Workingman's Dead - GRATEFUL DEAD*****

Uncle John's Band/High Time/Dire Wolf/New Speedway Boogie/Cumberland Blues/Black Peter/Easy Wind/ Casey Jones

A major change for the better from the Grateful Dead came with the release of the Workingman's Dead album. Instead of endless free form noodling they create a bunch of melodic songs with a proper structure. (US:27 UK:69)

"In a complete turnaround from the psychedelic madness that marked their previous albums, the Dead break out the acoustic stuff and do a triumphant 180 degrees turn. Let's start with the down home stylings of Uncle John's Band and Dire Wolf, to the more traditional sounds of Black Peter, which would have sounded right at home on any number of Delta Blues singers’ albums. Another change was the band's willingness to step back from the long jams in favour of more compact, but at the same time, tastier soloing."

"Concise Grateful Dead songs? What's this all about? A Grateful Dead album with good vocals? The previous albums, including Live/Dead had all been about translating the live experience onto vinyl. Workingman's Dead is actually a proper album containing proper songs, properly written."

"Workingman's Dead is when The Grateful Dead went fully 'roots rock' and perfected their studio approach. In fact, there's no overt psychedelia here...that was becoming extremely played out by 1970, but the band adapted by bringing new elements to their sound. CSNY style vocal harmonies dominate many of the songs and are all amazingly performed."

"The psychedelia of Aoxomoxoa and Anthem To The Sun and the lengthy jams of Live/Dead are replaced by melodic country, folk and blues songs which are mostly acoustic with excellent vocal harmonies."

"A beautiful album. You can hear all seven of the band members' instruments very clearly, and their subtle interplay on this album is wonderful."

"One of the Dead's (few) great studio albums, Workingman's Dead finds them turning in a largely acoustic based set of rootsy folk and country inspired originals, where the exploration lies more in lyricist Robert Hunter's vivid evocations of a bygone American landscape than any psychedelic jamming. Highlights include the gorgeous death-bed ballad Black Peter, the electric bluegrass of Cumberland Blues and vintage hippie tunes like Casey Jones and Pigpen's grimy Easy Wind."