Grateful Dead "American Beauty" (Side 1) *First Time Reaction*

[@L33Reacts]

What is your favorite Grateful Dead song?

[@realbser1956]

Uncle John’s Band from the 1970 album, “Workingman’s Dead”

[@randomperson-dy6kj]

Either Eyes of the World or Wharf Rat. Morning Dew, but it’s a cover. It’s difficult to pick one.

[@jimholt1888]

Depends on where my head's at. That being said, Ripple always breaks through. : )

[@Piwork69]

Im glad you are finally doing a deep listen to this album. This is one of my all time favorite albums of all time. The Stones" "Exile on Main Street" is probably at or near number one of all time. Anyway, this was my gateway into the Dead when I was in high school, 1986. I had recorded it onto cassette from the radio. They used to play 7 albums in a row on Sunday nights on KLOS Los Angeles in the 1980's.

[@fineasfogg1461]

Uncle John's Band or Friend of the Devil. These would be great to do together.❤

[@fayette4733]

Box of Rain- RIP Phil Lesh

[@tecreates2384]

Bass players inspired Phil convene here

[@JB-Deadskins]

Such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there. RIP Phil, there would have been no Grateful Dead without you. Bass drives the bus, and no one drove like you did! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@tenjed4224]

Beautifully said.

[@alpetrocelli4465]

They recorded this LP in the same studio where CSNY was recording Deja Vu. That’s how Jerry ended up playing his pedal steel on Teach Your Children. You can hear the Laurel Canyon influence on the harmonies in these Dead tunes. Great album. ✌️❤️🎶

[@tommathews3964]

And how Jerry ended up with “Alligator”, the guitar Nash gave him for his contributions! Probably my favorite Dead tones came in that 70-73 period when Alligator was the axe of choice!

[@brotherbob3569]

I hav'nt tripped in over 45 yrs. I've seen all the big name bands from 1970 to 1980. The Dead are still alive & kicking and I'm Grateful.

[@captainsatellite2112]

Rarely mentioned but Ron McKernan (Pigpen) was also part of the 27 club. Alabama Getaway is one of my favorite more mainstream Dead songs.

[@mattmeyer1541]

RIP Phil Lesh….one of the greatest bass players ever

[@WildwoodSon]

American Beauty and Workingman's Dead were my introduction to the Dead, when I was in high school in the early 1970's. Mandolin on Ripple and Friend of the Devil is played by David Grisman, who collaborated with Garcia throughout their lives ... from bluegrass festivals in the mid 1960's, to Old and In the Way, and the duet CD's Grisman released in the last decade of Garcia's life.

[@dianegardner7210]

One of my favorite albums-when I first got into the Dead this was my favorite song-always remember being at Watkins Glen and seeing a lady with a fringed dress shimmying to this song on the roof of a van next to the stage-I do believe that was Pig Pen singing Operator and playing the harmonica

[@michaelkeefe8494]

American Beauty and Workingman's Dead are probably the Dead's two best studio albums; you level up when you start listening to their hundreds of recorded shows. They were my first concert in '73. I've seen a lot of great shows since but never been to a better party.

[@Lexwell_Lavers]

Yep 💯. Two best studio albums. Their live stuff is top shelf, China Cat Sunflower / I Know You're A Rider and Death Don't Have No Mercy come to mind immediately.

[@jeffmartin1026]

Early Dead shows were a gathering of the tribe.

[@JB-Deadskins]

@@michaelkeefe8494 hard to put anything over Wake Of the Flood for me. And Anthem Of the Sun, is a studio album, even if it does mix in live material. Also, if Blues for Allah didn't have the title track, that would be up there

[@mattreynolds612]

@@michaelkeefe8494 Respectfully, I prefer Terrapin Station & the Mars Hotel for Truly Grateful Dead sounding albums. American Beauty and Workingman's Dead are not representative of their sound. Awesome albums both, but gimme the Electric, and High powered, more musically mature Dead of the late '70s electric explorations over their portrayal of music Americana. All just my Humble Opinion. (~);} ✌️☮️🕊️🇺🇸💃🕺🔥💯🎶🎶🎵🎶

[@michaelkeefe8494]

@mattreynolds612 the beautiful thing is we all get to like what we like☮️

[@ROUGHSEES]

This album is a classic. I haven't heard it in years... so many memories.

[@hoppers13]

Gosh. Memories flooding back. Not heard this in way too many years. Many thanks, Lee. Always loved the way that the title on the cover can be read both as American Beauty and American Reality.

[@fineasfogg1461]

I learned so much from everybody's comments. Thank you everyone

[@randomperson-dy6kj]

Nice! This was the “summer hangin’ out by the river” album when I was in high school. Great memories attached to it. Brokedown Palace was the last song I ever saw Jerry play. So fitting, he was gone a few months later.

[@1953jazzman]

A truly masterful record! Countrified psychedelic front porch music at it's absolute zenith! Jerry's pedal steel playing is second to none!

[@Forbin777]

“This album feels like coming home”. -Lee Nice 😊 You’re doing great!

[@L33Reacts]

It really does. It has such a heartwarming vibe to it.

[@Fuphyter]

This is such a great album. ❤ I lived with a musician who loved Grateful Dead. We played Friend Of The Devil every gig and other songs. I sang harmony. He turned me onto music he loved and I did the same. He was in a GD cover band for years. The Zen Tricksters.

[@gr8fulded]

I caught The Tricksters a few times. I remember they toured with Donna Jean for a bit. Great band.

[@Fuphyter]

@daveseidnergd He played with Phil Lesh a few times too.

[@gr8fulded]

@@Fuphyter Rob or Jeff?

[@Fuphyter]

@daveseidnergd Klyph

[@Fuphyter]

He played in a lot of bands. He was in Urgent, they released an album in the 80s.

[@Asymmatrix]

This one and Workingman's Dead have most of their great 'regular' songs.

[@JB-Deadskins]

And that's what makes the other ones so great. 😂

[@L33Reacts]

I’m keen to hear side 2 to see how it all connects

[@submandave1125]

These are IMO essential Americana. In many ways Grateful Dead presaged the turn of popular music from the acid and rock of the late ‘60s to the countrypolitan sound that took over in the early ‘70s and paved the way for acts like Eagles.

[@jameswillhour427]

Fav songs: The Wheel, Terrapin Station, Eyes of the World. As far as the Candyman goes, that title for a song has a history. Most notably, Mississippi John Hurt and others in the Delta Blues tradition have a rendition that is very traditional. So this is influenced by that, is probably a safe statement. Has the flavor of someone who is making the rounds, maybe the official term would be "rambling." Could be about drugs, could be about sex, could be about gambling, could be about apple pie. Just depends on who it is and what is up...right? We have all been there! Once again thanks for going into the GD rabbit hole. No stopping you now. I could even be your friend! Just kidding, I always knew you were on the right track!!! ❤❤❤

[@jameswillhour427]

Good point about nature. I agree. It is essential. Let's put down the phone for awhile.

[@johngriswold2213]

BTW, Candyman was written shortly after Janis Joplin died from an overdose and at the time we were pretty sure that they were connected. The Dead in that period wrote songs as responses to the events we were undergoing...an example was the New Speedway Boogie, written as a response to the ill fated free Rolling Stones concert at Altamont. "Keep on coming don't you stand and wait, with the sun so dark and the hour so late". The two or three hundred thousand of us in the crowd had spent a long, high, hot and dry day in the sun and were pressing forward towards the stage while the Stones delayed their set to amp up the crowd and the Hells Angels busted the heads of people crowding their bikes.

[@jimhardiman3836]

And Trucking' of course. Rich Williams from Kansas told he was with the Dead in New Orleans when that happened.

[@Lexwell_Lavers]

Fan knowledge outpaces Wikipedia by far. Best info and stories from Deadheads themselves. I learn a lot, still learnin'.

[@L33Reacts]

I could tell it was drug related for sure…. That’s such a shame. We lost so many amazing artists so young. Such a shame.

[@johngriswold2213]

@@L33Reacts Pig Pen (Ron Mckernan, "Operator") died of cirrhosis from heavy alcohol abuse around the same time, like Janis, Jimi, and Jim Morrison, at age 27. He and Janis were a couple for a while and she hung with the Dead a lot. She is also the subject of Bird Song, one of my favorites.

[@shirleybhs9zd6li5i]

Wow the memories this brings back of early college days. It's been years since I've heard this. The Dead were so versatile, masters in all genres. Thanks, Joel for the great start to the week. Good reaction, L33. Blessings all.

[@captainsatellite2112]

Tripped for the first time (window pane) during my sophomore year at UC Berkeley early 80s. A guy I knew from the dorm invited us over and put this album on at his parent's Victorian house across the bay in SF and I became a lifelong fan after hearing Box of Rain and the other great songs on the album. Friends and I walked to the nearby Keystone to see the Jerry Garcia Band several times during the school year. JGB did an excellent Dear Prudence and Tangled Up in Blue. Also saw the Dead numerous times and Dead & Co with John Mayer more recently. Long Strange Trip on Amazon and The Other One (focus on Bob Weir) are great documentaries.

[@robotronrichard]

Thanks Joel & L33! Great to be able to experience an album side at a time! ☮❤🎶

[@L33Reacts]

I wish I could do this for every album I do! It all depends on the copyright holders when it comes to these album sides 😅

[@ddthor]

My car trips must have this album and Workingman’s Dead. Great music! Thanks Lee and Joel!

[@shiannesmith6877]

I cannot wait to hear side 2 now. This is new to me. So beautiful! ❤

[@fidge54]

I envy you both!

[@tommathews3964]

@@fidge54Amen!!

[@tenjed4224]

Enjoy.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Great pick Joel thanks. What can I say? It’s a beautiful lyrical classic

[@Lexwell_Lavers]

Yep. I think Workingman's Dead should be next. You're the live Grateful Dead expert .. so much great live stuff... I love Death Don't Have No Mercy.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

@ yes Workingman’s is the way to go, they go together I think.

[@shemanic1]

One of my all time top albums. Beautiful.

[@danconnorsnew8766]

“I bet there are amazing live versions of this one” this is the safest bet you will ever make😀

[@L33Reacts]

Should have put a unit on it, aye? I’m gonna have to check those out

[@ColeenU]

I don't know them enough to have a favorite.

[@tomratcliff3755]

@CollenU I know them too well to have a favorite.

[@tommathews3964]

@@tomratcliff3755Exactly!!

[@SnoopySnoops1]

Thanks Joel!

[@corawheeler9355]

Good music .. thank you Joel

[@johngriswold2213]

No banjo on Freind of the Devil...maybe you're hearing David Grisman's mandolin.

[@joelmcmahon2163]

yep grisman’s mando

[@L33Reacts]

Yeah that’s what it was for sure

[@ddthor]

Thanks!

[@L33Reacts]

My man!! You rock!🪨

[@L33Reacts]

Thank you 🙏🙏

[@ddthor]

@@L33Reacts thank you! You are reviewing many songs that I have forgotten about. Your song selection is far beyond most who play songs from that era. Thanks again for what you do here. You get it.

[@realbser1956]

I only owned 2 GD albums. This and Workingman’s Dead were the two. Thanks Joel and Lee

[@fineasfogg1461]

Even though I knew some of the dead's music I didn't get turned on to it till much later.

[@JB-Deadskins]

This was the first Grateful Dead album I ever bought.

[@RalphSpoiledsport]

Same here, but I got it 12 years after it came out when I was 15. I had heard Truckin' on the radio and loved it. I was soon a Deadhead.

[@johncarr7198]

I bought the album in 1970. I was 18. Saw the next year with New Riders of the Purple Sage as front band Garcia played the steel pedal for New Riders then lead next for the Dead Yes I was tripping when I saw them. An Incredible Night. Saw them 5 times back then. I wrote to them and became a dead head. Received promotional stuff. Singles. Great times

[@Kerazen123]

RIP Phil 😭

[@scotstevens5263]

In ‘74 I ( we were like 14 then) would go to my friend, Frank’s house for his dad’s fortieth birthday and smoke forty joints listening to this album, Lou Reed, Rock n Roll Animal, Hot Tuna, Burgers, Leon Russell, Carny. And all his dad liked. More of this album though. Great for smokin’.✌️Now I shake my head, oh my, my……… 66 now as of the first of this month.

[@robertspitz9832]

Phil's bass work on Friend of the Devil is lights out!

[@will-x9c]

The only Dead album I actually bought. It's somehow near-perfect. The Dead are an acquired taste that I never quite acquired but American Beauty hit home. Especially "Ripple", a sense of quiet acceptance after the long strange trip of the sixties. Yes banjo, mandolin, pedal steel, anything and everything. A hippie jug band :) And their cover art was almost museum quality. "Operator" was I think Pigpen's last hurrah. He was the blues frontman. A very heavy juicer and it got the best of him

[@Moz1011]

Im enjoying this.

[@dangabbert3944]

Thanks, Joel and L33! I’ll always listen to a Dead reaction.

[@kevin-ki5dy]

Grateful Dead songs are about the moment and time you are listening to them. Not the moment and time they were written.

[@cojaysea]

Workingmans dead and American beauty are two of the best albums ever . If I had to pick a song it would be ripple

[@randycloutier4786]

I heard Robert Hunter talk in an interview that Phil wrote this music for box of rain when his father was dying and gave it to Hunter for lyrics. In the end he said the lyrics were a present to his friend who's dad passed. I think about that every time I hear it and it moves me to tears

[@hopeklemann1]

🌸 boy did I ever need this happy Dead music this morning! thank you , my friend

[@kevin-ki5dy]

The one that's currently playing.

[@tedjung3700]

You've found my favorite Grateful Dead album! So glad to hear you hearing it.

[@deechatterton5828]

Joel, thank you brother. I can go on and on about this but I'll try to be brief. Workingman"s Dead and American Beauty were the Dead's trip into Americana music. They were recording both of them at the same time Crosby, Stills and Nash were in the same studio recording Deja Vu and Crosby's solo album. Crosby spent a lot of time with the Dead which accounts for the high quality of the harmonies. Mickey Hart is only on a few tracks because he left the band for five years. His father was the band's manager and stole around $70,000 and signed the band to an extension of their contract with Warner Brothers without their knowledge. Their two previous studio albums were highly produced and the band was allowed unlimited studio time which they used to teach themselves how to use the studio. As a result, they owed Warner Brothers a ton of money. These two albums were much more subdued and organized. They were recorded in a short time and were successful which helped pay the bills. There's a lot of different motivations for this kind of music and it was a bit of a surprise for Deadheads at the time. Their shows kept on and didn't change much at all. They took this Americana music and made it their own.

[@Lexwell_Lavers]

I love The Dead!!!!!!!! Awesome album along with Workingman's Dead, their best studio albums. Thanks Joel. Sorry for your loss 😢.

[@ednieto05]

The album cover title can also be read as “American Reality” which was by design. The storytelling cadence of “Truckin” was influenced by The Beatles’ “The Ballad of John and Yoko.” “Box of Rain” was about the impending death of Phil’s dad in 1969. The whole album was greatly influenced by David Crosby’s suggestions to tell stories and use multi-voice harmonies. I never get tired of hearing this classic from start to finish. Great reaction, Lee!

[@kennethzeitzer4390]

Listening to the studio version of Sugar Magnolia compared to the live version on Europe 72 is a great way to experience Dead Live vs Dead Studio,

[@jez443]

One of the greatest Americana albums ever. The Dead hit you deep in your soul.

[@RalphSpoiledsport]

If you want songs that last longer, you have found the right band. The Dead were my soundtrack for a few years, great times.

[@timcardona9962]

Wow it’s was great to see you getting down with the rhythm section. Early 70s Dead had this amazing ability to switch between regular time and cut time, giving every song this ebb and flow, push and pull kind of feeling

[@rodneygriffin7666]

Box of rain.😓 It hurts. Then again, that's what life is all about.🫤

[@PaulSmith-gc2my]

To pick a favorite Dead song, next to impossible, there are so many that have special meanings for me. I never followed them, but caught their shows when they came to the general area, anywhere from Philly to Hampton, VA. OK, I'm gonna take a run at favorite songs: Cosmic Charlie, Tennessee Jed, Morning Dew, Born Cross Eyed, Mamma Tried (yes, the Merle Haggard song, their live version was dynamite!), Mountains Of The Moon, China Cat Sunflower, Dire Wolf, Cumberland Blues, Pride Of Cucamonga, Unbroken Chain, Playing In The Band, Wharf Rat (Oh, God Yes!!), Lost Sailor/Saint Of Circumstance, Weather Report Suite, Anthem Of The Sun, the list goes on and these are just some of my favorites. That's not even getting into their cross over stuff they did with CSNY and Jefferson Airplane.

[@JamesDimond-l7u]

Best move is play the whole 2/28/69 show

[@marymargaretmoore9034]

A big part of my youth. Love The Dead!

[@Hanssologuitars]

A shocking revelation came when Weir announced he had not, in fact, met any of the Spice Girls. He also remembered Janis Joplin, who had passed away exactly 52 years prior, and her romance with the Dead’s original frontman, Ronald “Pigpen” McKernan. Reflecting on the evenings when Pearl would stay over at the band’s Lagunitas, CA ranch with cardboard walls Weir recalled, “All night long, ‘Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!'”

[@WeirdErnie]

This album and its immediate predecessor in the same year (Workingman's Dead) marked the beginning of a more grounded return to their blues and folk roots after their psychedelic 60's. It's very much a 'coming of age' / 'you can't go home again' type of record. The 60's had ended, they had been involved with the tragic festival at Altamont. They had moved out of the Haight Ashbury district. Jerry had been arrested and just lost his mother. Phil was losing his father. Phil had just turned 30 and the rest were close behind. This album was life, the American experience and a young band maturing into it.

[@TheGodfather4200]

Robert Hunter was churning out classic song after classic song for years.

[@tzcomp]

"Knew she had to come up soon for air" is my favorite Dead line.

[@bobschenkel7921]

Everyone gets a turn on the first side at lead Vocals. Phil on "Box Of Rain", Jerry on "Friend of The Devil", Bobby on "Sugar Magnolia/Sunshine Daydream", Pigpen on "Operator" and once again Jerry on "Candyman". Got to see and hear all these live, except "Operator", because I didn't see the boys until 1980, and Pigpen had passed about eight years prior. This is Organic Americana. Thanks a lot Joel, great pick Omega Man.

[@quantanglement]

You hearing this for the first time reminds me of Freaks and Geeks - Lyndsey is given this album by her counselor at school and she brings it home and puts it on for the first time. And plays it over and over . She probably thought it was 'old' hippie music but then really started to like it.

[@shortstuff7959]

So many favorites. I have a favorite for every mood.

[@submandave1125]

“Box of Rain” may be my all-time favorite individual Dead song. While live Dead is definitely a thing, this and “Workingman’s Dead” are immaculate recordings with songs that were never, IMO, equaled in live performance because of the intricate harmonies.

[@dougj7295]

Box of Rain just sets the whole tone of the album right from the start.

[@chipjones817]

You're doin' a great job....very enjoyable

[@kevin-ki5dy]

The pedal steel riff that has been most heard on radio and in album sales is the intro to "Teach Your Children Well" by CSN&Y and played by Jerry Garcia.

[@theartistformerlyknownasje6358]

Great album

[@jamessomers8808]

I see that you like the Jerry tunes better. Me too, but I always get really excited whenever I hear Pig Pen. Also, Bobby Weir was my first favorite Grateful Dead band member when I was a kid. There was this one time at a show when I couldn’t get in so I had to wait outside in the pick up truck right by the gate where they replayed one part of Sugar Magnolia once a minute for like one verse. Over and over again, on a loudspeaker. 😂 I may have been tripping.

[@JamesDimond-l7u]

Best song The Other One> Cryptical Envelopment>The Other One...preferably 2/28/69

[@tommathews3964]

What you’ve got here is an American Classic! After AB is done you should surely move right into the “Workingman’s Dead” album, which came out in the same year. Yep, the same year! It’s a seamless continuation of the music in this Dead Period. Most of the material from both albums would become mainstays in the live rotation going forward. Jerry was heavily involved with The New Riders of The Purple Sage at the time, playing pedal steel with them for the most part. Nelson, Dawson and Torbert (all of whom played on AB) were all members of The New Riders. Those guys have several great albums worth your attention: Self titled NRPS, Gypsy Cowboy, and Panama Red are all terrific! Howard Wales and David Grisman both played on AB and did considerable stuff with Garcia. Check that stuff out too! As you will see, this is an intricate web you are becoming entangled in! 😎 Enjoy the ride, The Bus never stops!!

[@dannynewman2]

"It felt like home." Hold that thought when you listen to the lyrics near the end of "Brokedown Palace" on Side 2...

[@quantanglement]

Yes, as said below box of rain hurts. Tough one to listen to.

[@Coquinagirl]

Pleasant, ….Soft and easy to listen to.

[@jamessomers8808]

Nice,❤ thank you

[@JohnLedger-g4i]

Phil Lesh conceived the lyrics and music on his numerous visits to see his dying father . He dedicated it to him . He wanted it to have a sound similar to The Band’s compositions .

[@kevinhennessey3189]

So Jerry was a very prolific musician; between the time American Beauty was recorded and 1975 Garcia played Pedal Steel with the New Riders of the Purple Sage until Buddy Cage joined the Band. He did an album sort of Jazzy with Howard Wales called Hooteroll, did a bluegrass album with David Grisman called Old and in the Way, and started the Jerry Garcia Band initially with his friend Merl Saunders released a double album called Live at the Keystone.

[@JohnLedger-g4i]

54 years ago . They don’t make them like this anymore !!!!!!

[@JamesDimond-l7u]

One From the Vault or Live Dead! Please

[@michaeldezego340]

Jerry was also a really good bluegrass banjo player.

[@JamesDimond-l7u]

The Harder Edge is 65_69

[@jeffmartin1026]

The LP is more like coming down than coming home to me. The Byrds had gone pure country in '68, The Band's The Band came out in '69, and this and Workingman's Dead came out soon after. The "break on thru to the other side" days were done, the "show" was over.

[@freddylubin]

"Brokedown Palace" will be played at my funeral.

[@melvinroebuck1160]

The version of Candyman on their 1980 live album Dead Set is gorgeous.

[@michaelwalker5257]

This is a GREAT road album. . . as you can tell.

[@brendanfromnz]

Surely I can't be the only one here who immediately thinks of Lindsay Weir from Freaks And Geeks dancing around her room, anytime I hear Box Of Rain. Classic scene. Linda Cardellini was gorgeous.....still is.

[@KeithMcbride-fy3hy]

In my top 10 albums Of all time

[@ET-nw9gn]

Seeing how you've been enjoying live Phish over the last couple of months, I recommend to you the album Live Dead. It most certainly had that harder edge you were expecting on this album

[@Alewifes_Husband]

Lee, the "banjo" you hear in Friend of the Devil is a mandolin. Without looking it up, I'd bet it was Dave Grisman playing it. But could have been Jerry!

[@JB-Deadskins]

There are hidden messages in the album cover. See if you can spot them.

[@fidge54]

Love the B3 in Candyman

[@johnathanstruble1064]

Took, my 20 dollar bill , and vanished in the air...damn Skippy..lol.. Sincerely, recovered addict.

[@will-x9c]

The early dead were much different, up tempo high energy, dancing in the streets, all of that. Jerry could really wail, one of the best, choice of notes, execution. As well their early stuff, like "Dark Star" (and the classic "Feedback"), was acid-drenched. Just listening would get you high. Then they mellowed. And spent decades noodling. IMO

[@michaelkeefe8494]

LOL, on shrooms? You'd have a good time just playing with the album covers before you even got to the music.

[@L33Reacts]

😂😂😂😂

[@futurereflections4097]

I forgot how good this album is

[@robertgrosek1124]

It was their major turn to a country sound from their psychedelic groove. They had moved out of SF to the country in Marin County