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  #16  
Old 03-05-2007, 03:02 PM
woodruff woodruff is offline
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if you were to listen to "Ripple" or some of the Jerry Garcia Bands studio stuff, you might come around. sure they were a big party wherever they played, all the way back tot he electric koolaid acid tessts in the 60s. but try out their studio stuff, they are excellent musicians. and i was never one for their long drawn out boring jump off the cliff jams. i have never seen them live. but i love the song ripple.
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  #17  
Old 03-05-2007, 03:09 PM
bjay540 bjay540 is offline
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... but i love the song ripple.
Jimmy Dale Gilmore does a nice version. I think the CD it's on is "One endless night"
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Old 03-05-2007, 11:58 PM
trion12 trion12 is offline
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At least Dylan seemed to have some deep thoughts and poet's talents but anybody who tells me that Bob Dylan is a singer needs a Belltone. (That's a hearing aid for the uninitiated )
I don't need a hearing aid but I am going to tell you that Dylan was (and perhaps still is) a great singer. He did not have a great voice but he certainly knew how to use it and that more than anything is the mark of a great singer, not the fact that they may have been born with an instrument with a "pure" tone.

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Old 03-06-2007, 01:14 AM
flaggerphil flaggerphil is offline
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I never "got" the Dead, either, even back in "the day".

I don't "get" U-2, either.
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  #20  
Old 03-06-2007, 11:04 AM
GeetarMonkey GeetarMonkey is offline
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I can't believe that someone finally said what I've been thinking for 30+ years... basically "I can't believe people like this band".

I saw the Dead in '76 at a "Day on the Green" in the Bay Area, believe it or not they opened for The Who. I'll never forget standing around the front of the stage (waiting for The Who) with a bunch of stoned out hippies who were totally freaking out over every random note The Dead played. I learned a whole new language as every sentence seemed to end in, "Far out, man!" About halfway through the Dead show I stopped listening to the god awful music they were trying to play and watched the real show put on by all their crazed fans. Absolutely hilarious and educational day for me (high school age). It was quite the scene after the Dead decided they were actually done playing. Many of my new hippie friends came over and hugged me before they left. They all told me that now that I saw The Dead that my life would be changed forever and that they'd see me at all the future Dead shows. I just agreed with them and wished them all well... knowing I'd never see one of them ever again. Most of The Dead fans left before The Who played their first note. By the way, The Who w/Keith Moon absolutely rocked! One of the most high energy shows I've ever seen! So, my personal and totally uninformed opinion is that perhaps all those Dead fans knew deep down that the band sucked but it was a social scene on par with the Hanging Man get togethers. I never saw another Dead show, but I'm beginning to like Ripple and a few other songs; however, I think that bands like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band covered the same ground with much better songs and musicianship.

thanks for letting me tell that 30 year-old story....
  #21  
Old 03-06-2007, 02:16 PM
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The thing about the Grateful Dead (and their descendents like Phish or any of the other jam bands playing today) is that:

1. It was never completely about the music. I think Garcia himself said that following the Grateful Dead around was the modern-day equivalent of running away to join the circus. And a circus it was.

2. I agree that their appeal is probably harder to understand if you've never done LSD, but that being said, I liked to go to Dead shows sober (probably because at the time, I spent most of my other waking hours stoned as a goat).

3. The thing about the Dead's music is the freedom that it offered in a musical sense. It was all spontaneous, flying by the seat of their pants and performing "Without a Net". That made for some horrific moments, but also for some really magical, "Whoa! Where'd that come from?" musical interludes.

You either get them or you don't and while a lot of musicians who don't get them like to bash them, the ones who do get them give them a lot of credit. Branford Marsalis played with them at a show in Long Island once and after the show (which was one of the best of their last 10 years, IMO), he said "I didn't know what to think coming in, but these guys really have chops."

A lot of the resurgence in popularity for bluegrass can be directly attributed to Garcia. Like it or not, he exposed several generations to that form of music and for that alone, he deserves some credit.
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  #22  
Old 03-06-2007, 02:36 PM
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Originally Posted by flaggerphil View Post
I never "got" the Dead, either, even back in "the day".

I don't "get" U-2, either.
I "got" U-2 right away, back when they were melodic (and were so subtle in their Christian message-exc. for "Gloria"--that they seemed more to me about being moral and socially conscious without preachiness while still rocking out). They began to lose me when they got theatrical around the time of "Achtung Baby," though by the time I saw them a couple of years ago they'd ditched the goat horns and glitter ball and were making great music again.

For me, they were at their utter best during the "Unforgettable Fire" and "Joshua Tree" years--but maybe I'm stuck in the 80s.
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Last edited by Chicago Sandy; 03-12-2007 at 11:20 AM. Reason: typo
  #23  
Old 03-06-2007, 03:21 PM
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I'm the same way with the Band, sans Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen/E St. Band insofar as their overall performing although all of these had one or two relatively good songs that got popular air play.
That's harder for me to understand...to me, The Band, without Dylan, is the quintessential Americana band...I would go so far as to say there's no one I like better--to me, they're the American Beatles, and the songs that didn't get on the radio are even better than the ones that did...just my take...
  #24  
Old 03-06-2007, 03:31 PM
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I always hated the Dead. I appreciated what they were trying to do by mixing musical styles and improvising. I just think they did a really poor job of executing it and were extremely overrated. As far as the drug influence, I don't think that justifies their importance or influence at all even considering the time frame in the late 60's. The Beatles, Hendrix, and Pink Floyd certainly were equally or more pyschedelic but the musicianship from them was so much higher. I also can't stand almost all of the jam bands attempting to carry on the Dead legacy. I keep trying to get into Phish because many people tell me they're great. I just hear really boring bad jams that don't impress me at all. If I want to hear great playing and improvisation I'll go see the Pat Metheny Group which is stellar year after year.

U2 is great in my opinion. I don't like all their songs but at their best they are awesome. I saw them on the Unforgettable Fire tour and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Bono owned the stage and was in great voice and the Edge is a very original guitarist. I keep hearing that they had strong religious overtones in their early days. But I just saw an interview with Bono where he had scathing opinions on organized religion. He's an interesting guy and a powerful front man and songwriter.

I'm astounded by the person who posted that they had only been to two concerts in their life because they hated the crazy atmosphere. I think you're making a huge mistake and missing out on a lot of great music. I don't see how any serious musician can avoid seeing great performances. As much as I love a classic recording, there is nothing quite like a brilliant live performance to give you goosebumps and inspire you for years to come. Besides, things have gotten much mellower in recent years at most concerts. Sometimes it's too corporate! I've taken my 13 yr old son to many shows and never had a problem. I highly recommend you reconsider and check out some well picked shows at a good venue.
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  #25  
Old 03-06-2007, 03:32 PM
Bluepoet Bluepoet is offline
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Grateful Dead are terrific, Jerry Garcia was a musical genius...his guitar style was one of a handful that I can recognize, even as background on other group recordings, of which he did a lot...I also liked his singing, and he also played a really cool pedal steel (New Riders of the Purple Sage, for example).

I think they were the first to wear the in-ear monitors...not sure, but they were sort of pioneers in some of their stage/studio setups.

American Beauty and Workingman's Dead are two of the all-time best recordings, on my list...even down to the slightly off-key harmonies. Their best, by far, were songs co-written by Robert Hunter.

It wasn't the drugs, although that certainly helped the mystique surrounding them, and if it kept the straights from coming to the party, so much the better.

I enjoyed their concerts--saw them in 1970, 1980, and 1990. Never once got high, when I went (didn't need to--contact high, ya know?!)


I also liked most of their "experimental" recordings...and, to be balanced, some of their music was just plain bad...(ok, quite a bit was awful...but, that's bound to happen when you're jammin' for hours on end, eh?)

Finally, I see them as being the most successful band that never had a number 1 hit...only two songs, I think, on the Top 40..."Casey Jones" and "Touch of Gray", and I'm not too sure about the first one.

Keep on Truckin'...
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  #26  
Old 03-06-2007, 08:17 PM
GeetarMonkey GeetarMonkey is offline
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It only took 3 days and two pages for a Dead Head to show up (previous post... not me). I thought someone would have jumped in before now, but I guess there is some validity to this band being completely overrated. Once again, I'm glad it's not just me...

I'm sympathetic to how the Dead Head's must feel when other musician's bang on the dead as I am a Neil Young and Elvis Costello fan. I catch a ton of grief from the wife when I play their tunes around the house.

Wasn't "Truckin'" a top 20 hit?
  #27  
Old 03-07-2007, 02:27 AM
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We all have our guilty musical pleasures. Bob loves ABBA; and though I am a bleeding-heart-PC-feminist, I still love Aerosmith (and it took my then 13-yr-old son to make me a "convert"). Just don't tell my friends in the "womyn's music" scene!

As to the Dead, I could not truly get into their music until they finally began to consistently tune their guitars--which was what ticked off the stoner faithful. To each one's own....

But to hate The Boss and the E Streeters? Them's fightin' words!!! (OTOH, some of my trad-literalist folkie friends can't understand why I find the Roches amazing).
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Last edited by Chicago Sandy; 03-12-2007 at 11:19 AM. Reason: typo
  #28  
Old 03-07-2007, 06:47 AM
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As to the Dead, I could not truly get into their music until they finally began to consistently tune their guitars--which was what ticked off the stoner faithful. To each one's own....
Wow man, that's harsh!
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  #29  
Old 03-07-2007, 06:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Guyute View Post
The thing about the Grateful Dead (and their descendents like Phish or any of the other jam bands playing today) is that:

1. It was never completely about the music. I think Garcia himself said that following the Grateful Dead around was the modern-day equivalent of running away to join the circus. And a circus it was.

2. I agree that their appeal is probably harder to understand if you've never done LSD, but that being said, I liked to go to Dead shows sober (probably because at the time, I spent most of my other waking hours stoned as a goat).

3. The thing about the Dead's music is the freedom that it offered in a musical sense. It was all spontaneous, flying by the seat of their pants and performing "Without a Net". That made for some horrific moments, but also for some really magical, "Whoa! Where'd that come from?" musical interludes.

You either get them or you don't and while a lot of musicians who don't get them like to bash them, the ones who do get them give them a lot of credit. Branford Marsalis played with them at a show in Long Island once and after the show (which was one of the best of their last 10 years, IMO), he said "I didn't know what to think coming in, but these guys really have chops."

A lot of the resurgence in popularity for bluegrass can be directly attributed to Garcia. Like it or not, he exposed several generations to that form of music and for that alone, he deserves some credit.
Great post, Chris !

U2 & the Greatful Dead mentioned in on thread, WOW...
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  #30  
Old 03-07-2007, 07:50 AM
Bluepoet Bluepoet is offline
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Cool Wow, man...I'm like, so wassstttteedddd!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by GeetarMonkey View Post
It only took 3 days and two pages for a Dead Head to show up (previous post... not me). I thought someone would have jumped in before now, but I guess there is some validity to this band being completely overrated. Once again, I'm glad it's not just me...

I'm sympathetic to how the Dead Head's must feel when other musician's bang on the dead as I am a Neil Young and Elvis Costello fan. I catch a ton of grief from the wife when I play their tunes around the house.

Wasn't "Truckin'" a top 20 hit?
I don't know as I'd consider myself a true "Deadhead", since I didn't get on a bus and travel to all their concerts, but thanks for the apellation and the sympathy...now, excuse me, while I turn on my blacklight, stoke my hookah, and listen to "Dark Star/St. Stephen", and then listen to "Me & My Uncle", while coming down from some Orange Sunshine...anybody seen my tie-dyed peace symbol shirt?

Yeah, "Truckin'" was probably that hit I was lookin' for...

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