Workingman's Dead
++++++++++++++++ A classic album even non-Deadheads could enjoy, the first
record they made as a group. Though it took months of writing and practicing
it's a simple and direct album about "work", recorded in just nine
days. The cover photo is of the DeaD with Robert Hunter. During these days
the group introduced acoustic sets in their concerts. Gram Parsons, C,S,N
& Young and The Band influenced the DeaD. The songs display a balance
of caution and optimism and the album received an inordinate amount of air-play
on the radio in America. An 'extremely positive' record despite the things
happening at the time; the bust in New Orleans with a threat of a jail sentence
plus all the hassles involving Lenny Hart. NEW SPEEDWAY BOOGIE was written
after the Altamont drama. HIGH TIME is a mourning abouth the death of the
Haight-Ashbury scene. Pigpen issues his self fulfilled death in EASY WIND,
which was entirely written by Robert Hunter. BLACK PETER is a blues about
a man on his death bed and a plaintive cry of life. CASEY JONES is an cocaine
song, it actually begins with a snort. UNCLE JOHN'S BAND is a sing a long
about people pulling together into a brave and loving community in frightening
times. These last two songs became regulars on FM Radio.
nr. 1 Off course they don't sing as pretty as C,S,N & Y, prettiness would
trivialize these songs. There is a naturally stoned bemusement in their good
times.
ROCK ALBUMS OF THE 70'S, Robert Cristgeau. (rating: A)
nr. 2 Third rate next to SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO, much less anything Gram Parsons
ever recorded on his own, but it has a sweet ingenuousness that renders it bearable.
* * *
Mr. Dave Marsh of R.S. RECORD GUIDE again
nr. 3 This album marked the band's big switch to acoustic, country- orientated
material. This album was really Robert Hunter's "coming out" as a
great lyricist too. There are no weak songs on this album, and most are bona
fide DeaD classics. HIGH TIME, though awkwardly sung, is one of Garcia's prettiest
melodies, EASY WIND is a neglected masterpiece. * * * * *
BLAIR JACKSON,
THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED, 1983
nr. 4 From the grainy cover shot to the pared-down arrangements to the work-a-day
concerns expressed in the lyrics, marks a definitive move back to basics. None
more so than CUMBERLAND BLUES, the rollicking bluegrass tune about hardworking
Appalachian miners that's most likely a metaphore for the itinerant musician's
life. For the first time in their musical lives, Grateful Dead were going in
the same direction.
JAMIE JENSEN
nr. 5 A beautiful album that takes some time to get into. Quite a change in
compare to ANTHEM and AOXOMOXOA. Very simple in approach, with nice harmonies
and a beautiful mix between acoustic instruments and percussion. Much of these
songs became Grateful Dead standards. Their first successful studio album. BLACK
PETER is a gem, very delicate, a natural born Garcia/Hunter song. EASY WIND
is a reminder that the band hasn't lost it power and CASEY JONES is a nice DeaD/NRPS
crossover. * * * *
ERIK SCHOTHANS, July 1992
nr. 6 Like a lot of the music of the day, WORKINGMAN'S DEAD reflected a more
basic approach, a more human sound. True. after Dylan's John Wesley Harding's
and Crosby, Stills and Nash's debut, the DeaD were late in getting on the bandwagon,
but it probably took them a little longer to come back down to earth. Though
it's lacks the knock-you-on-your-fucking-ass attack of EXILE ON MAIN STREET
or the anthemic bombast of DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN, WORKINGMAN'S DEAD makes
up for it with its quiet humility and honest lack of pretension. Recently, my
girlfriend was out of town (she likes Jane's Addition, Pearl Jam, you get the
picture), so as I did my review, I was able to listen to my subject without
feeling too emberrassed. I'll tell you, with some of the shit that's been going
on lately, these tunes ring truer than ever. Twenty-two years later, I'll take
NEW SPEEDWAY BOOGIE over COP KILLER any day. "One way or another, this
darkness has got to give..."
BRIAN BELLEN, HOBOKEN, USA (ROLLING STONE,
nov. 1992)
nr. 7 Contained in one of the most beautiful and distinctive sleeves you'll
ever see...one that matches the music perfectly. The Dead have finally made
a near-enough perfect studio album. All eight tracks are excellent, mature country-flavoured
songs, concisely arranged and meticulously performed. They managed to condense
every unique element of their style into songs, revealing themselves to be immensely
disciplined musicians... Their vocals had improved beyond all recognition as
well, the result of hanging out with Crosby, Stills & Nash who were working
with complex harmonies at the time. Seen in its proper context, WORKINGMAN'S
is just one part of the Dead's vast repertoire of styles and musical forms.
It wasn't meant to represent any new trend but is what Garcia calls 'one of
the possibilities'.
ANDY CHILDS, ZIG ZAG Magazine
nr. 8 A brilliant finely-edged jewel, made with the warmth and energy of people
playing to their family.
Dick Lawson of Friends
nr. 9 LIVE/DEAD's antithesis, but almost as good. The songs are constructed
so traditionally they sound as if they were written 100 years ago. The band's
folk and bluegrass influences lend a sweet lyricism toclassics like UNCLE JOHN'S
BAND and CUMBERLAND BLUES. But what distinguishes the album is the dark, sorrowful
temperament that underpins songs like BLACK PETER and NEW SPEEDWAY BOOGIE
MALCOLM JONES, NEWSWEEK, aug. 21, 1995
