great point ! No, no. Certain mind-altering substances can enhance any listening experience in surprising and delightful ways - that's true, however one doesn't need to be under the influence of psychotropic drugs to "get" the Dead. It is really a just a matter of one's level of consciousness and perspicacity. Having an undersdanding of the origins of the stylistic elements of their music offers an insight into the ways many followers approach the Dead's music - being tuned-in to the ways in which they combine elements of Rock, Folk, Dixieland Jazz, Bluegrass, Country Blues, and Gospel is entirely unique in the context of popular music, purely organic (probably one of, if not the last, band to hybridise styles in this way), and improvisational in essence.
If it hasn't already been mentioned, you need to check out anything from mid 67 to mid 69. There is a show from the fillmore east in june 68 that I have talked about many times. Don't let the quality get in the way. It's on the archive so easy enough to check out. One part was released but you need to hear the whole show.
Actually, the question is not as dumb as it appears at first glance. I remember Garcia saying that while they performed on psychedelics, he never thought of the music as "psychedelic." Remember, these guys were not about fanboy marketing gimmicks, they were after a change of consciousness. That said, this discussion is about as fruitful as whether Family was prog or Hendrix blues.
Ummmm .... no. I have listened to the Dead and pretty much everything else more sober than not. Not surprising as I spend the overwhelming majority of my life sober and straight. Now, this thread is a discussion of the Psychedelic nature of their music. As such, it should come as no surprise that certain substances are going to be discussed. Psychedelia and Drugs, no matter what you think of them, are inextricably linked. And as bad as it could be for certain members of the band, the GD and Drugs are also linked. There it is.
If we really want to start a brouhaha I can talk about how I consider the Dead a progressive rock band.
I suppose "Workingman's Dead" confuses. Most that came before is psychedelic with some excursions back into the void on subsequent LPs such as, "Wake of the Flood" and "Blues for Allah". Ya just gotta listen.
I read the title of this thread and thought, “seriously?” Lots of laughs here — thank you, I needed that!
Tangerine Dream were just a band that really took "Dark Star" to heart. The Dead contain multitudes, and maybe that gives you trouble. As many have said, their core psych years were in the '60s--and they get really interesting in that way when they introduced "That's It for The Other One" and "Dark Star" into their sets, in late '67-early '68, and developed the "St. Stephen>The Eleven" and "Alligator>Caution" sequences. They were into blues, r&b, avant-garde, and other things at the same time, but acid is all over their music in that era. In the early '70s, they developed their interests in Americana and jazz, as well as other kinds of music; still, often in their second sets, they could take you for a trip around the cosmos. But if you can't hear the psych, as you describe it, in their '68-69 albums and live sets, I don't know what to tell you.
LOL, I responded no to this very same/similar post of yours a few years ago (and it didn't go well). I would like to clarify that I certainly find them to be progressive, but I don't necessarily consider them to be prog. Terrapin might be an exception. In any case, as to the matter of psychedelic, I don't really think there's an argument to be made against that. Regardless of how they sound, they were part and parcel of the psychedelic movement in 1966. Sort of case closed, in my book. And no, one does not need to be under the influence of anything to appreciate what they were able to accomplish. I'll hone in on my favorite period: 1972-1974. These were some of the best musicians on the planet performing some of the best improvisationally-based music ever to be produced. Who cares how you define that? Just enjoy it for what it is.
Their psychedelic period lasted from 1966 to 1969. The image of the band for the general public is frozen in that timeframe, though, hence the tag.
This alone is probably the most psychedelic feature of the Dead. They could be 3 or 4 different bands in a single show, let alone across their entire career. If psychedelia is anything, it is seeing (hearing) things in a combination that was not perceived before. It has been stated in one of the Dead threads here that this album cover is their most psychedelic. I think I agree.
I attended some really psychedelic shows in the 80's and 90's. One of them was so far out that Barney the Purple Dinosaur was playing bass.
I agree. But the Grateful Dead sound quite earthly compared to Syd's Floyd who sound like they come from a different planet accessed only "through the looking glass".
