Anthem
of the Sun
+++++++++++
This time all the material was written by the group and they devised a new
recording strategy: mixing the live and studio versions. It took six months
and four different studios. Producer Dave Hassinger parted with the group
because he found it impossible to work with them. So it was down to Jerry
and Phil, together with Dan Healy, to assemble an album from live tapes and
studio material. The whole lot was mixed down on a 8-track machine which gives
a slightly crowded and cluttered effect... all 8 tracks being used continually
with loads of stuff going on all the time. The album typified the long instrumentally
orientated pieces the DeaD had been playing at the Acid Tests. Two sides of
non-stop music made it difficult for airplay. The first album with two drummers
and T.C. ALLIGATOR/CAUTION is a Pigpen vehicle with raucous feedback jamming.
ALLIGATOR was a Hunter song although not credited as such, and came from the
Trips Festival. THE OTHER ONE is dedicated to OWSLEY and sung by both Garcia
and Weir. Weir sings also on NEW POTATOO CABOOSE and BORN CROSS EYED is his
first major attempt as songwriter. A later Phil Lesh remix of the album brings
out the ideas more clearly, but the album remains a much better indication
of how the band sounded at the moment, with long, innovative numbers replacing
the shorter epics of yore.+++++++++++
nr. 1 As flawed as it was ambitious, ANTHEM was a fascinating collection of
sounds and feelings, cutten from excessively produced over-laden studio sessions
to raw live performances. A record clearly ahead of its time. GOLDMINE, July
1987
nr. 2 It's jumbled, it's confused, it's hard to get into, but I love this album
just the same. A grand psychedelic experiment, ANTHEM is the DeaD at their strangest;
it's the band testing its wings after having been dissatisfies with their first
record. As a result, it's overly ambitious-a tad on the abstract side-but contains
some great jams. Also, the little electronic section midway trough side one
still gives me thrills. Not for the unadventurous. **** BLAIR JACKSON, THE
MUSIC NEVER STOPPED, PLEXUS, UK
nr. 3 The DeaD's long modal jams may be the stuff of mesmerism in concert (though
even there it's questionable), but they're simply self- indulgent and boring
on disc. rating ** DAVE MARSH, R.S. RECORD GUIDE
nr. 4 The DeaD set about trying to intruduce some of the excitement and fluidity
of their live-act onto vinyl. This they did by taping a number of their shows,
which they then mixed together, often one on top of another, adding layer upon
layer to form a side-long waterfall of sound and fury. An exception of the overall
lyrical abstruseness of the lp is the Weir and Kreutzman penned second section,
which serves as Grateful Dead's memorial to their old friends and Acid-Test
comrade Neal Cassidy. The second side has Pigpen singing lead on two songs,
bot h of which intercut between assorted live versions joined by extended jams
and highlighted by Garcia's overdubbed and ultra-sharp lead guitar . JAMIE
JENSEN, BUILT TO LAST, 1990
nr. 5 As if the band wants to make up for their pretty anonymous debut album,
this is an album with character. Starting with an inspired and weird OTHER ONE,
mixing live- and studio recordings, all the unadventurous will get off the bus.
And although it's a "difficult" song, it swings like hell. The keyboard-work
on ALLIGATOR is remarkable. ANTHEM is the first real evidence of a group who
is willing to take chances and to experiment. The power and drive of the drums
on the live segment of ALLIGATOR is extra-ordinairy. Dynamite!! * * * ERIK
SCHOTHANS, July 1992
nr. 6 I think this is the DeaD album that I play the most, and is perhaps my
favourite of them all. The whole of side one is bloody brilliant...it starts
with a 3-part medley THAT'S IT FOR THE OTHER ONE - an attractive easy-paced
song CRYPTICAL ENVELOPMENT that ends with an astounding change of rhythm and
a drum solo. and then THE FASTER WE GO..which is pure Grateful DeaD magic. ...Garcia
and Lesh soloing away, crossing over and playing off each other, Weir and Pigpen
adding layer upon layer of sound, and the two drummers lashing out landslide
rhythms that explode on the top of your head. It all glides perfectly into NEW
POTATOE CABOOSE and BORN CROSS EYED and the whole side is just one unbelievable
thing after another. Superb stuff. Side two features ALLIGATOR, the mainstay
of DeaD concerts in their early days, and close with CAUTION which is the only
thing that sounds contrived, with an assortment of Pigpen's growling vocals
and lots of electronics. Certainly one of the best rock albums ever to come
out of San Francisco. ANDY CHILDS, ZIG ZAG, vol. 3, no. 11, sept. 1973