Okay, Deadheads...I've ripped you for decades, but

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by nicotinecaffeine, Sep 12, 2014.

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  1. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    I like the Dead. American Beauty isn't an album that grabs me. Lacking sound for a studio album. Thin sound. Wonky stereo that isn't headphone friendly. I don't feel much flow. It's not an album that would keep me listening to the Grateful Dead. I'm not actually a fan of any of the studio albums. The live albums are where the magic and the flow happens, even though the playing is more sloppy and sometimes aimless rambling noodling. If the live playing has a flow that resonates with you, you'll get it. Otherwise you won't. No harm in that.

    I discovered the Dead in 1991. Summer term during college. Some deadheads were rooming next door. Told them I didn't have any Grateful Dead. I'd heard the studio albums, but didn't own any. What should I get? They suggested "Without A Net". Bought it on CD. Listened. I was hooked. Yup. The 1990 Dead is what got me. Not the early Dead. Not the 80s Dead. The 1990 Dead that most people discount. "Without A Net" is still my favorite Dead album.

    So for the OP. Try "Without A Net". :hide:
    Not the most popular suggestion for the Dead. But it worked for me.
     
    skybluestoday likes this.
  2. nicotinecaffeine

    nicotinecaffeine Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Walton, KY
    I am curious about the Anthem original mix versus the '72.

    The one I have is my dad's old bright-pea-green with the W. I'm sure that's the original, but does the '72 contain any additions or improvements? Yes, I know, the search option is my friend, but the information on it is all over the place with seemingly nothing on yay or nay.
     
  3. Alan2

    Alan2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    :pineapple::goodie::yikes:Your soul is ours now. Whaaaahahahaha!


    O, and try England '72- Steppin' Out with . ., as well as Europe '72.
     
  4. hyde park

    hyde park Forum Resident

    Location:
    IL, USA
    ]

    Nothing wrong with that choice - it's a great set of music and sound pretty damn good.
     
    DrLunchbox likes this.
  5. Havoc

    Havoc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Poland
    I held out for the longest time for non-musical reasons. My government teacher in high school would say some extremely cruel stuff about President Reagan and he had the cover to American Beauty propped up on his desk so it was a guilt by association type of thing. Not the most reasonable explanation but I'll have to blame youth and a lingering distrust of "hippies" for that.

    On top of that, while I was in college it seemed like I was constantly rescuing my sister from very bad situations where certain individuals were trying to get her to take a walk on "the wild side" that involved drugs, becoming an erotic dancer, running away from home constantly, becoming an escort....etc. but one incident stood out in my mind more than the rest. When my sister was 17 she had vanished, I had just come home from my 2 week deployment with my Air Force Reserve unit and one of her friends that I had a crush on came round and told me that she thought my sister had taken in with a transvestite in Berkeley. I took BART and a very long bus ride into a very nice neighborhood into the hills, on the way there I had all these visions of some thrashed pit of a house but it was this palace. The individual who answered the door had needle tracks on her arms and was so high she couldn't barely speak, I took a second look and realized it was my sister. I stormed into the house ready to thrash whoever was facilitating this and came upon this middle-aged man who was just getting out of his make-up and instead of him freaking out because I was in his house he asked me if I wanted something to eat.

    I was ready to kill the man but he turned out to be this disarming guy who "thought" he was helping troubled kids by giving them food and shelter and while he was doing that, he was looking the other way while they were getting high. He said he was afraid if he did too much to stop them that they would go somewhere worse and feed their habit. The thing I noticed though was that he had this cassette tape that was constantly playing "Trucking" and "Touch of Grey" over and over and over and even though the house was nice, it had all these random Grateful Dead posters just tacked on the wall wherever there was space. I told him I was taking my sister home and he gave me a $20 bill for the train home and to get something to eat. I spent the ride home with my sister asleep with her head in my lap, I was covering her up so no one saw the needle marks on her and had to tell BART police I found her at a party where someone spiked the punch and was taking her home. I think they knew there was a worse problem but they seemed to give me a break when I showed my military ID. The whole ride home I was thinking "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot just happened?" and had that music and those images in my head and wanted nothing to do with that band.

    Fast forward to the air campaign against Milosevic where I had to spend 8 long hours stuck in the air listening to a guy go on and on about how American Beauty was the best album ever made and I told him about this guy and my sister as well as my government teacher. He mentioned this one guy we both thought was a pretty despicable person and pointed out that the guy was a massive Beatles fan and that with my logic, I should be consistent and give up my Beatles albums. He offered to loan me the record should I reconsider, I finally got around to it last year. Good record that American Beauty and it only took me 27 years to swallow my pride and give it a try.
     
    texron, 5meohd, Alan2 and 4 others like this.
  6. bcaulf

    bcaulf Forum Resident

    Might I suggest Bob Weir's "Ace"? I think it's the best Dead-related albums you can get, studio wise. All of the songs except for "Walk In The Sunshine" are great and have all become live staples later on in the Dead's career.
     
  7. Havoc

    Havoc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Poland
    Anyone know the story about the band and how they helped the Lithuanian basketball team? My wife's aunt and uncle lived right next door to the house where the ominous garage meeting took place. Pretty interesting stuff. I found the dual-disc of American Beauty for only $11 new and am looking forward to it.......imagine that.......Havoc......legendary loather of "The Dead" ordering American Beauty on dual disc. It is a curious world we live in.
     
  8. Stone Turntable

    Stone Turntable Independent Head

    Location:
    New Mexico USA
    This thread is well on its way to following the hilarious slippery slope of every Grateful Dead recommendation thread wherein discerning and focussed selections rapidly devolve into longer and longer lists that eventually add up to “consume mass quantities!” and “get everything.”

    [​IMG]
     
    notesofachord and DrLunchbox like this.
  9. Sordel

    Sordel Forum Resident

    Location:
    Switzerland
    There's a surprising lack of consensus in this thread, to the extent even of recommendations for In The Dark and Built To Last, which wouldn't count in my first thirty GD recordings. I'm not sure what o/p can glean out of all this.

    Starting from Anthem and Workingman's, I think Aoxomoxoa and American Beauty are the obvious next steps. Personally I count many of the live albums amongst my favourites but why make things more complicated than they have to be?
     
  10. Havoc

    Havoc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Poland
    Not sure if anyone remembers this but there is a fantastic show called Freaks and Geeks that sadly only saw one season but the final episode is one of my favorite episodes of any tv show in existence and it deals with American Beauty in a very memorable manner.
     
    collective11, notesfrom and Scopitone like this.
  11. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    If the end of Side One fades out rather than ending on a strong note, it's the original mix. IMO, if you have the original mix you have to reason ever to seek out the far inferior remix. Opinions vary.
     
  12. MIPIE

    MIPIE Forum Resident

    Location:
    BERKS COUNTY
    The real clincher in this investigation is that you had to see them. They came on, no gimmicks or fancy stage clothes, and played their music. There wasn't much interaction with the audience except to feed off their vibes. There had to be some duds in their career but look how many times they went for it. I'm glad I experienced them and I'll love till the end.
     
    skybluestoday likes this.
  13. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    No, it's not. :hide:
     
  14. Exile On My Street

    Exile On My Street Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    As a recent convert myself (within the last 6 months) I will say I am completely hooked! I am now trying to collect as much Dead as time and money will allow. The first album that hooked me was "Skull and Roses" when a friend made a copy for me. I had heard a few Dead studio albums over the years and enjoyed "Blues For Allah" but it was the live experience that drew me in and made me appreciate their studio albums even more as I continue to introduce myself to their extraordinary live material.

    My picks for a newbie:

    Studio:
    Workingman's Dead
    American Beauty
    Blue For Allah

    Live:
    Skull and Roses
    Europe '72

    After that, you're off to the races....
     
    Scopitone likes this.
  15. Havoc

    Havoc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Poland
    I worked at one of their New Year's Eve shows at the Oakland Coliseum and was posted at the stage barrier with strict instructions to not look at the stage, it honestly sounded a little boring but I did watch this older dude almost get it on with his wife on the floor and they were being coaxed on by the crowd around them. It was amazing to catch all the little dramas occurring on the floor near the stage during that show, it must have been about 3 hours long and I watched 1 guy pass out twice, wake up and get back into the show, a couple boy-girl spats, a few people yakking on the floor and 1 guy slipping in it then picking a fight with the yakker. Crazy stuff.
     
    MIPIE likes this.
  16. Scopitone

    Scopitone Caught the last train for the coast

    Location:
    Denver, CO
    I have been thinking about my journey with The Dead, as it were. When I was in college and just after (mid-90s), I remember that I had a few different CDs over the years. I am pretty sure at some point -- never at the same time -- I had Skeletons From the Closet (is that one even in print anymore?), Long Strange Trip, and Hundred Year Hall. In all three cases, I bought them because it seemed the thing to do, and I was curious. I liked them well enough, but it wasn't music that grabbed me. I have long since gotten rid of those albums.

    Years later, I bought American Beauty and Dick's Picks 08 from iTunes on someone's recommendation. I liked them both, but they didn't grab me. Fortunately, I still have those two albums.

    Not long ago, I started playing first album on a whim on spotify, and I fell in love with it. Then Anthem, Live/Dead, DP 22, and a smattering of samples from other later things. The timing is right! (also have gotten into the Airplane for the first time)

    And dang it, wouldn't you know that even though I have access to all of it on spotify, I felt the desire to have some CDs and be a proper collector. :p So this morning, I took some movies I've been meaning to get rid of and went down to the record store. Between trade credit and a few more bucks, I got: Live/Dead, Anthem, and Skull & Bones. (Plus Surrealistic Pillow --> Volunteers). Everything was brand new except L/D, which was in such perfect condition that it might as well have been unopened.

    BTW, they did have a copy of the Garcia disc. They wanted $37 for it. I noticed this time something I had not seen before at the shop, though the last time I was there was probably RSD: a lot of CDs have an "out of print" sticker on them, and those items have a jacked-up price. If this store was ever a place to find bargains on CDs, it surely isn't anymore. :( Looks like I will be listening to that album via youtube for now. . .
     
    mark renard likes this.
  17. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    Live Dead and American Beauty are essential for showcasing their exploratory jams (Live Dead) and their folk roots (American Beauty). I would also recommend Terrapin Station for its side-long title suite recorded with an orchestra. Their 1967 debut is also very good, showing their eclecticism and some of Garcia's best guitar chops.
     
  18. Folknik

    Folknik Forum Resident

    It also shows their folk and blues roots.
     
  19. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    That it does, and as a result, it is an essential album.
     
    Folknik likes this.
  20. Olompali

    Olompali Forum Resident

    Connie's got the shirt
    [​IMG]
     
  21. Emmett66

    Emmett66 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
  22. Emmett66

    Emmett66 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
  23. Emmett66

    Emmett66 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
  24. Emmett66

    Emmett66 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
  25. Wright

    Wright Forum Resident

    Sometimes people pass over the early Dead, but whoa... some of that stuff is great! Check out the pre-CCR groove on this one, and in particular, Jerry's guitar solo:



    It's also often said that Jerry didn't become confident as a vocalist until the Workingman's Dead era, but here he's really belting it out - being quite emotive, too.
     
    notesofachord likes this.
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