Classic Rock Bottom

ALBUM OF THE WEEK # 262 THE GRATEFUL DEAD - AMERICAN BEAUTY (45TH ANNIVERSARY - 1970)

Artist: The Grateful Dead

Genre: Rock

Nationality: American

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Member: Yes

Album: American Beauty

Producer: Grateful Dead/Steve Barncard

Release Date: November 1, 1970

Running Time: 42:21

RIAA Certification: Double Platinum

Peak Billboard Chart Position: #30 (Billboard)

Singles: Truckin' (Hot 100 #64)/Ripple

 

Disclaimer: All info that does not reside in my brain is gathered from wikipedia.com (mostly because Jon can't stand it). 

First Friday is tomorrow, so it's time for an anniversary album.  Once again, we step backwards to 1970.  And since July 4th is this weekend, we need something that sounds American.  So let's go with a very American band, The Grateful Dead, and let's feature their 1970 album American Beauty.  The Grateful Dead does not get much, if any, attention her at CRB.  In my case, it's mainly because I've never had the desire to hear their music.  This is one of two of their studio albums that I have bought in the last year or two.  I also own a greatest hits disc.

If you are new to the band, they are known as a "jam band".  The band hails from the San Francisco Bay area and are known for their improvisation.  GD was known to use collaborators, and this album prominently featured lyrics by Robert Hunter.  American Beauty is the band's sixth studio album and is a fusion of bluegrass, rock and roll, folk and country.  Two singles were released from the album (Truckin' and Ripple), but other songs receiving some airplay were Box Of Rain, Sugar Magnolia and Friend Of The Devil.  

I guess picking this album works well for me because I've really been listening to the American genre lately, also known for it's fusion of genres.  American Beauty is readily available at Amazon.  You can get Rhino's reissue with 8 bonus tracks for just over ten U.S. dollars.  

So what about you?  Are you a Dead Head?  Do you have any memories of this album?  Or if you are new to the band's music, what is your first impression?

Side One:

1. Box Of Rain

2. Friend Of The Devil

3. Sugar Magnolia

4. Operator

5. Candyman

Side Two:

6. Ripple

7. Brokedown Palace

8. Till The Morning Comes

9. Attics Of My Life

10. Truckin'

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I'll just say that I have never really given the Grateful Dead the time of day.  But I do think, after picking up two albums, that their music is worthy.  This album has the band really trying to be sort of Crosby, Stills and Nash.  And it's okay, but no band harmonizes like CSN.   That's not their fault, CSN is just better at it that almost everybody.  

I wouldn't mind hearing a little more lead guitar playing from Jerry Garcia, but that's just me.  Overall I think it's a very decent album.

Never heard an entire album of Dead music...  this will be a first for me...

Yeah, me too. Nice pick (again).

No, I'm not a "Deadhead", but I kinda like The Grateful Dead. Depends on my mood, but the last few years I've kinda gotten into them again. Not enough to go out and buy the billions of live/bootleg albums. 

I had this on vinyl in the early 80's, along with "Workingman's Dead". Some will say these are their best studio albums. I like "Go To Heaven" which I don't think a lot of Deadheads like, but it was the first GD album I ever bought and it was on cassette. I also like "In The Dark" and am very surprised none of you guys have heard that album, at the very least.

This is a good album, so good that you still hear at least five of these songs on the radio still.

Nice pick, but it behooves all of you to listen to at least one other Dead album maybe?

Workingman's Dead is the other one I have too.

Behooves? 

I just never could get into the Grateful Dead's music. I know they have a great following and passionate fans but not my cup of tea.

I heard the album yeaterday evening, so I can't take it song by song, but...

What a boring album!!

I had a strong feeling, that GD might be very boring, after those couple of songs, I already had heard, but that they were this boring the whole time, was a little surprise.

They appears to me as being (not surprisingly) a very american amateurish country Hippie-musician bunch of crack-heads. (Oh, and don't be "offended", when I write "american" in a negative way again. I would had done it, if I meant "english" or also most certainly "danish", when I mean it sounds too much "native").

It wasn't THAT bad. I COULD hear some okay songs on the album, and maybe one okay solo from Garcia (I guess it was), and I agree, that the harmonies were very close to something CSN would sing, not as good, but close.

But it was booooooorrring!!!!!! The most boring drums, I have ever heard!!! Every song started in a boring way, and stayed boring!!! The leadsinger(s) were at the least not very good. No song really stuck out, and I'm not surprised, that I have never heard one of the songs on the radio.

While hearing the album, I thought about the Basement tapes by Dylan and the Band. That's not very good either, but at least, there's Dylan to spice things up. 

But thank you for posting the album. Now I know, it's a waste of time for me, listening to a GD-album.

Boring, kind of like Hand...Cannot...Erase?

These people have just been listening to "American Beauty":

Guess what these people just listened to:

was it boring like...  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ...  ???

No, more like ∞ Z (that's infinity).

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