What does it sound like?:
Most bands would be happy releasing one classic album in their lifetime, let alone two in the space of just five months. That’s exactly what the Grateful Dead managed though, American Beauty appearing in November 1970, hot on the heels of Workingman’s Dead. That album marked a change of direction from the psychedelia of their previous releases to the folk and bluegrass music that captivated Jerry Garcia in his early days. American Beauty uses a similar palette but with less of the archetypal characters and scenes of the American West that featured on its predecessor. Pretty much every song here became a fixture in their live shows over the next three decades – Box Of Rain, Ripple, Friend of the Devil, Sugar Magnolia and Truckin’ being prime examples. If you’re a newcomer to the band then this is their most accessible work, a great starting point to dip your toe in to their vast catalogue as it’s certainly the crown jewel of their studio albums. For me, it’s not only their best record, with its combination of deceptively simple country/folk songcraft and collective creative interplay, it also contains their best song, the magical Box of Rain, featuring a rare vocal by Phil Lesh. The bonus tracks that appeared on previous reissues have gone, leaving the album to stand in its original form, and are replaced by a two cd recording of a previously unreleased live show from February 1971, which although it contains only a handful of tracks from American Beauty, is well worth a listen as the band are on predictably great form.
What does it all *mean*?
As with Workingman’s Dead, the album is also available in an Angel’s Share version, comprising demos and outtakes. It comes as an album length edition with one demo for each song, or for those who want every note, a 56 track version that includes 20 different attempts at Friend of the Devil alone! Obviously this is intended only for the most hardcore and completist of fans, but it does show the sheer hard work that went into creating these songs, which, for all their air of spontaneity, it seems didn’t actually emerge out of thin air after all!
Goes well with…
Truckin’…..
Release Date:
Out now
Might suit people who like…
The Dead, folk/country rock.
Beautiful songs, beautiful singing, beautiful playing. Timeless.
Their best, easily.