.

Overall, just as well as the debut album, I'm enjoying this quite a bit. Admittedly a little bit more than I expected. But I'm hearing a lot of Floyd/Yes/Beatles-esque influence in this album, especially. And this album only being 5 tracks, it's very accessible for someone looking to get into the band. Track wise, I can't really say which is my favorite, because although they're all pretty great for their own reasons, none of them really stuck out as being "holy ****, great" but that's more due to my bias of classic rock. Often times, I can't really differentiate one band from the other, but Grateful Dead certainly have their own unique sound which can separate them from the pack in it's own way. But again, no tracks really stuck out to me, on this album at least. Still worth a listen though.

08-05-2016, 05:31 PM	#36 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	Grateful Dead - Anthem of the Sun (1968) I told you this wasn't going to be a waste. I'm currently giving the second album of Grateful Dead a listen and I want to throw out my thoughts about it. So yes, Anthem of the Sun is the second Grateful Dead in their discography released in 1968. While I was very positive about listening to their debut, this one definitely has a bit more to offer, and considering it's only 5 tracks long, it's pretty impressive that they've been able to get as much into the tracks that they did. Each track is pretty fantastic, however the opening track is something you'd hear out of a prog album. Yes, I did mention prog while talking about Grateful Dead. Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are. Originally I claimed to know about Grateful Dead and how they don't have a single proggy bone in their body, but the opening track That's It For The Other One reminds me of Yes's Close To The Edge. I don't mean that as an offense to that either because Close To The Edge is one of my all time favorite albums. Certainly in my top 20 for sure. Production wise, I can definitely say with certainty that this one has that late 60's feel to it, as opposed to their debut which sounded a lot more polished. I'm sure there's reason for that, and I'm not saying I hate it either, it's still a joy to listen to, mostly because the vocals are still so nice to listen to and lyrically, it's all fantastic. Again though, it does sound like Close To The Edge in terms of production value, and again, I don't mean that as an offense. There's a bit of Floyd in there as well, but I would be reaching if I said that for certainty. Overall, just as well as the debut album, I'm enjoying this quite a bit. Admittedly a little bit more than I expected. But I'm hearing a lot of Floyd/Yes/Beatles-esque influence in this album, especially. And this album only being 5 tracks, it's very accessible for someone looking to get into the band. Track wise, I can't really say which is my favorite, because although they're all pretty great for their own reasons, none of them really stuck out as being "holy ****, great" but that's more due to my bias of classic rock. Often times, I can't really differentiate one band from the other, but Grateful Dead certainly have their own unique sound which can separate them from the pack in it's own way. But again, no tracks really stuck out to me, on this album at least. Still worth a listen though.