Grateful Dead's Workingman's Dead vs. American Beauty

Ripple,Brokedown and Box make this an easy vote for me.

 

My burner said it was too long to put on a CDR even though it seems to go for just UNDER 80 minutes.

 

"workingman's Dead" is my favorite Dead album cover. I wish they sold t-shirts with that cover on it.

 

Voted for Workingman's Dead but for years I would have said American Beauty. Both are great.

 

You don't compare Workingman's Dead to American Beauty... you compare Workingman's Dead and American Beauty with every single other album the Grateful Dead have ever made. I can't vote on this thread, it'd be like picking your favorite child.

 

Having driven through Cumberland 100s of times, I gotta go w/ WD. Green label WB for me.

 

Pretty much "Dead" even in my opinion !

 

They are a matched set but AB for me.

 

Can't vote for one over the other. Would have made a stunning double album

 

I was hoping you had forgotten to limit the poll to a single vote so I could select both. I went with American Beauty but it was closer than the current results of this poll (75% AB)

 

Workingman's Dead. I wore it out when it was new, and I still have a warm spot in my heart for it. That said, American Beauty has not only great songs, but more of 'em. The original Workingman's Dead release was comparatively short measure.

 

I can't pick one over the other, they'd make a perfect double album.

 

I went with AB as Friend of the Devil was what grabbed my ears originally and made me a Deadhead and Box of Rain is a perfect track.
Both LPs sound excellent, must own Green label origs.
Workingman's seems to be getting scarcer at least Greens in good shape, both titles seem to be drying up round here.
I think they just screwed up the slick for WD, and maybe just kept it going after they realized the mistake. There are "corrected"/much later copies.

The story I hear of Billy K in the door frame is that it was hot out to be wearing all those cowboy duds and he got pissed off as the session was dragging on. Session must have been late spring of 1970, not sure why Marin would be that hot that time of year. But anyway that's the story.

WorkingMan's art is much cooler IMO, and the textured jacket is aesthetically pleasing.

 

Tough choice but I went with Workingman's because I enjoy the listening experience more. WD has eight great songs and no filler, while AB has three songs that don't really work for me. Operator just doesn't measure up to Easy Wind; Candyman drags and doesn't really go anywhere, and Till the Morning Comes is a candidate for the worst Garcia / Hunter song ever. The remaining seven are great, with Box of Rain and Ripple just stunningly good. Tough, tough choice.

 

I love them both equally. My favorite period of the Dead. They were playing constantly in in SF at that time and as a teenager I 'd go see them every chance I'd get. Some truly great shows. On the downside, I put on Box of Rain the other day and couldn't believe how out of tune it was.

 

I prefer Workingman's Dead, at least at the moment, but that could be because I've listened to Dick's Picks Vol. 16 twice in the last few days and really like the 20 and 21.12.69 stuff on Dave's Picks Vol. 6.

I prefer the leanness of WD. American Beauty really is beautiful and the best moments are richer and more sophisticated than anything on WD but I love how tight and basic WD is. It's strong from the start to the end. I find a few moments of AB a bit less than excellent (TTMComes doesn't seem to fit to me, Operator seems a bit undercooked and Sugar Magnolia is a little wimpy, even compared with the live versions starting in June of '70).

It would have been a different album if TC had stuck around for the sessions. Pigpen is barely heard on organ but his contribution - a haunting line on Black Peter - is one of his tenderest recorded moments.

Would it be reasonable to say that these albums contain more definitive performances of songs than any other Dead albums? Many of the tracks are candidates for the best versions (for example Dire Wolf, High Time, New Speedway Boogie, Box Of Rain and Attics) I don't know any other Dead album of which that can be claimed.

 

Difficult to do this > slight edge to AB.

 

Two great albums but as a whole I feel American Beauty is stronger...

 

I love both LP discs. I give WD the advantage due to that gritty rootsy sound and the better sequencing of tracks. Both albums Essential Dead.

 

American Beauty, but it goes with Workingman's like a perfect "two fer"...

 

Both are wonderful, but slight edge to AB. It has a bit more variety. There's not a single Bobby song on WD, is there?

 

American Beauty is a better collection of more, better songs, IMHO, so it gets my vote. But Workingman's Dead is a better sounding record.

 

Luv both but prefer American Beauty


sean

 

Went with "American Beauty". Although I don't care much for either "Till the Morning Comes" or "Attics of my Life," the peaks are simply higher to me than on "Workingman's Dead".

Oh, and I actually like "Operator" better than "Easy Wind" - it's a nifty little tune!

 

Both five-star albums. American Beauty just pips it though.