Please, Grateful Dead, Don’t Keep Truckin’ On

[wdw]

humorous article today in the WSJ,

 

By JOE QUEENAN

Jan. 30, 2015 11:34 a.m. ET

 

In an enormously generous gesture to the American people, the Grateful Dead appear to be packing it in for good this summer after three concerts in Chicago. “These will be the last shows with the four of us together,” band member Bob Weir told Billboard earlier this month. In doing so, the Dead will bring down the curtain on 50 years of plodding, limp, turgid, languid, unoriginal, inanimate, self-indulgent stoner music, an embarrassing relic from a bygone era. One can only hope that James Taylor will soon follow suit.

 

The appeal of the Grateful Dead has puzzled me for as long as I can remember. They were the first progressive rock band that didn’t actually rock; Jethro Tull was the second.....

 

....I hated the Dead because they couldn’t play fast. Zeppelin, the Beatles, Springsteen and even Chicago could play fast. For that matter, non-rockers like Paul Simon and Carole King could play fast. Honest. But the Dead played everything like a dirge.

 

One time when I wrote about this, a reader wrote, “The Dead have taken so many drugs that they think they are playing fast.”.....link below

 

 

 

 

Please, Grateful Dead, Don

[bobbmd]

it is not their drug induced music but their americana country folk rock think american beauty and workingman's dead thats the dead for me

[wgscott]

Where is Michael Freemer's bile when it is actually needed?

[Allan F]

Where is Michael Freemer's bile when it is actually needed?

 

Sorry, Bill. It's Fremer, as in phlegm, not Freemer as in beam (source: John Atkinson). But, that evades the question.

[wdw]

So Fremer doesn't like the Dead?

[firedog]

Hey, it's from the WSJ. Considering the other things they criticize or praise, the Dead should be happy to get a negative review there.

[wdw]

It's funny to me that some of the most right wing nut jobs produce some of the greatest papers... The weekend WSJ is an intellectual delight. In Canada, the convicted felon, Lord Conrad Black, in his tenure as editor made the best Newspaper we had seen.

[Allan F]

It's funny to me that some of the most right wing nut jobs produce some of the greatest papers... The weekend WSJ is an intellectual delight. In Canada, the convicted felon, Lord Conrad Black, in his tenure as editor made the best Newspaper we had seen.

 

If you are referring to the National Post, you'll get a lot of disagreement on that evaluation.

[christopher3393]

"the Philistine not only ignores all conditions of life which are not his own, but also demands that the rest of mankind should fashion its mode of existence after his own." -Goethe

[TimU]

Feh - Any long time Dead fan has heard far worse.

 

Fremer is at least open to the bands' charms. He recently reviewed some new vinyl reissues. Overall he is positive, although he takes a few swipes. Anytime I see the phrase "self-indulgent noodling" I conclude that the author is (a) not truly a Dead head and (b) a somewhat lazy and unoriginal writer.

 

Bring Out Your Dead! Which Grateful Dead is Best? | Analog Planet

[wgscott]

Feh - Any long time Dead fan has heard far worse.

 

Yes, but we still have the recourse of divorce court.

[burnspbesq]

Feh - Any long time Dead fan has heard far worse.

 

Fremer is at least open to the bands' charms. He recently reviewed some new vinyl reissues. Overall he is positive, although he takes a few swipes. Anytime I see the phrase "self-indulgent noodling" I conclude that the author is (a) not truly a Dead head and (b) a somewhat lazy and unoriginal writer.Bring Out Your Dead! Which Grateful Dead is Best? | Analog Planet

 

That critique is unoriginal because it's been valid for at least the last 45 years. Sorry, gotta call it as I see it; FWIW, I can remember one Dead show, with Bruce Hornsby sitting in, that I really enjoyed.

[wgscott]

FWIW, I can remember one Dead show

 

That might be part of the problem right there.

[burnspbesq]

That might be part of the problem right there.

 

Well played.

[wgscott]

FWIW, I can remember one Dead show, with Bruce Hornsby sitting in, that I really enjoyed.

 

He pretty much carried the summer shows in Santa Clara and Chicago. He has real talent. (I didn't know anything about him, previously.)

[JazzDoc]

For many years I was a Grateful Dead completist. I terminated my commitment when the band started releasing mega box sets at huges prices. The forthcoming multiple disc set contains 80 CDs and will sell for $699. There is no new material here. This release, together with other multiple disc sets, contains complete shows from the band's extensive archive. I have many complete shows by the band, through 'Dick's Picks', 'From The Vault' etc. When many bands were on tour, e.g. Steely Dan, Dire Straits, they played a tightly rehearsed homogeneous set. There was no variation in the band's performance. The only variable was the audience to whom they were playing. Grateful Dead were different. In all of their shows, there were high points. I doubt that I have ever heard a Grateful Dead concert that is brilliant from start to finish. Both their audiences and their performances were variable and this impacted on the quality of their shows. Having said that, I don't think I have ever heard a Grateful Dead show that was poor throughout. I recall the days when complete Grateful Dead shows could be easily downloaded in high quality FLAC from the Internet. Given the sound quality of some of these shows from the late 1960s, it would seem reasonable to deduce that the source of this material was the band themselves, or that the easy availability of high quality soundboard recordings on the Internet was with the band's consent. That has all changed. The surviving members of Grateful Dead are now aware that their archive of live shows is a real cash cow and they are milking it for all that it is worth.

 

On the subject of keyboard players, each of the Grateful Dead keyboards players, Pigpen, Keith Godchaux, Brent Mydland, Bruce Hornsby and Vince Welnick, brought their own signature to the band. I agree that Bruce Hornsby is a real talent but it is difficult to say that any one of the Grateful Dead keyboard players was 'the best'. In terms of technical ability, I would opt for Bruce Hornsby but technical ability never tells the whole story.

 

I believe it safe to say that Grateful Dead were iconic and that their contribution to contemporary music is significant.

 

Keep on truckin!

[AnotherSpin]

I recall the days when complete Grateful Dead shows could be easily downloaded in high quality FLAC from the Internet. Given the sound quality of some of these shows from the late 1960s, it would seem reasonable to deduce that the source of this material was the band themselves, or that the easy availability of high quality soundboard recordings on the Internet was with the band's consent. That has all changed. The surviving members of Grateful Dead are now aware that their archive of live shows is a real cash cow and they are milking it for all that it is worth.

 

 

Not correct. GD' soundboard (or mic or matrix) FLAC downloads are available today as they were available before. For example at bt.etree.org, and other places too. Please check your facts before coming to accusations and be calm.

[wgscott]

I agree that Bruce Hornsby is a real talent but it is difficult to say that any one of the Grateful Dead keyboard players was 'the best'. In terms of technical ability, I would opt for Bruce Hornsby but technical ability never tells the whole story.

 

What caught me by surprise was his vocal talent. He "filled in" for Jerry Garcia much more than Trey Anastasio (who they unfortunately seem to have curtailed to more marginal stuff like Cream Puff War and Alabama Getaway).

 

In addition, Phil still can't sing.