Grateful Dead - Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses)

Expanded & remastered (in glorious HDCD) version of 1971 album includes two ultra rare bonus tracks, 'I'm A Hog For You' & 'Oh, Boy!'. Includes expanded booklet as well, with rare photos, packaged in Digipak format. Warner/Elektra. 2003. Album Description

Good Stuff

Good indication of the period sound of this iteration of the band. More of the bluesy sound that they started with than on later live releases. February 19, 2008

Great live album

If you are a Deadhead then you'll love it, especially Bertha, it's an immaculate performance. Some may find the middle of the album a bit slow and excessive on the drum solos, but this leads into some great stuff. A purchase that has been well appreciated and great value for money. If you want a strong bluesy jamming album, I'd suggest Fillmore East over this one. August 11, 2007

A great Live show!

I found the record version of this in my basement. Sadly, for about 3 years I could not listen to it and other amazing grateful dead records because it seemed that no one in america had a record player anymore. But I finally bought the cd and good god Is this good! it truly is an awesome piece of music, it can stand the test of time, and it is really good to listen to for whatever occasion. This is by far one of the best live albums the dead released, it is up there with "Live/dead" and "truckin up to buffalo july 4th 1989" But it as soon as humanly possible. February 21, 2007

An interesting live album despite the overdubs

This is a great live album dispite that it doesn't really represent the period right. Spring tour 1971 featured alot of Pigpen tunes in the setlists but only one appears here. Due to Pigpen's illness, most of his parts are erased and overdubbed by Merle Saunders. Vocal overdubs were also added. On all of the lp copies you hear Phil singing backing vocals on Bertha. For whatever reason, on all the new remixed, remastered and newly released albums for this period this also happens. Buy this disc with Ladies and Gentlemen and get a good dose of the Dead from spring'71. Not Fade Away/Goin' Down The Road is one of the all time best. October 13, 2006

A Mixed Bag, with Moments of Greatness

For their second `official' live album, the Grateful Dead switched gears a bit from their previous endeavor. While "Live/Dead" accentuated the jamming aspect of the band, spreading five songs over four sides (the three tracks on side four really constitute one performance), this collection goes for a breezier feel. Here, eleven tracks fill out four sides, allowing room for only one meandering jam ("The Other One"), which does little to add to the legacy already created by "Live/Dead". When performing their own original material, this album succeeds completely on its own terms. "Bertha" is one of the chirpiest jam tunes the Dead ever came up with - enough to inspire Los Lobos to do a faithful cover version - while "Playing in the Band" gives Bob Weir the opportunity to indulge in some rock and roll. It's only when the band attempts to incorporate songs previously made famous by others that the album veers out of bounds. "Me and Bobby McGee" is a pointless endeavor, especially in light of Janis Joplin's definitive version, while there really aren't too many people who would consider a Grateful Dead version of "Johnny B. Goode" to be essential listening.

Grateful Dead works mostly because it presents a fairly accurate overview of the band's strengths (and weaknesses). Energetic `cover' songs such as "Mama Tried" and "Big Railroad Blues" provide an opportunity for the band to get down to basics and play like a fully integrated bar band. "Wharf Rat", meanwhile, shifts moods, sounding simultaneously desperate and hopeful, allowing the band to grease its improvisational tendencies to full effect. Most telling is the jam that ties Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" to the public-domain folk song "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad." This segue pretty much summarizes the best bits of the album, combining instinct, tradition and energy into a unique synthesis that transcends either basic song. Coming on the heels of two exceptional studio recordings, more people were listening to the Dead, and this album does an excellent job of retaining old fans while seducing new ones. Combining elements of their `traditional' jamming with a batch of nicely constructed new songs, Grateful Dead does a laudable job of offering something for everybody.
B+ Tom Ryan June 2, 2006

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