I think you`ve missed the point about the Grateful Dead, They were basically a happy-go-lucky hippy band who concocted up a hodge-podge of musical sounds (blues, folk, psychedelia, country and later jazz) and just churned them out in they`re own hippy style. They were competent players and adequate singers that specialized in improvisation and they were made even more interesting due to the stark contrast at times between their studio material and live sets. Also their loyal and fanatical fanbase and their large amount of drug and booze related deaths of band members made them interesting as well.

They`re is no point comparing them to say Moby Grape as top notch musicians (even though I think the style of Jerry Garcia is very good) and there is also no point comparing them to the Byrds either, for me the Byrds were in the same league as the Beatles as song writers. I just look at the Grateful Dead as a fun group to listen to with some really great songs and albums to boot.

meh

i love The Byrds but their best songs were covers

I don't much care about the Grateful Dead much but this is a great song.
Fuck You if you think otherwise.

I get where you are coming from Urban I really do. How and ever you simply have to listen to 'American Beauty' by the Dead. Just one album, not even an hour, I promise it will be worth it. Seriously! You won't regret it, it's too good an album to miss for the above reasoning!

Most of their covers were in the Gene Clark and when he left David Crosby, Jim McGuinn and Chris Hillmen stepped into the void and produced two of the greatest albums of the 60s in Fifth Dimension and Younger Than Yesterday, two albums to rival the best of the Beatles.

^^they were only awright to me

my fave album is Sweetheart of the Rodeo, an album of mostly covers

Gonna spin some Dead

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...1e&oe=5EA78BF3

It still seems a bit eerie to me when someone necro-bumps an old thread and I see a post from the late, great, Howard the Duck.

Kinda why I went through with it.

I clicked on them but nothing happened. The link might be broken or something. You should check to see why it doesn't work.

Spoiler Alert:

^ Yes, it's strange. He was a nice guy, beset with troubles, who died very young. But in cyberspace, everybody's words live on....it's unprecedented in human history.
__________________________________________________ _________________________________________

Nice "Are you a bot?" test, Plankton! Unfortunately I failed as I was sure the dog in the central photo was actually Bob Weir! Luckily, though, I still have access to that essential Dead album: American Beauty. More than most bands, they got it so right on just one album that nothing in their discography comes close imo.

Although there is of course the legendary Dark Star, and any aspiring Dead Head should be able, not only to pass Plankton's test, but also to answer these questions without recourse to the link below which has the answers:-

When did G Dead first play Dark Star in concert?
How many artists have covered Dark Star live?
Which band has played Dark Star more times than G Dead have?
How many total times has Dark Star been performed by any artist, ever?

https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/g...song=Dark+Star

Good thing Neo provided an answer key.

I like all their years including the current Dead & Company. But yes, Brent was incredible.

Hm, well, I see the Dead don’t get much love around here. This thread already died like two or three times, from what I see

As I discovered and fell in love with them just in the last couple of months, I thought I might share some of this love here.

I actually never listened to them before. I mean, I knew they existed only because my father had a copy of American Beauty and played it from time to time. So up until this year (or the end of the last one) I’ve only heard stuff like Friend Of The Devil, Candyman and Box Of Rain. Oh, and Casey Jones – I loved this one when I was a kid – the opening lyrics will be forever carved in my memory.

Some time ago I saw there’s a documentary on Netflix titled „The Other One – The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir”, and as I’ve already watched all of the other music documentaries available there. And here it began. When I’ve heard Jack Straw playing in the background I became absolutely amazed with their music and skill. To be true Jack Straw became my favourite song (I don’t listen to it that much nowadays – but it still touches some deep feelings each time I play it; it was also the first song I asked my guitar teacher to show me how to play).

I never knew that the Dead were so heavily linked to the Acid Tests, Kessey and the others. I knew that they were a hippie band, that’s better live than on records, but I never knew even half of the stuff that happened with them.

I came to really like Bob Weir. Apart from his absurdly good guitar skill, he seemed like a really accomplished, satisfied with his life aging rock star. Most of the old rock’n’roll guard seem to me like they want to act like they’re still 20 our something, when that shouldn’t be the point. And Weir aged in such a manner that instantly made me respect him (and I hoped that one day, when I’ll be 70, I’d age in a similar manner – with dignity and a sense of accomplishment, acceptance of my age).

I first started with American Beauty and Workingmen’s Dead – just to remind myself of what were those records about. And then I went straight away to searching bootlegs, love recordings, etc, knowing that the albums were probably of lesser quality (as everyone said).
The Europe `72 tour blew my mind. As well as the show at Cornell University, and many other tracks from the Dick’s Picks series. I’m not that much of a fan of the Live/Dead album, though from what I’ve heard it’s much revered by many Dead fans. The album just seemed to me too chaotic, uneven. I remember when I played it to my ex-girlfriend and she asked me to turn it off, and asked whether it was one of my band’s acid jams. Though I must say that when I was alone, turned off the lights, smoked a lot of hashish, Live/Dead was quite the astounding listen.

Then I listened to all the studio albums, and as predicted I didn’t like them that much – the live renditions seemed to have much more energy and swag to them – and that’s true for all but one album, that being Blues For Allah.
Damn, what a record.
Help On The Way was my next favourite thing ever. I mean, the melody and playing is great, and Garcia sings in such an angelic voice and gentle manner that it completely blew my mind.

I’ve never listened so far to any of the latter configurations of the Dead (after Garcia’s death), the Furthur, Dead&Company, etc. Is it worth a go?

Yeah, the Dead (They may have been the Warlocks then) were very much involved with Ken Kesey. They were more or less the house band during the Acid Tests.


Can't say I really got that deep into the Dead except for the two 1970 albums, Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. Those two albums are incredible.

My interest in the Grateful Dead stops around 1978, so I can't give any recommendations beyond that point in time but if you like their live performances and you're not yet aware of this site, you might want to check it out...

Grateful Dead

They are. Though I was never quite into Workingman’s Dead that much.

If you haven’t checked out their other stuff, and you might be interested then listen to

1. Jack Straw - 1972 Paris version (the Copenhagen one from the same tour is great as well, but slightly faster)

2. China Cat Sunflower - also 1972

3. Help on the Way - either the album version or the live 77 from the Dick’s Picks series, they’re pretty similar, though on the studio version the vocals are more up front

4. Row Jimmy - from the Cornell University Concert

5. Dancing in the Street - a great cover, also from Cornell

6. Bird Song - 1972 Veneta, Oregon (that’s a solo Garcia song, but they included it to their live sets ever since the release)

And then go from there

:beer:


„Estimated Prophet” from Cornell is amazing too

Oh wow, I’ve never stumbled upon this. Thanks a lot!

They were mainly active in the 60s and 70s though.

But anyway, I do dig their Shakedown Street album though, and they sound pretty great, especially "Fire on the mountain", I even love plenty of the obscure songs they have on it such as "France" for example.

What a collection! I just sent the link to my head friends.

Yeah cause I listened to Terrapin Session and it was honestly just really boring. Ive heard so much about them and then it was just a whole lot of nothing, at least for me.

Terrapin Station is by far the least interesting studio album that they released during their first ten years together as the Grateful Dead. From start to finish it's a tediously boring snooze. It's the only one from that time span that I can't stand to listen to.

Terrapin Station is pretty bad. Though one song is great IMO, that being Estimated Prophet.

Then again, if you want to get into the Dead, don't start with the studio albums (unless it's American Beauty, Workingmen's Dead or Blues For Allah).

As you probably know, the Dead are best known for their live performances. The Dead themselves acknowledged it, and often said so.
And, yeah, they're much better on the stage than in the studio.

I got into them just a few months back, before that I only knew that they existed and I knew a couple of songs from aforementioned American Beauty and Workingmen's Dead (those being Friend of the Devil, Box of Rain, Truckin, Casey Jones and Cumberland Blues, pretty basic stuff). But then I watched the Netflix Bob Weir documentary (Weir being the rhythm guitarist of the band), and as I watched it a few tracks caught my ear; especially Jack Straw.

And then it began.


If you'd like to give them a second chance, I'd recommend you start with:


1. Jack Straw – Paris, Europe '72 tour

2. Help On The Way – Dick's Picks Vol.3

3. China Cat Sunflower – Paris, Europe '72 tour

4. Brown Eyed Women – Denmark, Europe '72 tour

5. Jimmy Row – Live at Cornell University 1977

6. The Other One – Live at Fillmore East, 1969


And then work your way in whatever direction suits you most.

People often say that their first album, the live Live/Dead from 1969 is a good place to start, but I'd say it's for the hardcore fans, as most of the songs sound like they're playing on acid (which is probably true). So if you'll check out the songs I've listed above, and find yourself interested or in awe of the band then maybe head out to Live/Dead, to see their psychedelic jam side.

:beer:

:offtopic:

Oh, and it's probably a good idea to smoke a joint when first listening to their music. You can drop the joints later on, when you're already in love with the Dead.

:laughing: :band: :yeah: