American Beauty

I give up. I can't get into Grateful Dead. I just don't get it.

The Good: We get to watch a movie!
The Bad: Wait, didn’t that actor get cancelled?
The Ugly: Guess there goes the beauty part…

I met a bunch of dead-heads in my lifetime, a couple of them even went so far as to follow the band around for over a year… how many blowjobs does one have to give to be able to afford taking that time off?

Anyway, Grateful Dead… they’re a live band, aren’t they? This album was, I don’t know, a chore to sit through… I ended up dialing in a 80s-90s pop radio channel to wash away the bad taste in my mouth…

You guessed it, I am no Dead Head… Never have been able to understand them… then again, never dropped acid either.

2*

I want to scream. Dear diary, today 'm grateful for this album has a quick end.

Of all of the Grateful Dead discography this is in my opinion their best work and Jerry Garcia was an underrated guitarist.

Here is my favorite part about the Dead:

2 stars

Never listened to a Grateful Dead album despite their status in the music community. With a name like that they sound like an edgy band or at least hard rock. This album sounds more like the Byrds under a Bob Dylan folk rock beat.

This was good. Now I'm craving Cherry Garcia ice cream.

3.0/5.0: Good

this is probably more of a 4 but this hit just right so its getting a 5

I don’t see how even being on acid would make this any better. Kinda figures, though, that this soulless banality would be what turned the hippies away from revolution and inward towards apathetic selfishness. Extra star because I have fond memories of singing “Ripple” in summer camp.

Rating: 2.5/5
Favorite: Truckin
Least favorite: Attics of my life/Candyman

Wasn't terrible. And that's about as much good as I can say about it.

Can hear Beatles and Young inspiration.

Yes, I am grateful that most of them are Dead.

This was shit. A bunch of countrified ramblings that ultimately bored me shitless. I hadn't heard anything by the Dead prior to now, and I know now that I haven't been missing much.

itt: people rating deadheads instead of the album. the album isnt that much better though

Nisam baš očekivala da će bend koji je sponzorisao litvansku košarkašku reprezentaciju i dao im one kul dresove zvučati ovako bljutavo. Prvi put da čujem i pjesmu od njih i bio mi je totalni šok.

Classic album, but doesn't really do anything exciting.

Jamais écouté avant.

Beaucoup moins marqué par le psychédélisme que ce à quoi je m'attendais, un album de country/folk-rock efficace et compétent. Rien de renversant, mais ça s'écoute très bien.

Top : Brokedown Palace
Flop : Attics of My Life

I like the Dead on Studio album about as much as I like them live, which is to say not very much at all. This felt long at 40 minutes

To be up-front, I talk a *lot* of shit about The Grateful Dead. It is, admittedly, less about the band than it is about the culture of interacting with the band. Before there was something a little wrong with Phish fans, or Ween fans, or (perhaps to a lesser extent) Primus fans, there was something wrong with Grateful Dead fans. Grateful Dead fandom appears to be a full time job, and part of me wants to check out the club. After all, I like the aesthetic, and abstract, lengthy rock excursions. But another part of me can't bear to see myself become someone who says things like "listen, this really isn't what The Dead are all about, check out Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks) on Europe '72, Vol. 6, disc 3, and *that* will really change your life". All I'm saying is that Grateful Dead fandom seems like a lot of work, and it may come at the cost of living a life that is completely unrelatable to the out crowd (read: the rest of society). Anyways, the band's live reputation is such that I occasionally forget that they have any studio albums at all. And I have been led to believe that American Beauty is their most successful (if not only successful) studio effort. All of this is to say that while American Beauty is a pretty good album, it doesn't exactly give me insight into why people feel the way they do about The Dead. This is a roots rock album with pretty enjoyable songs, and the odd moment of transcendence. Box Of Rain, Friend Of The Devil, Sugar Magnolia, and Truckin' are among my favorites. And the organic, kind of free way these songs unravel does hint at the band's bread and butter. I ultimately enjoyed American Beauty, but I also don't really get a glimpse into what makes The Dead special here. Although, the list does also have Live/Dead, and I am interested in giving that a try when the time comes.

I’ve never been a big Grateful Dead fan, usually just because my attention span is much too short for their drawn out jams. I was surprised this album fit 10 tracks into 42 minutes- maybe I would like this?
Well, no. There is some really ponderous stuff on here. They must have been on some serious downers. It felt like a struggle to get through most of the tracks they were dragging so much. Truckin’, the last track, was a relief because they finally picked up the pace!
So yeah, this album did nothing to make a Dead head out of me.

Anyone who dismisses the Dead simply as a jam band has no idea what they're talking about. Some absolutely beautifully written and performed songs on here. One of the best of the year.

5/5

This was ok. I listened to it a few times and it was pleasant background music. But there was nothing that really got it's hooks in me.