The Grateful Dead seemingly may not have been busy around this time, but they actually were. Ron “Pigpen” McKernan had died in 1973 and in between American Beauty and this release, the group had recorded three live albums in between American Beauty (1970) and Wake Of The Flood. The more prominent role of Keith Godchaux and his wife, who joined the band once Pigpen had passed on, Donna Jean Godchaux, meant that instead of a more traditional Blues and Rhythm & Blues influence musically, the band began to explore other musical territories in their sound. Which is a good or bad thing, depending on your view. The result was that this album charted higher than American Beauty (1970), even though this release was not as critically acclaimed as such. Recorded during August 1973 and released on 15 October 1973, it encompassed a wider variety of music than what the Grateful Dead had done before, namely, with Jazz Music influences. The album was self-produced by the Grateful Dead and was recorded at The Record Plant in Sausalito, California, and was released on the Grateful Dead’s own record label, thus ensuring full creative control by the band. The album also has seven songs and runs for just over 45 minutes. The Grateful Dead at the time were: Jerry Garcia (vocals and guitars); Donna Jean Godchaux (vocals); Keith Godchaux (vocals and keyboards); Bill Kreutzmann (drums); Phil Lesh (bass guitar), and Bob Weir (vocals and guitars). Let’s take a listen to this album, and we shall hear if it is any good.

1. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo begins with some unusual guitar riffing, piano playing and launches into a smooth, groovy piece of music that picks up from where the band previously were on American Beauty (1970). This has a string section to match it as well. It’s a good listen, even if at this point, it clearly does not reach the heights of previous Grateful Dead offerings. All the same, this does sound very creatively inspired, and continues the band’s “Country Music to trip to” format, with a twist. It is inspired by unusual music, and the lyrics are simple, yet surreal to listen to. A good listen, but something seems amiss listening to all this. Nonetheless, this is a good effort with a strange mixture of chords, soloing and a great sense of rhythm throughout. The Fender Stratocaster guitar solo on this one is very, very good, bringing a great deal of depth to this music. A seriously interesting listen, even if this is a step down from American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead (both released in 1970). This is good, but not very inspired-sounding from the Grateful Dead. A mellow, downtempo piece with a gorgeous fiddle throughout. This could have benefited from some gentle editing length-wise, but all the same, it is a very good listen. The harmonies at the end are catchy, tuneful and magical to hear. A really awesome tune to hear. Solid listening.

2. Let Me Sing Your Blues Away begins with piano, saxophone and a strange feel to it all, once again. This is a good mixture of Rock and Jazz sensibilities throughout. Miles Davis was still alive and kicking at this point, and this obviously benefited from his Jazz-Rock experimentation. This does have a nice and mellow-sounding set of vocals. One can imagine the Hippies of the day rolling some blunts to this music. A good song that, although it sounds rather awkward, is not outright bad. It is short and sweet, and delivers a gorgeously magical and sensationally upbeat listening experience. This music is dazzling and impressive for Classic Rock fans, although the mixture of Pop structures, Country Rock guitars and saxophone is admittedly weird. Still, this is easy to sit through, warts and all. A good tune but perhaps not a great one. The singing throughout is very magical, however. A good example of what the Dead could do, back in the day.

3. Row Jimmy is a seven-minute-long piece, with warped and Bluesy guitars, piano and simple drumming. This has some interesting keyboard sounds, mixed in with some good singing. This isn’t a continuation of the classic music that is at hand on previous Grateful Dead albums; rather, it is a slow, mushy musical listen that lacks direction, sadly. This is exactly why you should keep recording music when successful, rather than leaving it for a few years for when one’s focus is lost. Even so, this is good listening, especially vocally. It just sounds like a rather forgettable and awkward mixture of sounds that could have benefited from some gentle editing. A muddy-sounding tune that sounds rather lacking. This is a good song, but again, it lacks consistency and progress as a band. Upon listening to this song, many may think that the Grateful Dead had lost their mojo by this point. It appears so, considering that they had two classic albums before this. Even so, this is good but not worth repeat listens from outsiders to the Grateful Dead. This takes a while to warm to, but once you get through it a bit, this music does sound sweet and passionate to listen to. A bit slow to start, but this music does have its strong points. The second half has some decent singing and sounds, before the singing comes to the forefront of it all. A lazy Sunday sort of tune that has some gorgeous and pretty beauty to it all, having said all that. To be fair, the efforts of Progressive Rock bands of the time were a lot better than this. Yes, for example, were making better music than this mush. It fades out eventually. Rather lacking.

4. Stella Blue is a six-minute-long piece. It begins with some odd guitars, but sounds a bit more consistent musically than what had come before it. Some smooth and sweet singing emerges, which sounds absolutely fantastic. This is not a million miles away from Syd Barrett’s music, but it sounds less magical and captivating than most of his efforts. Still, a very good song throughout, this is a definite improvement on what has come before it. The harmonies on this album are very, very good, mind you. These showcase that the Grateful Dead should have focused on those more often than they did. A good tune to hear, although again, this could have been edited down length wise especially. This is a good example of when submitting all creative control to the artist does not always deliver. Still, a good effort musically, even if it is not a great effort. This sounds very pretty and good, in a strange way. If you like Classic Rock, that sounds different. This is a good but not great go-to point for listening. A sweet and pretty song, all the same. The second half has some nice pedal steel guitar soloing by Jerry Garcia, although this is unexceptional to listen to. The singing that follows is very beautiful, mind you. There is definitely potential in this music, although it sounds seriously like the sort of sounds that are made when high on a lot of weed. The singing is again beautiful, like sparkling sonic textures should sound. A good listen, but something that again, should have been rethought or edited afterwards.

5. Here Comes Sunshine follows and sounds joyous and blissful in a musical way. It is a nicely structured and interesting song to listen to. All in all, a very enjoyable, pretty and unique song that sounds top. This is a simple, whimsical and pretty tune with a great set of intelligent lyricism and sounds an awful lot like The Beatles Sun King song on their own Abbey Road (1969) album. A great tune to listen to and to experience. This sounds incredibly and romantically enjoyable to listen to, and no doubt would have been radio-ready for Rock Music stations of the day. If there is a standout moment on this album so far, it is definitely this song. Yes, it may not be a totally original moment, but if you live in Florida or Queensland, Australia (the Sunshine State), this will make a great deal of listening sense to hear. A very magical tune to listen to. A delight to listen to, this helps bring up the quality of the album from average to good. Yes, at least the Grateful Dead were experimenting with their sound and the makeup of their music. A very Californian Hippie song, done in the best spirit of it all. Fantastic to hear. It fades out nicely.

6. Eyes Of The World sounds sweet and cheerful from the start of it all. It launches into a smooth, laidback and awesome tune that is perfect for that 4/20 sesh with your friends on a hot Summer day. A winner of a song, and although this album is somewhat disappointing in the first half, it picks up nicely in the second half. A better representation of where the Grateful Dead got it right. A really sweet and pleasant listen, this tune is a good Pop/Rock piece with bongos, pleasant Fender Stratocaster playing and fine musicianship throughout. A really swell and nicely tuneful tune that has a great deal of musical merit. An absolute joy to listen to. This isn’t the most popular tune from this era, but nonetheless, it is a gorgeous, sunshine-filled Pop/Rock piece that sounds evocative of the early 1970s. This has some sweet and fine-tuned guitar soloing in the second half, putting Fender Stratocaster playing to good use. This sounds magically pleasant and has a good organ sound in the background, with soaring harmonies to match it all. A winner of a listen. This music is simple, laidback and enjoyable throughout with some iconic lyrical imagery to boot. Very, very nice music to listen to, and something worth coming back to, after first hearing it. The Fender guitars sound simple and pretty to listen to. A great song.

7. Weather Report Suite: Prelude / Pt. I / Pt. II (Let It Grow) is nearly 13 minutes long. It begins with some sweet acoustic guitar playing that sounds fantastic, bright and natural. It quickly launches into a multitracked guitar tune, followed by drumming. This does sound really good, all the same. A very sweet-sounding tune, with a nice organ in the background. This album does get better as it goes along, oddly enough. This piece may not be considered a Classic Rock tune per se, but it does sound great for what it is. The pedal steel guitar playing by Jerry Garcia is also a nice touch. Soon enough, clear and tuneful singing emerges that sounds really cool. A sweet and gorgeous tune to listen to. Some of the most interesting and iconic lyrics from this album are present in this song, detailing the changes in weather and seasons throughout. A really killer piece of music, this is a great listen if you can sit through a lengthy but well-structured tune at hand. Grateful Dead makes some Classic Rock winners at times, and this certainly is one of them, listening back to it decades after its creation. A really awesome and positively underrated tune. Too bad that the rest of the album is not as consistently good, or has as much wow factor as this gorgeous and amazing song to listen to. A really simple and pretty effort by the Grateful Dead. This music shines nice and bright on this epic, Progressive Rock attempt by the Grateful Dead, although this is not quite Progressive Rock just by itself. Still, this works incredibly well. Towards the middle, the next section of music enters with a brief pause, followed by a neat and drastic music change throughout. This has harmony-based singing and some horn sections to match it all. A stunning listen and one of the most overlooked and underappreciated sections of music in modern history. In the second half, this rapidly gets more melodic. This is not a million miles away from the likes of The Incredible String Band’s also equally underrated works, along with some of The Beach Boys’ unique music. A lovely and majestic tune that, if anything, should be treated as a tune that needs to be isolated from the rest of the album. A stunning and pleasant listen that, above all, works brilliantly. The guitar soloing, melodic structures, horns and other tasty music treats will keep you listening to this tune. A fantastic and inspired listening experience throughout. This sounds like a real winner of a song. As the second half progresses, this has some more sweet singing, fantastic guitar leads and horns to match it all. A missing gem of the early 1970s? You bet. Towards the end is a neat saxophone solo that sounds really great. A very solid tune, with no denying its power, intent and purpose as a piece of music. The saxophone is a winner, with some awesome playing that is very unique, even for that instrument alone. This wraps up pleasantly. One can certainly hear where Pink Floyd got the inspiration to get saxophonist pal Dick Parry to play on the Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) and Wish You Were Here (1975) albums from. This wraps up with more magically melodic and pretty singing by all in the Grateful Dead. A solid gold winner that should have been saved for a better album. It fades out nicely with some awesome guitar soloing to match.

This is a mish-mash listening experience that starts off very poorly, but eventually gets to a superb listening standard overall. The Grateful Dead have made a mixed-quality effort on this album. Even so, this is better than average for a Rock band, and showcases that they were willing to take their already successful music template and push the boundaries of it. Regardless, this is going to divide listeners upon hearing. Should you listen to this album? If you love Classic Rock and the Grateful Dead, go for it. Otherwise, especially you love Punk, you would be best off avoiding this release.

Each song is better than the one before it.

7/10

Best tracks: Here Comes Sunshine, Eyes Of The World, Weather Report Suite.