Grateful Dead

When I first started getting into the Dead as a 16 year old kid in '84, I knew little about Brent. When the songs he wrote and sang came onto my radar in '87, like Tons of Steel and his Go To Heaven material, I wasn't immediately on the Brent-wagon. As '87 passed and I started to dig much deeper into collecting tapes and going to more and more shows he started to win me over, especially after seeing the second or third version of Blow Away at Buckeye Lake in '88. By '89, Brent totally won me over as a virtuoso musician with a soulfully rich gravel Gregg Allman meets Michael McDonald type voice, an integral part of the overall sound of the Dead, a driving force that often pushed other members of the band to step up their game and he was even singing more than Phil by '89 and '90. All of that combined with Jerry's newfound yet brief period of post coma sobriety, the Dead were at the very top of the top of their game....then Brent died. Bringing in Bruce to help Vince along was a good move as Mr Hornsby, much like Brent had (and still has) a great melodic vocal range and like both Brent and Keith, brought virtuoso musicianship into the fold helping to drive and push the energy level of the music. Pigpen I see as a different animal than Keith, Brent, Bruce and Vince in that as a vocalist, he wasn't a pitch perfect singer who could sing the doe-ray-me-fa-so-la-tee-doe operatic vocal range, but approached it as a bluesman who could tell a good story and communicate with the audience. I don't know how much if anything Pigpen contributed to the two, three or four part harmony vocals that are a big part of American Beauty and Workingman's Dead. I tend to think that wasn't really his thing. Perhaps somebody who saw the Dead in the Pigpen days could direct me too where he added any melodic and/or harmony vocals. After Brent had passed on, the choice of bringing in the keyboardist from The Tubes seemed odd. Vince's background was more or less from theatrical progressive pop punk new wave yet not so much as an improvisation based jazz or blues direction. Vince felt more like a rushed decision to bring someone onboard to fulfill contractual obligations and gigs instead of finding somebody like Bruce Hornsby as a fulltime member with the voice, the improve skills and the chops. All in all, I would say Vince was a good keyboardist who could consistently sing and play his parts, but still short of pushing the envelope....even though he got better with time. Regarding Vince's songwriting, to me it was mediocre. Wasn't horrible, wasn't great. I've only grown to appreciate Brent's songwriting style....mix of blues, jazz, prog rock and funk and real genuine emotion. Keith's lone lead vocal and songwriting contribution, Let Me Take Your Blues Away was a great song. I wish he would have had the confidence and inspiration to write and sing more. He made up for that at least by, like Brent and Bruce, being a virtuoso player with a wide background of different musical styles. Tom Constantan....I think he really helped develop the more progressive and experimental side of the Dead from traditional folk and blues. Very underrated in that sense. Ned Lagin....must of been some good drugs going around (or bad, depending on your outlook). Experimental and progressive, yes...melodic, no. Like Captain Beefheart, an acquired taste that might not be a comfortable listen for the novice or the karaoke crowd. When it really comes down to it though, they were/are all great. The 80's and '90's were my era, but I love it all. I think I'm going to cue up that 4/3/90 show now. I was there....it was great. A great end to one of the Dead's best tours. The '88, '89 and '91 Spring tours were just as great as '90 in my opinion. Incidentally, and to my surprise, John Mayer is actually really good with the Dead and Co. Hope to catch them in Chicago this year.

:) ..hang in there...it's got Billy K.,Barlow,Mountain Girl(25:21),Rickey Skaggs,Jack Johnson....get some

So, Amazon has the sound track for the Long Strange Trip documentary available for preorder with a release date of May 26th. There is no track list and this is all the info I am able to track down: Long Strange Trip’s soundtrack is due on May 26 and features rare and previously unreleased Grateful Dead recordings (From Jam Base). Rhino is listed as the label on thier site. Does anyone have more info on this? Looks like we are looking at 3 nice releases in May, no complaints here.

My bad. I loved the covers.Good call. Currently listening to The Cheese last month from Boulder. Good stuff. Only complaint....they billed this as the Roots Revival Tour and played a bunch of the old winter stomping grounds. But they ignored Jackson,a spot that used to be ritual on their winter radar.... I love the Cheese. :)

I don't know too much Brent era. I really dig Blown Away, and had the privilege of seeing him perform it at Crimson White & Indigo. That version has to be his best live moment ever, right? I mean shit, it was so fucking hot and humid that day, and the man summoned the wind. That's genius in my book. Loved his B3 playing, but not the plink. Rick Wakeman played that for awhile in the 90s (I believe Roland or Yamaha piano synth). It sounds just as artificial to me in the Yes context as the Dead. There's a net tone that a band produces onstage, and that keyboard didn't seem to harmonize well with an electric bass and guitars. I dig Brent's voice singing lead, but like Donna, I think he became over utilized on the legacy Dead tunes as time went on. I didn't care much for post-hiatus tunes with Donna, like St. Stephen, Ramble On Rose, Sugar Magnolia, Uncle Johns Band, etc. Same goes for Brent on a lot of the older tunes. Just a bit over utilized in this Dead Head's humble opinion. It's not that I feel either were bad singers, just that they didn't have the requirement to sing so much. I thought they nailed it with Donna in 72: pretty much always where you needed her, and never where you didn't want her - except I get it when people complain about her on Playing in the Band, even though I like her there, and think she sounds good on the E72 multi-track mixes, where she's not coming in like a banshee in heat. Also loved when Jerry and Brent jammed together - Jerry always looked happy. I'm all over the place, ramble on KeithFan, sorry.

I like Brent and I like his songs most of the time.But his best songs were cover tunes, just like Vince. Fantasy/Jude Gimme Some Lovin Hey Pocky Way

....actually started yesterday....bring it on!!!

No bees nest. No button pushing. Um...so....baseball season started today. :)

Uh...oh. Someone is kicking a bees nest.

But to be clear...his songs mostly sucked and to say they didn't fit well with the Dead canon is right on.That being said Easy To Love You & Gentlemen Start Your Engines really did do it for me. Loved the playing and back-up vocals. Eh,to each his own....