Grateful Dead

[Idisaffect]

From the Mars Hotel
does anybody like that one? what am I missing?

China Doll
Scarlet Begonias
Ship Of Fools
Unbroken Chain

SB is much better live, of course.

[fatoldbob]

Unbroken Chain

SB is much better live, of course.

Furthur (the band, not the bus) has been smoking on Unbroken Chain last couple of tours. Phil's playing like he's 25 again. Now if he only still had his voice...

[PooF]

^^^ It's very possible that I just haven't been paying attention lately, but good to see a post from you again.

[fatoldbob]

^^^ It's very possible that I just haven't been paying attention lately, but good to see a post from you again.

It's been quite a while...

[my breakfast.]

Fairly off topic but I got to have a wee shot on an Alembic bass yesterday, which has its roots in Dead-dom. The only Dead I could think of at the time was Estimated Prophet, which was fun to play on such an appropriate bass.

[nosaj]

Good gosh, now they have started yet another live series of release called "Dave's Picks"!!! Limited editions of 12,000??

I have found a way to procure both releases so far. Not bad.

[my breakfast.]

Again I feel miffed that the Dead's musical output is becoming more and more of a comodity in terms of sales and marketting. Limiting releases will kill of their archive.org versions and ultimately less and less people will get a chance to hear these tapes.

It seems to fly in the face of the Dead's own taping policy.

[MariahZ]

I feel so strange for never getting in to the Dead.....maybe some day

[danielcaux]

So which are like the top ten Grateful Dead must hear songs/jams? I've been trying to get interested myself into the Dead over the years but each time I listen to a random song from them it just doesn't compel me to search for more... any suggestions?

[nosaj]

So which are like the top ten Grateful Dead must hear songs/jams? I've been trying to get interested myself into the Dead over the years but each time I listen to a random song from them it just doesn't compel me to search for more... any suggestions?

Depends what you like. I f you like long jammy songs, they just might be the band for you - you should get a live album. If long jammy tunes are not your thing, you may want to consider a studio album.

I would suggest an early live recording if you like long jammy spacy stuff, specifically something with the song Dark Star on it and The Other One. I would also suggest live recordings from 1972, 1974 and 1977.

The Other One performed in 1977:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWFDiuY7yE4

If you don't like it, you just simply may not like the band. They are not for everyone.

[danielcaux]

The Other One performed in 1977...

If you don't like it, you just simply may not like the band. They are not for everyone.

I guess that would be my case then. All I heard there was a bunch of tonal noodling and then some words thrown in... it's not so much that I find that particulary unpleasant or annoying, not at all, but it just does absolutely nothing for me. It's kinda like high quality muzak, easy to the ears but doesn't affect me at all. I'm more into either completely free form improvisations or well structured complex pieces, jamming around in some key I don't find that very interesting. Toe ach the irown, alright.

Their music has a very strong hillbilly flavor too, and just like The Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd it's hard for my mind to avoid picturing images like these while listening to their songs... hey they even look a little like Jerry Garcia heh heh heh!



Still I think I'm gonna keep exploring their discography, you never know what you could find

[nosaj]

I suspect they are not your cup of tea...anyway, what about this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8zcSkLlpm4

[J Ed]

Their music has a very strong hillbilly flavor too, and just like The Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd it's hard for my mind to avoid picturing images like these while listening to their songs... hey they even look a little like Jerry Garcia heh heh heh!

this actually turns out to be one of the cool things about them
they started as an oldtimey jugband before they started dosing, and they seem to know the whole history of American music, folk blues bluegrass jazz, all of it
their lyricist Robert Hunter is especially good at replicating the wordstyle and imagery of the oldtimey music, and parts of Workingmans Dead, American Beauty, Europe 72 or Wake of the Flood seem to be invoking the ghosts of Americana, all the gamblers and drifters and hustlers who have wandered the roadways and trails
Hunter says someone once spoke to him about the song Cumberland Blues, saying "I bet whoever wrote that song never drempt somebody like the Grateful Dead would ever be performing it" which Hunter took as the ultimate compliment, because he himself wrote it

[danielcaux]

Oh boy, I just listened to the whole 26 minutes... but nothing, it just doesn't do anything for me. Nice sound, but definitely not my cup of tea.

[rememberaday]

Seems like I'm having the same problem danielcaux is having- just can't get into them. That country flavour is annoying me a bit too much. Interestingly though, I do like Floyd improvisations. I can appreciate the fact that they are good, but the music does not move me in any way.