Dylan & the Dead

Dylan & the Dead
A drawing of a train with a winged circle to its left that has a skeleton inside of it and a winged circle to its right with Dylan's face inscribed
Live album by
Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead
ReleasedFebruary 6, 1989 (1989-02-06)
RecordedJuly 1987
Genre
Length43:23
LabelColumbia
ProducerJohn Cutler and Jerry Garcia
Bob Dylan chronology
Down in the Groove
(1988) 		Dylan & the Dead
(1989) 		Oh Mercy
(1989)
Grateful Dead chronology
Dead Zone: The Grateful Dead CD Collection (1977-1987)
(1987) 		Dylan & the Dead
(1989) 		Built to Last
(1989)

Dylan & the Dead is a collaborative live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead, released on February 6, 1989, by Columbia Records. The album consists of seven songs written and sung by Dylan, with the Grateful Dead providing accompaniment. The album was produced by Jerry Garcia and John Cutler.

Dylan & the Dead was recorded in 1987, during a successful stadium tour of the same name, that featured the two artists performing separately and together. Songs from two of the Grateful Dead's performances from the tour are documented on the album and video View from the Vault IV, and one of the tour-rehearsal songs is on the album Postcards of the Hanging.

Though ultimately poorly received, the album initially sold well, reaching No. 37 on the Billboard charts in the U.S., No. 38 in the UK, and earning a Gold certification in the U.S.

In 1992, a bootleg of the first concert of the tour was released under the title "Orbiting Uvula". It includes the first-ever live performance of "Queen Jane Approximately", the first live performance of "John Brown" since 1963, and the first live performance of "Chimes of Freedom" since 1964.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauC−[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
MusicHound[5]
Rolling Stone[6]

Despite strong initial sales, the album was poorly received by critics. Rolling Stone stated that the record "makes you wonder what the fuss [over the tour] was about", although they did have some kind words for several of the tracks.[7] Writing for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau said that what Dylan "makes of his catalogue here is exactly what he's been making of it for years—money".[8] Stephen Thomas Erlewine's review for AllMusic was particularly harsh, giving it one star out of a possible five, and calling it "quite possibly the worst album by either Bob Dylan or the Grateful Dead" and "a sad, disheartening document".[9]

Track listing

All songs written by Bob Dylan except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleRecording venue and dateLength
1."Slow Train"Sullivan Stadium on July 4, 19874:54
2."I Want You"Oakland Coliseum on July 24, 19873:59
3."Gotta Serve Somebody"Anaheim Stadium on July 26, 19875:42
4."Queen Jane Approximately"Autzen Stadium on July 19, 19876:30
Total length:21:05
Side two
No.TitleRecordedLength
1."Joey" (Dylan, Jacques Levy)Sullivan Stadium on July 4, 19879:10
2."All Along the Watchtower"Anaheim Stadium on July 26, 19876:17
3."Knockin' on Heaven's Door"Anaheim Stadium on July 26, 19876:51
Total length:22:18

Personnel

Musicians

Grateful Dead

Production

  • Guy Charbonneau – engineering
  • John Cutler – production, engineering
  • Joe Gastwirt – mastering
  • Herb Greene – photography
  • Rick Griffin – art direction
  • Gary Hedden – engineering
  • Peter Miller – engineering
  • David Roberts – engineering
  • Billy Rothschild – engineering
  • Chris Wiskes – engineering

See also

References

  1. ^ Olof Björner at www.bobsboots.com
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Dylan & the Dead". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  3. ^ Robert Christgau review
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  5. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 371. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  6. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  7. ^ Fricke, David. Dylan & the Dead review Archived 2017-08-05 at the Wayback Machine at Rolling Stone
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert. Dylan & the Dead review at RobertChristgau.com
  9. ^ Dylan & the Dead at AllMusic