The Grateful Dead’s 50 Anniversary Reissues Continue With ‘American Beauty’

Grateful Dead | American Beauty-50^th Anniversary Deluxe Edition | (Warner Brothers/Rhino)
4 out of 5 stars

It’s challenging enough for an established act to record one career defining album in a year. In 1970, the Grateful Dead had two… within six months.

The San Francisco outfit changed course from the jammy psychedelic sound that had defined them with the more rootsy, folk/country based music of June, 1970’s Workingman’s Dead.  The Dead returned to further refine that approach with November, 1970’s American Beauty. In so doing, they crafted a one-two punch of legendary records whose songs would become touchstones of the Americana genre and remain in concerts for the rest of their career.

Five of the ten tracks are arguably the Dead’s finest. From the opening triptych of the sweet strumming strains of “Box of Rain,” to the folksy bluegrass of the story-song “Friend of the Devil,” and the touching country waves of “Sugar Magnolia,” there are few albums that kick off with three tunes quite this iconic. The stripped down folk of “Ripple” and closing train-time bluesy lope of “Truckin’” seal the deal. As often as these have appeared in the Dead’s sets, the studio versions remain definitive. Pigpen gets into the action with vocals on the jaunty folk blues “Operator,” his lone songwriting contribution. The mood slows for Garcia’s “Brokedown Palace” as the rest of the singers bring a sumptuous Crosby, Stills & Nash vibe for the chorus.  

The stunning remastering on this 50^th anniversary edition focuses attention on Phil Lesh’s always innovative bass lines and the magnificent harmonies that got a little lost on previous versions. That’s particularly the case on the ballad “Attics of My Life” which only appeared occasionally in the group’s shows.  

Dead diehards alert:those looking for demos, outtakes and other ephemera are in luck. Similar to Workingman’s Dead, there are over two hours of working tapes of American Beauty material in the studio on The Angel’s Share. They can be streamed for those interested in studio chatter and hearing how the tunes took shape, although plowing through 23 takes of “Friend of the Devil” is a task for the deadest of Deadheads.

Typical for the Dead’s 50^th anniversary editions, a previously unreleased live gig fills out two of the three discs. This was recorded Feb. 18, 1971 at Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre, a venue they visited often. Oddly, only three songs from the recently released American Beauty appear in the two hour show. Regardless, it’s a solid performance with inspired versions of “Loser,” a 21 minute “Dark Star”/“Wharf Rat” medley and Pigpen laying into nearly 10 minutes of Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle” with his usual casually bluesy shuffle.

Often these “anniversary editions” are little more than ways for fans to re-purchase albums they already own. But the Grateful Dead organization provides terrific bang for the buck with both stunning remastering and terrific live material. That’s especially true with the already renowned American Beauty, never sounding as splendid as it does here.  

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