Released in 2016, Day of the Dead is the 25th compilation released to benefit the Red Hot Organization, a charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. This set is massive, and features 59 Grateful Dead cover versions performed by a number of independent artists. A limited edition of 10 multi-coloured LPs, this compilation was conceived by Aaron and Bryce Dessner, of The National, who are good friends with The Grateful Dead.
It is the second compilation album produced by the brothers for the Red Hot Organization.
A Day Of The Dead live performance took place at the second annual Eaux Claires Festival on August 12-13, 2016. The festival performers, who all appear on this box set, included Jenny Lewis, Matthew Houck, Lucius, Will Oldham, Moses Sumney, Sam Amidon, Richard Reed Parry, Matt Berninger, Justin Vernon, Josh Kaufman, Bruce Hornsby, Ruban Nielson, Aaron and The National.
There's almost six hours of music here and it's very eclectic with stylings wandering all over the place, not unlike The Grateful Dead themselves. It's a variety of fresh perspectives on old favourites, and while it's not perfect it doesn't have to be. In a way, that's the point. The performances are excellent throughout, even if some of the interpretations seem a bit restrained or, conversely, way out on an almost nonsensical limb. Either way, they just work.
Some of the most exciting moments come during songs the 'Dead themselves didn’t pay much attention to during their career. It's nice to see these rarely performed songs get rediscovered. Rosemary, from 1969’s otherworldly and somewhat bizarre Aoxomoxoa, gets draped in a freaky-folk treatment that Jerry Garcia, with his country-folk leanings and banjo prowess, would have certainly appreciated.
Will "Prince Billy" Oldham gets to play three songs in this collection, including If I Had the World to Give, which he strips down to almost nothing using a piano. It's really kinda groovy to hear, and it's also interesting to note (as I go from record to record) that for a tribute to a mostly guitar solo-driven band there isn't an awful lot of guitar soloing going on. There are moments full of guitar, of course, but nothing like the extreme flights of fancy the 'Dead would embark on regularly when playing live.
The Grateful Dead are, as a band, over. The book is closed. If you didn't get to see them live you never will, and that's sad because a 'Dead concert was something else entirely. I only got to see them once but it was so wonderful. I was right up near the stage in front of Phil Lesh. It was one of the best concerts - and one of the best sounding concerts - I've ever been to. But their music lives on, and tributes to the band seem to keep popping up on a fairly regular basis - although nothing like this, which is no doubt the biggest and nicest looking tribute yet.
Hefty. That's the word. Colourful is another one.
The set's opening honours go to the War On Drugs, who translate Touch Of Grey's signature hook into a piano riff and replace the guitar solo with a burst of harmonica that just slips in from underneath, lending a bluesy feel to the song. And the vocals overlay the music in a dreamy fog, which when coupled with the upbeat tempo seems exactly what the song requires. It's the sort of thing I love to hear on any tribute album; the songs get taken further out and reimagined but remain respectful to the original. The War On Drugs does this beautifully here with the Grateful Dead's only top 10 hit record.
There are many such wonderful moments all through this set, such as Wilco's absolutely gorgeous take on Black Muddy River, where they are joined by Bruce Hornsby, who spent some time in the 'Dead after keyboardist Brent Mydland's accidental drug overdose death at the beginning of the 1990s. The song is played here at an even slower tempo than the Grateful Dead's original version, but it works wonderfully well.
Wilco and Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir team up for a live version of St. Stephen that appears midway through this box. Weir also hooks ups with The National for a rousing I Know You Rider, which closes out the set on side 20.
Side 20. WTF?
A staple of the 'Dead's live show, Morning Dew, gets something of a gothic treatment with The National, and transgender pop vocalist Anohni transforms Black Peter into something otherworldly. Ira Kaplan, of Yo La Tengo, slows down Wharf Rat to a crawl and runs it out to 10 minutes, and one of my favourite 'Dead songs - Box Of Rain - gets the Kurt Vile treatment, which is very tastefully done, even if nothing can beat the original.
Brown-Eyed Women - I don't think it even exists as a studio recording - is reworked by Hiss Golden Messenger who allow the vocal harmonies to dominate the melody, and The Flaming Lips doing Dark Star is a no-brainer. If you had to choose a song for the 'Lips to perform, this is it. Psychedelic rockers in their own right, they get downright weird here and at times go so far out they almost lose their way. But they somehow manage to get back home, just like they always do - and like the Grateful Dead always did.
It's interesting to see the Grateful Dead - the reigning interpreters of their own music - get reinterpreted. Deadheads will love this set, or hate it, depending. Personally, I think it's great, and it's also beautiful to just look at with it's 10 different tie-dyed vinyl LPs.
The sound isn't remarkable - it definitely sounds digital - but oh, well. I suppose it's good enough, although had it not been for the playfully tie-dyed vinyl I probably would have just settled for the CD. Or maybe not.
It's still available and not too expensive, and overall highly recommended!
Released in 2016, Day of the Dead is the 25th compilation released to benefit the Red Hot Organization, a charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. This set is massive, and features 59 Grateful Dead cover versions performed by a number of independent artists. A limited edition of 10 multi-coloured LPs, this compilation was conceived by Aaron and Bryce Dessner, of The National, who are good friends with The Grateful Dead.
It is the second compilation album produced by the brothers for the Red Hot Organization.
A Day Of The Dead live performance took place at the second annual Eaux Claires Festival on August 12-13, 2016. The festival performers, who all appear on this box set, included Jenny Lewis, Matthew Houck, Lucius, Will Oldham, Moses Sumney, Sam Amidon, Richard Reed Parry, Matt Berninger, Justin Vernon, Josh Kaufman, Bruce Hornsby, Ruban Nielson, Aaron and The National.
There's almost six hours of music here and it's very eclectic with stylings wandering all over the place, not unlike The Grateful Dead themselves. It's a variety of fresh perspectives on old favourites, and while it's not perfect it doesn't have to be. In a way, that's the point. The performances are excellent throughout, even if some of the interpretations seem a bit restrained or, conversely, way out on an almost nonsensical limb. Either way, they just work.
Some of the most exciting moments come during songs the 'Dead themselves didn’t pay much attention to during their career. It's nice to see these rarely performed songs get rediscovered. Rosemary, from 1969’s otherworldly and somewhat bizarre Aoxomoxoa, gets draped in a freaky-folk treatment that Jerry Garcia, with his country-folk leanings and banjo prowess, would have certainly appreciated.
Will "Prince Billy" Oldham gets to play three songs in this collection, including If I Had the World to Give, which he strips down to almost nothing using a piano. It's really kinda groovy to hear, and it's also interesting to note (as I go from record to record) that for a tribute to a mostly guitar solo-driven band there isn't an awful lot of guitar soloing going on. There are moments full of guitar, of course, but nothing like the extreme flights of fancy the 'Dead would embark on regularly when playing live.
The Grateful Dead are, as a band, over. The book is closed. If you didn't get to see them live you never will, and that's sad because a 'Dead concert was something else entirely. I only got to see them once but it was so wonderful. I was right up near the stage in front of Phil Lesh. It was one of the best concerts - and one of the best sounding concerts - I've ever been to. But their music lives on, and tributes to the band seem to keep popping up on a fairly regular basis - although nothing like this, which is no doubt the biggest and nicest looking tribute yet.
Hefty. That's the word. Colourful is another one.
The set's opening honours go to the War On Drugs, who translate Touch Of Grey's signature hook into a piano riff and replace the guitar solo with a burst of harmonica that just slips in from underneath, lending a bluesy feel to the song. And the vocals overlay the music in a dreamy fog, which when coupled with the upbeat tempo seems exactly what the song requires. It's the sort of thing I love to hear on any tribute album; the songs get taken further out and reimagined but remain respectful to the original. The War On Drugs does this beautifully here with the Grateful Dead's only top 10 hit record.
There are many such wonderful moments all through this set, such as Wilco's absolutely gorgeous take on Black Muddy River, where they are joined by Bruce Hornsby, who spent some time in the 'Dead after keyboardist Brent Mydland's accidental drug overdose death at the beginning of the 1990s. The song is played here at an even slower tempo than the Grateful Dead's original version, but it works wonderfully well.
Wilco and Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir team up for a live version of St. Stephen that appears midway through this box. Weir also hooks ups with The National for a rousing I Know You Rider, which closes out the set on side 20.
Side 20. WTF?
A staple of the 'Dead's live show, Morning Dew, gets something of a gothic treatment with The National, and transgender pop vocalist Anohni transforms Black Peter into something otherworldly. Ira Kaplan, of Yo La Tengo, slows down Wharf Rat to a crawl and runs it out to 10 minutes, and one of my favourite 'Dead songs - Box Of Rain - gets the Kurt Vile treatment, which is very tastefully done, even if nothing can beat the original.
Brown-Eyed Women - I don't think it even exists as a studio recording - is reworked by Hiss Golden Messenger who allow the vocal harmonies to dominate the melody, and The Flaming Lips doing Dark Star is a no-brainer. If you had to choose a song for the 'Lips to perform, this is it. Psychedelic rockers in their own right, they get downright weird here and at times go so far out they almost lose their way. But they somehow manage to get back home, just like they always do - and like the Grateful Dead always did.
It's interesting to see the Grateful Dead - the reigning interpreters of their own music - get reinterpreted. Deadheads will love this set, or hate it, depending. Personally, I think it's great, and it's also beautiful to just look at with it's 10 different tie-dyed vinyl LPs.
The sound isn't remarkable - it definitely sounds digital - but oh, well. I suppose it's good enough, although had it not been for the playfully tie-dyed vinyl I probably would have just settled for the CD. Or maybe not.
It's still available and not too expensive, and overall highly recommended!
