Grateful Dead - American Beauty [MFSL-CD] (1970)

Year: November 1970 (CD Nov 17, 2014)
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (US), UDSACD 2138
Style: Folk Rock, Country Rock
Country: Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Time: 42:46
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 271 Mb

For once a truly beautiful album cover is more than matched by the record inside. The dead just refuse to keep within any normal limits, and I hope that it stays that way for a long time. Workingman’s Dead was a lovely album, lush, full, and thoroughly real in musical and lyrical content. American Beauty is a joyous extension of the last album. If possible there is even more care on vocal wok. Everyone in the band sings, and sings well alone and together.
A full contentment. The instrumentation is rich with sound that moves through, under, and into the listener. Damn it all, the album is American beauty, of the best possible kind. The positivity of the Dead just can’t be kept down. Look at the cover. “American Beauty” can also be read as “American Reality,” thanks to Mouse Studios. If more of the American reality were this album, we’d all have a lot more to be thankful for.
“Box of Rain” takes plenty of time, and moves surely. The band isn’t in any great hurry. Layers of music weave in seemingly simple patterns - deceptively simple patterns. Phil Lesh’s singing is just right. The chorus is fine: “A box of rain will ease the pain/And love will see you through.” “Believe it if you need it/If you don’t just pass it on.” Praised be Bob Hunter. Countrified Dead is so nice to listen to.
From “Box of Rain” they zip into “Friend of the Devil,” which is a snappy little country number, with some extremely fine bass and acoustic guitar interplay. Jerry Garcia’s voice now makes him a perfect wobbly cowboy.
Pigpen drops by with “Operator.” Pigpen songs are always enjoyable, because they’re Pigpen songs. That would be enough, but they are often good too, which is an added bonus, and this one certainly is good. Pigpen growls as ever.
“Ripple” and “Brokedown Palace” are coupled by a vocal chorus, a little reminiscent of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but only in a complimentary sense. The songs meld together and are strongly pretty and sad, as is “Attics of My Life,” which has some very, very nice harmony work.
The two songs that come closest to being rockers on the album are “Till the Morning Comes” and “Truckin.” “Truckin” is just the story of the Dead - going on the road, losing old friends, gaining new ones, trying to keep everybody happy, trying to play some nice music for people, and succeeding on all counts.
The Dead are getting pretty big commercially now, and if ever a band deserved it, it’s them. They have given us all something to treasure with this album. It’s one for now, and one for the kids in 20 years too. American Beauty’s like that, you know.
(rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/american-beauty-127772/) Review by Andy Zwerling. December 24, 1970

01. Box of Rain (05:20)
02. Friend of the Devil (03:25)
03. Sugar Magnolia (03:20)
04. Operator (02:26)
05. Candyman (06:18)
06. Ripple (04:10)
07. Brokedown Palace (04:10)
08. Till the Morning Comes (03:11)
09. Attics of My Life (05:15)
10. Truckin' (05:08)

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Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead [MFSL-CD] (1970)

Year: June 14, 1970 (CD Nov 20, 2014)
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (US), UDSACD 2137
Style: Folk Rock, Country Rock
Country: Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Time: 36:04
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 205 Mb

Looking at the sepia tone album cover of the Workingman’s Dead 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, I give away my age when I say I remember my older brother having the original on 8-Track tape back when it came out in 1970. I remember my seven-year-old brain being somewhat mortified of it because the men pictured on the cover looked like zombies to me ( which I attribute to the old-timey feel of the photo and the post – Night of the Living Dead mania of the day).
My fear didn’t last long, however. It subsided one day when my brother was not at home and I put the tape in his trusty Pioneer player and listened to the eight songs on the album.
I remember thinking during that clandestine listening session that the band sounded a lot like some of the other bands that my older sibling listened to like CCR or CSNY. What set them apart, however, was that unlike a lot of the other bands of the day, they sounded like they were actually having fun playing their instruments and singing. That impression has never left me.
Fifty years later as I listen to the same songs and pick up on some of the weighty themes of the record – the working life, the nature of existence, maintaining hope amidst despair, and staring down death, I still hear an exuberant undercurrent of love and compassion coming from the Grateful Dead’s music that continually sets them apart for me in the world of rock and roll bands. 
I still hear their love for music for music’s sake, but now I also additionally hear an affection for their musical forefathers and influences, for life itself, and for their fans. It is a love that literally pours out of the speakers when their songs are playing and is a love that helps explain the existence of an unprecedented and unmatched fanatical fanbase decades later.
The eight songs on Workingman’s Dead features the band displaying their amazing ability to synthesize elements from Bluegrass, Folk, Country, Blues, Jazz, Dylan’s early electric songs, and sixties rock and roll to masterfully forge a distinctly original sound of their own.
That all of these songs still sound fresh and lively now after a half-century has passed is a testament to the prodigious individual and collective talents of the band.
(americanahighways.org/2020/07/14/review-the-grateful-deads-workingmans-dead-is-still-quintessential-listening-50-years-later/)

01. Uncle John's Band (04:47)
02. High Time (05:15)
03. Dire Wolf (03:16)
04. New Speedway Boogie (04:09)
05. Cumberland Blues (03:18)
06. Black Peter (05:46)
07. Easy Wind (05:00)
08. Casey Jones (04:29)

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Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps [Japanese Ed.] (1979)

Year: June 22, 1979 (CD Sep 21, 2005)
Label: Warner Music (Japan), WPCR-75096
Style: Folk Rock, Country Rock, Hard Rock
Country: Toronto, Ontario, Canada (November 12, 1945)
Time: 38:22
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 256 Mb

Neil Young ended off the seventies on a great note. Before releasing the live album Live Rust, Young finished the decade that was perhaps his most successful with one of this finest works up until then and remains now, ‘Rust Never Sleeps’. Although the album was recorded live on the tour of the same name, it consisted entirely of new material and with most of the audience track removed and later overdubbing, it felt like a studio recording but with a rawer, more intense and intimate feel of a live performance. Young makes some of his most memorable work ranging from the gentle, cryptic folk of the opening track to a heavier, rocking alteration of the same song to conclude. Divided into two separate sections, acoustic first and electric tunes on the second half with his famous backing band Crazy Horse, Rust Never Sleeps is one of his most unique and self representative works.
Opening with powerful, atmospheric My My Hey Hey (Out of the Blue), the albums distinctive tone is set. Possessing the infamous line “It’s better to burn out than to fade away”, an inside look at the music industry and an era as well as a modest salute to the King Elvis Presley and embracing the modern punk age with a nod to Johnny Rotten, the track is one of Young’s most prominent and for good reason. Thrasher solidifies the albums brilliant start with a beautiful, warming and intimate story telling song with some of his best and most descriptive lyrics that read like an autobiography with lines such as “And I was just getting up, hit the road before it's light; trying to catch an hour on the sun, when I saw those thrashers rolling by; looking more than two lanes wide I was feeling like my day had just begun” and a excerpt from the final verse “But me I'm not stopping there got my own row left to hoe; just another line in the field of time”. Ride My Llama and Pocahontas are also both wonderful songs that fit along side his best, especially the latter. The majority of the lyrics are written cleverly, sometimes laced with obscure metaphors, imagery and passages that may have numerous meanings, but are bound to make the listener think. What to think about depends.
The electric second half is highlighted by Powderfinger, which actually works as a transitional song in the middle with its blending of softer, mid tempo melodies with heavier guitar parts. One of Young’s undisputed highlights, the five minute plus song combines a folk country melody with mesmerizing guitars including a remarkable, yet straightforward solo and Young’s distinctive tenor. Only contending with the opener and Thrasher, this track leaves the longest lasting impression.
(sputnikmusic.com/review/12378/Neil-Young-Rust-Never-Sleeps/)

01. My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue) (03:47)
02. Thrasher (05:39)
03. Ride My Llama (02:30)
04. Pocahontas (03:23)
05. Sail Away (03:48)
06. Powderfinger (05:29)
07. Welfare Mothers (03:48)
08. Sedan Delivery (04:38)
09. Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) (05:15)

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Neil Young - After The Gold Rush [Japanese Ed. SHM-CD] (1970)

Year: September 1970 (CD Dec 10, 2008)
Label: Warner Music (Japan), WPCR-13241
Style: Folk Rock, Country Rock
Country: Toronto, Ontario, Canada (November 12, 1945)
Time: 35:15
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 253 Mb

The album opens with three of its quieter songs, highlighted by the piano-led title track in which Young demonstrates just how perfectly he can generate melancholy with his voice. Soon after comes "Southern Man," which is Crazy Horse at their finest. This is one of the most furious, apocalyptic songs that Neil ever put out, and also one of his best. His trademark solo style is in full effect, playing off of a pounding piano line.
"Southern Man" is a brief diversion in sound, but it fits the overall tone because, like every good Neil Young song, it has something to say. And every one of these songs has something to say--or at least feels like it. Whether the instrumentation is bare or Young is using the full Crazy Horse band, every song on After the Gold Rush feels important. It doesn't matter if Young is being introspective or socially critical, he demands that you listen to him. Nobody sounds like they've had as much life experience and wisdom as Neil Young does, even if he was only 24 when he recorded this album.
These days I still feel like I respect Neil Young more than I enjoy him. I don't care for the country and folk music that he so obviously embraces. But it's almost impossible to listen to an album like After the Gold Rush and not hear his genius, even if "Southern Man" and "When You Dance You Can Really Love" are the only two songs that fit my general listening habits. It's only my fifth-favorite album of 1970 and it gets the 4.0 rating that I bestow upon the majority of music that I enjoy, but in an attempt to speak objectively, After the Gold Rush is not only at the very top of 1970, but one of the greatest albums of the decade. A mandatory listen for anyone who appreciates rock music in general.
(sputnikmusic.com/review/62604/Neil-Young-After-the-Gold-Rush/)

01. Tell Me Why (02:59)
02. After The Goldrush (03:46)
03. Only Love Can Break Your Heart (03:08)
04. Southern Man (05:32)
05. Till The Morning Comes (01:20)
06. Oh, Lonesome Me (03:50)
07. Don't Let It Bring You Down (02:57)
08. Birds (02:33)
09. When You Dance You Can Really Love (04:05)
10. I Believe In You (03:27)
11. Cripple Creek Ferry (01:34)

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Man - Man (1971)

Year: March 1971 (CD 2001)
Label: Repertoire Records (Germany), REP 4969
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Blues Rock, Country Rock
Country: Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
Time: 54:24
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 344 Mb

It was the first album by this line-up, Terry Williams having replaced Jeff Jones on drums, while Martin Ace replaced Ray Williams on bass.
As well as a change in personnel, the album also represented a change in record label from Pye Records to United Artists (released under the UA stable "Liberty" imprint) with whom the band would remain until 1976. Reviews were mixed, particularly regarding the long tracks "Would the Christians...." and "Alchemist" which were an attempt to recreate some of the longer improvised jams that the band performed on stage, but which did not have the same impact on vinyl.
The music of Man contains elements of country rock and heavy metal.[2]
The album contained three shorter tunes: "Country Girl" that showed a clash of direction but showcases some fine Welsh harmonies. "Daughter of the Fireplace", a Leonard-penned rocker, which became a stage favourite (and highlight of Man's 1972 live LP Live at the Padget Rooms, Penarth) while "Romain", a bluesy-shuffle, was written as a reaction to Martin Ace's treatment by a Belgian police officer of the same name when he attempted to intervene in a situation at a music festival; the song remains in the Man live set to the present day.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_(Man_album))

01. Romain (06:12)
02. Country Girl (03:06)
03. Would The Christians Wait Five Minutes? The Lions Are Having A Draw (12:56)
04. Daughter Of The Fireplace (05:18)
05. Alchemist (20:42)
06. Daughter Of The Fireplace (Single Version) (03:01)
07. Country Girl (Single Version) (03:05)

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