The Grateful dead were/are the greatest American rock and roll band. No one else blended Blues, Folk, Rock and roll, Country, Bluegrass, and jazz like them. No one sings with as much soul and conviction as Jerry Garcia. Jerry Garcia was a one of a kind lead guitarist. Phil lesh was a one of a kind bassist. Bob weir was a very tasteful rhythm guitarist. Their peak was 72'-74', when they had Bill Krautzmann by himself on the kit and Keith Godchaux on the keys. Even in the 90's when they lost their touch, they were still better than most bands.
>>64242536
This is long and boring like their music
> not Pantera
>>64242536
People only liked the Grateful Dead because their shows were acid selling rings
The Rolling Stones
minutemen blended all those things and more much better
Cheap Trick were/are the greatest American rock and roll band. No one else blended Blues, pop, Rock and roll, punk, heavy metal, and new wave like them. No one sings with as much soul and conviction as Robin Zander. Rick Nielsen is a one of a kind lead guitarist. Tom Petersson was a one of a kind bassist. (Invented the 12 string bass) Their peak was '77-'82 when they had Bun E Carlos by himself on the drums. Even in the 80's when they lost their touch, they were still better than most bands.
>>64242632
>80,000 people only there for the drugs.
Sure dude, whatever you want to tell yourself.
>>64242754
this is actually true
>>64242738
agreed
>>64242536
>No one else blended Blues, Folk, Rock and roll, Country, Bluegrass, and jazz like them.
Excellent point OP. I've never been a big dead fan but your post made me put some on. Good stuff.
>>64242536
Phish were/are the greatest American rock and roll band. No one else blended Blues, Folk, Rock and roll, Country, Reggae, Funk, Bluegrass, and jazz like them. No one sings with as much soul and conviction as Trey Anastasio. Trey was a one of a kind lead guitarist. Mike Gordon was a one of a kind bassist. Page McConnell was a very tasteful pianist and John Fishman is a dynamic drummer capable of many musical styles. Their peak was 94'-97'. Even in the 2000's when they lost their touch, they were still better than most bands, but have continued to innovate and evolve their playing into the 2010's into an even better form than the 90's.
>>64243055
Disgusting
>>64242754
>>64242822
https://youtu.be/8KbW6UWFrCk
This is better than their whole discography
>>64243220
It must be hard being mentally handicapped
>>64242609
>this
>>64243362
not any harder than my cock last night when I fucked your mom. she was what you might call a cheap trick.
>>64242536
77 was my favorite year.
>>64242536
Agreed, grateful dead are definitely in the top American bands ever.
Illuminati mind control experiment.
Creedence lads
if this wasn't a meme post can someone recommend me an essential album? i hear they're best live so that's cool by me.
>>64244205
Their definitive studio album is American beauty. As far as live stuff goes you can't go wrong with Live/dead, Europe 72, May 1977, or Spring 1990. Maybe start with Europe 72', it's a live album that played the role of a studio album by introducing a new set of song.
>>64242536
Phish.
phight me
>>64242536
I think I'm the only person who liked their studio albums more than their live ones, except for Live/Dead. Like Terrapin Station, American Beauty, and all of the other 70s stuff.
>>64244592
Probably. The band doesn't even like their studio albums. American Beauty is an exception though.
>>not even a real band. Try legitimate front for CIA drug distribution. Roll another one, cheech.
>>64244073
>>64245043
Proof?
>>64244205
American Beauty is their most aproachable non-live album, workingman's dead is another favorite. Archive.org has basically every show they ever wrote.
>>64242536
>Jerry Garcia was a one of a kind lead guitarist
he just stayed in key playing random boring overused blues licks
big deal
>goberment hates hippies, scared shitless of psychedelics
>illegalize it all
>still use an icon of counter culture as a means to continue mass distribution of LSD & all those bad bad hippy drugs
Flawless logic
>>64245283
>stayed in key
You haven't listened to much grateful dead have you? Also it's not so much the notes he played but how he played them, There was a certain Wabi-sabi to Jerry's playing.
>>64242536
Dunno 'bout that but I like 'em.
my dad knew mickey in 72-74, made drums for him. they are a uniquely american band, no one will ever do what they did again. psychedelic country rock, wtf?
>>64242632
no, it was robert hunters lyrics. genuine poet. and jerrys acid laced guitar, very subtle. eternal
>>64245115
>asks for proof on something that's right in front of your face
wew
>>64246447
>hunter a harvard fellow
>barlow a harvard fellow
>owl a cia chemist
>garcia ex-army intel
yeah, it's probably nothing
>>64242754
not wrong
The fact that almost every live show is different and unique is amazing
It's always cool to hear stories from old deadheads
>>64242754
Which album would you recommend?
>>64242536
There are American rock bands that can actually play, like Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd
saw the Dead 13 times. no regrets.
>>64248289
Skynyrd are shitty redneck music, they're the Kid Rock of the 70's. Allman's are just Dead-lite.
Is there anything more pathetic than jam bands?
Are white people really just that afraid of jazz?
>>64242536
Blue Oyster Cult > Grateful Dead
Fight me, faggot.
>>64242632
Truth.
>>64242536
Worst fan base of all time, and probably most overrated band in existence.
>>64242738
has the right idea
>>64242536
Here's the thing about Freddie. The man had some serious pipes. He had a 4 octave range and he excelled in any octave. He wrote brilliant songs. And his stage presence was only matched by Adolf Hitler. Seriously, watch them play Radio Gaga at Live Aid and then watch a video of the Nuremburg rallies. We had better thank our lucky stars Freddie didn't go into politics or he would have taken over the world. But Queen as a whole had a brilliant dynamic. It wasn't just the Freddie Mercury backup band. They all made huge creative contributions to what made Queen what it is. Yes, Freddie wrore Somebody to Love, Killer Queen, and Bohemian Rhapsody, but Brian May wrote We Will Rock You, Save Me, and Fat Bottom Girls, John Deacon wrote I Want to Break Free, Another One Bites the Dust, and You're my Best Friend, and Roger Taylor wrote Radio Gaga and It's a Kind of Magic. Other bands like Nirvana for instance were not like that. Nirvana was basically just the Kurt Cobain backup band. Queen was this perfect storm of legendary talent, and Freddie was the face of it all, the delicious cherry on top of an already delicious sundae. He was the ambassador that allowed the amazing talent of combo that was Queen to be brought into our lives. He was the prism that focused the lazer beams from the brains of Roger, Brian, and John, and amplified them until they were powerful enough to blow our minds out through our ear holes. Yes, he was the most incredible front man who ever lived, hands down.
Talking Heads were/are the greatest American rock and roll band. No one else blended Funk, Afrobeat, Punk Rock, New Wave, Soul, and Avant-grade like them. No one sings with as much paranoia and energy as David Byrne. David Byrne was a one of a kind lead guitarist. Tina Weymouth was a one of a kind bassist. Jerry Harrison was a very tasteful rhythm guitarist. Their peak was 80'-81', when they had Adrian Belew on the guitar. Even in the 90's when they lost their touch, they were still better than most bands.
Althea is their best song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei_1rAZAgZo
Their only purpose was to provide a place to buy acid.
The band itself is fucking garbage.
>>64242766
That's exactly what happened ya fuckin' faggot.
Their only draw was that you could get completely fucked up in public without getting arrested.
die hippy faggots
I always liked pre 1968 GD best when they still were a psychedelic garage band with a punk attitude, but I still enjoyed their output up til 1973 when Pig Pen passed away. Actually, I don't think they put out a bad record, except for Terrapin Station, but that's only because at that stage in their career everybody knew they were much better in concert than in the studio. That's why a community of tape traders evolved. As far as everything else OP posted, I think The Band did an equally impressive job at mixing all those genres of music together into one big old pot of gumbo, but The Grateful Dead were quite good at it as well. As somebody once said, they're not the best at what they did, but they were the only ones who did it the longest. As far as Jerry is concerned, he knew his way around a fret board, but he owed a big debt to T-Bone Burnett as far as his style of playing was concerned.
>>64242738
I'm not sure about better, but most certainly faster. The Minutemen are for people with short attention spans. (And I don't mean that as an insult or put down since I'm a fan of both The Grateful Dead AND The Minutemen)
>>64248780
BOC had more unrealized potential than any other classic rock band, but theres no way they beat the Dead.
>>64244155
This.
or The Band.
>>64242536
The dead are awesome, jerry was such a lyrical guitar player when he was good. When the dead were good they were real good. When they sucked man they sucked. I just hate all these hangeroners and sbit these days. Bobby should just die he sucks.
>>64243055
Phish is definitly a better band but there's times when ya just gotta throw in some dead
>>64243055
Also if you think phish is better now than in the 90s your a retard. Trey should go back on drugs and play machine gun style more. No junk= no soul.
>>64242536
Little Feat had all this with much more interesting songs. Their jams weren't as good but there songs are a lot more interesting
>>64243055
>No one sings with as much soul and conviction as Trey Anastasio.
lmao Phish are my favorite band but come on man the singing blows. Jerry could at least carry a show with just his vocals. If Phish weren't phenomenal instrumentalists and had to rely on their vocals they would be fucked.
As far as the Dead go, they were absolutely amazing for many years, but ultimately a lot of Jerry's other projects are just better to my ear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B6E792h5hQ
COME ON MU
GIMMIE THE ESSENTIAL GRATEFUL DEAD
>>64252814
The singing and goofiness of Phish always put me off, their jams are better than the Dead but I love Jerry's voice and their lyrics.
>>64252689
Not better, certainly, but comparable. The last few tours have had some truly absolutely incredible stuff that matches up to the best of the 90's in creative energy if not stylistically. The Drive-In set was one of the most exciting things of their whole career. Also "Trey should get back on the shit" is a terrible meme that needs to die. His rock god phase and lightning fast playing were because he was young, not because of the drugs. Listen to all of summer '04 then honestly tell me he would be better back on oxy. Not to mention the TAB and GRAB tours from '05 and '06 when he was so strung out he couldn't play anything faster than quarter notes. Some of his recent solos are fairly quick for a 50-year-old and that's only possible because he's sober and focused.
>>64252713
I'm not sure where to start comparing the catalogues of Feat and the Dead. I absolutely adore both bands, and I love the best songs from each about equally. The Dead have way more great songs but also more mediocre songs.
I also want to point this out about the Dead: I can't think of any music that is more improved by listening to it loud on a big stereo vs. on headphones. Especially a clear AUD with plenty of low-end just sounds orgasmic on big speakers. Some people in this thread being like "oooo people only went to their shows for the drugs" are greatly underestimating the sonic experience that was a Grateful Dead show. Their sound engineering was superb, and Phil was a pioneer in the art shaking a venue with his bass tone. He was known to dislodge plaster from the roof of indoor theaters.
![Dead+Wall+1[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/2topxie.jpg "Dead+Wall+1[1].jpg")
>>64254324
Ask yourself, if a band's shows were nothing more than an excuse to have a drug party, why would they experiment with this monster "wall of sound" PA array that they had to retire after one tour because it took 2 days to set up and tear down?
I saw Dead and Company last fall. Weir was still pretty good.
>>64254459
I hate Dead & Co, who the fuck thought it would be a good idea to have faggot John Mayer replace Jerry?
>>64251174
Did you mean T-Bone Walker? That's who's style of guitar playing Jerry reminds me of.
