Stolen Roses: Songs of the Grateful Dead

by

Various Artists

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Eclectic. This is the word that I would use to describe this Grateful Dead tribute disc. I have heard about the disc for quite some time now, and I must say that I am pleased with the results. From the bluegrass styling of the Cache Valley Drifters ("Cumberland Blues") and Cumberland Blues Cast ("High Time") to the rocking riffs of Widespread Panic ("Cream Puff War") and The Pontiac Brothers ("Brown Eyed Women")-plus everything in between. Listening to the disc just reminds of me how many influences there were to the Grateful Dead's music: bluegrass, folk, jazz, and rock. And hearing the vocal harmonies on "Black Muddy River" (by the Persuasions) reminds me of the first time I had heard "Uncle John's Band" on the Workingman's Dead album-those boys were no slouches themselves.

Anyway, my favorite tracks on this disc are the Bob Dylan cover of "Friend of the Devil" and the "Dawg-music" take on "Dark Star" by David Grisman. I have given this disc a four star review on account of the Wartime cover of "Franklin's Tower"-it just doesn't seem to fit within the flow of the disc (in my humble opinion). This will probably be the one track that I skip over on this otherwise fine tribute to the Grateful Dead.

In the end, it's all about the music. And it is quite apparent that the music and legacy of the Grateful Dead has touched a great number of people in number ways. I give two thumbs up to the producers, the artists, and lastly, the Dead, themselves, for putting out a great disc.

I hope that Garcia is smiling, like he always had been, in the astral plane.

I picked this CD up on the second day it was out, which also happened to be Aug. 9, the fifth anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death. I was hoping this would be a fitting fifth anniversary tribute, but it falls flat for the most part. The 77-minute CD opens with a nice Cumberland Blues by the Cache Valley Drifters, then slumps with a theatre troupe's performance of High Time and a weak version of B.E. Woman by the Pontiac Brothers. Then comes the worst part of the CD, an audience recording of Dylan doing Friend of the Devil. The performance is undated, but surely Dylan could've provided a soundboard. The audience recording is poor and Dylan's voice is whiney. I saw him in San Diego a month ago and he was great, so this performance is probably from his lost whiney period of a couple of years ago. What I'd hoped would be the CD's high point, the David Grisman Quintet doing a 10-minute Dark Star, instead turned out to be b-o-r-i-n-g, with none of the subtle nuance and dancing notes that trickled from Jerry's guitar in this eternal Dead classic. Surprisingly, one cut that I thought would be bad turned out just the opposite: Henry Rollins doing Franklin's Tower. OK, you can't tell it's Franklin's, but Rollins -- and I'm not a fan of his -- takes the tune and makes it his own. Probably the most enjoyable moment comes from a sad, plaintive version of Black Peter that Patti Smith cut on 8/9/95, the day of Jerry's death. She and band were in the studio working on Gone Again when they heard of Jerry's death. An impromptu version of Black Peter came from Patti's soul and its deep darkness conveys the sadness of that day five years ago. For Dead fanatics like myself, this CD is OK. For the average person, find someone who's got the CD and tape Patti Smith. (An a capella Black Muddy River by the Persuasions is also a brief treat.) Overall, though, this album is just like the recent Gram Parsons tribute CD: it only serves to remind the listener just how great the original was. Nothing comes close to the real thing...