Mickey Hart's Mystery Box

The World (Rykodisc/Mickey Hart Series), Mickey Hart | Format: Audio Cassette

Product Details

• Audio Cassette (June 11, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B0000009Q3
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,689,881 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Where Love Goes (Sito)

2. Full Steam Ahead

3. Down the Road

4. The Sandman

5. The Next Step

6. Look Away

7. Only the Strange Remain

8. Sangre de Cristo

9. John Cage Is Dead

10. The Last Song

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Moving beyond the worldbeat percussion of Planet Drum and At the Edge, the Grateful Dead percussionist makes a pop crossover move in partnership with Sade producer Robin Millar and the English vocal sextet The Juleps. An automatic buy for Deadheads. --Jeff Bateman

From the Label

For Mickey Hart's Mystery Box, Mickey Hart set out to do one thing: to give voice to the drum. Hart crafted songs from the rhythmic foundation up, and that meant not just the beat, but the melody. To find the roots of these melodies, Mickey laid down the basic grooves with Planet Drum partners Zakir Hussain and Giovanni Hidalgo, and then turned to longtime Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter to complete the story with words.

The voices, the last fundamental element of Hart's vision appeared in the form of the Mint Juleps, a remarkable a cappella group from Great Britain. Over the next two years, in between Grateful Dead tours, Mickey continued to refine the grooves, bringing in at various times such players as Airto, former Tower Of Power drummer David Garibaldi, Sikiru, and Youssou N'Dour's bass player, Habib Faye.

While Hunter's words melded perfectly with Mickey's grooves, they really took flight when given voice by the Mint Juleps on songs that run the gamut from the soulful ("Where Love Goes (Sito)") to the surreal ("John Cage Is Dead"). Hart contributed the spoken vocals to several tracks, including the aptly titled "Only The Strange Remain" (a revised version of a semi-legendary Hunter/Hart tune that's been kicking around for years), "The Sandman" (an infectious piece featuring guitar work by Bob Weir), and what may be the album's emotional high point, "Down The Road," a beautiful evocation of departed heroes from Joe Hill to Jerry Garcia that also features Bruce Hornsby contributing impassioned vocals and some lilting accordion.

To help achieve the album's distinctive sound, Hart enlisted the services of co-producer Robin Millar, who has crafted worldwide hits for the likes of Sade, Fine Young Cannibals and Kate Bush. The collaboration was a fortunate one, resulting in the perfect marriage of ancient and modern, earthy and cosmopolitan — irresistible dance grooves wedded to soaring voices and profoundly affecting words.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome album with a great world beat sound, March 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Mickey Hart's Mystery Box (Audio CD)

When I got this CD, I was expecting something like the classic "Grateful Dead" sound that I like so much. But the music on this disc sounds nothing like the "Dead". What you will find here are wonderfully complex rhythms wrapped in beautiful harmonies with more of a "World Music" sound than the folksy/rock sound that I was expecting - sort of an americanized version of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

"Where Love Goes" has a new-agey sound. "Full Steam Ahead" has great rolling beat. "Down the Road" is mostly spoken word with beautiful background vocals. "Sandman" is another upbeat song with some spoken word bits. "Next Step" is a haunting tune with more beautiful vocals. "Look Away" has a similar new-agey sound to "Where Love Goes", but with a more positive feel. "Only the Strange Remain" is another spoken word piece, where Mickey sounds an awful lot like Robbie Robertson. "Sangre de Cristo" is another fun foray into beat and harmony. "John Cage is Dead" is surprisingly upbeat and fun. The amusingly titled "Last Song" is a obviously having fun with the last track on the album.

Perhaps the best vote for this album is the fact that my wife likes it - she does not care for the Dead, and our tastes in music are quite divergent.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Visionary Funk Machine, March 21, 2004

By 

Stephen M. Rapp "huck555" (Asheville, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mickey Hart's Mystery Box (Audio CD)

When I bought this I had real buyers remorse, thinking I was gona have to endure a CD of Mickey Hart vocals in lieu of his world percussion CD's.

What shocking surprise. A Shuckadelic Soul Motion! A gem, a Masterpiece and a Gift from a revolutionary artist with heart, passion and intellegence. The Mint Julips' vocals are off the chart divine. The band is a collaboration of perfection. Mickey aint bad either.

Rag Bag Willey and Bam-Alam!!!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!, January 27, 2010

By 

Dane McGregor (Wilmette, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mickey Hart's Mystery Box (MP3 Download)

When I bought this disc, I was expecting more percussive tracks ala the earlier Planet Drum discs. Was annoyed that it was all vocal songs, and after one listen tossed it into the CD rack, to languish for a couple of years.

I pulled it out to give it a second listen last year, and fell in love with it-- as long as you don't go into it expecting it to be something it's not, as I initially had, it's delightful! The musical styles are wide-ranging, the lyrics (by Robert Hunter) engaging and worth multiple listenings.