Grateful Dead: Workingman’s Dead
Label: Warner Bros.
Year: 1970
Grateful Dead jump out of their psychedelic cargo plane and parachute into the 1970 roots scene with Workingman’s Dead, and lo and behold they made the best album of their career. “Dire Wolf” & “Black Peter” should end the questions concerning Jerry Garcias’ vocal ability, there’s never been any question concerning the musical ability of Jerry and Phil Lesh, and in “Easy Wind” it’s easy to hear the appreciation of past country heroes. As an extra bonus “Casey Jones” and “Uncle John’s Band” became longtime income earners. Don’t believe the nonsense of Grateful Dead never releasing a great album.
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Found this album at Goodwill when I was in high school, it’s only gotten better.
Nice write up. It's amazing that Workingman's Dead and American Beauty were both released in 1970. That's quite a few timeless classics in a span of 12 months, not to mention mature songwriting from some kids who were in their 20s.