First listen to The Grateful Dead - Ripple (REACTION)

[@markkozielec2200]

David Grisman on the mandolin during the “Ripple” part.

[@-davidolivares]

The Dawg.

[@maruad7577]

@@-davidolivares Even if he was old and in the way.

[@-davidolivares]

@@maruad7577 They just love to hang, those fuzzy lil speed bumps.

[@bobschenkel7921]

9/3/88 Capital Center Landover, Maryland, about 11pm. The Grateful Dead are standing on stage having just completed the song One More Saturday Night as an encore., it was a Saturday. But they were not leaving the stage! Then they started the first notes of Ripple with Electric Guitars! For the first time in 17 years, as a Wish Come True for a Dead Head cancer survivor. At the end, it felt as if the entire arena levitated with the feelings coming from the crowd. A peak moment in my life, never to be repeated.

[@rainsong65]

Weird fact but Jamal reacted to something of the dead’s and the dead saw it. They sent him merchandise and this video when it came out. Because of watching Jamal I have become a dead head 😌 This song….Robert Hunter…genius!

[@GatorScribe726]

Jamal inspired me to dive deeper into the Dead. I'd heard many of their studio albums and enjoyed them, but they were only a casual listen and I hadn't explored the live stuff. Now I'm fully on board the bus!

[@emilyflotilla931]

@@GatorScribe726 Welcome Aboard!

[@dixiechatty958]

Thank you so much for taking this on. First, the instrument you mentioned is a mandolin. I have been a Deadhead for over 50 years and this is my favorite studio recording of theirs. Once again you show a knack for this. Your analysis is spot on. Thanks for your appreciation and I look forward to the next Dead tube.

[@cherylreichardt]

Love the sound of that Mandolin! I'm so into the song that I'll have to go back to see the video in more detail. Their music is just so pleasant to the soul. Viva la Dead!

[@oldarpanet]

That's Dave "Dawg" Grisman. Long time friend and collaborator with Jerry in different musical ventures...

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Brokedown Palace would be a good follow up since it was written in the same afternoon as Ripple.

[@marymargaretmoore9034]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@maruad7577]

I have an old acquaintance who would sing them back to back to close the night at music parties. Brilliant pair of songs.

[@marymargaretmoore9034]

@@maruad7577 Off topic, but I had a friend who would recite "The Wizard of Oz" at parties; quite funny.

[@TheHeatherjane]

When I was waiting on the call for my liver transplant, I listened to this song nearly every day and it helped give me peace!

[@gabrieleflannery6504]

Can't believe I missed this one! Oddly enough I always play this song on Christmas, to me it embodies the spirit of the season, sadly not each day. Anyway always loved it the lyrics are truly inspired. Glad you got to hear it. The Mandolin is beautiful on this one. We are legion 🎶

[@lisarainbow9703]

"Cassidy" is an amazing Grateful Dead song, that I think you'll appreciate, Daniel. Live version from Radio City Music Hall, 1980, is an incredible acoustic version

[@edprzydatek8398]

I agree. "Cassidy" is a great song with a little jazz break in the middle.

[@bjs301]

About them linking to a reaction video. The Grateful Dead not only permitted people to record and take pictures of their concerts, they actually encouraged it. When you went to a Dead concert back in the day, there would be people outside the event selling pictures and bootleg movies of their concerts. Most of the music industry was suing people who did this, and the Dead was happy to help a guy make a buck.

[@steveullrich7737]

One of my favorite Dead songs. The lyrics are profound and beautiful, a metaphor for life. "Let there be songs to fill the air."

[@marymargaretmoore9034]

A classic; love it so much! Robert Hunter was their lyricist; his lyrics were full of symbolism.

[@mikephalen3162]

"American Beauty" will always be my favorite Dead LP and "Box of Rain" will always be my favorite Dead song.

[@Yosef1952]

I've always loved this number. Mahalo for reacting to it. You da best bro.

[@brianfisher6165]

Even when tired, you have great insight and a great ability to convey. You have to be the smartest reactor I have come across!!! 🎶👌🎼👍🎵✌️😁

[@DiconDissectionalReactions]

Wow, thank you so much:)

[@ftlpope]

Robert Hunter, the voice for every man and woman and all time.

[@TTM9691]

Hey guys, fellow Deadheads, a new channel just did a reaction video for the entire "Workingman's Dead", and he does a nice job with it, although he was expecting to hear lots of jams! Anywhere for those interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2Kmmmppp92dmK8

[@-davidolivares]

Very much enjoyed this reaction, I had not really listened to it. Yes, beautifully written and played pleasantly understated. I am calmer now too.

[@daveking9393]

Awesome! I just picked up 2 Greatful Dead LPs for you Friday! American Beauty and Workingman's Dead. Both original 1970 pressings. Very hard to find. Great condition. They are going to sound so sweet on your sound system.... Smiling just thinking about you chilling out to those LPs... All the best!

[@cherylreichardt]

Great of you Dave!!

[@-davidolivares]

Dave strikes again.

[@marymargaretmoore9034]

My two favorite Dead albums!

[@cherylreichardt]

@@marymargaretmoore9034 Good taste!

[@daveking9393]

@@marymargaretmoore9034 I know the hits of course, but I never had any LPs in my collection... I know nuts huh... When I picked these up for Daniel they were the first and second Dead albums I ever bought. Limited funds as a kid limited my purchase options. Today I listened to each LP for the first time from some on line sources. I really, really enjoyed both, so when I have a need, they are now my go to favorites as well!!

[@maruad7577]

This is a great sing-a-long song. I have heard it at dozens of music parties and at the end of music festivals (sung by groups of dear friends). A big thanks to Fred, who has sung it so often and so well. All that is missing is the segue into "Brokedown Palace".

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Yes that segue ! Ripple is a campfire standard.

[@oldarpanet]

This song (and album), heard when it first came out (I was 15-16 yrs old) was what turned me into a DeadHead! The lyrics landed in my head like a Zen/Buddhist parable defining/explaining LIFE. I spent hours in deep thought, pondering any possibilities that it brought out. Anyone who can write like this and compose like this is someone to pay attention to! As to Jerry's comment about there being some mystical quality about the Dead's music, there is a perfect verse in a song by Bob Weir, Bob Hunter and John Barlow: The Music Never Stopped, which goes: "They're a band beyond description, like Jehovah's favorite choir. People join in, hand in hand While the music plays the band, Lord, they're settin' us on fire!" You've taken a couple steps down the proverbial rabbit hole! Enjoy yourself, but be careful what you eat or drink;-)

[@darthvegan435]

regarding "the music plays the band" line, I've heard at least a couple of the members in interviews talking about how the songs exist in another parallel universe, and when the band is playing they're helping the songs come through, so that line in The Music Never Stopped always reminds me of that, and I think its perfect..

[@rosmeeker1964]

Mandolin.

[@rosmeeker1964]

Yin. Yang?

[@Peter-oh3hc]

Ripple, uncle John's band and touch of gray are my favorites

[@JC-es5un]

“Terrapin Station” is a Grateful Dead tune worth checking out.

[@wallasboyd]

A long one, but one of my favorites also

[@TheSchuyler75]

“Box of Rain”,”High Time”,”Me & My Uncle”,”Not Fade Away”,”Scarlet Beginias”,”The Golden Road to Unlimited Devotion”….you’ll get into them…so many great albums/songs/live shows (no 2 the same)….

[@kamkelevra]

One of my favorite songs of all time!!!

[@88pjtink]

pure 60's, hippy-folk poetry of the highest caliber. great choice.

[@teresademaria7462]

5:50 I love this...I played this at my best friends funeral...so many of us want Ripple played at our funerals...I know I do! I loved watching this kid hearing it for the 1st time...such an honest and genuine and beautiful reaction..it gave me goosebumps. ...the Grateful Dead have been a huge part of my life...since 1980...I miss Jerry so much...like so many of us do, it is so cool to witness his music continuing to turn young people on! ❤️✌️

[@nicholasmckibbin1510]

On the whole I am not a "Deadhead". With that said, this album, American Beauty, and Workingman's Dead are among my all time favorites. I strongly suggest you listen to the song that Ripple flows in to on this album, Brokedown Palace. If the lyrics in Ripple got you, you are in for a treat with Brokedown Palace .

[@bomagosh]

Good to see you listening to the Dead. Want something longer but not a full live jam? Listen to Terrapin Station. BTW the Dead seem perfectly comfortable with reactors. Jamel_AKA_Jamal gets requests from the official Grateful Dead channel for songs to react to. On his reaction to Ripple, they requested he follow it up with Dark Star from the Live Dead album. Not bad advice.

[@Pcrimson1]

Daniel, this is a simple song you can come back to again and again. Hope you do more Dead. So many facets to an amazing band. You should do "Eyes of the World" next. If you want a good long prog tune, Terrapin Station is a fun journey. And a great live jam is China Cat Sunflower into Know You Rider, there are many Dead shows which have these 2 songs joined together in a long jam.If you do more Dead, I'm good with it, enjoy.

[@grahamkemble3917]

My favourite Dead song, thank you!

[@melissakhalar1842]

American Beauty, especially the songs Ripple and Box Of Rain is one of the Albums that I would say was the most influential in my teen years which I still carry in my personality. It's difficult to explain what I mean.... 🎶

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

I know exactly what you mean.

[@melissakhalar1842]

@@Hartlor_Tayley Thank You.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

@@melissakhalar1842 thank you. Melissa Khalar.

[@TTM9691]

Wow, I wasn't expecting you (or anyone) to do The Dead (who are really not represented well in their studio recordings). Robert Hunter is one of the best lyricists ever, in my opinion. (It's no accident Hunter is one of Dylan's only collaborators!). I'm a Deadhead, and getting into them is not always easy, and virtually impossible by going by their released albums, but "Ripple" is definitely a home run. As a prog-rock, album-oriented guy, I would recommend their second album "Anthem Of The Sun" (a one-of-a-kind studio/live hybrid album); both sides are basically one long suite. 1968 album, very early but gives you a sense of the band live.

[@TheSchuyler75]

yeah hunter was writing “Silvio” on the stoop & Dylan grabbed the notebook & read it & I said “I’m taking this” & Hunter said he wasn’t about to say no to Bob🤣 successful collaboration 😉

[@TTM9691]

@@TheSchuyler75 He co-wrote all the lyrics on the "Together Through Life" album, the song "Duquesne Whistle" from "Tempest", and a few songs on "Down In The Groove", yeah, I'd say that's a pretty successful collaboration. As far as "Silvio", I don't know that story, but if Bob said "I'm taking this", it's because he was going to set it to music , ie: "don't give this to Jerry; I'm taking this."

[@TTM9691]

@Bookhouse Boy I wouldn't recommend anyone listening to "Unbroken Chain" or "Weather Report Suite" for a reaction video. "Help On The Way->Franklin's Tower" is ok on record but better live, ditto "Estimated Prophet". But "Terrapin Station" is great in the studio, is a side-long tune and, again, is "proggy". Pound for pound, "Europe '72" and "Anthem Of The Sun" are the best (officially released) representations of what seeing the Dead live was like. There are some great studio tracks scattered about ("The Wheel" off of Jerry Garcia's solo album "Garcia" is one. "Cassidy" from Bob Weir's solo album "Ace" is another), but basically they were something to be experienced live. Even a lot of their live albums are to be avoided.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

@@TTM9691 I think unbroken chain would make a great reaction. Great lyrics and surprising transitions.

[@TTM9691]

@@Hartlor_Tayley Yeah, for a studio track it's ok because there is a little jam and it's in odd time and all that, but there are countless other Dead songs and recordings I'd put before that one. It's not a major tune, it wasn't a part of their rep (until the very end, which doesn't mean much), if a person only has one or two shots to get a person into the Dead, you don't start with Unbroken Chain, it's an ok song. No one hears "Unbroken Chain" and goes "Oh my god, I need to more of this band!", it's something you get into once you're already "initiated".

[@sjw5797]

"Uncle John's Band" by The Grateful Dead.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

He did that one months ago

[@TTM9691]

Someone just reacted to the entire Workingman's Dead album last night......first time ever hearing the Dead! kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2Kmmmppp92dmK8

[@Gregory......]

Great Classic Band !! Daniel please give " A Touch of Grey " a spin. You will love the video.

[@johnnyripple8972]

I’m not a dead fan but I like this song....look at my name.

[@stephenrich8808]

if you are stressed or sad, just listen to the Dead

[@bomagosh]

You get confused, listen to the music play.

[@adiarainfoster]

Never seen that video before wow O.O. This is one of my favorite songs from them though :). I always heard this song as being about music and creativity over all. About creating something beautiful that will touch people and be remembered. The "fountain that was not made by the hands of men" is the fountain of creativity. You start off with the "hand me downs" as the song says, but try to create something new from it. Try to forge your own path with something no one has ever done before. Other people have done the same so you are in a sense following in their footsteps, but on the path you are alone and if you fall, no one can help you. It's up to you to pick yourself up and try again. "if your cup be full, maybe it be again" hoping you will always have a pipeline to that creative wellspring and always be trying to make something beautiful. That could go for the "ripple in still water" too by making something new and creating a ripple that will radiate out from you and touch all it crosses. Yea, I don't explain things very well. It's a very clear picture in my head but I don't always have the words to explain what's in my head :D. Glad you loved the song though!! 💗

[@battyjr]

It's a mandolin!

[@jimcross7686]

This song shows the band’s versatility . I love how younger audiences are discovering this band’s music

[@radarsmilin1179]

Great reaction! Song belongs in a time capsule for the future. So simple and true... Pure beauty. Hope you check out BROWN EYED WOMEN, amazing tune and I think you'll dig it. Live obviously. :)

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

That’s a great song with great lyrics.

[@bobmessier5215]

The song is great on it's own, but this animated video is stunning!

[@nathanburget]

thank you. You're very clear talk & clear evaluation of "Ripple" , I think is so informative. During this time, (writing of this song), i took an art class, the instructor asked; does one need to know about the artist or intent or musical knowledge to appreciate the art, I'll leave that for all to ponder. I'll just say, "Ripple" to me one of art, knowledge or anything need to be annualized. Although, you're. Info. Sure clears up a whole for me about the great Robert Hunter words. What a bonus. Please don't stop, you have a great thing going. Peace out.✌

[@rosmeeker1964]

The video's 'occult feel' comes from the tarot cards shown at the beginning and end. I found myself going... there is the chariot, there is the hanging man. etc.

[@desperateambrose5373]

The line "Ripple in still water" always puts me in mind of the Pool of Bethesda in chapter 5 of the Gospel of John.

[@TheSchuyler75]

55 likes I just watched this on my own accord last night. it’s that time of year I listen to a lot of dead with a heavy heart🙏🦋🌈🌞🌻❤️✌🏻😇😇RIP Robert Hunter (who wrote this) & Jerry Garcia who passed 8/95 💕

[@barriehull7076]

Retsina is a Greek white (or rosé) resinated wine, which has been made for at least 2,000 years. Impregnate or flavour with resin. "a widespread practise in antiquity was to resinate wine"

[@Jacob-er5xb]

The gospel song Because He Lives by the Bill Gaither Trio "borrows" pretty heavily from Ripple.

[@cynthiadepriest8192]

I read that Robert Hunter wrote this when his father was dying. Very beautiful song.

[@alanpeterson4939]

Grateful Dead - Me and My Uncle

[@DrTramp-uu1hh]

Check out some of their early stuff when Pigpen, Ron McKernan was alive. His cover of Howlin Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning", along with Mr. Charlie, China Town Shuffle, and other songs brought a blues and R&B flavor to the Dead's shows.

[@emilyflotilla931]

If this isn't played at my memorial, I'm not coming! Jerry Garcia was a big bluegrass fan...hence the mandolin.

[@floydshambles]

good stuff

[@ericfestvog2873]

That fast instrument is the mandalin

[@Lala22292]

🎶Let there be songs to fill the air🎶

[@bobangell1679]

Mandolin....

[@philappenzeller683]

The mandolin player on this is David Grisman.

[@Lala22292]

I would love a reaction to the 3 songs written in a wine stupor. Ripple,Brokedown Palace and To Lay Me Down are all beautiful song writing.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Much of the Dead’s studio recordings put more emphasis on the lyrics and the music was more of an accompaniment. I think Garcia putting this song into a traditional acoustic folk setting shows his great respect for Hunters lyrics. Sadly the video is distracting and goes against this aesthetic. The song seems to be nostalgic for Hunter and Garcia who go way back to the coffee house days along with Grisman the mandolin player. A sweet sentimental song that can live eternally in your heart. Great reaction. There are many superb lyrics and songs in the Garcia Hunter lexicon. The studio version of Terrapin Station would make an interesting reaction. Thanks for going back to the Dead.

[@TheSchuyler75]

The extended Terrapin including Lady With A Fan Live!!

[@TheSchuyler75]

The whole Terrapin Station Slbum should be listened to in its entirety

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

@@TheSchuyler75 did they ever do the whole thing live? I thought not.

[@williamborne7992]

@@Hartlor_Tayley I think they did perform Terrapin Station one time in it's entirety with the exception of the closing lyrics "While you were gone, their faces filled with darkness, etc..." I'm pretty sure I have it in my concert collection somewhere. It's a good version but nothing to write home about.

[@jimcross7686]

Please check out the song Box of Rain by the Grateful Dead. This song was written by Phil Leah (the band’s bassist)and Robert Hunter.

[@mikeyoung4310]

The dead actually sent that video to jamel aka jamlal to react to you 2 are the best

[@WilliamFiler]

There's going to more to this song than one can possibly imagine. Ripple Labs. All is connected. World is about to change. Grateful Dead are white hats in a dark world. Video was remade for Second Coming, starting soon.

[@WilliamFiler]

XRP Moon

[@williamborne7992]

Ripple is a beautiful little song and a fan favorite. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music by Jerry Garcia over 50 years ago. This was one of my favorites when I first started listening to the Grateful Dead as a young boy back in 1974. Unfortunately both Hunter and Garcia have passed away so it's not possible to ask either one what the meaning of this song may be. Somehow I don't believe that either envisioned references to Satan or Satanic imagery like Mr. T. Nakayama did 50 years after the song was written. The song is beautiful but the video feels like a perversion of the lyrics. When I listen to the Grateful Dead, Satan NEVER comes to mind and I don't appreciate the Satanic imagery that Mr. Nakayama chose to saturate this video in. I love the song, I think the video is trash. I'm sorry you had to sit through this when there is a much better lyric video available.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Agreed

[@garysteinert8040]

Mandolin. You need to do some live DEAD. I wasn’t a fan til I saw them live in 77. 50 shows later and…

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

That how deadheads were made.

[@emilyflotilla931]

@@Hartlor_Tayley And their children too..😉

[@TheSchuyler75]

yin yang ☯️

[@ericfestvog2873]

You have over 30 studio albums that spaned 30 years & over 200 albums total with their live records. So keep digging into it, cuz there were only about 4 of their songs that hit the radio due to them recording their jams that went way over the 3.5 minutes that radio required a song to be. They didn't have 30K to 50K fans follow them around the world for 30 years for nothing, they nade great songs & music.

[@brianfisher6165]

The video is excellent, however very distracting for a first time listen of this masterpiece!!!🎼👌🎵👍🎶✌️😁

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

I thought the video was way too distracting and complex with its own symbolism. I think Garcia couched these lyrics in a very plain traditional folk music setting for the purpose of not distracting from the lyrics and the video goes against this aesthetic.

[@murdockreviews]

The fascination that so many feel for this band just escapes me 🤷‍♂️ Well, not everything's for everyone - and that's fine.

[@Lchristyhastings]

"It's not that they're the best at what they do. It's that they're the ONLY ONES who do what they do". ~ Phil Graham You won't "get" it w/ studio cuts. You need to hear a concert (their best parts occur "in between songs"). And know that neither the fans NOR the band ever knew what they'd play each night. The Dead deliberately took the stage w/ out a plan. The fans had no song expectations, so they were free to play whatever moved them, & they jammed their hearts out for 3-4 hrs. Nothing compares to what they did. Nothing. But you have to like instrumentals.

[@murdockreviews]

@@Lchristyhastings that's probably it. I like some inspired jamming from time to time, but at the end of the day, I am a very song-oriented listener, and having to go through 3 to 4 hours of live jamming to get the extraordinary moments of magic here and there, is not what usually raises my interest about artists. But I see how this approach is fascinating to others.

[@keef7224]

As Jerry himself once said, “Our music is like licorice. Not everyone likes licorice, but the people that like licorice REALLY like licorice!”

[@murdockreviews]

@@keef7224 well said 😄

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

I totally understand why people don’t like the Dead very much, they are idiosyncratic and a bit odd, lacking many of the desirable traits people look for in a Rock band, while emphasizing other musical elements that are not accessible to most listeners. Their strengths are Hunters lyrics, Jerry’s guitar solos and the general freeform Americana style and approach. They also had certain charm that I find appealing. Can’t really compare them to other bands because they are not really in the same realm. It always amazed me they were as popular as they were. I’m a big fan but the Dead are kind of on another planet.

[@caseyfletcher3720]

I have always found this version of Ripple incredibly distracting. It is a simple, sweet song. Those visuals gum it all up for me. My favorite KZbin videos for Ripple are the Peanut's version and of course, the finest, Playing For Change.

[@bobangell1679]

YOU never heard "Ripple" before? I have to call BS on this one! I bet this was playing during your birth!

[@emilyflotilla931]

🤣

[@juanpapworthgrau6034]

Banjo

[@emilyflotilla931]

Mandolin my friend.

[@JB-js4ir]

So lame to read someone else’s response instead of your own… especially considering the greatness of this little ditty…

[@matthewbyrom5394]

all aboard the bus next stop the dead show

[@unki3259]

the video you're playing is very disturbing, and is not reflective of the song, imo

[@joefilter2923]

Too much tarot and occult