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American Beauty (album)

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Untitled
For the 1999 film of the same name, see American Beauty (film).

American Beauty is the fifth album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between August and September of 1970 and originally released in November of 1970 (see 1970 in music).

Template:RS500 In 1991, Rolling Stone ranked American Beauty's album cover as the 57th best of all time.[1]

The album was released in a multitude of ways in years since its original release.

  • It was released twice more on LP; first in 1978 by Mobile Fidelity and then again by Warner Bros. in 1990.
  • It was released on CD in two ways; in 1987 by Warner Bros. and in 2001 Rhino.
  • In 2003, the CD version was remastered, expanded and was also part of the The Golden Road (1965-1973) 12-CD box set. This version included live and unreleased studio tracks (see below).
  • On October 24, 2004, it was released as a Dual Disc recording, including a DVD side with bonus material (see below).

History

The band began recording American Beauty only a few months after the release of Workingman's Dead. An odd occurrence was that the band recorded the album without their sound crew, which was out on the road as part of the Medicine Ball Caravan tour (which the Dead were originally scheduled to join), and this led to staff engineer Steve Barncard replacing Bob Matthews as producer -- "a move that irks Matthews to this day." Barncard mused that "I had heard bad stories about engineers' interactions with the Dead ... but what I found were a bunch of hardworking guys."[1]

Both Workingman's Dead and American Beauty were extremely innovative at the time for their fusion of bluegrass, rock and roll, folk music and, especially, country music. Like Workingman's Dead, the album did not include any guitar solos from Jerry Garcia. It was during the recording of this album that Garcia would first collaborate with mandolinist David Grisman. "I just bumped into Jerry at a baseball game in Fairfax, and he said, "Hey, you wanna play on this record we're doing?" commented Grisman.[2] In fact, there were many big names in the "San Francisco scene" rotating in and out of the same studio. Phil Lesh, in his autobiography, commented "the magnetism of the scene at Wally Heider's recording studio made it a lot easier for me to deal with Dad's loss and my new responsibilities. Some of the best musicians around were hanging there during that period; with Paul and Grace from the [Jefferson] Airplane, the Dead, Santana, Crosby, Nash, and Neil Young working there, the studio became jammer heaven ... Thank the Lord for music; it's a healing force beyond words to describe."[3]

"Truckin'"/"Ripple" was released as a single and the songs "Sugar Magnolia" and "Friend of the Devil" also became "instant radio favorites." In his book on Garcia, Blair Jackson noted that "if you liked rock'n'roll in 1970, but didn't like the Dead, you were out of luck, because they were inescapable that summer and fall."[2] American Beauty peaked at #30 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart (North America), while the single, "Truckin'", peaked at #64 on the Pop Singles chart and achieved considerable FM rock radio airplay. It is the final album with Mickey Hart until his return to the band four years later in 1975.

The highly-ranked Kelley-Mouse Studios album cover can also read American Reality.

Homage

The American Beauty Project (www.myspace.com/americanbeautyproject) took place at Winter Garden/World Financial Center, New York City, on January 20 and 21, 2006. This live celebration and re-creation of the seminal Dead albums “American Beauty” and “Workingman’s Dead,” produced by David Spelman and co-produced by A.J. Benson, respectively producer/artistic director and general manager of the New York Guitar Festival (www.newyorkguitarfestival.org), and hosted by WNYC DJ John Schaefer, presented a diverse line-up of artists who covered the songs in album sequence. Line-up was as follows: 1/20/2007: Workingman’s Dead: Uncle John's Band: Ollabelle / High Time: The Holmes Brothers & Catherine Russell / Dire Wolf: Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, with Rob Barraco / New Speedway Boogie: Catherine Russell & Larry Campbell / Cumberland Blues: The Klezmatics / Black Peter: Jim Lauderdale & John Leventhal / Easy Wind: Tim O’Reagan / Casey Jones: Railroad Earth / Encore: Going Down The Road Feeling Bad / Plus instrumental interludes by Andy Statman, Tony Trischka, Kerryn Tolhurst & David Spelman / 1/21/2007: American Beauty: Box Of Rain: Toshi Reagon / Friend Of The Devil: Mark Eitzel / Sugar Magnolia: Jim Lauderdale / Operator: Jorma Kaukonen / Candyman: Jay Farrar / Ripple: Dar Williams & Dan Zanes / Brokedown Palace: Ollabelle / Till The Morning Comes: Espers / Attics Of My Life: Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, with Rob Barraco / Truckin': Jen Chapin with the Rosetta Trio / Encores (comprising all artists): And We Bid You Goodnight & Knocking On Heaven’s Door / Plus instrumental interludes by Sex Mob, Andy Statman & Tony Trischka


Track listing

Original release

Side one

  1. "Box of Rain" (Hunter, Lesh) – 5:16
  2. "Friend of the Devil" (Garcia, Dawson, Hunter) – 3:20
  3. "Sugar Magnolia" (Weir, Hunter) – 3:15
  4. "Operator" (Ron McKernan) – 2:21
  5. "Candyman" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:12

Side two

  1. "Ripple" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:10
  2. "Brokedown Palace" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:18
  3. "Till the Morning Comes" (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:13
  4. "Attics of My Life" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:09
  5. "Truckin'" (Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Hunter) – 5:09
This was the same track listing for the CD released in 1987 and 2001.

2003 reissue

  1. "Box of Rain" (Hunter, Lesh) – 5:18
  2. "Friend of the Devil" (Garcia, Dawson, Hunter) – 3:24
  3. "Sugar Magnolia" (Weir, Hunter) – 3:19
  4. "Operator" (Ron McKernan) – 2:25
  5. "Candyman" (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:12
  6. "Ripple" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:09
  7. "Brokedown Palace" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:09
  8. "Till the Morning Comes" (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:09
  9. "Attics of My Life" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:14
  10. "Truckin" (Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Hunter) – 5:17
  11. "Truckin'" (single edit) – 3:17
  12. "Friend of the Devil" (live) – 4:21
  13. "Candy Man" (live) – 5:18
  14. "Till the Morning Comes" (live) – 3:20
  15. "Attics of My Life" (live) – 6:31
  16. "Truckin'" (live) – 10:10

Dual Disc additions

This reissue included the same track listing as the original on both sides. One side was regular CD audio, while the other was enhanced DVD audio and included:

  • Interviews with Mickey Hart and Bob Weir
  • A photo gallery
  • Lyrics to all songs

Personnel

Grateful Dead:

Additional performers:

Recorded at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco.

Production:

  • Tom Flye - engineer, mixing, mastering supervisor
  • Dave Collins, Joe Gastwirt - pre-mastering assistants
  • Daniel Goldmark - editorial research
  • Robin Hurley - producer
  • David McLees - executive producer
  • Stanley Mouse - photography, design
  • Jeffrey Norman, Fred Ordower, Rudson Shurtliff - engineers
  • Henry Diltz, Robert Altman, Herbert Greene, Fred Ordower, Amalie R. Rothschild - photography
  • Ginger Dettman, Steve Pokorny, Steve Woolard - project assistants

Bonus tracks production details

  • "Truckin'" - single version
  • "Friend of the Devil" recorded at the Filmore East on 5/15/1970
  • "Candyman" recorded at Winterland on 4/15/1970
  • "Till the Morning Comes" recorded at Winterland on 10/4/1970
  • "Attics of My Life" recorded at the Filmore West on 6/6/1970
  • "Truckin'" recorded at Legion Stadium on 12/26/1970

Reissue production credits

  • David Lemieux, James Austin - reissue producers
  • Vanessa Atkins - editorial supervision
  • Gary Peterson, Shawn Amos - liner note coordination
  • David Gans - liner notes, project assistant
  • Jo Motta - project coordinator
  • Jimmy Edwards - product manager
  • Greg Allen - design, reissue art director
  • Joe Gastwirt - mastering, production consultant
  • Daniel Goldmark - editorial research
  • Eileen Law - research
  • Rachel Gutek, Hugh Brown - design, reissue art directors
  • Michael Wesley Johnson - associate producer
  • Stephen Barncard - producer, audio supervisor
  • Eileen Law - research
  • Jeffrey Norman - mixing
  • Steve Silberman, Bill Belmont, David Gans, Jeff Gold, Bill Inglot, Blair Jackson, Gary Lambert, Steve Lang, David McLees, Hale Milfgrim, Randy Perry, Janette L. Simmons, Owsley "Bear" Stanley - project assistants

Track listing

Box of Rain

"Box of Rain" debuted on October 9, 1972 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The Grateful Dead stopped playing it a year later, though, only reviving it on March 20, 1986 at the Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. After that, the song was frequently played in response to chants from the audience of "We want Phil!" Template:Multi-listen item

Friend of the Devil

Main article: Friend of the Devil

.

Sugar Magnolia/Sunshine Daydream

Main article: Sugar Magnolia

Operator

  • Key: F
  • Time signature: 4/4
  • Chords used: F, C, Dm, Bb, G

"Operator" debuted at The Fillmore in San Francisco on August 18, 1970. It is the last song recorded by Pig Pen McKernan before his death (March 8 - 1973).

The song is about a man calling a telephone operator, trying to learn the phone number for a woman.

The House of Blue Lights, referenced in the song, is a real, famous nightclub in Chicago, Illinois.

Candyman

  • Key: C
  • Time signature: 4/4 (12/8 feeling)
  • Chords used: B-flat, F, C, G, Gm, Dm, Am7

"Candyman" debuted at the Field House in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 3, 1970. Throughout the band's career, the song was almost always played in the first set.

The song opens with "Come all you"; come-all-yes are a common type of folk song, and variations on the line open many traditional songs.

A "candyman" is, in early 20th century African-American slang, a man who is lusty, and has "got a stick of candy nine inches long" (in many old blues songs, the "candyman" carries a candy bar, intended as a double entendre referring to the penis). In the 1960s, the term also frequently applied to drug dealers. See also Candyman (movie).

The line "roll them laughin' bones" probably refers to gambling with dice.

Ripple

Like many folk songs, "Ripple" addresses itself as a song and an instrument of the performers' emotional expression. Several lines throughout the song echo the 23rd Psalm of the Bible.

The signature lines in this song were played by mandolin master David Grisman.

The songwriter, Robert Hunter, wrote this song in 1970 in London in the same afternoon he wrote "Brokedown Palace" and "To Lay Me Down" (reputedly also drinking an entire bottle of retsina in the process). The song debuted August 18, 1970 at The Fillmore in San Francisco.

Among fans, "Ripple" is widely considered one of the best Grateful Dead songs, and is also often cited as one of the most beautiful and poetic songs in popular music.

Brokedown Palace

Robert Hunter, the songwriter, wrote this song in 1970 in London in the same afternoon he wrote "Ripple" and "To Lay Me Down". It debuted August 18, 1970 at The Fillmore in San Francisco.

The term "brokedown palace" comes from John Steinbeck's Cannery Row (1945), where it referred to an abandoned warehouse where some bums slept. In 1986, Steven Brust wrote a fantasy novel called Brokedown Palace, which contains many references to Grateful Dead songs.

In the folksong tradition of the British isles and of the Appalachians, the weeping willow is a symbol of mourning for lost love. Many of the lyrics seem adapted from a folk song called "Fare Thee Well".

In later years of touring, the band would frequently play Brokedown Palace as an encore at the last show of a multi-night stand at a particular venue.

Till The Morning Comes

  • Key: E
  • Time signature: 4/4
  • Chords used: E, D, A, G, A7, B

"Till the Morning Comes" debuted at The Fillmore in San Francisco on August 18, 1970. The song was only performed live five times before it was retired.

The line "till we all fall down" refers to the children's song "Ring around the rosey".

Attics of My Life

  • Key: E
  • Time Signature: 4/4
  • Chords used: A, E, B, D

"Attics of My Life" debuted at Meramec Community College, in Kirkwood, Missouri on May 14, 1970.

The lyrics to the song are structured like a prayer, and it is usually sung with harmonic, slow and reverent vocals.

Truckin'

Main article: Truckin'

Charts

Album - Billboard

Year Chart Position
1971 Pop Albums 30

Singles - Billboard

Year Single Chart Position
1971 "Truckin'" Pop Singles 64

RIAA Certification

Certification Date
Gold July 7, 1974
Platinum October 13, 1986
Multi-platinum August 24, 2001

See also

References

  1. ^ Garcia: An American Life by Blair Jackson, Penguin Books, 1999, pg. 196.
  2. ^ a b Garcia: An American Life by Blair Jackson, Penguin Books, 1999, pg. 202.
  3. ^ Phil Lesh: Searching for the Sound by Phil Lesh, Little, Brown and Company, 2005, pg. 190.
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