{"id":19350,"date":"2024-02-29T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/?p=19350"},"modified":"2024-02-28T18:12:02","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T18:12:02","slug":"dead-grateful-to-grateful-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2024\/02\/29\/dead-grateful-to-grateful-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"DEAD GRATEFUL TO GRATEFUL DEAD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u00b4M DEAD GRATEFUL TO GRATEFUL DEAD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

says Norman Warwick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, said Paste on line magazine on publication, is a list that, for years, they<\/em> had avoided making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Matt Michell, one of the finest among many excellent writers at the Paste on-line site finally accepted the challenge of listing \u00b4the best 20 tracks by the Grateful Dead (left)<\/em><\/strong> but prefaced his list by asking  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it actually legitimately and logically possible to rank the best Grateful Dead songs? Most signs point to no. I mean, there is likely no greater fanbase in all of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll history than Deadheads, and you can bet the whole farm on each one of them having a different idea of what the band\u2019s greatest song is. I mean, my favorite Dead song isn\u2019t even #1 on this list. And, with an artist that has cultivated such a prolific and important live presence, that only stirs the pot further on the discourse of it all.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, he knew it was time to let go of the fear and just pick some really great tunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can put any of these 20 songs on at any given time<\/em>, he said, and feel larger-than-life while also blissing out. The Grateful Dead are the greatest American rock band of all time for a reason; for nearly 30 years, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Keith and Donna Godchaux, Pigpen McKernan, Tom Constanten and countless more faces, names and voices have helped make the name one of the most recognizable and iconic in all of music history.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this list, Mitchell tried to stay away from live records as much as possible, though it was impossible to avoid them completely\u2014as some of the most important songs the band ever made never appeared in a studio capacity. So, without further ado, here are the 20 greatest Grateful Dead songs, ranked by Matt Mitchell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo\u201d (Wake of the Flood<\/em>, 1973)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opening track from Wake of the Flood, \u201cMississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo\u201d is a hell of a hoppin\u2019 romp. The thing that continues to jump out at me now, after dozens (if not hundreds) of listens, is Vassar Clements\u2019 violin. Wake of the Flood was a transitional record for the Dead, who had just lost Pigpen yet added Keith\u2019s wife Donna Jean to the lineup. The result finds the band stepping away from their blues and folk origins for jazzy, bebop-influenced work\u2014and you can hear the latter on \u201cMississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo\u201d especially, as the arrangement takes a turn towards an old rag-time jaunt packed with nautical absurdity. \u201cThey say that when your ship comes in, the first man takes the sails,\u201d Jerry sings. \u201cSecond takes the afterdeck, the third the planks and rails. What\u2019s the point in callin\u2019 shots? This cue ain\u2019t straight in line. Cueball\u2019s made of styrofoam, no one\u2019s got the time.\u201d Around the 4:50 mark, the band breaks down into a great vocal harmony, the first where Donna\u2019s irreplaceable voice shines through.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cBertha\u201d (Grateful Dead<\/em>, 1971)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a track for which Matt Mitchell had to accommodate, but there is no studio version of the song. It is the song I most associate with Grateful Dead, perhaps because this was  the first album of their\u00b4s that I bought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though it never appeared on a studio album, \u201cBertha\u201d was one of the few new tracks on the band\u2019s self-titled live album from 1971. I know that I said I was going to be straying away from live tracks but, like, this list could not exist without \u201cBertha\u201d on it. It\u2019s quintessential Grateful Dead; a biting and surreal lover\u2019s lament written by Jerry and recorded at Fillmore East. \u201cDressed myself in green, I went down under the sea,\u201d Jerry sings. \u201cWhat is going down? Try to read between the lines, had a feeling I was falling, falling. I turned around to see, heard a voice calling but it was running after me.\u201d It\u2019s easy to see how a track like this could outshine a live LP packed to the brim with cover songs, but the quality of \u201cBertha\u201d transcends all of it. The solo from Jerry, Merl Saunders\u2019 organ-playing, the undercurrent of bass guitar from Phil\u2014it\u2019s all perfect<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cFriend of the Devil\u201d (American Beauty<\/em>, 1970)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of my favorite Jerry songs, \u201cFriend of the Devil\u201d has always been the prog-bluegrass track of my dreams. It\u2019s as psychedelic as it is folksy, stamped into another orbit by the uptempo acoustic picking and chugging percussion from Mickey and Bill. David Grisman\u2019s mandolin is the shining star here, as it complements the song\u2019s outlaw story beautifully. \u201cI ran down to the levee, but the devil caught me there,\u201d Jerry sings. \u201cHe took my $20 bill and he vanished in the air.\u201d New Riders of the Purple Sage bandleader John Dawson co-wrote the track, lending his idea for the story\u2019s hook\u2014and it remains, likely, one of the greatest decisions on all of American Beauty. Hunter\u2019s original chorus went \u201cSet out running, but I take my time. It looks like water, but it tastes like wine.\u201d Dawson suggested that the second line go<\/em> \u201cA friend of the devil is a friend of mine\u201d instead, and the rest was history.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSugar Magnolia\u201d (American Beauty<\/em>, 1970)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Bob Weir all-timer, \u201cSugar Magnolia\u201d follows \u201cFriend of the Devil\u201d on the tracklist and shines just a smidge brighter. There\u2019s a reason why it\u2019s one of the Grateful Dead\u2019s most recognizable and beloved songs; it\u2019s one of the best country-rock tunes of its era. The guitars on this one, wow. The outlaw themes of \u201cFriend of the Devil\u201d bleed into \u201cSugar Magnolia\u201d sonically, and it\u2019s one of the most effortless transitions you can find on an American rock record. It\u2019s a sweet track rife with the wisdom of someone who\u2019s travelled the world. \u201cWe can have high times if you\u2019ll abide,\u201d Bob sings. \u201cWe can discover the wonders of nature, rolling in the rushes down by the riverside.\u201d \u201cSugar Magnolia\u201d is sun-soaked and precious; a one-of-a-kind entry in a discography brimming with singularity at every turn.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBox of Rain\u201d (American Beauty<\/em>, 1970)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written and sung by Phil Lesh (in his lead vocalist debut), \u201cBox of Rain\u201d was my favorite song in the world for a long, long time. This was before I\u2019d really allowed myself to enter the Grateful Dead\u2019s catalog in totality, but I still hold such a strong reverence for this tune. And how could someone not? It\u2019s a perfect psych-folk song that features New Riders of the Purple Sage members Dave Torbert on bass and David Nelson on lead guitar, while Jerry plays the piano and sings harmonies with Phil and Bob. Phil wrote the track initially with Robert Hunter as a means of trying to have something to sing to his dying father, which makes lines like \u201cLook into any eyes you find by you, you can see clear through to another day. Maybe it\u2019s been seen before through other eyes, on other days while going home\u201d arrive full of grief. But, backed by an Americana arrangement structure, \u201cBox of Rain\u201d is full of heart and compassion and daydreaming.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cFire on the Mountain\u201d (Shakedown Street<\/em>, 1978)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shakedown Street is a bittersweet album in the Grateful Dead canon, as it was the last to feature Keith and Donna and also marked the last truly front-to-back fantastic record for the band. Pull any song from the project and put it here, the sentiment will remain the same. I went with \u201cFire on the Mountain\u201d because it\u2019s just timeless and bulletproof. Written by Mickey but sung by Jerry and produced by Little Feat\u2019s Lowell George, \u201cFire on the Mountain\u201d is a Caribbean-inspired rock stunner thrown onto an album that is, in many ways, one of the Dead\u2019s most sonically versatile and ambitious. \u201cAlmost ablaze, still you don\u2019t feel the heat,\u201d Jerry sings. \u201cIt takes all you got just to stay on the beat. You say it\u2019s a livin\u2019, we all gotta eat.\u201d You could put \u201cShakedown Street\u201d or \u201cGood Lovin\u2019\u201d here and the greatness wouldn\u2019t wither one iota. That\u2019s the evidence that solidifies just how on top of their game the Dead were when Shakedown Street came out. Pretty remarkable stuff.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cUncle John\u2019s Band\u201d (Workingman\u2019s Dead<\/em>, 1970)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a sucker for any song that references other musicians, alive, dead or simply fictitious. I mentioned this song myself, in my series for a muscic magazine, taken from my book called Their Names Fell Out In Coversation. This song sits at the top of my own list of such songs, alongside Joni Mitchell\u00b4s For Free.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was one of the first Grateful Dead songs I ever heard, and I still hold a great sentimentality for it. If this list was based solely on my personal preference, it\u2019d likely rank near the top. On Workingman\u2019s Dead, Jerry handled much of the lead vocal duties but, on \u201cUncle John\u2019s Band,\u201d he, Bob and Phil share the harmonies\u2014and they come together to deliver a really exquisite and beautiful medley of voices. While the track doesn\u2019t boast the stirring lyrics you might find elsewhere in the Dead\u2019s catalog, they still register over 50 years on. \u201cGoddamn, well, I declare,\u201d the guitarists sing out, \u201chave you seen the like? Their walls are built of cannonballs. Their motto is \u2018don\u2019t tread on me.\u2019\u201d It\u2019s a moment that signaled the band\u2019s studio turn towards the folk-oriented compositions that would define Workingman\u2019s Dead and American Beauty, and it\u2019s an unmissable and crucial part of the Grateful Dead\u2019s legacy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlaying in the Band\u201d (Grateful Dead<\/em>, 1971)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favorite Bob song, \u201cPlaying in the Band\u201d is one of those tracks that just never gets old, no matter how many times I listen to it over and over. It first appeared on Grateful Dead in 1971, but I\u2019m going with the rendition from the Veneta, Oregon concert in August 1972. This version occurred months after a polished studio recording of \u201cPlaying in the Band\u201d surfaces on Bob\u2019s debut solo album, Ace, and I just love it so much (and it features an incredible vocal harmony performance from Donna). The first three minutes are pure psych-blues rock, while the next 16 are just a transcendent array of jamming goodness. It\u2019s the best of both worlds for a Dead song, really. And what makes \u201cPlaying in the Band\u201d so crucial to the band\u2019s catalog is that, alongside \u201cDark Star,\u201d it\u2019s a song that sparked unmistakable communal improvisation from the entire collective, not just specific members. The 1974 performance of \u201cPlaying in the Band\u201d at the Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle is even the longest uninterrupted performance in the Grateful Dead\u2019s canon\u2014running more than 46 minutes in length. Pick any rendition of this track you please, it\u2019s all historic.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. \u201cCasey Jones\u201d (Workingman\u2019s Dead<\/em>, 1970)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My personal favorite story in the Grateful Dead catalog, \u201cCasey Jones\u201d is a song about a railroad engineer about to wreck his train while going too fast. Robert Hunter, take a bow. This one floors us all. \u201cTrouble with you is the trouble with me,\u201d Jerry sings out. \u201cGot two good eyes, but we still don\u2019t see. Come \u2018round the bend, you know it\u2019s the end. The fireman screams and the engine just gleams.\u201d And while the song\u2019s legacy is highlighted by that potently quotable, all-time lyric \u201cDriving that train, high on cocaine,\u201d it\u2019s easy to overlook how beautiful and complex the arrangement is. It\u2019s bluesy, folksy and downright groovy. The guitar work? My goodness, I could have the instrumental track alone playing on loop in my head for the rest of time. It\u2019s what made Workingman\u2019s Dead such an important pivot for the Dead, and it\u2019s a perfect encapsulation of why 1970 was such an apex for them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. \u201cRipple\u201d (American Beauty<\/em>, 1970)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing about \u201cRipple\u201d is that I do think that, ultimately, it\u2019s the most beautiful song ever performed. Featuring Jerry on lead vocals, the track cascades through an acoustic soundscape backed by sublime drumming from Bill. The vocal harmonies shared by Jerry, Phil, Pigpen and Bob, too, fill out the entire space of the song, placing such unequivocal emphasis on the prettiness of the story itself. \u201cIf I knew the way, I would take you home\u201d remains one of the greatest end<\/em> lines in all of modern music, and Jerry sings it with such an inescapable, awing tenderness that it is, without a doubt, the greatest offering from<\/em> American Beauty<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cTerrapin Station Medley\u201d (Terrapin Station<\/em>, 1977)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe this was released in my \u00b4broke\u00b4 period, just after Dee and I had married. I think also we were working on Venn Diagram of music we both liked enough to at least tolerate it if we were not the one on the night to choose our listening. Dee doesn\u00b4t even now include Grateful Dead but then neither is her favourite Ed Ames on that shaded part of the two circles either. So, for various reasons I have until now completely overlooked this album and therefore this song. I might just play it to my wife tonight in one last attempt to fit a Grateful Dead song on to our mutual playlist. I\u00b4ve already placed it high on to my  personal playlist, just on Mr. Mitchell\u00b4s recommendation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you call it \u201cTerrapin Station Medley\u201d or \u201cTerrapin Part 1,\u201d it\u2019s the greatest Grateful Dead track ever. Like the Beatles\u2019 \u201cAbbey Road Medley,\u201d there is just something unbeatable in the formula. Mash a bunch of tracks together in a symphony of perfect songwriting and world-building and you\u2019ll have an irreplaceable mark of modern music on your hands. The medley is comprised of \u201cLady with a Fan,\u201d \u201cTerrapin Station,\u201d \u201cTerrapin,\u201d \u201cTerrapin Transit,\u201d \u201cAt a Siding,\u201d \u201cTerrapin Flyer\u201d and \u201cRefrain,\u201d all of which were written by either Jerry, Mickey or Bill (with Robert Hunter, of course). Three of the seven parts are instrumental, and \u201cRefrain\u201d is sung by the English Choral, but what a moving 16 minutes of music it all is. \u201cWhile the firelight\u2019s aglow, strange shadows from the flames will grow \u2018til things we\u2019ve never seen will seem familiar\u201d remains such a quintessential line, and\u2014as it turns out\u2014the Grateful Dead doing their best Beatles impression makes for some of the best prog-rock of all time. Not too shabby for a bunch of psych-rockers who godfathered the jam band era and have reached astral planes the rest of us could only dream of ever meeting.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a time in Northern UK dialect when a word used to mean excellent or accurate was much in vogue. That word was dead, and I can remember describing a statue as \u00b4dead\u00b4 life-like but the younger generations have replaced dead with wicked or sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, I\u00b4m happy to say I am dead grateful for the Grateful Dead list produced by Paste. In fact I think our readers, too, will be dead grateful to be guided to the site of Paste On Line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matt Michell, one of the finest among many excellent writers at the Paste on-line site finally accepted the challenge of listing \u00b4the best 20 tracks by the Grateful Dead (left) but prefaced his list by asking \u00a0\u00b4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,13,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-and-tradition","category-literary","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19350"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19760,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19350\/revisions\/19760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}