Off The Tracks

Off The Tracks
  • Blog
    • Interviews
    • Miscellany
    • Special Guests
    • Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • The Vinyl Countdown
  • Back Catalogue
  • About
    • About
    • About the banner image
    • On Song
September 6, 2015 by Simon Sweetman

The Grateful Dead: The Best of The Grateful Dead

GDThe Grateful Dead

The Best of The Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead/Rhino

It’s Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary Season if you didn’t already know. It’s also 20 years since Jerry Garcia, spiritual centre of the band, left this world to spiral on elsewhere, down some other tie-dyed highway. The band has played its last ever shows under that name (again) and are heading out on the road under a different name – and with John Mayer playing guitar.

All of this means it’s time to sell some merch too – so here’s a double-disc best-of; one of far too many Grateful Dead compilations. I’ve never thought this band anthologised all that well, certainly the key to the Dead is in the live shows, and in the small handful of terrific, early albums. Bootlegs are often fan-favourites and they never – really – had a hit single.

But, let’s just look at this for what it is – a fine enough selection of highlights for fairweather fans, and a decent day-trip, as it were, through a vast and messy catalogue.

The second disc has the twiddly-dee pop of Touch of Grey, which sounds better here than it ever did. And other late-career things like Hell In A Bucket, Blow Away and Foolish Heart are all pleasant. But the real magic is in the epic Terrapin Station, the quirky Feel Like A Stranger and in all of that early cosmic glory: China Cat Sunflower, St. Stephen, Uncle John’s Band, Truckin, Box of Rain, Friend of The Devil, Ripple and Eyes of the World.

Wow, you reel those names out now and have to marvel at the fact they never really had a hit. Those area all hits for me.

And yet I prefer them all when I hear them on the original albums (American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead) and, actually, in most cases on live albums.

Wonderful band to my ears. A load of lazy hippie-twaddle .to others. Not sure how they could only hear that when they were all at once one of the finest – and first – “Americana” bands, and when they stretched out, those guitar solos fluid, tumbling, those wonderful jazz-like rhythm parts beneath, well it made you forget about anything. And everything. As only the best music can.

So you don’t need this at all. Or you need to reconnect – or to start the trip.

Posted in Blog, Reviews and tagged with 2015, 50th Anniversary, American Beauty, Best Of, Compilation, Double, Jerry Garcia, St. Stephen, Terrapin Station, The Best of The Grateful Dead, The Grateful Dead, Touch of Grey, Workingman's Dead. RSS 2.0 feed.
« DJ Setlist: The Blind Tiger, Friday, September 4, 2015
The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 75 The Spines Girls »

Popular

  • The Sad Story of Bob Welch: Fleetwood Mac’s Most Undervalued Member
  • Janna Lapidus Leblanc: Four Years In Pictures
  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 8 – Mark Knopfler
  • Neil Peart Was The World’s Most Overrated Drummer
  • Try Three: # 1 – Roots, Reggae, Soul
  • Revisiting Live at Knebworth (1990)
  • Short Story: The Year of The Rat
  • What A Good Score! – #17: Dead Man Walking by Various Artists
  • Try Three – New Series
  • R.I.P. Ronny Jordan

Archives

Tags

Album Review Auckland Blog Book Book Review Chat Compilation DJ Drums DVD DVD Review EP Film Film Review Gig Gig Review Guest Blog Guitar Interview Jazz Live Live Gig LP Movie Music NZ Podcast Poem Poetry Record Records Simon Sweetman Soundtrack Spotify Stub Stubs Sweetman Podcast The Vinyl Countdown Vinyl Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron Wellington Wgtn Writing You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron [OST]

Categories

  • Back Catalogue
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • Miscellany
  • Mixtapes
  • Playlists
  • Podcasts
  • Reviews
  • Scene Of The Day
  • Special Guests
  • The Vinyl Countdown

Off The Tracks is the home of Sweetman Podcast, a weekly interview/chat-based pod. It's also home to my reviews across film, TV, music and books and some creative writing as well.

Off The Tracks aims to provide quality reviews and essays, regular blog updates about the shows, albums, books and movies you should be experiencing.

It's a passion project. Your support will help to keep Off The Tracks online.

All content © 2022 by Off The Tracks. WordPress Themes by Graph Paper Press