Evening Moods

Ratdog, Bob Weir | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 2000)
• Original Release Date: September 26, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B00004XR5N
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,819 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Bury Me Standing

2. Lucky Enough

3. Odessa

4. Ashes and Glass

5. Welcome to the World

6. Two Djinn

7. Corrina

8. October Queen

9. The Deep End [Instrumental]

10. Even So

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Hell of an Album....., October 4, 2000

By 

David Rosenberg (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evening Moods (Audio CD)

Wow! Even for the notoriously anti-studio Dead audience, this one's a keeper. From beginning to end Bobby Weir and company keep the listener entertained and often dancing.

Each tune has its own special something, and most of the tracks stretch over 7 minutes, including a 15-minute October Queen > The Deep End (which is the jam they normally play out of October Queen in concert). Each song's music is credited to RatDog (and others, including Mickey Hart), and lyrics come from Weir, Robert Hunter, John Barlow, and others. Performers on the album include Hart, formed 'Dogs Matt Kelly and Dave Ellis, and plenty of other horn players.

Pick it up--if you're at all open to new material, you won't be disappointed. Personal highlights for me are Odessa, October Queen > Deep End, Even So, Ashes and Glass, and Two Djinn (and the rest I suppose!!!). Look out!

Dave Rosenberg, RatDog.Org

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Ratdog Not Only Barks -- It Has Plenty of Bite!", September 28, 2000

By 

"larry_the_duck" (North Hollywood, California, "Thee Garage Band Capital of the World!") - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evening Moods (Audio CD)

Bob Weir, best known as one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead, after touring and hundreds of concerts with his tight-backing band RatDog, has finally released their first solo body of. This is his first studio effort sans the Grateful Dead since the 1980s and is easily Weir's best solo effort besides his release of "Ace" some years back. There is no doubt that their many GD fans will love "Evening Moods." And combined with Weir's tremendous appetite for touring, this album should garner fresh new faces and fans across the country.

Weir's handpicked members of RatDog are a superb band. Composed of Jay Lane on drums and Rob Wasserman on bass, they solidly provide the foundation for the superb guitar work of Mark Karan, and pianist Jeff Chimenti. Individually and in concert with each other they have all contributed solid musical chops to this effort. And - unlike many others, and to Weir's credit, he has attributed them the respect with writing credits.

The standout tracks are "Bury Me Standing" that takes you immediately into the Mississippi Delta region of hard luck and pride. "Lucky Enough" is a tune that leaves the listener with the feeling of being momentarily beaten but still with that glimmer of eternal hope: "No, there ain't no saints here/ And all that kind 'o stuff/ But you may find grace/ If you're lucky enough." "Ashes and Glass" is a microcosmic tale of what today's world brings; "If that big old moon go bust/ Ashes, ashes, dust to dust/ maybe time for one last rave/ Keep on dancin' on our own graves." Very reminiscent of Weir's earlier work: "Throwing Stones." "Even So" instrumentally takes you on a dark fog enshrouded midnight stroll reminiscent of the likes of a early era Tom Waits tale. But unlike Waits' gruff and grating whiskey burned vocal, Weir's voice glides smooth and clear against the bass, piano and guitars that sound like THEY'VE been drinking.

Although the Grateful Dead were much better known for their strong live shows and less than stellar studio efforts, Bob Weir and RatDog have combined to put forth a raw, organic sound that stays true to the live ln-your-face performances of this fine band. I'd personal "bet the farm" that this is by far the best recorded work that Bob Weir's been a member of since "Blues for Allah" in 1975. If you do pick up the CD, you won't be "barking" up the wrong tree. WOOF!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never Listen to "Pofessional" Critics, November 9, 2001

By 

M. J. Quinlan (Berlin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Evening Moods (Audio CD)

I bought this CD about a month ago. I have been a Bob Weir fan for as long as I have been a deadhead (30+ years). As with many of Bob Weir's stuff, you can't listen to it just once. The first time I listened to the CD, I thought uh...OK. Two weeks later I listened to it again and have not been able to stop listening to it since. So I was wrong the first time, the music is not OK, it's great! I read critical reviews complaining about Bob Weir's singing--SO WHAT! Could Garcia sing?, Lesh? Dead concerts (and albums) were always great though, weren't they? What do I know about music other than what I like? This is a great CD with Great Music, that if you are a fan you will probably also not be able to stop listening to every track. (Although I have to admit I am partial to Odessa and Corrinna). If you've always liked the Dead and Weir's solo stuff, you can't go wrong with this CD.