American Beauty is the sixth studio album by Grateful Dead . It was recorded between August and September 1970, and released by Warner Bros. Records in 1970 . The disc, like the previous Workingman's Dead , is designed in the genres of folk and country rock . A special place is occupied by the texts of Robert Hunter.
| American beauty | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Grateful Dead Studio Album | ||||
| Date of issue | November 1970 | |||
| Recorded by | August - September 1970 | |||
| Genres | Country rock , folk rock | |||
| Duration | 42:21 | |||
| Producers | Grateful dead Stephen Barkard | |||
| A country |  USA | |||
| Language of songs | English | |||
| Label | Warner bros | |||
| Timeline of the Grateful Dead | ||||
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| Reviews | |
|---|---|
| Critics' ratings | |
| A source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [one] |
| Robert Christgau | A− [2] |
| Rolling stone | [3] |
| R s | Position No. 261 in the List The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine |
In 2003, the album ended up on line 258 of the list of 500 greatest albums of all time , compiled by Rolling Stone magazine .
Content
About the album
The group began recording American Beauty a few months after the release of Workingman's Dead . At the same time, their permanent staff did not participate in the recording, since at that time its members participated in the Medicine Ball Caravan tour (which the whole group originally planned to join). Steven Barncard, a member of the record staff, had to be a producer for Bob Matthews. "a move that annoys Matthews to this day." Barkard said: "I had heard unpleasant stories about the interaction of the sound engineer with the group, but I saw only the company of hardworking guys." [four]
Both Workingman's Dead and American Beauty combined such genres as bluegrass , rock and roll , folk music, and especially country music , which was a rather innovative move at that time. Compared to Workingman's Dead , American Beauty has less emphasis on solo guitar. Garcia instead used the pedal slide guitar more actively. During the recording, Garcia began collaborating with mandolinist David Griesman. “I ran into Jerry at a baseball game in Fairfax and he said, 'Hey, do you want to play with us on the record?'” Recalled Griesman. [5] Phill Lash in “Wally Hinder’s studio magnetism helped me to bear the loss of my dad and my new responsibilities. The best musicians were constantly rubbing there - Paul Kantner and Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane , Santana , Crosby, Nash and Young worked here then. Thank God for music; it's a healing power beyond our comprehension. " - writes Lesh in his autobiography. [6]
The songs "Truckin '" and "Ripple" were released as singles , [7] and the songs "Box of Rain", "Sugar Magnolia" and "Friend of the Devil" were broadcast.
List of Songs
- Box of Rain (Robert Hunter and Phil Lesch) - 5:18
- Friend of the Devil (John Dawson, Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter) - 3:24
- Sugar Magnolia (Hunter and Bob Weir) - 3:19
- Operator (Ron McKernan) - 2:25
- Candyman (Garcia and Hunter) - 6:14
- Ripple (Garcia and Hunter) - 4:09
- Brokedown Palace (Garcia and Hunter) - 4:09
- “Till the Morning Comes” (Garcia and Hunter) - 3:08
- Attics of My Life (Garcia and Hunter) - 5:12
- “Truckin '” (Garcia, Hunter, Lesh, Weir) - 5:03
Record Members
- Grateful dead
- Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals
- Mickey Hart - drums
- Bill Kreuzman - drums
- Phil Lesch - bass, vocals
- Ron McKernan - keyboards, vocals, harmonica
- Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
- Robert Hunter - lyrics
- Guest musicians
- Dave Torbet - Bass Guitar in Box of Rain
- David Nelson - Electric Guitar in Box of Rain
- David Griesman - Mandolin in the songs "Friend of the Devil" and "Ripple"
- Howard Wales - Electric Organ in the songs "Candyman", "Truckin '"; piano at "Brokedown Palace"
- Ned Lajin - the piano in the song "Candyman"
Notes
- ↑ Allmusic Review
- ↑ Grateful Dead album ratings at RobertChristgau.com
- ↑ Grateful Dead album ratings, Rolling Stone
- ↑ Garcia: An American Life by Blair Jackson, Penguin Books, 1999, pg. 196.
- ↑ Garcia: An American Life by Blair Jackson, Penguin Books, 1999, pg. 202.
- ↑ Phil Lesh: Searching for the Sound by Phil Lesh, Little, Brown and Company, 2005, pg. 190.
- ↑ List of Grateful Dead singles on DeadDisc.com