Customer Reviews

Aoxomoxoa

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Grateful Dead's third studio album "Aoxomoxoa" serves as a bridging gap between the band's psychedelic experiments and the harmony-laced folk-rock they would adopt a few years later. The album still remains a favorite amongst Deadheads and includes concert staples such as "Saint Stephen", "China Cat Sunflower" and "Cosmic Charlie". There are also some fun sing-along moments such as the memorable "Dupree's Diamond Blues" and "Doin' That Rag". "Rosemary" and "Mountains of the Moon" are beautiful acoustic pieces that fuse folk and baroque influences into the mix. Then, there's the infamous "What's Become Of The Baby" which is nothing but 8-minutes worth of Jerry Garcia chanting with vast amounts of echo plastered on his voice. Depending on who you talk to, this track is either the Dead's finest studio moment or their absolute worst. Either way, the track certainly is different.
The Rhino/Warner remaster includes four additional tracks which brings this album to more than double of its original length. The first three bonus tracks are extended instrumental jams recorded live in the studio. Like always, the band's musicianship and ability to play off each other comes through effortlessly in these jams. There is a definite jazz-fusion feel to these improvisations. "The Eleven Jam" is particularly striking with it's use of odd time signatures (mostly 11/8). The bonus material closes with a rare live recording of "Cosmic Charlie" which is a bit raw and rough but solid.
Since it's initial release 35 years ago "Aoxomoxoa" has become an instant Dead classic. With its diverse range of styles (everything from standard rock, to avant-garde, to acoustic and now with the bonus tracks, improvisation and jazz), "Aoxomoxoa" remains a highly entertaining album. On a technical and historical note, this album was also the very first in history to be recorded using 16-track technology which is the reason for its sharp pristine sound.
From here, The Grateful Dead's Long Strange Trip only got better.

though "blues for allah" is probably the most accurate studio representation of what the dead truly were and are, "aoxomoxoa" is still my favorite dead record. it was recorded right when the band was making the natural transistion from bluesy psychedelic music and into a more folkish country sound. you can really hear the two musical realms butt heads. even the simple folk songs like "rosemary" and "mountains of the moon" have a real ambient psychedelic mood to them. however, "what's become of the baby" is definitely the oddest track on the album and is almost too spooky to listen to. dead naysayers who claim that the band wasn't dark and were only into singing about good times have obviously never heard this track. the album also includes the future concert staples "china cat sunflower" and "st. stephen," but a really good track that the band all but abondanded not too long after the record's release is "doin' that rag." it's got a lot of great effects and time changes and really sounds like the musical equivalent to going insane. this record really captures a great transistional period in the band's history and will grow on you immensely after repeated listenings. the remastered version also has some great studio jams, including the only studio recording of the phenomenal live favorite "the eleven." one more great reason to buy this thing immediately

A transitional album for the Dead, in between the wilder psychedelic years and the return to roots music that followed. Strong songwriting and playing and good production make this one of the Dead's more successful studio albums. However, as usual, the live versions of all of these songs should be heard as well. Much of the Dead's studio work serves as a template for what the songs turned into live. That said, this is a fine album, with the exception of "What's Become of the Baby," which quite honestly could have been left off the album entirely and few would have cared.

This CD features the 1972 "remix" of the album, as every Deadhead knows. The reason for this is because no one could find the original mix of Aoxomoxoa, according to interviews with Dead archivist David LeMieux. Rhino, in conjunction with the Dead, decided that it would be better to release a strong version of the 1972 mix. The alternative would have been to release a straight album-to-CD digital transfer with inferior sound.

The included extra material, to my mind, more than makes up for the lack of the original mix. The studio jams and outtakes add a lot to this album and show that the Dead were powerful musicians, something that often gets overlooked outside the circle of Deadheads. Overall, this remaster is worth having, especially for those who aren't Deadheads per se but want to get a grip on what the Dead were all about.

I've read about the remastering, but true deadheads used to scrounge through used record stores trying to find the '69, not '71 Warners mix. The difference is more psychedelia, percussion, screams, acapellla fade on Doin' That Rag, and Tom Constanten's prepared piano + additional instrumentation on What's Become of The Baby, that actually makes it interesting, and more sinister. Will that ever be re-released on CD?

I already owned all of the cd's from the Dead's folk rock era, so I decided to get one from their psychedelic early era. So I browsed around an found one of theirs called Aoxomoxoa(!). When I put it in my stereo, St. Stephen was the first to come out and I love it right away. St. Stephen, Dupree's Diamond Blues, Doin' that Rag and Cosmic Charlie are timeless classics. The controversial song, What's Become of the Baby, in which Jerry sings with the wierd voice thing for over 8 minutes is O.K. Get it, it's a psychedelic classic!!

Living in a small upstate NY city during the sixties in a commune could be hard. No money, no car... Before tape decks and CDs and downloads, the Dead were a distant dream before they started touring the East Coast. Records were all we had. I still remember this one. 'Mountains of the Moon' has always been a favourite of mine. Throughout the years, in times of crisis, divorce, death and fire, I've managed to remember the phrase that is the title of this review. It's always been a solace.
As far as the self-indulgence is concerned: they were young; the were open to all kinds of grand ideas and they were trying to find the limits of what was possible with their music. This was the era of John Cage and John Coltrane. They were experimental and people expected it of them.
I still remember sitting in a friend's living room watching the cover breathe and swell and simmer.

Though this studio album, of course, fails to capture the Dead at their finest, it comes close.
Take a minute to listen to these tunes, and you will remember where you would be if you weren't here.
'St. Stephen', 'Doin' That Rag', and 'China Cat' will all take you back to that time when everything was a little strange and at the same time seemed to make a little more sense.
Remember sitting on the lawn with a few close friends, watching the sun come up, with the sounds of the Dead coming from somewhere...I know I do.

There are plenty of reasons to get this Dead Album. One is the fact that this is probably the best recorded Psychedelic CD of all time. It was the first Rock album recorded on a 16 track. In fact it was rerecorded to take advantage of the technology. The remaster is splendid. Another good reason is the great bonus tracks. Almost 80 minutes of dead for less than the price of driving your SUV to the record store. Can you dig it?

The real highlight of this remaster for Deadheads, other than the improved sound, is the added tracks. "Clementine Jam," "Nobody's Spoonful Jam," and "The Eleven Jam" are nearly as much fun as the rest of the album, which contains such Dead live staples as "St. Stephen" and "China Cat Sunflower." All of the bonus stuff was recorded live in the studio, except for "Cosmic Charlie," which was recorded live in San Francisco on 1/25/69. The expanded booklet and liner notes are great, too. A must-have.

This remasted disc is nice with the bonus tracks and spiffed up sound, but the only way top hear Aoxomoxoa is to find a original W7 (Warner Brothers-Seven Arts) green label vinyl pressing. The CD features the 1971 remix (like the 1989 CD) in which 1/3 of the backing has been stripped like Constanten's prepared backrounds on "What's Become Of The Baby", the extra drums and barbershop vocal on "Doin That Rag". St Stephen lost something in the remix as well. Anthem was remixed as well in 1972 but the band was wise to issue the 1968 mix on CD. No hidden goodies on this disc, but the bonus tracks are great.