Published on Jun 3, 1997
Prior to 1970, the Grateful Dead were known as one of the most
free-form, trippy bands out on the San Francisco scene. Taking the
credo of “Tune in, turn on, drop out” to heart, Jerry Garcia and
crew captured the psychedelic mood of the times and became the
leading band of the genre.
But then came Altamont, where the murder of an audience member
by a member of Hell’s Angels brought an end to the “Summer Of
Love.” For the Dead, the events of that day were a wake-up call
that they answered with a radical shift in their music.
The result of this shift resulted in two albums – one of which,
American Beauty, is one of the finest moments in the history
of the Grateful Dead. (Before she heard this album, my mother
wasn’t crazy about the fact her son had become a nouveau Deadhead.
One listen to this album, and her opinion changed.)
Moving away from the free-form psychedelic jazz they had been
performing, Garcia and crew turned to a more folk-spirited acoustic
vein – and the songwriting became extremely introspective. Part of
the reason for this was the loss of Garcia’s mother and bassist
Phil Lesh’s father at the time of recording. The Garcia/Robert
Hunter track “Brokedown Palace” was Garcia’s farewell to his mother
– and when Garcia died in 1995, this song was quoted in many
tributes: “Fare you well, fare you well / I loved you more than
words could tell.”
The album opens with a Lesh composition, “Box Of Rain,” that is
an incredibly powerful and beautiful track. Songs like this made
people wish that he tried his hand more often at songwriting. (Let
it be known the last song the Dead ever played in concert was “Box
Of Rain” – the second night in Chicago, Lesh surprised the audience
and the band by calling for this song as a second encore.)
Mandolin
artiste David Grisman guests on two tracks, “Friend Of The
Devil” and the lovely song “Ripple.” Grisman’s work perfectly
complements the Dead, and I personally wish that the band has asked
Grisman to stay on with them. “Ripple” is one of the best five
tracks the Grateful Dead ever recorded, and must be heard by
everyone, especially those who think the Dead are terrible.
American Beauty is best known for two radio-friendly tracks,
“Sugar Magnolia” and “Truckin’,” the latter being the song that
defined the Dead to the music world until “Touch Of Grey” came out
in 1987. And while the song has become a slightly overplayed track,
still maintains its power almost 30 years after it was recorded.
Rhythm guitarist Bob Weir takes his turn as lead throat on these
tracks, and handles the chores well.
The disc also features the final vocal performance by
keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan on “Operator.” Sadly, this is not
one of Pigpen’s best works, though it does grow on you in time.
(McKernan died in 1973.)
Songs like “Attics Of My Life” are signs of how good this band
could harmonize – forget the doped-out, fucked-up inages of the
group, this was one band that took their music very seriously. The
tracks on
American Beauty serve as ample proof – not that their
earlier work was any less proof.
And Garcia, a notoriously hot-and-cold guitarist, definitely was
“on” during this album. His playing has rarely sounded more fluid,
and his leads are crisp and free-flowing.
American Beauty is one of those albums which belongs in
every serious music listener’s collection, Deadhead or no. Just the
quality of the songwriting and performance is enough to make this
one of the best albums ever recorded.