Shakedown Street – GRATEFUL DEAD***

Good Lovin’/France/Shakedown Street/Serengetti/Fire On The Mountain/I Need A Miracle/From The Heart Of Me/Stagger Lee/All New Minglewood Blues/If I Had The World To Give

The Grateful Dead embraced a variety of musical styles but Shakedown Street was the first which introduced a disco influence, a rather surprising innovation for a traditionally blues-rock band. (US:41)

“An underrated gem from the Grateful Dead. This album starts out very strong and stays close to that level throughout. The disco influence is slight, a little bit in the drumming and wah-wah guitar on the title track, but this is clean, catchy well played upbeat rock.”

“Shakedown Street's title track shows the Dead adapting shockingly well to the disco era, transforming their normal rhythmic interplay into a slick, grooving strut. The remainder of the album sees them tackling similarly funky sounds. The rough-edged blues of I Need A Miracle and the Caribbean tinged Fire On The Mountain would become set list staples, and their Latin-flavoured version of The Rascals' '60s rock classic Good Lovin' is one of the band's most beloved covers.”

“One thing that makes Shakedown Street so great is the fact that the band’s recent mix of blues and jazz, with their traditional rock sound, is now spiced up with a little production slickness and a lot of funk. The title track is a perfect example, it's silly, catchy and deeply into an R & B/funk flavour.”

“No matter what anyone thinks about Shakedown Street overall, it's impossible to deny the incredible melody that Fire On The Mountain possesses. I love it to pieces. The mood is really mellow and reminds me of the twilight hours when everything is settling down as you drive across the highway and just take it easy.”

“As a newly appointed 'Deadhead' I have to say that this album was a pleasant surprise. As you can tell from the reviews this is not one of the Dead's most likable albums. Maybe it's the purists that are still praising the material from the 60s and early 70s needlessly maligning this album, but for what ever reason just give it a chance.”

“Not a bad album at all. It's just that in comparison to everything the Grateful Dead did before this, it falls short. Don't expect several minutes of guitar jams.”