Customer Reviews

Dead Symphony, An Orchestral Tribute to the Music of the Grateful Dead

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Starting with the release of "Deadicated" (1991), I've picked up just about every Grateful Dead tribute. I have the tributes in bluegrass, rock, reggae, a capella and jazz ("Blues for Allah Project" "Dark Star" "Swingin'"). Being an enthusiast for orchestral music, I was surprised to discover that this is the only philharmonic Dead tribute. In a day when most bands seem to have a string quartet or symphony orchestra tribute, it's odd that it took so long for the Grateful Dead. In any case, here it is and I'm not sure if it was worth the wait. "Dead Symphony" makes the opposite mistake that spoils most of these tributes. Most of these projects are money grubbing schemes that hire mediocre studio musicians to pump out simplistic and soulless renditions. As if conscious of this pitfall, "Dead Symphony" steered too hard in the other direction. It sounds as if Lee Johnson took this project too seriously and overcompensated. The essential melodies are often elusive. As a result, many of the compositions are difficult to recognize. The sound is often too large and busy as a result of over intellectualization. The benefits of this reworking are negligible while it suggests that Johnson thought the music needed help. The upbeat tunes often sound like they belong on the soundtrack to a vintage Western film. This bombastic style has merit, but it doesn't fit the Dead. The slower, softer tunes are the ones that work best. Indeed, highlights include 'Mountains of the Moon' and 'Blues for Allah.' The drawbacks to this project are not from a lack of effort or authentic dedication. As with Amazon reviewer Robin Russell, I can easily understand how some listeners may fully appreciate this project. In the end, I found "Dead Symphony" to be enjoyable background music that probably won't get more than a few additional spins before collecting dust. While "Dead Symphony" makes a meaningful contribution, let's hope that it serves to open the gates for similarly minded Dead tributes.

Lee Johnson wrote Dead Symphony No 6 after being approached by Mike Adams in the wake of Jerry Garcia's death. Being new to the music may have been a bonus for Johnson: his fresh ears have gone to the most beguiling melodies and adventurous harmonies from the vast and innovative Grateful Dead repertoire and welded them into a coherent symphony, using a dash of improvisation and playful references to Funiculi Funicula (a favourite Dead throwaway to confirm they were finally in tune at the start of concerts).

This is a far cry from the light weight orchestral treatments of pop that have blighted our ears so often. Rather, this is the real deal: a serious piece of music that succeeds admirably. The songs that have beeen incorporated into the movements of the symphony include some of the finest in the canon: Stella Blue, China Doll, To Lay Me Down, St Stephen, Blues for Allah, Mountains of the Moon, Sugar Magnolia, If I Had the World to Give, Bird Song and Here Comes Sunshine.

Johnson conducts the Russian National Orchestra himself on this fine recording.

Lee Johnson has taken the work of the Dead and re-imagined it as orchestral music. It is remarkably provocative and demands close listening. My wife is a classical musician, and upon hearing Johnson's work, she is now quite interested in listening more closely to the Grateful Dead. I think this CD can work as a bridge for fan's of both The Dead and classical/symphonic work. Entirely compelling.

In the same way that English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams took timeless English folk tunes and incorporated them into his orchestral works at the turn of the 20th Century Lee Johnson has taken the threads of the Grateful Dead's own folk ballads and woven them into orchestral settings not dissimilar to the works of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Add a dash of Gershwin to make it more American and I can see where this is coming from. A brave attempt and one that does work given the constraints of the Classical format (European and Western)

It was not until after taking classical guitar lessons in college from Lee Johnson that I really got to know the Dead. I fell in love! Their music did things and said things that I had never heard. It was the in the moment conversation, off-the-cuff, experience that I connected to. I could go on and on... But you can only imagine how ecstatic I was to learn that the person who spawned my greatest passion of playing guitar ended up composing a symphony of Dead music!!! I love Lee Johnson for what he gave me in music/guitar and know I will enjoy this CD. My ears are prepared by knowing that an orchestra is prearranged and the beauty of the Dead was not something fixed on paper. This is the initial fare stance all reviews must have.. apples vs. oranges kind of thing. I love all music. Thank you Lee!

But here is my real review. Why in the world is this CD being sold for $45 to $100 here on Amazon. I might be missing some information are reading wrong. Does it come with Jerry's autograph? Jammates online has it for $14.99. ???

My daughter and I are huge deadheads, and I have nearly every cd ever sold, including quite a few "bootlegs" from friends at concerts, so I was quite excited about this one. No - I'm not a classical music fan & don't like this at all - I played it once & probably never will again. My guess is that classical music buffs are probably not Grateful Dead fans, and deadheads generally don't wander into the classical category -

This isn't a symphony, but a suite of (as I hear it) mostly motivic treatments. I like much of it (not the farcical Overture and Finale--but give me the Dead's happy, wobbly renditions of that tune anytime), though there's a sameness of atmosphere/mood to much of the expression. It near-completely leaves out high-energy forte e con moto realms of the Dead's music and performance; the predominant mood seems to be subdued nocturne (maybe that's where Lee Johnson's taste inclines him, I don't know), with a couple of Gershwin and Milhaud/Ellington jazz nods, yet no nods to (apter to Grateful Dead) Noah Lewis or Blind Willie Johnson. Lee Johnson brings out a remarkable Stephen Foster aspect to Sugar Magnolia that I'd never heard from it; it's the only Weir composition he includes, though. For my taste, the best realizations are the musical-emotionally rich, mystic China Doll and the poetic Here Comes Sunshine.

This is a stellar recording! Delite Rancher's pan notwithstanding (who can lend any credence to the opinion of someone who actually bothers to rate a Pfaltzgraff Butter Dish, let alone give it five stars? I'm serious, check out DR's other reviews), Lee Johnson has knocked the skull-and-roses out of the park with this gem. The Russian National orchestra weaves beautiful, intricate interpretations of the songs. Saint Stephen, Mountains of the Moon, ghostly, surreal. To Lay Me Down, a cloud pillow Russian lullaby for Captain Trips, grateful in eternity, brought tears to my eyes. Americana Gershwinesque strains lace the French Quarter drunken stagger of Stella Blue. Desert sands roll away to the horizon as the monumental stone pyramids of Blues For Allah rumble up from beneath the windswept dunes. Sugar Magnolia dances in on point, jumps like a Willys across the lilting Bird Song sky, and picks up the fractured China Doll, cradling it in her arms as she gracefully pirouettes back into the transitive nightfall of diamonds... This platter serves up more detailed delicacies with every serving. Far more than a 'tribute', it is an homage, capturing the essence of the Grateful Dead, a time-capsule of a timeless band.

This is a fine work by a composer that is developing with every composition. Johnson has not simply produced a GD tribute (god forbid), he has used the artistry of Garcia's songs to create a real and worthy contribution to contemporary classical music. If you are GD fan, you will not regret purchasing this work. If you know nothing of the GD but love great and beautiful music, you will be rewarded.