The 100 Greatest Classic Rock Albums of All Time: #1. Sticky Fingers (2 Viewers)

[Gr00vus]

It's a good album, but apart from Rosalita, I don't recall hearing these tracks much on classic rock radio beyond the years close to the album's release. Even Rosalita didn't get a ton of play compared to other tracks on other albums listed here so far.

I heard Sandy and Rosalita. That’s enough for this list.

I've honestly never heard Asbury Park on the radio. And I listened to plenty of classic rock stations.

 

[Tau837]

Like others, I never heard Asbury Park on the radio, and, frankly, independent of that, to suggest it is better than so many other classic rock albums is silly... a Tim-ism.

 

[BassNBrew]

Like others, I never heard Asbury Park on the radio, and, frankly, independent of that, to suggest it is better than so many other classic rock albums is silly... a Tim-ism.

Clearly better than Van Halen.

I'm beginning to think Tim is working backwards on his list.

 

[timschochet]

Like others, I never heard Asbury Park on the radio, and, frankly, independent of that, to suggest it is better than so many other classic rock albums is silly... a Tim-ism.

Clearly better than Van Halen.

I'm beginning to think Tim is working backwards on his list.

Nah. But I do use Research Randomizer every morning so I have no idea what comes next. Keeps it interesting.

 

[DocHolliday]

Like others, I never heard Asbury Park on the radio, and, frankly, independent of that, to suggest it is better than so many other classic rock albums is silly... a Tim-ism.

Clearly better than Van Halen.

I'm beginning to think Tim is working backwards on his list.

The ranking of that VH debut album looks worse every time another album is listed. The albums just listed by Bowie and Bruce are ok ar best. They wouldn’t make my top 100 but this isn’t my list and we will wait for some better selections.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I think it is worth repeating again that the order here is incidental, but I have always gotten the impression that Tim takes critics and their halfwit reviews seriously, which means we are lucky the VH album got mentioned at all.

 

[BassNBrew]

#46. Aqualung​

 

[Dr_Zaius]

#46. Aqualung​

Awaiting a poor old sod's writeup on this one...

 

[Anarchy99]

#46. Aqualung​

I believe that’s from the Grammy winning artist that won for Best Metal Performance.

 

[timschochet]

46. Jethro Tull- Aqualung (1971)

Classic rock radio hits: Aqualung, Locomotive Breath, Hymn 43

The definitive Jethro Tull record. Ian Anderson has always said that, despite a few of the songs having connected themes this is NOT a concept album, merely a collection of tunes they were inteeested in at the time. It’s a combination of prog rock, hard rock, and British folk music that is sublime to listen to.

Aqualung
Extraordinary music and lyrics. The changes in this song, from hard rock to acoustic folk is as good if not better than Led Zeppelin who did the same thing often. And I have always loved Martin Barre’s guitar solo towards the end of the tune, it’s awesome.

Cross-Eyed Mary
More great hard rock, with Anderson singing angry (or constipated). But his flute is excellent here.

Cheap Day Return
Very short acoustic effort. Love this and wish it were longer.

Mother Goose
Probably my favorite Tull song. The interplay between acoustic lead guitar and flute and later on electric guitar is really brilliant. For me this is perfection.

Wond’ring Aloud
Another great acoustic British folk tune that is too short. This one has some really pretty keyboards and orchestration added.

Up To Me
More great hard rock with another terrific lead flute riff.

My God
Long guitar into here which leads into a slow ballad in which Anderson explores questions of faith. Not my favorite.

Hymn 43
Such a great riff by Barre. Absolutely love this.

Slipstream
More brilliant acoustic too short. The band had some great ideas that they didn’t explore properly IMO.

Locomotive Breath
IMO this is one of the greatest intros for a classic hard rock song ever made. Actually the entire tune is superb but that intro…

Wind-Up
You think this is another acoustic ballad when suddenly hard rock breaks out. A really fine finish to a wonderful album.

 

[Stoneworker]

Terrific album. Great writeup. I would give a tad more love to Cross-Eyed Mary

 

[Doug B]

Terrific album. Great writeup. I would give a tad more love to Cross-Eyed Mary

Around here, "Cross-Eyed Mary" was right there with "Locomotive Breath" in classic-rock airplay -- not all that far behind the mammoth "Aqualung".

Before conglomeration, you'd get "Hymn 43" and "Mother Goose" on deep-cut programs (man, I miss those) and the like.

 

[Doug B]

Hymn 43
Such a great riff by Barre. Absolutely love this.

Martin Barre is criminally underrated. I don't think your going to take the album with my favorite Barre composition, so I might get a chance to name-check it later.

Yet another one of his Tull pieces is thought to have directly inspired another late-70s classic rock juggernaut of a song. But later.

 

[timschochet]

Terrific album. Great writeup. I would give a tad more love to Cross-Eyed Mary

Yeah I’m not the greatest write-up guy. My problem is that so many of these songs are so great I feel kind of silly commenting on them. I’ve loved Cross Eyed Mary my entire life so what can I write about it that would do it justice? So I write “the flute is excellent” and then I feel kind of dumb.

 

[Doug B]

I’ve loved Cross Eyed Mary my entire life so what can I write about it that would do it justice? So I write “the flute is excellent” and then I feel kind of dumb.

Your write-ups are fine. You're covering every tune on these albums with a blurb -- no one should be expecting 1,000-word essays.

One cool thing regarding the flute in this song is how at the very beginning it sets up this lilting pastoral opening along with the barely-struck high end of the piano. Drummer Clive Bunker comes in slow and easy with something of a military march ... thump ... thump ... thump, like footsteps. Anderson's butterfly of flute notes doesn't know what hits it when Barre comes in off the top rope with the power chords. Metalheads dutifully throw up the horns (I know, I know ... Tull's not metal).

Or is it metal, after all? Nobody told these guys (no spotlight, too new).

 

[Stoneworker]

Terrific album. Great writeup. I would give a tad more love to Cross-Eyed Mary

Yeah I’m not the greatest write-up guy. My problem is that so many of these songs are so great I feel kind of silly commenting on them. I’ve loved Cross Eyed Mary my entire life so what can I write about it that would do it justice? So I write “the flute is excellent” and then I feel kind of dumb.

They're great.

For me this is an album that actually put thought into song placement and cohesiveness. When listened to in one sitting, the "intro" to Mary IMO is more like a connective interlude, and then when the song really hits it draws a great contrast. If it hit hard immediately coming off Aqualung it wouldn't be as impactful.

It's always sounded to me like Mary (a prostitute, I believe) was Aqualung's "girlfriend" (Aqualung makes a cameo appearance in Mary's lyrics) and so it's really one long story.

In my own head, at least.

 

[timschochet]

I’ve loved Cross Eyed Mary my entire life so what can I write about it that would do it justice? So I write “the flute is excellent” and then I feel kind of dumb.

Your write-ups are fine. You're covering every tune on these albums with a blurb -- no one should be expecting 1,000-word essays.

One cool thing regarding the flute in this song is how at the very beginning it sets up this lilting pastoral opening along with the barely-struck high end of the piano. Drummer Clive Bunker comes in slow and easy with something of a military march ... thump ... thump ... thump, like footsteps. Anderson's butterfly of flute notes doesn't know what hits it when Barre comes in off the top rope with the power chords. Metalheads dutifully throw up the horns (I know, I know ... Tull's not metal).

Or is it metal, after all? Nobody told these guys (no spotlight, too new).

The drumming on the entire album is really good.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I was never a big Tull fan (always liked them, never really loved them), but Aqualung is a damn fine record from start to finish.

For anyone interested, the 2011 remaster done by Steven Wilson is THE version. It sounds incredible (all prior versions were iffy on the sound quality).

 

[timschochet]

45. Billy Joel- The Stranger (1978)

Classic Rock Radio Hits: Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song), Only the Good Die Young, The Stranger, Vienna, She’s Always A Woman, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Screw the naysayers. This is a great album, and yea it absolutely is classic rock (most of it.) It’s an extraordinary collection of memorable songs, and it’s the best thing that Mr. Joel ever did. And if you don’t like that too friggin bad.

Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)
Solid way to start off. Cadillac ack ack ack!

The Stranger
I’ve never been a fan of the whistling. Otherwise a classic Joel tune.

Just the Way You Are
Despite this being the biggest hit of Billy Joel’s career I didn’t include it on the above list because it wasn’t ever played on classic rock radio, at least near me, but on pop and easy listening stations instead. It is an almost perfect pop song, and the sax is exquisite.

Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
So many people love this. Rolling Stone thinks it’s his best song and regularly has it on their top 500 songs of all time. I like it but don’t love it, and think the changes are a little strange.

Vienna
This is Billy’s favorite and it’s pretty brilliant. Because if it’s appearance on Glee my daughters have surprised me by knowing every line by heart.

Only The Good Die Young
Ah those Catholic girls. A little rude, a little sexist, but still an absolute classic. And a fan favorite.

She’s Only A Woman
I would label this as Joel’s prettiest ballad ever. For some reason it was played on easy listening AND classic rock whereas Just The Way You Are was only played on easy listening. Go figure. Anyhow, gorgeous.

Get It Right the First Time
This is a pleasant but not really memorable deep cut love song. The chorus is catchy.

Everybody Has a Dream
Another pretty ballad to end the album.

 

[Stoneworker]

Barf

 

[Anarchy99]

I feel badly for Tim. He puts a lot of time, effort, and thought into these threads. I have a mental picture of agitated natives getting restless and preparing torches and pitchforks (or tar and feathers in some sections of the country).

 

[Doug B]

45. Billy Joel- The Stranger (1978)

Classic Rock Radio Hits: Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song), Only the Good Die Young, The Stranger, Vienna, She’s Always A Woman, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Around here, the two in red got played a ton on CR radio. 'She's Always a Woman", now and then. The others, never.

It's a little surprising in retrospect. Whistling or not, "The Stranger" fit well into the 80s classic-rock radio format.

 

[Stoneworker]

I feel badly for Tim. He puts a lot of time, effort, and thought into these threads. I have a mental picture of agitated natives getting restless and preparing torches and pitchforks (or tar and feathers in some sections of the country).

He does. It is an incredible effort and truly appreciated. Hopefully the occasional smart-*ss comments like mine above are taken purely in innocuous jest as they are intended.

 

[Gr00vus]

Brender and Eddie

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I'm using the Thumper Rule today

 

[Gr00vus]

I'm using the Thumper Rule today

We will miss your eloquent expression of your love for all things Joel.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I'm using the Thumper Rule today

Clearly when he said naysayers he meant you.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I'm using the Thumper Rule today

Clearly when he said naysayers he meant you.

I guess it's good to be recognized for something

 

[Mr. Mojo]

I always disliked the lyrics to She's Always A Woman.
Just The Way You Are is great though.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Billy Joel is great, and I agree that The Stranger is his best record.

 

[shuke]

I swear that I remember the title track being used in some skinemax soft porn movie in the 80's, possibly even the title was "The Stranger", but I have had no luck finding evidence.

 

[DocHolliday]

Billy Joel is great, and I agree that The Stranger is his best record.

Big fan of Billy Joel and this album.

 

[BassNBrew]

I'm using the Thumper Rule today

Van Halen Thumps.

 

[BassNBrew]

Billy Joel is great, and I agree that The Stranger is his best record.

Big fan of Billy Joel and this album.

I am too, but way to high on the list. Joel is more Pop than Rock to me.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Aqualung -- My stations played Cross-Eyed Mary in addition to the three you listed. It's a top 3 Tull album along with Benefit and Songs from the Wood. Wind-Up is a favorite and I included it in my 1971 countdown. Oh, and this is a concept album -- Anderson is trolling us when he says it isn't.

The Stranger -- Easily Joel's best album, and the title track may be my favorite song of his. My stations played Just the Way You Are but not Vienna. I got extra-familiar with this album in college because my sophomore and junior year roommate played it ALL THE TIME.

 

[massraider]

I swear that I remember the title track being used in some skinemax soft porn movie in the 80's, possibly even the title was "The Stranger", but I have had no luck finding evidence.

Opening scene is guy sitting on his own hand for 20 minutes?

 

[timschochet]

44. The Who- Quadrophenia (1973)

Classic Rock Radio Hits: Love Reign O’er Me, 5:15, The Real Me

Quadrophenia is a rock opera about mod named Jimmy who fights with Teddy Boys…I got that from Wiki and a few other sources. I sure as hell didn’t get it from the lyrics, which to this day I can’t really make heads or tails of. But does that really matter? This is a record of epic proportions, a fever dream of Pete Townshend, and a tremendous listen. So who cares what it all means?

I Am The Sea
Echoey intro with whispers of upcoming songs.

The Real Me
Great rock and roll, highlighted by Daltry’s vocals and the manic drumming of Keith Moon. (I think this album is Moon’s best ever performance. If you isolate his drums in most of these songs and truly listen to them, they’re extraordinary.)

Quadrophenia
The first of several instrumentals which combine musical elements heard over and over on this album- a technique that is also prevalent on the other two rock operas upcoming on this list.

Cut My Hair
I think the story is supposed to begin here. Something about his hair, his dad.

The Punk And The Godfather
More great rock and roll. Many interesting musical changes here. Terrific lead guitar and Entwistle’s bass is also superb.

I’m One
Almost a folky interlude. Really pretty song. Rocks up in the middle.

The Dirty Jobs
Might be Townshend’s best melody on the record. The lyrics are pretty depressing however.

Helpless Dancer
No clue. Some sort of angry dialogue I suppose. Fun to listen to however. Love the “Kids Are Alright” snippet at the end.

Is It My Head?
Deep cut filler. None of the songs on this record are awful. But there isn’t much special here.

I’ve Had Enough
And more greatness. Let’s start with Moon again- how can anyone possibly play that fast?

5:15
Truly a classic song, maybe the best rock song about a train ever. The chorus here is sublime. Belongs near the top of any list of greatest songs by this band, IMO.

Sea and Sand
I think this is among the best of the deep cuts. Halfway through features a truly amazing guitar solo.

Drowned
Love the piano here, reminiscent of Elton John. And this is another really great rock song.

Bell Boy
I thought about adding this to the hit list because I thought I heard it once or twice on the radio back in the day. But now I’m not sure. The Cockney is fun.

Doctor Jimmy
Rude, crude, incredibly sexist- but this is some of Pete’s best and smartest lyrics of all time- a brilliant play on Jeckyl and Hyde. “He only comes out when I drink my gin”. So smart. Yet so disturbing.

The Rock
Another fine instrumental leading to the finale.

Love, Reign O’er Me
Achingly great. Epic and beautiful. That piano opening, Daltry at his best, the amazing bridge. I will always love this.

 

[Willy]

The Real Me
Great rock and roll, highlighted by Daltry’s vocals and the manic drumming of Keith Moon. (I think this album is Moon’s best ever performance. If you isolate his drums in most of these songs and truly listen to them, they’re extraordinary.)

No mention of the bass was on this one? Supposedly Entwistle said he was just joking around, but they used his first take. As was often the case with The Who, it sounds like the bass and drums fighting it out for lead instrument in this track.

 

[timschochet]

The Real Me
Great rock and roll, highlighted by Daltry’s vocals and the manic drumming of Keith Moon. (I think this album is Moon’s best ever performance. If you isolate his drums in most of these songs and truly listen to them, they’re extraordinary.)

No mention of the bass was on this one? Supposedly Entwistle said he was just joking around, but they used his first take. As was often the case with The Who, it sounds like the bass and drums fighting it out for lead instrument in this track.

I didn’t know that but you’re right I should have mentioned the bass both on this tune and all throughout the album. Absolutely phenomenal.

 

[Doug B]

No mention of the bass was on this one? Supposedly Entwistle said he was just joking around, but they used his first take.

"The Real Me" is one of the best bass parts in the rock-&-roll pantheon. And that just dribbled off of Entwistle's fingers. Amazing.

Not spotlighting: See also Slash's guitar intro on G'n'R's "Sweet Child O' Mine" -- a personal warm-up exercise lifted into an iconic line. There's another one kind of like this one that would be spotlighting, so I'll keep it in my back pocket until the album is selected.

 

[Mookie Gizzy]

44. The Who- Quadrophenia (1973)

Classic Rock Radio Hits: Love Reign O’er Me, 5:15, The Real Me

Quadrophenia is a rock opera about mod named Jimmy who fights with Teddy Boys…I got that from Wiki and a few other sources. I sure as hell didn’t get it from the lyrics, which to this day I can’t really make heads or tails of. But does that really matter? This is a record of epic proportions, a fever dream of Pete Townshend, and a tremendous listen. So who cares what it all means?

I Am The Sea
Echoey intro with whispers of upcoming songs.

The Real Me
Great rock and roll, highlighted by Daltry’s vocals and the manic drumming of Keith Moon. (I think this album is Moon’s best ever performance. If you isolate his drums in most of these songs and truly listen to them, they’re extraordinary.)

Quadrophenia
The first of several instrumentals which combine musical elements heard over and over on this album- a technique that is also prevalent on the other two rock operas upcoming on this list.

Cut My Hair
I think the story is supposed to begin here. Something about his hair, his dad.

The Punk And The Godfather
More great rock and roll. Many interesting musical changes here. Terrific lead guitar and Entwistle’s bass is also superb.

I’m One
Almost a folky interlude. Really pretty song. Rocks up in the middle.

The Dirty Jobs
Might be Townshend’s best melody on the record. The lyrics are pretty depressing however.

Helpless Dancer
No clue. Some sort of angry dialogue I suppose. Fun to listen to however. Love the “Kids Are Alright” snippet at the end.

Is It My Head?
Deep cut filler. None of the songs on this record are awful. But there isn’t much special here.

I’ve Had Enough
And more greatness. Let’s start with Moon again- how can anyone possibly play that fast?

5:15
Truly a classic song, maybe the best rock song about a train ever. The chorus here is sublime. Belongs near the top of any list of greatest songs by this band, IMO.

Sea and Sand
I think this is among the best of the deep cuts. Halfway through features a truly amazing guitar solo.

Drowned
Love the piano here, reminiscent of Elton John. And this is another really great rock song.

Bell Boy
I thought about adding this to the hit list because I thought I heard it once or twice on the radio back in the day. But now I’m not sure. The Cockney is fun.

Doctor Jimmy
Rude, crude, incredibly sexist- but this is some of Pete’s best and smartest lyrics of all time- a brilliant play on Jeckyl and Hyde. “He only comes out when I drink my gin”. So smart. Yet so disturbing.

The Rock
Another fine instrumental leading to the finale.

Love, Reign O’er Me
Achingly great. Epic and beautiful. That piano opening, Daltry at his best, the amazing bridge. I will always love this.

to Sea and Sand

 

[Ghost Rider]

I guess I am the weird Who fan in that I think Who's Next, while good, is highly overrated, with Tommy being their best by a comfortable margin, and then Quadrophenia being the second best by an equally comfortable margin. Quadrophenia can be a little ponderous at times, but it's pretty darn good overall.

 

[Tau837]

I guess I am the weird Who fan in that I think Who's Next, while good, is highly overrated, with Tommy being their best by a comfortable margin, and then Quadrophenia being the second best by an equally comfortable margin. Quadrophenia can be a little ponderous at times, but it's pretty darn good overall.

Yes, I can confirm that is indeed weird.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I guess I am the weird Who fan in that I think Who's Next, while good, is highly overrated, with Tommy being their best by a comfortable margin, and then Quadrophenia being the second best by an equally comfortable margin. Quadrophenia can be a little ponderous at times, but it's pretty darn good overall.

Yes, I can confirm that is indeed weird.

Haha, don't get me wrong, I like Who's Next, and Baba O'Riley is one of my two or three favorite songs by the band, but I like their sound better in the 60s when they sound more raw and gritty. Who's Next sounds good and more polished, but Keith Moon sounds completely emasculated in the mix, like he is lightly tapping on his drums far too often. Fortunately, his drums sound better on Quadrophenia, as you can feel the power of his drumming more often than not. I just like their sound better overall when it feels like Moon is literally punishing you with his playing. Oh, and I have never thought Won't Get Fooled Again was anything more than just a solid tune (I find that lead synth to be fairly annoying), but I will say more when that album inevitably pops up in this countdown.

 

[rockaction]

I feel the exact same way as Ghost Rider does about Who's Next and The Who's '60s output.

The Who was better in the '60s. I keep trying to listen to their seventies output, and I keep failing to appreciate it. I remember W.A.S.P. did a cover of "The Real Me" that they used to play on Headbanger's Ball, and I remember the bass being prominent and very catchy, but it doesn't mean it's a great song by any stretch. I feel the same about most of the rest of Quadrophenia.

Now that I've announced that I have no taste, I will say that "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley" are wonderful songs and make for a better album listening experience if we're solely choosing '70s output from The Who.

Oh, and The Mods and the Rockers are the main groups that warred during the 1960s in London, but the Teddy Boys used to have teen wars and fights in England also. The Mods dressed like The Who and other nattily-attired '60s British bands while the Teddy Boys dressed like Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, and even earlier Elvis. They were part of the grand tradition of demarcating one's self in a teen identity based on youth culture adaptations and trends.

Mods on Vespas and Teddy Boys with Cadillacs

Teddy boys - teddyboys - Members of 1950's youth subculture

Teddy boys were members of cult in 1950s, characterised by a style inspired by fashion of the Edwardian era. The Teddy boys referred to themselves as Teds.

subcultureslist.com

Museum of Youth Culture | We Are the Mods

'Modernists' were an aspirational subculture of teenagers who dressed smartly as a statement of rebellion. Discover how the Mods took over Britain.

museumofyouthculture.com

 

[Anarchy99]

I like Tommy and Quadrophenia, but to me, being double albums, they have some songs I don't love. I like many of their early singles and non-album tracks, and I like multiple songs per album from their other albums. But the two albums of theirs I listen to straight through and relish are Who's Next and the expanded Live at Leeds. If we only consider studio albums or albums with new material, that leaves Who's Next as the clear favorite for me.

 

[DocHolliday]

I feel the exact same way as Ghost Rider does about Who's Next and The Who's '60s output.

The Who was better in the '60s. I keep trying to listen to their seventies output, and I keep failing to appreciate it. I remember W.A.S.P. did a cover of "The Real Me" that they used to play on Headbanger's Ball, and I remember the bass being prominent and very catchy, but it doesn't mean it's a great song by any stretch. I feel the same about most of the rest of Quadrophenia.

Now that I've announced that I have no taste, I will say that "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley" are wonderful songs and make for a better album listening experience if we're solely choosing '70s output from The Who.

Oh, and The Mods and the Rockers are the main groups that warred during the 1960s in London, but the Teddy Boys used to have teen wars and fights in England also. The Mods dressed like The Who and other nattily-attired '60s British bands while the Teddy Boys dressed like Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, and even earlier Elvis. They were part of the grand tradition of demarcating one's self in a teen identity based on youth culture adaptations and trends.

Mods on Vespas and Teddy Boys with Cadillacs

Teddy boys - teddyboys - Members of 1950's youth subculture

Teddy boys were members of cult in 1950s, characterised by a style inspired by fashion of the Edwardian era. The Teddy boys referred to themselves as Teds.

subcultureslist.com

Museum of Youth Culture | We Are the Mods

'Modernists' were an aspirational subculture of teenagers who dressed smartly as a statement of rebellion. Discover how the Mods took over Britain.

museumofyouthculture.com

Big fan of WASP so my taste in music is questionable at best but you like what you like. I love Keith Moon’s drumming but am not a fan of The Who. I don’t like their sound and am not a fan of thee structure of many of their songs. Sure, they have a few great tunes but I cannot listen to those worn out songs any longer. Their catalogue is either not good or old news.

 

[timschochet]

43. Grateful Dead- American Beauty (1970)

Classic Rock Radio Hits: Truckin’, Sugar Magnolia, Friend of the Devil

Building on the superb Workingman’s Dead, the Dead quickly put together an even greater record of folk, rock and roots classics- the greatest ever Americana album save one (upcoming on this list later on.) This band’s signature album, and timeless.

Box of Rain
Is it possible that a song about cancer could be uplifting? If so this is the one. It’s a great listen and opening to the record. I also love the scene towards the end of the single season show Freaks and Geeks in which the main character puts this song on and decides that this band is for her. Great scene and I get it.

Friend of the Devil
My favorite Dead song from the studio. (My favorite live Dead song is “Brown Eyed Woman”). The melody is simple but catchy, and the lyrics are both hilarious and poignant.

Sugar Magnolia
One of the great hippie songs of all time. “Saw my baby down by the river” - what’s not to love? Every summer the wife and I head to Laguna Beach for the Sawdust Festival, a local arts and crafts show. This tune is almost the theme song and a live band there always seems to play it.

Operator
Pigpen’s voice is very distinctive here. It was one of his last contributions to the band as he would pass away shortly thereafter.

Candyman
Terrific harmonies here. Robert Hunter’s lyrics, as all throughout this album, are both fascinating and soothing.

Ripple
I like this a lot but I was astonished to see it on the latest version of Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest songs- the only Grateful Dead tune to make the list. I always considered a fine folky tune but nothing quite that significant. Perhaps I’m missing something?

Brokedown Palace
Slow ballad, really pretty. More great harmonies.

Till The Morning Comes
Probably Jerry Garcia’s best guitar work on the album. But otherwise ordinary.

Attics of My Life
Slow lullaby. Yet another very pretty melody.

Truckin’
Of course the band’s most famous tune, also helped by the iconic R. Crumb drawing associated with it. “What a long strange trip it’s been” might be the greatest line in rock history.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Quadrophenia: Add The Punk and the Godfather, Drowned, Bell Boy and Dr. Jimmy to the list of songs my stations played. The album is a slog in spots but I've gotten warmer on it as I've gotten older. Side 3 is monstrously good.

American Beauty: Add Box of Rain to the list of songs my stations played. I'm not into the Dead and I don't think Ripple is anything special either. But I do like Box of Rain and Friend of the Devil.

 

[rockaction]

Because I wrote this for a tim draft way back when and like to see it to see what I was like when I was still drinking.

Not live, and apropos of nothing, but just because I got such a gosh darn kick out of listening, drafting, and writing this back during my alcohol days on 2016, here's a review of:

Grateful Dead – American Beauty – (1970)

Social consciousness is difficult to escape these days. Given today's climate, escape seems a desirable alternative to engagement. But figuring out the root cause of how we got here might mean merely chasing the original cause down the rabbit hole, naked and bare-assed for the world, struggling to fit in something not made for humans. That’s unsatisfactory. So how do we address the religiosity and rigidity of our sociopolitical state of mind, or much more importantly, how do we find the way around it -- down and off the beaten paths to La Honda, a little bit further, if you will? Holding hands with Garcia, Mountain Girl simply intones, and the rest follow her lead.

The Warner Brothers promo for this album states: “I’d like to tell you that [so-and-so left to follow the Dead and can be found skinny dipping at your local motel]. But you’re no fool. You’d complain. We'd get in trouble. And Jerry Garcia probably would get busted again.” Oh yes, you would. You’d complain. Or you’d shut the shades and smoke your smoke, secretly hoping she’d Phoebe Cates up in your door and lecture you for wanting her.

Or something.

So it’s a bit sexist and heteronormative for today's times, sure. It’s also paradoxically a bit communal in spirit – if only you saw the world as the Dead, then hell, we’d all be individualist democrats. And at heart, it really is one of the most mellow drink, ####, fight, throw your fists at God and former lovers album that ever could be recorded, guerilla-style but with an alluring gentility, as Americans always have been. Brash, gentle, individualist, contemplative about all three things. Ripple. Box of Rain. Truckin’. Candyman. Brokedown Palace. It tunes in, turns on, attempts to thoughtfully drop out.

So what happens when American Beauty and freedom meet the inevitable realities of politics and of life in general? Well, we deal with it in the way Americans have dealt with it since our original crossing. Water. What? Yes, water, that baptismal rite (this album is full of passages and travel; echoes of the frontiersman and settlers abound on it). There is also perspective and empiricism, and pantheism, of course, but for which we would not have hippie and transcendental movements. For better or worse, this album brims with Americanisms and high Americana, seeing religion through the lens of nature; seeking to address eternal questions through individual perspective and the brief understandings of the tangible and present; and the plain old good fun and heartbreak through the outlaw’s mind when the majority doesn’t suit him. It’s radical individualism, presented with a panache and flair that answers to nobody, and it is a singular achievement of the holdover ‘60s into the ‘70s. They may have made the acid illegal, but the flashbacks of what once could have been are here to stay. There isn’t a song on this album that isn’t memorable, doesn’t have a quote worthy of a passage of rite in life. It was made for yearbooks, if only it hadn't been done so often before. But if you're unafraid to be a bit redundant sometimes, you can leave others a pearl of wisdom of what your uncool self always wanted to be.

And did I mention it has the best album cover possibly ever put forth on a rock album, beautiful rosewood and a powder blue ambigram that also reads "American Reality?" Look closer, you'll see it. Don't dig deeper, just go beyond. Anyway, enough of that, here's the important stuff.

For natural wit and yearbook quotes everywhere (one from each song):

“It’s just a box of rain…wind and water. Believe it if you need it. If you don’t just pass it on…sun and shower, wind and rain, in and out the window like a moth before a flame…it’s just a box of rain, or a ribbon for your hair, such a long, long time to be gone, and short time to be there.” - Box Of Rain

“I ran down to the levee but the devil caught me there, He took my twenty dollar bill and he vanished in the air.” - Friend Of The Devil

“Sweet blossom come on, under the willow, we can have high times if you’ll abide. We can discover the wonders of nature, rolling in the rushes down by the riverside.” - Sugar Magnolia

“It’s floodin’ down in Texas, poles are out in Utah. Gotta find a private line.” - Operator

“Come on all you pretty women, with your hair a hanging down, open up your windows cuz the candyman’s in town…if you got a dollar boys, lay it on the line, hand me my old guitar, pass the whiskey round” - Candyman

“Ripple in still water, when there is no pebble tossed, nor wind to blow.” - Ripple

“In a bed, in a bed, by the waterside I will lay my head. Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul...sing a lullaby beside the water, lovers come and go, the river roll, roll, roll” - Brokedown Palace

“The shape it takes could be yours to choose…what you may win, what you may lose.” - Till The Morning Comes

“When there was no dream of mine, you dreamed of me.” - Attics Of My Life

“Busted, down on on Bourbon Street, set up, like a bowlin’ pin…what a long, strange trip it’s been!” - Truckin'

"Fare you well my honey/fare you well my only true one/all the birds that were singing have flown except for you alone" - Brokedown Palace