I have been hesitant to do this review for awhile. Don’t get me wrong, I love American beauty its just this album sounds like what a lot of people expect the dead to sound like. It has elements of the 60’s cultural revolution mixed with catchy tones and lyrics reminiscent of pop music. It is a really good album, but to me the dead just has so much more to offer and these shorter popish songs don’t demonstrate the true nature of the dead. they miss the long solos and psychedelic lyrical metaphors that i so thoroughly enjoy in a lot of the albums. In addition, i don’t want to sound too much like a hipster, but a lot of people who i would consider phony deadheads only listen to this album. All this being said its still a solid album, one which i can no longer not talk about. i will tell you some of my personal favorite songs off of this album and give you a little background on them.
The first song is “Box of Rain”. It was written by Phil Lesh about the passing of his dad. The lyrics have a sort of celebratory sadness which is very interesting to me. The lyrics themselves are truly amazing but the tenderness and emotion they are sung with take this song to the next level for me.
“Friend of the Devil” is also a great song. In future live concerts they would slow it down turning a 3 minute song into a 30 minute jammiest of a song. The lyrics of it also give you a feeling of being on the run. They talk about a reason a guy left and being chased down by a sheriff. I’v always loved the chorus, “set out running, but i take my time, a friend of the devil is a friend of mine”.
“Sugar Magnolia” is an amazing love song written by Bob Weir. It discusses loving a woman while being on the bands busy touring schedule. It also just talks about how much he loves his girl. my favorite lyrics are, “She’s got everything delightful, she’s got everything I need, Takes the wheel when I’m seeing double, pays my ticket when I speed” and “She’s a summer love for spring, fall and winter. She can make happy any man alive”
“Ripple” was one of the first dead songs i really listened. The lyrics are incredibly deep and metaphorical filled with analogies. The song in general just sounds so perfect. It makes me think about just sitting around a campfire listening to someone play guitar. The singing is done in a chorusy way just like in “Uncle John’s Band”.
“Truckin” was a dead song that i listened to before i really knew who the dead where. It is about traveling around the country, and having a lot of homes, but never quiet finding that one home. It is also just about the experiences of being out on the road. it is reminiscent of early Johnny Cash in the chugging along train sound in the background and some more basic themes. It is a great song and was even acknowledged by Congress for cultural importance.