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Rating: There are many ways to handle one's success. There are those like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain (and you can add as many as you like) who cannot bear the weight and inevitably give up. Then there are some groups that arrive too early compared to others and due to the misunderstanding of the majority of the audience, they disband, only to reform twenty years later, maybe with some new members (the Stooges, the New York Dolls, and so on). Finally, there are those groups that, having reached astronomical success, do not give in to the passage of time; they fight, struggle, drag themselves on their elbows, yet after 10 years you still see them there, and after 20 too, and after 30 they try again and maybe even succeed. The Rolling Stones belong to this last category today, still capable of being on Mtv (not that it’s a merit, let’s be clear) and up until about a decade ago, so did the Grateful Dead.
Now, I won’t tell you who the Grateful Dead are because if you don’t know them, you just have to type their name on Debaser or Wikipedia, and you'll get enough information; and if you still haven’t listened to anything of theirs, start with Aoxomoxoa, Live/Dead, Anthem Of The Sun, definitely not with this album.
I was telling you that until 1995, the year of Garcia's death and the consequent disbandment of the band, the Grateful Dead had made it. They had gone through their original material (that acid-psychedelic sound that they themselves had helped create at the end of the '60s), survived the hardening of the sound in the early '70s, made it through the years of prog, punk, disco music, and heavy metal unscathed. And they found themselves, a bit winded truthfully, in 1987, after countless live albums that testified to their ideal dimension (even touring with Dylan in a tour later documented by the poor Dylan & The Dead), with Jerry Garcia afflicted by the usual drug addiction issues, after a full 7 years since their last studio effort.
It was thus that the Dead entered the studio for the penultimate time, hopeful of repeating the small success they had with their last single released in 1980: "Alabama Getaway".
Instead, they found themselves just a few months later incredibly celebrating their best-selling album of all time, propelled by the single "Touch Of Grey", a sort of self-tribute revisited in an '80s key, somewhat akin to some of the commercial rock-pop of Dire Straits, but surely buoyed (I think) also by the enthusiasm of the survivors of the psychedelic era, who saw in them a sort of symbol that resisted every era. Notable too is "L.A. Fadeaway", showing how good rock blues can be ruined with Garcia's voice altered by some electronic devilry and annoying effects that pop up from time to time. "Tons Of Steel" is in my opinion one of the weaker compositions, a sort of energetic ballad in the style of Bruce Springsteen in the '80s, as banal and commercial as it gets. Finally, the two best compositions, one "Throwing Stones" which, although not exempt from the flaws of the previous two, stands out for a fun and singable chorus. To conclude, "Black Muddy River", a slow and delicate celebratory ballad reminiscent of the Grateful Dead of American Beauty.
So what to say in conclusion? The album is undoubtedly an attempt to get closer to the sound that was prevalent in those years while trying to maintain that spark of personality (see the various guitar solos typical of their sound) to be recognized. Honestly, I too am dubious about the rating; compared to the aforementioned masterpieces, it would deserve a one, one and a half to be generous. But it's also true that such an album cannot be compared to the works in their heyday; it would be unjust and unfair to them. So I give it a nice three, unconcerned with the horrible cover, unconcerned with the fact that if Jerry Garcia were still alive, he would wipe the floor with that pirate Keith Richards and his mates, just as he did in the '80s, just as he even did (and here I hope not to cause an uproar) in those distant '60s.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Touch of Grey (05:49)
Must be getting early, clock are running late.
Paint by number morning sky, looks so phony.
Dawn is breaking everywhere, light a candle, curse the glare
Draw the curtains I don't care, cause it's alright
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive.
I see you've got your list out, say your piece and get out.
Guess I get the jist of it, but it's alright
Sorry that you feel that way, the only thing there is to say
Every silver linings got a touch of grey
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive.
It's a lesson to me, the eagles and the beggars and the seas,
the abc's we all must face, try to keep a little grace
It's a lesson to me, the deltas and the east and the frees,
the abc's we all think of, and ty to wean a little love
I know the rent is in arrears, the dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears, but it's alright
Cow is giving kerosene, kid can't read at seventeen
The words he knows are all obscene, but it's alright
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive.
Shoe is on the hand that fits, there's really nothing much to it
Whistle through your teeth and spit, cause it's alright
Oh well a touch of gray, kinda suits you anyway,
And that was all I had to say, and it's alright
I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive
We will get by
We will get by
We will get by
We will survive
02 Hell in a Bucket (05:37)
Well I was drinkin' last night with a biker
And I showed him a picture of you
He said, "Pal get to know her, you'll like her
Seemed like the least I could do.
Cause when he's chargin' his chopper
Up and down your carpeted halls
You won't think it by contrast quite proper
Never mind how I stumble and fall.
You imagine me sipping champagne from your boot
For a taste of your elegant pride
I may be going to hell in a bucket, babe
But at least I'm enjoying the ride, at least I'll enjoy the ride.
Cause you're a sweet little softcore pretender
Somehow, babe, it got hot as it gets
With your black leather chrome spiked suspenders
And your chain and your whip and your pets
Well we know you're the reincarnation
Of the ravenous Catherine the Great
And we know how you love your ovations
To the Z-rated scenes you create.
You imagine me sipping champagne from your boot
For a taste of your elegant pride
I may be going to hell in a bucket, babe
But at least I'm enjoying the ride, at least I'll enjoy the ride.
You analyze me, tend to despise me, you laugh
When I stumble and fall
There may come a day when I'll dance on your grave
Unable to dance I'll still crawl across it
Unable to dance I'll still crawl
Unable to dance I'll crawl.
You must really consider the circus
It just might be your kind of zoo
I can't think of a place that's more perfect
For a person as perfect as you.
And it's not like I'm leaving you lonely
Cause I wouldn't know where to begin
Well I know you will think of me only
When the snakes come marching in.
You imagine me sipping champagne from your boot
For taste of your elegant pride
I may be going to hell in a bucket, babe
But at least I'm enjoying the ride, at least I'll enjoy the ride.
Ride, ride, ride
Ride, ride, ride
Ride, ride, ride
At least I'll enjoy the ride.
At least I'll enjoy the ride.
AT LEAST I'LL ENJOY THE RIDE.
04 West L.A. Fadeaway (06:39)
I'm looking for a chateau, 21 rooms but one will do
I'm looking for a chateau, 21 rooms but one will do
I don't want to buy it
I just want to rent it for a minute or two
I met an old mistake walking down the street today
I met an old mistake walking down the street today
I didn't want to be mean about it
I couldn't think of one good thing to say.
West L.A. fadeaway, West L.A. fadeaway
Big red light on the highway, little green light on the freeway.
Got a steady job moving items for the mob
Got a steady job moving items for the mob
Know the pay's pathetic
It's a shame those boys couldn't be more copasetic
West L.A. fadeaway, West L.A. fadeaway
Big red light on the highway, little green light on the freeway.
I need a West L.A. girl, already know what I need to know
I need a West L.A. girl, already know what I need to know
Lord, just how far to go.
West L.A. fadeaway, here's one chance you say.
She tries to live by the Golden Rule.
Said you treat other people right,
Other people probably treat you cool.
05 Tons of Steel (05:17)
I know these rails we're on like I know my lady's smile,
We see a dozen dreams in every passing mile.
Can't begin to count the trips she and I have made,
But I wish I had a dollar for each time we've both been down this grade.
And 100,000 tons of steel, made to roll.
The brakes don't work and this grade's too steep, her engine's sure to blow.
And 100,000 tons of steel, out of control,
She's more a rollercoaster than the train I used to know.
It's one hell of an understatement, to say she can't be beat.
She's tempermental, more a bitch than a machine.
She wasn't built to travel at speed or through mud slides.
These wheels are bound to jump the tracks before they burn like the ties
And 100,000 tons of steel, made to roll.
The brakes don't work and this grade's too steep, her engine's sure to blow
And 100,000 tons of steel, out of control
She's more a rollercoaster than the train I used to know.
Murphy sure out done himself to pick this stretch of track
I can only hope my luck is ridin' in the back.
Well I have pray to God this ain't the day we meet,
I've done about everything, but try dragging my feet.
And 100,000 tons of steel, made to roll.
The brakes don't work and this grade's too steep, her engine's sure to blow
And 100,000 tons of steel, out of control,
She's more a rollercoaster than the train I used to know.
Oh, oh I want to go down slow.
06 Throwing Stones (07:21)
Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky, brush in some clouds and sea
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace, is the human face.
But afraid, we may our home to waste.
Theres a fear down here we cant forget hasnt got a name just yet
Always awake, always around singing ashes to ashes all fall down.
Now watch as the ball revolves and the nighttime falls
And again the hunt begins and again the bloodwind calls
By and by again, the morning sun will rise
But the darkness never goes from some mens eyes.
It strolls the sidewalks and it rolls the streets
It's taking turf, dividing up meat.
Nightmare spook, piece of heat, you and me, you and me.
Click, flashblade in ghetto night. rudies looking for a fight.
Rat cat alley roll them bones. need that cash to feed that jones
And the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down.
Commissars and pin-striped bosses role the dice
Any way they fall guess who gets to pay the price.
Money green or proletarian gray, selling guns instead of food today.
So the kids they dance, they shake their bones
While the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down.
Heartless powers try to tell us what to think
If the spirits sleeping, then the flesh is ink.
History's page will be neatly carved in stone
The futures here, we are it, we are on our own.
If the game is lost then we're all the same
No one left to place or take the blame.
We will leave this place an empty stone
Or this shinning ball, we can call our oun
So the kids they dance, they shake their bones
While the politicians are throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes all fall down.
Shipping powders back and forth
Singing black goes south while white comes north
And the whole world is full of petty wars
Singing I got mine and you got yours.
And the current fashions set the pace.
Lose your step, fall out of grace.
And the radical he rant and rage, singing someone got to turn the page
And the rich man in his summer home,
Singing just leave well enough alone
But his pants are down, his covers blown
And the politicians are throwing stones
So the kids they dance they shake their bones
Cause its all too clear were on our own
Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
Its dizzying, the possibilities. ashes, ashes all fall down.
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