A San Francisco Music
Chronicle
A San Francisco Music
Chronicle
Important works
are in yellow.
1972: Garcia. 1974: Garcia (Compliments). 1976: Reflections. 1978: Cats Down Under the
Stars. 1982: Run For the Roses. 1988: Almost Acoustic. 1991:
Jerry Garcia and David Grisman * Jerry Garcia Band. 1993: Not for
Kids Only. 1997: How Sweet It Is.
PHIL LESH
Seastones.
BOB WEIR
1972: Ace. 1978: Heaven Help the Fool.
1998: Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman.
MICKEY HART
1972: Rolling
Thunder. 1976: Diga (with the Diga Rhythm Band)
ROBERT HUNTER
1973: Tales of the
Great Rum Runners.
1974: Tiger Rose. 1979: Jack O'Roses. 1982: Promontory Rider.
1984: Amagamilin Street * Rock Columbia. 1985: Live `85. 1987:
Liberty.
KEITH AND DONNA
GODCHEAUX:
1975: Keith and Donna.
One of the first extended (very extended) improvisational units
in a rock-that-was-often-an-unusual-form-of-jazz format
(discounting, for instance, Cream who were sinners in the art of
improvisation, and Hendrix who seldom had the right backdrop and
left a lot of ugly live work behind him, though he was obviously
capable), the Grateful Dead were perhaps the most artistically
sublime of units, with band interaction that must be equated with
genius given their unflagging devotion, prodigious output and
unparalleled resourcefulness. The trick was in absorbing
influences from absolutely every direction imaginable, from the
"simple" forms of country, bluegrass, rural blues, pop
and soul, to the esoteric realms of avant garde, classical, jazz,
and cultural music from around the globe. Channellers with gates
wide open, spirit, music and life flowed forth. Beatific and
reverent, unplanned and contrived, sloppy and perfect, erratic
(day to day) and consistent (ultimately), clumsiness only
enhanced their high wire act. Analytical rigor mortis was held at
bay by refusing to chart destinations; simplistic redundancy was
eluded by big, complex, ideas. Communication was clear, if
elliptical. The Grateful Dead were a stunning mixture of the
hearts of simple music lovers with the minds of self-conscious,
ambitious aesthetes. Like the best music careers, the band
flowered, year by year etching out a broader list of
achievements. Prosaic scenesters looked at the Dead and saw only
aging hippies; pop-loving radioheads found the music too
troublesome, lacking immediacy; critics would superficially read
and dismiss their latest releases - Rolling Stone,
despite an initial infatuation, never paid attention to them
until they had made a certain amount of money (and predictably Rolling
Stone upgrades their status in each new edition of Rolling
Stone Record Guide). Ascendency is never pure and simple.
Critic Dave Marsh, an extraordinary rock conservative, found them
to be fellow travelers and enemies of the people. Robert
Christgau has managed a few coherent paragraphs on the Dead, but
never felt inclined to really risk his neck. Greil Marcus offered
avoidance as he pursued the arcane.
The Grateful Dead had an ethos as profound as any sixties' band.
They were lucky to have Robert Hunter as a lyricist. Hunter seems
to be a poet in the traditional sense of a linguist/language
stylist rather than a poetic song lyricist in the Bob Dylan
manner, which meant that Hunter could prove as troublesome to the
posters as the musicians in the band. When Hunter was purveying a
realistic slant to his writing - "Loser,"
"Deal," "Wharf Rat," "Cumberland
Blues," "Black Peter," "To Lay Me Down"
are fine examples of the form - the Dead were considered to be in
their classic era (circa Workingman's Dead). If they had
pursued this road, they might have found more immediate
gratification with the perks of capitalism. But the essence of
Hunter and the Dead is better represented by "Ripple" (American
Beauty). The song suggests and eludes meaning. It's not
unusual to grow quite close to a Hunter lyric only to have it
fade from view the closer you look at it. The Dead reinforced the
tentative nature; interpretation was constant. Not that there
aren't easy roads into Deadian wilderness. Friendships, hardship,
love, death, work, faith, hope and charity all figure into the
text. Among other subtexts, the Dead's depictions of outsiders
are masterful: outsider status becomes an expansive, encompassing
all.
Even after their untimely demise, the Grateful Dead have
continued to release classic music; i.e. One From the Vault,
Dick's Pick, Vol. 4, and Fallout From The Phil Zone.
What Dead heads have always argued - that the band was best
represented on stage - probably will prove true, but this
argument has helped disguise the fact that the band's original
releases, given the band member's individual musical styles, and
their rarified ensemble playing, are generally underrated. The
work that started with Live/Dead (1970) and ended, four
years later, after seven albums and various solo projects, is one
of the most sustained periods of creativity for any sixties' rock
band. Even ignoring their voluminous definitive versions of
traditional or classic songs, and superior live renditions of
their own tunes, the Dead boast a list of songs that are among
the most vital rock has produced: examples are "Viola Lee
Blues," "Caution: Do Not Step on Tracks," the
entirety of American Beauty and Workingman's Dead,"The
Wheel," "To Lay Me Down," "Bird Song,"
"Cassidy," "Row Jimmy Row," "Stella
Blue," "Weather Reports, Pt. 1 and 2," "Here
Comes Sunshine," "Unbroken Chain," "China
Doll," "Ship of Fools," "Crazy Fingers,"
"Franklin's Tower," "I'll Take a Melody,"
"They Love Each Other," "Mission in the
Rain," "Terrapin Station," "Estimated
Prophet," "France," "Stagger Lee,"
"Don't Ease Me In," "Lost Sailor,"
"Saint of Circumstance," "Althea,"
"Touch of Grey," Dead Set, Without a Net,
"Standing on the Moon," and "Built to Last."
People who once didn't care for the Grateful Dead, seem to be
coming around. The trend is likely to continue.
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