Customer Reviews

Very Best of Grateful Dead

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I have been a Deadhead for around 25 years. Any respectable Deadhead knows that you don't buy a Dead "best of", yet in this case I did. I own a nearly complete Dead collection. I am only missing "best ofs" & a couple of titles I just didn't care for. I have complete "Dicks Picks", "Vault collections" Hours of boot legs...why would I want this? I ignored it when it was first released and then realized that it contained exactly what I play when I am trying to turn "newbies" on to the band. Granted they are not the superior live versions, but the studio versions (which must be respected because they serve as the Skelton for the live body of work...OK, you can groan now). Anyway, I have found through the years that people not familiar with the band seem more accepting of the studio work when they are 1st adjusting to the Dead sound.
The collection itself draws largely from "American Beauty" (5 songs)which is the Studio Dead at it's acoustic best. Add "Eyes Of the world", "Fire on the Mountain" "Sugar Mag", "Franklins Tower" and "the Music Never Stopped" and you can't go wrong. Yes, there are numerous songs that could have been put on this, but this serves as a sample from which to grow from. As w/ any Rhino release, the sound and package are exquisite. If you like what you hear here then it's time for you to start exploring the many live releases.

The Rhino/Warner Brothers compilation "The Very Best of The Grateful Dead" is the first to span the band's entire career in a single disc. It is also the first Dead compilation to encompass material from different record labels. So not only is the Dead's formative years with Warner Bros. covered, material from Arista and United Artists labels are also included.
This CD includes the Grateful Dead's most commercial material and its best known hits such as the signature classics "Truckin'", "Uncle John's Band", "Box Of Rain" and "Ripple" as well as their only top 40 smash "Touch Of Grey" from 1986.
Elsewhere are Deadhead favorites such as "Estimated Prophet", "Franklin's Tower", "Fire On The Mountain" and "U.S. Blues".
This is only one side of The Grateful Dead. The bands other side is what they are better known for - extended jams. Unfortunately "The Very Best Of" does not capture the bands improvisational and experimental side. It does however display the Dead's diverse range and their ability to craft radio-friendly material flawlessly and effortlessly.
This compilation is highly recommended for beginning Deadheads who'd like to hear the more commercial side of the band. For their improvisational side, "Live/Dead" is an excellent place to start. For their more experimental work, check out "Anthem Of The Sun", "Aoxomoxoa" or "Blues For Allah". These albums as well as this compilation provide a well-rounded textbook for those starting their collection of Dead recordings.

In my opinion, only a handful of bands in history deserve a compilation that includes the words, "The Very Best of" in their title (to this day it is overused), but ignoring that fact, the Grateful Dead are certainly one of them. Here you get seventeen tracks, filling up almost 80 minutes of their music. When I first got this a couple of summers ago, I gave it a good listen and loved it.
Pros:
A lot of good things can be said about this CD. The music, compilation itself, artwork, photos, liner notes, etc. are all very well done. It even gives you a discography and complete list of band members! Talk about a good way to keep yourself busy for a while. They also give you an order form for Dead merchandise.
Cons:
In terms of the music, none, but then again, no complaints in general. Deadheads could probably think of a couple of tracks to add here (Dark Star, Wharf Rat) but if that was the case, this would have to lead to be a dual-disc compilation. Still, as a single-disc, this is near-perfect.

Standout/ Favorite Tracks Of Mine:
"Truckin'": Fantastic Dead track, filled with great music and lyrics, of course, one of the famous "American Beauty" tracks. What's ironic about this song is that while it's the opener here, it's the closing song on "AB", or so I believe.
"Touch of Grey": From one of their last albums, In The Dark (1987). Catchy, with a landscape of instruments and very psychedelic lyrics. That may not come to a surprise, considering ITD was released after Jerry Garcia was in the hospital, in a coma (which possibly explains the album title/cover)
"Sugar Magnolia": It's too bad I never listen to this song much, anymore, because it's great. Seems to be a laid-back free man's love song with some very contrasting yet awesome lyrics, one of the Dead's shortest songs here, too, at 3:17.
"Casey Jones": From "Workingman's Dead". Great track, of course. I love the buildup of the instruments when the chorus is repeated four times out in the end. The lyrics here are certainly those that speak for the Dead's lifestyle and way of adventure. "Drivin' that train/ High on cocaine/ Casey Jones you'd better watch your speed/ Trouble ahead, trouble behind/ And you know that notion just crossed my mind".
"Uncle John's Band: A mellow, acoustic song apparently about being in a band with an almost father-like uncle. A very memorable song.
"Friend of the Devil": Another really good song, but the combination of acoustic guitar/thumping bass is a strange combo. The lyrics are quite diverse and seem to be the narration of the life of a "friend of the devil".
"Franklin's Tower": I love how the chorus just repeats "Roll away...the dew" and the whole song has a nice feel to it.
"Estimated Prophet": An eclectic pop song. The wa-wa guitar riff is very jolly and the type of melody that you'd whistle while walking down the street. However, the lyrics are very different for a Dead song. When you look beyond the "California... preaching on the burning shore" and "Rising up to paradise, I know I'm gonna shine" this song is very dark, especially the first verse: "My time coming, any day, don't worry about me, no Been so long I felt this way, I'm in no hurry, no." At any rate, it's still an excellent song.
"Eyes of the World": All right! Now HERE'S a song I can talk about. This is a great summer song, it features wonderful jams, mystical lyrics and is overall unforgettable. Reminds me of a place that seems unfamiliar to anywhere else I've been to. I don't even know where it is, but it's beautiful. Actually, it also reminds me of a playground I used to go to long ago. This song brings up great memories and fantasies, and on top of it all, has a great riff in between lines, along with some great bass-guitar work towards the end.
"The Golden Road to Unlimited Devotion": A huge standout, barely over two minutes. This was from their debut album, featuring experimental, acid-like ditties, zippy tempos and covers of old jazz and blues tunes done really well. Anyway, this song, their first recorded, is a classic, and is overall very good.
"One More Saturday Night": A live performance from "Euorpe 72" with great guitar and piano work, and a psychedelic version of that cliched 50's rhythm. Great live anthem.
"The Music Never Stopped": Not weird, but certainly different from alot of other songs. Another great summer track, a jazzy anthem featuring a sax and Donna Godchaux singing a few lines. This is the only song on this compilation to have so on it.
"Hell in a Bucket": A bit of a more uptempo song and a slightly heavier beat. I really like this song all-around and the lyrics, like "Touch of Grey" suit the "In The Dark" album.
"Ripple": Here's a song I hear plenty of talk from. Deadheads would often say it just isn't the same without leading into "Brokedown Palace", but the single version is also excellent in my opinion. A sensetive, folky, acoustic song with very reflective lyrics. This is a type of song that should typically close out any album (a song that's deep and gentler, even if the whole album is zippy and wild).

Overall:
So, as I finalize this review, I know I may have rambled on (in text) to you about these songs, but it may as well be worth it. The Grateful Dead have left a legacy behind, and Jerry Garcia (along with original keyboardist Ron "Pigpen" McKernan) have left us much too soon. Not wanting to lean onto that topic too much, I just want to finish up by saying that this is a great compilation for - A: Grateful Dead music B: A venture into new territories (if you're new to the Dead and/or psychedelic rock in general, of which the Grateful Dead is one of the greatest bands) and C: A great summer soundtrack. So what are you waiting for? Getting this album is totally worth it, in fact, I wish I could be able to listen to the Grateful Dead for the very first time again. It was something I know I'll never forget.

I've never been a "Dead Head". Had no desire to see them in concert and never bought an album...until now. I was listening to the "Classic Rock" radio station when "Ripple" came on. I was humming it to myself thinking, " What a great tune this is". I logged on to my favorite on-line music source and checked out the selections and decided that it's time to chuck my attitude. Sure it's entertaining to make fun of Dead Heads, but This is a band that was an instrumental part of the sixties and not to be overlooked. I was amazed at how much I enjoyed hearing all those cherries, aside from "Touch Of Gray" I like every song on the disc. I think this is the must-have choice for anyone who's NOT a Dead-Head, but still likes their tunes.

This is the very first compilation that covers the band's entire career, including works from both Warner Brothers (1967-72), Grateful Dead Records (1973-75) and Arista (1977-89). This 17 track CD is to be considered a "greatest hit" rather than a "best of" collection, which would have contained more live material. This album contains some of their most famous songs, like "Truckin'", "Touch of grey", "Sugar magnolia", "Eyes of the world", "Friend of the devil", "Estimated prophet", "U.S. blues" and "Uncle John's band". Grateful Dead was never a single's band, so this CD doesn't pay a fair duty to the band, but it's perfect as a starting point. This is definitely the place to start. And if you're satisfied with one Grateful Dead CD only, this should probably be the one.

But this CD shouldn't be you only Grateful Dead CD in your collection. Grateful Dead was, by all means, a LIVE BAND, and on this CD you'll find only one live version ("One more Saturday night"). So, if you should happen to like this CD, check out some of their live recordings too. There are a whole bunch of live albums available, so it's often hard to decide which one to buy and which one to avoid. Well, let me help you. You can't go wrong if you buy either of the following three albums: "Ladies and gentlemen..." consists of live recordings from five shows at the closing of Fillmore East, April 1971. "Stepping out...England `72" is a compilation of highlights from their UK gigs on their famous European tour in April and May 1972. "The closing of Winterland" covers the entire New Year's show at Winterland 1978/79. All three CDs show Grateful Dead on top of their career, and it will sure give you an experience of a lifetime!

Back to the CD: The period from 1971-72 is, for some reason, not represented in this "very best of" collection. The majority of the songs (7 of 17) are from 1970, including five from their best studio album "American beauty". The rest of the songs are mostly from 1973 to 1978. "The golden road" (1967) represents their early years while "Touch of grey" and "Hell in a bucket" are songs from their commercial break through, as late as 1987.

One single CD with the very best of Grateful Dead will always cause problems. Since everyone has their own favourites, you can't put all the best songs on one CD. It's just impossible. But some songs are definitely missing. OK, I can understand why a 23 minutes "Dark star" wasn't included, but what about songs like "Scarlet begonias" and "Playing in the band"? They are way more essential than "Fire on the mountain" or "Hell in a bucket"! Songs like "China-cat sunflower", "The other one" and "Me and my uncle" could easily have made it to this compilation too. Personally, I would have liked to see "Going down the road feelin' bad" on this CD.

But don't misunderstand me, this is a great record, and it should be found in every music lover's CD collection. It's a highly recommended CD!

My friend was looking through my music collection when he discovered one of my greatest shames - I had no Grateful Dead. My parents had not been fans of their music and somehow in the course of my collecting music, I never chose to get a single Grateful Dead album. Oh, I've tried to in the past, it was just that I looked at them and wonder to myself "Where do you start? Should I go in the studio direction, or should I go with one of their live albums?" That was just the first question. Even if I had answered that one, I would be given a great wealth of material, but I knew not where to approach it.

My friend saw this CD, and told me to pick it up.

This CD serves one purpose - it's for the neophytes. It's for the kid who was introduced to this band by way of FM classic radio. It is not for the hardcore fans, nor is it for someone looking for a distillation of all their great tracks. It is a place to show people who don't know better that this band is a lot bigger and better than the typical FM cuts.

The disc has two sorts of songs - they have the ones that everyone has heard - your "Trucking", "Casey Jones", "Uncle John's Band" (which my mother thought was Crosby, Stills and Nash just so you wonder how I got to be so ignorant about the band) and of course the 800 pound gorilla in the room - "Touch of Grey" (which even gets played on the store I work in).

The second type of song on the disc are the ones that rank amongst the band's best songs. I never heard "Box of Rain" before this album, but it clearly is one of the best songs ever.

Of course the disc is not perfect. Any one disc compilation of any band that has been around for more than 30 years is bound to miss a ton of great material, but the point isn't really to get all the great output of the band onto a single CD. The point is to provide the consumer who doesn't have a ton of money a chance to discover this band in a safe environment.

Sure, they should have put on more live tracks (seeing how wonderfully awesome their live performances were), and perhaps a two disc set would have been better, but at the end of the day, it's a good listen and it doesn't spoil all of the surprises.

I agree wholeheartedly with the reviewer who noted that when he is trying to expose someone unfamilar with the Dead to their music, a lot of the best songs for doing so are on this album. With a few notable exceptions, the Dead didn't make strong studio albums, but even their weaker efforts usually contained a few stellar moments, most of which are included here. Even though the Dead were first and foremost a live band, I learned a long time ago that 10 and 15 minute improvised live versions of unfamiliar material are not usually the best way to get a newbie coming back for more. This album, unlike a typical dead show, is tightly constructed and moves briskly, as if to say "If you didn't like that, maybe you'll like this"- a sort of Cliff Notes for the Grateful Dead. With the glut of Grateful dead product on the market, choosing any entry point is a dicey proposition, and this disc is probably the most logical way in. It's also a good disc for someone who just wants a tiny sampler of Dead in their collection. You don't have to be a Deadhead to appreciate this album or this band.

I've always wanted to have a Grateful Dead cd in my collection, but I could never find a collection that had all the songs that I wanted. Until today, when I found "The Very Best Of The Grateful Dead". And since it was compiled by Rhino, I knew it had to be good. I got home and popped it into my cd player and I was blown away by what I had been missing out on. The Grateful Dead are one of the greatest bands I have ever heard. Their songs are absolutely fantastic. I only knew two songs prior to purchasing this album, "Casey Jones" and "Touch Of Grey". I realized that they have many more great songs. Some of my favorites include "Box Of Rain", "Truckin'", "U.S. Blues" and "Uncle John's Band".

The liner notes are fantastic, and the songs sound great. If you're just getting into The Grateful Dead, then I highly recommend this collection. It's a must have.

The Grateful Dead would seem at first to have been among history's most anthologized groups. Every show, every note recorded most of its history lies on a record shelf or Deadhead tape drawer. Yet this reverently presented Rhino/Warner Bros. collection, in the tradition of similar compilations for fellow 70s icons Cher and James Taylor, represents the first one-disc, multi-label gathering of the Dead's rare radio hits and beloved tracks.

Despite improved sound and some incentives (including trading cards based on backstage band passes!) it's a collection for casual fans or novices. It contains but one live track ("Europe `72"'s overcooked Bob Weir vocal "One More Saturday Night") and omits several concert favorites ("Me and My Uncle," "Dark Star," "China Cat Sunflower"). It emphasizes the Dead's most melodic, accessible, concise and roots-basic tunes. It also showcases the acoustic blues/folk/C&W drawn from 1970's twin triumphs "American Beauty" ("Truckin," "Ripple," "Box Of Rain") and "Workingman's Dead" ("Casey Jones," "Uncle John's Band").

Some non-Warner choices are debatable. The flat "Fire On The Mountain" is less preferable from "Shakedown Street" then 1978's near-Top 40 "Good Lovin," or the ticket freeloader lament "I Need A Miracle." "Playin' In The Band" or their solid take on Bobby Bland's "Turn On Your Love Light" might also have fit. But "Eyes Of The World," and "US Blues" are the Dead's at its mid-70s shambling best, with jaunty rhythms, endearing Jerry Garcia vocals and his superb guitar runs intersecting blues, folk and bluegrass. These two songs in particular epitomize David Crosby's description of the band's sound as "electrified Dixieland."

From its start, The Grateful Dead were a sub-culture as much as they were ever musicians. (Conservative firebrand Ann Coulter's having attended nearly 70 Dead concerts speaks to this.) As surviving members take half their legendary name to the road you miss Garcia all the more. For better or worse, and as this essential introduction proves, he and his bandmates epitomised 1960s musical eclecticism and elan and any part of it surviving or squandered since.

this truly is the VERY best of the greatful dead. for those of us who like the dead's music but who don't want to buy the endless and repetitive live albums, this collection fills the need. i suppose true "dead-heads" would hate this album but, think of how much time and money can be saved by listening to this in the comforts of home, rather than travelling endlessly around the country (ooops, you can't really do that anymore, can you?)