Dez Record Guides: The Grateful Dead

Much like the Van Morrison Guide, I think that this Dead Guide may actually be useful to some of you, but for different reasons. In the Van Morrison case, it was more due to going through a mountain of material. With the Dead, though, I think it is more of an issue of misconceptions. I know some readers here, for a fact, would really enjoy some of the Dead's material but haven't really given it a shot. The image many people have of The Dead is due to their loyal army of Deadheads. Dope smoking hippies swaying to 45 minute versions of "Dark Star." And while that description can be accurate in a sense, there is so, so much more. I've been on a serious Dead kick for the past several weeks, so I've been itching to write a Guide for them. First, some caveats: I am not a Deadhead. I do not own a wall of Dead bootlegs. There are certain Dead fans out there who have disdain for much of the studio and commercially successful music, and swear by the bootlegs. I shouldn't even call them bootlegs, because The Dead were one of the first bands to encourage the recording and trading tapes of their shows. They even set up a section in the audience for the tapers for optimal sound quality.

The thing with the Dead is that while some of them were great musicians (Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh), they all played and improvised together with a telepathy that was otherworldly. I guess that is why hardcore fans can listen to 10 versions of "The Other One" and savor the differences between this 18 minute version vs. that 30 minute version. Jerry Garcia does not get the credit he deserves as one of the great guitarists. It was Garcia who was both the spiritual, in a sense, and musical leader of this circus. But his guitar playing was so fluid and adventurous and deeply rooted in American music traditions. Also, his brief fascination with the pedal steel in the early 70's resulted in some spectacular music as well. Their work from '68 through about '72 was really groundbreaking in a certain sense, yet also quite traditional in another. They were one of the finest practitioners of American roots music, with the two records from 1970 being the high point.

Finally, the common wisdom on The Dead was that they never captured the magic in the studio that was present in their live shows. Certainly it was a different magic, but I'd argue, at least from '68 through about '72, they released some fine, some excellent, records. And they had some great isolated moments on record after that.

NOTE: As I stated above, I'm no Deadhead. So this guide addresses studio and mainstream live releases. I will briefly address the Dick's Picks series, though.

The Grateful Dead (1967) ***
Those music listeners who bought the debut and then showed up to a show expecting something similar were in store for either a rude awakening or a mindblowing experience, depending on their preferences (and pharmaceutical state). The Dead were clearly not comfortable in the studio at this stage, playing concise, tentative versions of songs that they would expand to unfamiliarity onstage. Yet these qualities were also its modest charms.

Anthem of the Sun (part live) (1968) ****
A unique studio/live experiment that really works. All parties were disappointed that the debut failed to capture the true nature of the band, but the sophomore effort definitely did, at least at this stage. They recorded several versions of each song both in the studio and live, sometimes drastically different versions in different keys and tempos, and then freely spliced them together, constructing a sonic mosaic from these disparate pieces. It is experimental art, one of the greatest psychedelic records ever made and while a challenging listen, well worth the effort.

Aoxomoxoa (1969) ***
Docked a star for "What's Become of the Baby" alone, which is one of my least favorite songs by any band that I really like. And being over eight minutes in length, it dominates the second half of this record. That is unfortunate, because much of the rest of this is really great, with Dead standards like "St. Stephen," "China Cat Sunflower," "Cosmic Charlie" and the acoustic/psychedelic gem "Rosemary."

Live/Dead (live) (1969) ****
I'm not a huge fan of this first of many live records, but I must agree that it best captures what The Dead were all about in this crucial early period, opening with a 23-minute signature version of "Dark Star." This is trippy long jams and psychedelic Americana. There are other Dead live records that I prefer, but none are as important as this one.

Workingman’s Dead (1970) ****
American Beauty (1970) *****
I really view these two high points as a double record, as they were released within the same year and are so sonically connected. I give the edge to AB because it is slightly richer, but both are (near) perfect records that use deep American roots music as templates, yet create something unique and of the day. The Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter songwriting team comes into its own here. These records were such a break from what had come before too, there is no psychedelia, no long jams. Just tight, concise songwriting using American music idioms of folk, country and blues wonderfully. Look at most Dead "hits" collections, and about half of the songs come from these two records. I can't recommend them highly enough.

Grateful Dead (aka Skull and Roses) (live) (1971) ****
Europe ’72 (live) (1972) ****
Garcia (Jerry Garcia solo album) (1972) ****
Ace (Bob Weir solo album) (1972) ****
Rolling Thunder (Mickey Hart solo album) (1972) NR
History of the Grateful Dead, vol. 1 (Bear’s Choice) (live) (1973) NR
In 1972, in order to entice the Dead to re-sign, Warner Brothers offered them a unique deal. Each member could record and release a solo record. Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart took them up on the offer. While all three have since released records that really do stand apart as solo careers, these three were essentially Dead records. On Garcia, Jerry played all the instruments save the drums, and on Ace, Weir used The Dead as his band. Songs from these records ended up as Dead concert standards in decades to come. Many fans view Garcia and Ace as the follow-ups to Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, and I agree (put them together and they are a killer, ***** double record). The Dead started using live records to also introduce new material, and both Grateful Dead (not to be confused with debut The Grateful Dead) and Europe '72 are awesome, a mix of classics, great covers, thrilling jams and top notch new material. This was the end of their most accomplished period.

ABOVE: While Jerry Garcia was the heart and soul as well as musical leader of The Grateful Dead and there from the beginning to end, it was a bit dangerous to play keyboards for them. In a Spinal Tapesque twist, four Dead keyboardists have met their demise.

Wake of the Flood (1973) **
From the Mars Hotel (1974) ***
Skeletons From the Closet: Best of the Grateful Dead (compilation) (1974) ***
Blues For Allah (1975) ***
Steal Your Face (live) (1976) NR
Terrapin Station (1977) ***
What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been (compilation) (1977) ***
Shakedown Street (1978) *
Go To Heaven (1980) *
Reckoning (live) (1981) ***
Dead Set (live) (1981) NR
In the Dark (1987) ***1/2
Dylan & the Dead (live) (with Bob Dylan) (1989) *
Built To Last (1989) **
Without a Net (live) (1990) NR
The Very Best of the Grateful Dead (compilation) (2003) ****
From 1973 forward, the Dead do earn their reputation for being relatively disappointing in the studio and saving their best for the road. That is not to say that there are not some great songs on most of these records, because there are. But most of the records are not that consistent, and some are really bad (particularly from the late 70's and early 80's). In the Dark is notable for being one of the more surprising commercial comebacks, including their biggest hit, "Touch of Grey." It was rightfully a big record, after a seven year hiatus from the studio they had some time to hone a solid set of new tunes on the road (Weir's "Hell in a Bucket" and Garcia's lovely "Black Muddy River" are also highlights). The live record with Bob Dylan is often cited as a nadir for both parties. As for compilations, as you might imagine, The Dead are particularly difficult to succinctly anthologize, because so much of what they are about is found in live and sprawling, extended form. But The Very Best serves as a fine single disc intro to the more approachable material.

The Official Unofficial Live Material:
By my count, using Wikipedia's assistance, I found 118 Dead sanctioned live albums or collections, covering the late 60's shows through the early 90's, in addition to the live records released during their career (pre-death of Garcia) that are listed above. They also encouraged bootleggers, and so there is a still thriving market beyond these. I only have a small handful of these 118, and this is where Deadheads feel that the "real" Grateful Dead is represented. The Dick's Picks series was particularly successful, featuring 36 volumes. I went online to find the consensus "best" Dick's Picks, and those seem to be Volume 4 and Volume 8 (both from shows from 1970). I grabbed both, and I'd give Volume 8 a solid **** (haven't listened closely enough to Volume 4 yet to rate it). I would also highly recommend the marathon four disc show, The Closing of Winterland (live) (1978/2003) ****, an all-night New Year's Eve party they played as the last concert at the legendary Winterland Arena in hometown San Francisco before the storied venue shut down. The show went on so long that The Dead served breakfast to the fans the next morning.

Bottom Line: 1968-72 is where to focus as far as studio work goes, with Workingman's Dead and American Beauty being their best. Grateful Dead (1971), Europe '72, Dick's Picks vol. 4 and vol. 8 and The Closing of Winterland are what I would recommend for official live recordings, but I am far from an expert in that arena. Grateful Dead (1971) in particular is manageable and very good, as it is "only" a double album. Deadheads would banish me for recommending a compilation, but The Very Best of The Grateful Dead is an outstanding single disc intro to the best of the studio material.