Customer Reviews

Vol. 1-Pickin' on the Grateful Dead

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

 

 

As both a GD fan and a blue grass one, I was expecting so much more from this CD. It really should have been a no-brainer: take some of the more folkish GD songs (God knows there are plenty), get some top blue grass performers and let them have fun with them. Instead, what you get is a series of songs delivered in a sterile, flat, overly scripted manner with no spontaneity and no improvisation.

There is only one song on the CD that really catches the spirit of blue grass and shows what this CD could have been, and that is Going Down the Road Feeling Bad. Interestingly, this is not even a GD original, but an old folk song covered by many blue grass artists (ex. Flatt and Scruggs' 'Lonesome Road Blues'). In short, the performers go wild with it, give it the full blue grass treatment, and deliver a very, very interesting version. Why they could not do the same with all of the other songs is a mystery.

This could hardly qualify as a tribute album.

I listened to this CD a few times, and I tried my hardest to like it, but the more I listen, the more flat and unimaginative it sounds. It's too bad, because I love bluegrass and the Grateful Dead.

What a great idea! What a flat, boring, soulless execution! It sounds like a bunch of couldn't-care-less paid by the hour studio guys who might have just finished laying down a track for a McDonalds commercial stepped into a studio, were given the charts, played what was written, and packed up and went home. Big disappointment. Now I see they have a part II of this - unbelievable. None of the energy and joy that infuses bluegrass, nor any of the magic and beauty the is the Grateful Dead, made it on to this sorry rip-off. Save your money.

As we all know, Jerry had a bluegrass background and many of the songs he wrote/co-wrote had a major bluegrass influence on the arrangement. Even the way he sang certain songs had that "twangy" bluegrass sound. Therefore, this music needs no interpretation or rearrangement as suggested in reviews below, but sounds perfect played "as is". If you like bluegrass music, or pickin' of any kind, you'll relly like this disk, even if your not a dead-head. If your into the dead, then all the more reason to get this great disk. Bad reviews below are people looking for something more from the dead themselves. This disk was my first in the "Pickin' on" catalog but not my last. Many of the others are great as well. Lady with a fan is awesome!

While niether David Grisman nor Old & In The Way, this CD should delight those who appreciate Dead tunes presented in less than familiar ways. Truckin' can't be remastered in a quasi-bluegrass steel pedal version to the satisfaction of any true deadhead, yet this version reminds us that their music is timeless and transcends definition. The little blast of "I Know You Rider", among many others during Bird Song reminisceses of the anticipation at a show, wondering where it was leading. Dark Star done in this particular environment begs the intensity, yet conveys a similar sense of wonder. Overall, the mandolin soloing in this compilation is very interesting and will motivate those basement pickers to relisten to the original show tapes to find their place in an historic place in the evolution of roots americana.

Ok. So you enjoy bluegrass music!! You think this may be nice, what your looking for, something neat............it's not!

This CD is not at the heart of the Dead, it isn't jamming music...but stale.....tough......typical low budget bluegrass. If you want hot Blue Grass go for Old and in the Way!

If I may add, check out Tommy Jarrel and Fred Cockerham...they have several CD's. These are the boys JERRY listened to and became interested in the Banjo and playing music. This is THE VERY BEST jamming aside form the Dead.

What is up with the bad reviews?? This is some good stuff. Jerry Garcia would have loved this. Actually i bet he would be playing with them if he was still alive. This is a great cd don't let these other bad reviews scare you off.If you like awesome bluegrass then this is for you.

Grateful Dead songs can so easily be transfered to bluegrass but this is possibly the lamest example of bluegrass I've ever heard. These songs scream for bluegrass vocals, but there are none. What a waste of time.I mean come on, Cumberland Blues with out vocal harmonies? The producer of this piece of crap should never be allowed to make another album. I know this is an overly harsh review, but SHeeessh.

I tend to agree with the one star review below, but not to that extreme. Much of the Dead canon would make fantastic bluegrass music, and it's great that someone is trying. These renditions are clean, crisp cuts of tight bluegrass that don't quite achieve the bounce and spontanaiety of the originals. That's understandable...bluegrass tends to be very tight, rehearsed, and laid out ahead of time. Everyone takes a little lead, and the song's over. But the big drawback is the lack of vocals. Much of what is irreplaceable and addictive about the Dead's music is the lyrics, not just the melody. Friend of the Devil is a great tune, as is Scarlet Begonias, but how much flatter and less interesting they are without the wonderful words behind them! I haven't gotten vol. 2 yet, but I sure hope they have a singer this time. Reccomended, with this caveat in mind.

The concept behind this CD is an exciting one - arranging Grateful Dead songs for a bluegrass band. Unfortunately, many of the arrangements aren't very creative and tend more toward Muzak than Monroe. The great exceptions are the first two cuts - a stunningly beautiful "Althea" and a fun "Scarlet Begonias." Maybe they just chose too many slow songs, or maybe it's the countrified electric guitar on several songs (esp. Truckin') that bothers me. Tape the first two songs from someone else and save your money for Dick's Picks.