October 14, 2025 • 33 mins
Workingman’s Dead (1970) is one of the Grateful Dead’s most celebrated and influential albums, marking a sharp turn from their earlier, more experimental psychedelic sound toward a rootsier, song-focused approach. Recorded quickly and on a tight budget after years of heavy touring and debt, the record draws heavily from folk, country, and Americana traditions. Its stripped-down arrangements, warm harmonies, and storytelling lyrics show the band’s deepening connection to American roots music and their desire to create something more accessible than their previous sprawling jams.
The album features some of the Dead’s most enduring songs, including “Uncle John’s Band,” “Casey Jones,” “Dire Wolf,” and “High Time.” These tracks showcase the group’s evolving focus on vocal harmonies (inspired by contemporaries like Crosby, Stills & Nash) and narrative songwriting rooted in rural imagery, cautionary tales, and mythical Americana. The shift reflected both a practical need—simpler songs worked better on the road—and an artistic choice, capturing the spirit of early 1970s back-to-the-land culture.
Critically, Workingman’s Dead was a turning point that brought the band new recognition and commercial success. It helped redefine their identity from a purely psychedelic San Francisco jam band into a cornerstone of Americana rock. Along with its companion album, American Beauty (released later the same year), it remains a fan favorite and a landmark in the fusion of rock with folk and country traditions.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_04 (00:00):
It's just a normal point of here.
SPEAKER_00 (00:13):
This is Polyphonic Press, the podcast where two
music fans pick a classic albumcompletely at random.
Using the patented random albumgenerator, they are given an
album to review from a curatedlist of over 1,000 classic
releases, spanning multiplegenres.
And now onto the show.
(00:34):
Here are your hosts, Jeremy Boydand John Van Dyke.
SPEAKER_03 (00:46):
Alright, hey, welcome to Polyphonic Press.
I'm Jeremy Boyd.
And I'm John Van Dyke.
And uh let's not waste any time.
We've got the patented randomalbum generator right in front
of us here.
Uh so let's hit the button andsee what album we're gonna be
listening to this week.
And the album we're gonna belistening to is Grateful Dead.
(01:08):
Okay.
Here's a description of thealbum.
It says Working Man's Dead in1970 is one of Grateful Dead's
most celebrated and influentialalbums, marking a sharp turn
from their earlier, moreexperimental more experimental
psychedelic sound toward arootsier song-focused approach.
Recorded quickly and on a tightbudget after years of heavy
(01:32):
touring and debt, the recorddraws heavily from folk,
country, and Americanatradition.
Its stripped-down arrangements,warm harmonies, and storytelling
lyrics show the band's deepeningconnection to American roots
music and their desire to createsomething more accessible than
their previous sprawling jam.
The album features some of thedead's most enduring songs,
(01:54):
including Uncle John's Band,Casey Jones, Dire Wolf, and High
Time.
These tracks showcase thegroup's evolving focus on vocal
harmonies inspired bycontemporaries like Crasby
Stills and Nash, and narrativesongwriting rooted in rural
imagery, cautionary tales, andmythical Americana.
The shift reflected both apractical need, simpler songs
(02:17):
worked better on the road, andan artistic choice, capturing
the spirit of early 1970s backto the back to the land culture.
Critically, Working Man's Deadwas a turning point that brought
the band new recognition andcommercial success.
It helped redefine theiridentity from a purely
psychedelic San Francisco SanFrancisco jam band into a
(02:41):
cornerstone of America acornerstone of American and
Brock.
Along with its companion album,American Beauty, released
released later the same year, itremains a fan favorite and a
landmark in the fusion of rockwith folk and country to
traditions.
SPEAKER_02 (02:57):
Yeah, when you mentioned 1970, I was thinking,
yeah, I think this is around thetime they just they went in sort
of a folkier direction.
SPEAKER_03 (03:04):
Yeah, and this album was released, yeah, June 14th,
1970.
And the genres are Roots Rock,Folk Rock, Country Rock, and
Blues Rock.
And uh released on WarnerBrothers Records and produced by
uh Bob Matthews, Betty Cantor,and uh then the Grateful Dead.
(03:25):
And there are eight songs on thealbum.
Uh and side one and side twosplit split pretty evenly, uh,
four and four.
And so what we like to do is uhtake a pause at the halfway mark
um and uh discuss the album atuh uh after side one or wherever
the half halfway point of thealbum is.
(03:45):
And the album uh opens withUncle John's band, and side one
ends with New Speedway Boogie.
So if you're listening along,which we do encourage you to do,
uh if you want to take a pauseat that uh song to hear the uh
halftime discussion, and umwe've linked the album to both
Spotify and Apple Music so youcan get it on your preferred
(04:08):
streaming service.
Uh okay, here is the uh firstsong on the album, uh uh Uncle
John's Band.
(04:45):
All right, and uh ending sideone with new speedway boogie.
Uh yeah, this is uh this isabout what I was expecting about
from this album based on thedescription.
Yep.
It's that sort of rootsy rockthat was sort of popular in the
late 60s, early 70s with bandslike uh you know, Creden's
(05:06):
Clearwater Revival and the Bandand uh Crosby Stills and Nash
and Neil Young's solo stuff.
That kind of it's sort of inthat sort of um aesthetic, I
suppose.
SPEAKER_02 (05:19):
Yeah, uh I do believe so.
Um, you know, that aestheticsort of came about with like the
birds and um BuffaloSpringfield.
Sort of started that back in thelate 60s.
SPEAKER_03 (05:32):
Yeah, and I I I enjoy it uh so far.
I've always had a sort of anaffinity for that sort of Americ
Americana uh music.
It it's sort of I wouldn't sayit's like the anti-psychedelic
music, but it's sort of a nicecounterpart.
They sort of like complementeach other really well.
Yeah, they do.
SPEAKER_02 (05:52):
And sometimes even when you blend them, they
actually there's likepsychedelic folk out there,
which is kind of, you know, inthe same vein in a lot of ways.
Um yeah, it's uh, you know, sofar I'm enjoying it.
It's uh yeah, I think the onlyone that sort of had dragged on
a little bit for me was hightime.
It just seemed a little, I don'tknow.
SPEAKER_03 (06:35):
Yeah, that one i it was a good song, but yeah, I I
can I see what you mean.
It's sort of like um i it sortof could have ended a little
more, uh like they it could havebeen trimmed down a little bit.
SPEAKER_02 (06:49):
Maybe.
Maybe I just need something witha little more energy at the
moment.
Um and that song was just kindof I don't know, dragging.
I think a lot of people likethat song, probably, especially
potheads, probably.
Um but uh you know, GratefulDead concerts and potheads and
(07:09):
kind of are they are prettysynonymous with each other.
Um but yeah, that's the onlysong that actually sort of was
like a lulled a little bit forme.
Um but yeah, that uh thingsreally picked up with new
speedway boogie.
I thought that was pretty good.
SPEAKER_03 (07:28):
Yeah, that was pretty good.
Yeah.
Um sort of a slow um theirversion of like well, a boogie,
sort of like what John LeeHooker would do kind of thing.
SPEAKER_01 (07:46):
Please hold dominate the last pack if you got nothing
to say.
SPEAKER_03 (08:12):
Yeah, it's interesting.
I don't know a whole lot aboutThe Grateful Dead, and I don't
really know their um theircareer trajectory, but I do know
I think like what our either Ithink it was our second episode
we did their either their firstor second album, which was um uh
(08:32):
the name escapes me right now.
SPEAKER_02 (08:34):
Yeah, I know what you're talking about.
I didn't realize it was oursecond episode.
SPEAKER_03 (08:38):
Yeah, it's uh Antha Anthem of the Sun.
And uh and that one was a lotmore a lot more psychedelic.
That was like you know, more ofthis the San Francisco, you
know, psychedelic sound.
And you know, I i I I it's notthat surprising.
(09:00):
Like that was only that was in68, so that was only two years
before this.
But it's not really thatsurprising that they would go
from that to this kind of music.
It it's it's um it seems like anatural progression.
And then later when we did um Ithink on American Beauty.
(09:21):
American Beauty, from what Iremember, it was more like a
blend of the two.
It's sort of more of a blend ofthe two, whereas this is
definitely like rootsy countryrock almost.
Almost like Graham Parsons orlike the Flying Burrito
(09:43):
Brothers.
SPEAKER_02 (09:44):
That's a very good uh description, yeah, and even
later bird stuff.
It's um yeah, it's uh it it itdoesn't surprise me at all that
they sort of kind of went inthis direction either, because
it's they seemed like verylaid-back people, and they do
laid back music for the mostpart, and even like their
psychedelic stuff was still kindof spacey in the head sort of
(10:08):
thing.
Maybe it wasn't like as laidback in like the playing or
something like that, but itdefinitely it just yeah, this is
definitely a more the relaxedside of things, I think.
SPEAKER_03 (10:22):
Yeah, no, I I I know what you mean.
It it's it's um but e even likeI've heard some of their stuff
from like the mid-70s and evenlater 70s, and they did
incorporate some more more likefunk elements in there, like
especially on the song uhShakedown Street.
Oh yeah.
And uh so like it but even thatis more of a laid-back version
(10:48):
of it.
Yeah.
Yeah, it has a definite swing toit, to the rhythm.
Um so yeah, so even when they'reeven their songs with that have
more energy is is sort of inthat relaxed, sort of loose
feel.
Um But uh, you know, with this,I think uh well yeah, American
(11:12):
Beauty was was the uh was thefollow-up to this.
But then I think the after thatthey they sort of went back to
their more bluesy sort of stuff.
Every album after is a livealbum.
They did a lot of live albums.
They were always touring.
Yes, yeah, that is true.
(11:32):
And they they have a policy,they have they sort of started
the whole live bootleg movement,and they allowed people to sort
of bring um their own recordingequipment and record all of
their show shows.
And there is a there is a hugeum network of Grateful Dead
(11:55):
fans.
Uh first of all, like GratefulDead fans are the i they're they
are not typical rock and rollfans.
Um they uh first they they tendto uh travel when the band goes
on tour, they s a lot of themwill travel with the band and
and i if not the whole tour,they will you know go with them
(12:18):
for a b a big chunk of the tour.
And so it's sort of thiscommunity that is developed, and
it's uh it's it's cool.
You see like with the advent ofthe internet, you see all of
these uh communities sort of uhstarting and people from uh you
know different places and it'swhatever special interest you
(12:40):
have and whatever hobby youhave, you see these communities
developing.
But the Grateful Dead sort ofdid that same had that same
thing, but back in the 70s itwas that the just the the
mindset of you know everybody'staking care of each other and
and that kind of thing.
And so it was a real communitysort of uh feel.
(13:03):
And and part of it was uh youcould uh you could record, you
could take your own recordingequipment and you know, you
could record for the show, uh,but they also they recorded
everything from the soundboard.
So you and you would p tradeback and forth with people and
(13:25):
you would mail tapes back andforth and and and it was a real
network of people.
And I and you know, uh like thejam bands in the 90s were sort
of picked that up with likethere's a a real culture of that
with like fish and and and bandslike that.
But um The Grateful Dead kind ofstarted that in the 70s.
(13:46):
60s and 70s.
Yeah, late 60s.
Mostly in the 70s.
Definitely in the 70s, yeah.
Yeah.
And uh, and so it's it's just itit is um, you know, I just I
think that's I think that'sreally cool that that they were
like I was saying, it's commonnow to have that sort of
community, like with if you're afan of something, um, to find
(14:10):
people on the internet, but theywere doing that, you know 30
years before that was reallycommon.
Um and and yeah, I I don't knowhow or why that started, but
it's just I don't I don't thinkthe band really intended for
that to happen.
It just sort of happened aroundthem.
Um and uh yeah, it's it's areally, really cool thing.
SPEAKER_02 (14:34):
It could have started with practically any
band, but it started I thinkprobably Well, somebody figured
out that they were always ontour, or mi or or several other
people.
Really, you know, big FearfulDead fans decided, oh, they're
constantly on tour, and I guessthey're going to be in the next
city over the following night.
(14:55):
Well, I might as well go overthere and see that see them
then.
And uh, you know, some of themjust decided to keep going
because they, you know, well alot of them I guess didn't have
much else to do.
It probably started organicallylike that and it just started
snowballing.
Well, that's yeah, that's a lotof it.
You know.
(15:15):
Yeah.
Um And that culture then sort ofestablished itself.
And by the time the 90s camealong, well it's already a thing
going.
SPEAKER_03 (15:23):
I'll I'll tag along too, and it just Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (15:26):
Let's get a bus and paint it up and follow the van.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (15:32):
I you know, I mean I mean look, uh I th there are
certain substances that weretaken in those in those uh uh at
those concerts, and you know, umI'm not judging it or anything,
but it it was uh I'm sure thathelped, because you know that um
you know, it was just this sortof I think a lot of the time
(15:55):
like a lot of the when you we'retalking about like uh people
often refer to the the end ofthe sixties or the the death of
the sixties or when the sixtiesdied.
And a lot of people attribute itto like in uh December of 69
when um the Rolling Stones hadthe Ultimate concert and and
(16:17):
somebody was stabbed by the uhthe Hells Angels, and a lot of
the sort of idealism of the 60ssort of died with that and
people got a lot more guarded.
But but I think The GratefulDead sort of proved that you
know you can sort of keep itgoing.
You can it doesn't have to die,but maybe it just maybe it just
(16:40):
got too big and it got a littletoo out of hand.
But if you keep it small andkeep it keep uh like you can
keep a community going and keepan idea going.
SPEAKER_02 (16:51):
Yeah, I think so.
Um Yeah, I I've heard people saythat uh, you know, the sixties
died at Aldermont as well.
Um, you know.
It would have been an awesomeshow, but it really I don't
think anybody was in aparticularly good mood after
that, you know, that show.
SPEAKER_03 (17:09):
No.
Well, I mean when you hire theHells Angels to do your
security, that's not um that wasnot a wise choice uh by, you
know, but you know, lessonlearned, I suppose.
Yeah, hard lesson learned.
Yeah.
Um but uh getting back to thisalbum, I did manage to find a
few uh pretty interesting factsabout the album.
(17:31):
It was uh I didn't know this, itwas written after a drug bust.
Um in 1969, the band wasarrested in New Orleans on drug
charges.
The experience, combined withthe stress of constant touring
and fan and financial troubles,influenced the dead to simplify
their approach and focus ontight harmony-driven songs
(17:52):
rather than sprawlingpsychedelic jams.
Interesting.
SPEAKER_02 (17:56):
I not entirely sure how the two relate, but that's
sort of interesting.
I don't know.
SPEAKER_03 (18:02):
Um Well, I th I think they sort of um you know,
sometimes an experience can justsort of shake you out of the
haze that you're in, and maybethey just got too far into the
the jam stuff and they weren'treally writing any cohesive
songs.
And they decided, you know.
(18:23):
Yeah, it could be that.
It could just be as simple as,hey, you know, this thing
happened and it's just a parentsomething some outside influence
had had like a paradigm shiftfor them, and or something.
I don't know.
Um and like we said, the in andand uh you know, sort of not
surprising, there was a biginfluence from Crosby, Stills,
(18:45):
and Nash.
Uh the band was inspired by thevocal blend of Crosby, Stills
and Nash, who were exploding inpopularity at the time.
Um, this influence is clear inthe rich layered harmonies
throughout Working Men instead,particularly on Uncle John's
band.
And yeah, I I can definitelyhear the influence of the
harmonies um there, for sure.
(19:06):
Um and uh the album was uhrecorded very quickly, and
unlike their earlier albums,which were complex and expansive
uh studio undertakings, WorkingMan's Dead was recorded in just
nine days at uh Pacific HighRecorders in San Francisco,
giving it a raw and naturalfeel.
SPEAKER_02 (19:29):
Eight songs in nine days.
I wonder which one they didtwice.
SPEAKER_03 (19:33):
Yeah, you know, I mean that That just happens.
I mean, um sometimes when a bandis is they've been touring and
they're familiar with eachother, they uh can come come in
and just record very quickly.
I know the Black Crows, theirsecond album, they toured like
(19:54):
for a year and a half on theirfirst album, Shake Your
Moneymaker, and then they tooklike a week off, and then we're
back in the studio, and theirsecond album took uh nine or
eight days.
Um and and they just said, and acouple of the songs that are on
(20:15):
the album are first takes, theyjust kind of looked at each
other and said, Well, probablynot gonna get much better than
that, and just move on to thenext one.
SPEAKER_02 (20:23):
Yeah, sometimes that's when a second album isn't
like a flop.
Like oftentimes, like we werediscussing at one point where
it's a you know, a band willhave like, you know, their whole
lives to write their firstalbum, and then their second
album comes along while webecome sort of like a rush job.
But uh if the band is tightenough, you know, after lots of
(20:45):
touring and stuff like that,sometimes yeah, if they get a if
they can if they actually manageto write the songs, um then the
songs come out quite well veryquickly.
Because the band just knows whatthey're doing at that point.
SPEAKER_03 (21:02):
Yeah, and and I'm sure it's the same case here, is
like they as much as theytoured, I know and they didn't
really have a whole lot oflineup changes.
And so they're very familiarwith each other, toured a lot.
So I I I don't know about all oftheir albums, but I'm sure like
(21:22):
this one obviously benefits fromfrom that sort of uh and you can
hear that it's like I'm sureit's mostly live.
There may have been someoverdubs of like maybe you know,
let's add a part here and there,but the the core performance is
is you know off the floor.
Off the floor, yeah.
(21:43):
Um and uh interesting, I didhear this is uh Jerry uh uh
Jerry Garcia's pedal steelguitar.
Garcia played pedal steel guitaron Direwolf and High Time, uh
showcasing his growing interestin country music.
Around the same time he wasplaying pedal steel with uh New
Raiders of the Purple Sage, uh,another side project that he
(22:05):
had.
Yeah, pedal steel is isdefinitely different than
playing guitar.
It's a whole it's a whole otherinstrument.
SPEAKER_02 (22:14):
It really is.
It's uh it's it's related to theguitar through things like the
dobro and the s and the lapsesteel.
And the pedal steel basicallytakes that, lifts it up, and
then adds pedals for stringbending.
SPEAKER_03 (22:33):
Yeah, and that's a different tuning and yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (22:36):
Yeah, it can you can use a similar tuning.
Well, there's a lot more stringsusually.
I mean I've seen many differenttypes, but uh yeah, um pedal
steels became real I guess itwas around the 1950s with like
Hawaiian music was like takingoff and it was sort of like
(22:58):
mixed in with the country soundof the 50s as well.
And it just kind of stuckaround.
And that's the sort of the musicthat uh influenced a lot of rock
bands even in in the latesixties and into the seventies.
Um if they ever decided to, youknow, play a uh it it's a
(23:22):
definitely a different animalthan playing blues slide, which
usually is on a regular guitar,although you can definitely do
it uh on a lap steel.
Um but yeah, a lot of like steelguitars in general have got this
real glassy sound to it.
(23:42):
It's very it's a very cleansound, and uh you can barely
even hear hear like the ridgesin the strings or anything like
that.
It's it's just so smooth, yeah.
It's just really, really smooth,really, really glossy, really
and and but but it doesn't soundlike you know uh it it's a good
(24:03):
sound to mix in with somethingso long as it's not
overproduced.
Because uh, you know, you couldvery easily get everything too
glossy and then it just kind ofyou know loses a little bit of
its its uh well loses all of itstexture.
And you kind of want texture inother areas to sort of
counteract the really ultraclean sound that's kind of
(24:25):
piercing.
It's a very biting sound, too.
It it really uh makes its way tothe forefront of your uh uh mix
very easily.
SPEAKER_03 (24:36):
Exactly.
Yes, exactly.
And uh the the album was uh itwas a turning point, it was a
their commercial breakthrough.
Um the album was a turning pointfor the dead's career.
Uncle John's band and CaseyJones uh received significant FM
radio airplay, helping the groupreach a wider audience and
(24:57):
proving that they could balanceaccessibility with their
experimental roots.
And um I think their biggest hitwas that song Touch of Grey in
like 1990 or something likethat.
But the other song that I beforeI really knew anything about uh
The Grateful Dead, I knew thatsong.
(25:18):
But the other song that I knewwas Casey Jones.
SPEAKER_02 (25:21):
Yeah, Casey Jones, I think up to definitely around
this point was their biggesthit.
Well, it was a hit for a bandthat didn't necessarily write
hit songs.
That one was the one thatactually made radio play.
Yes, exactly.
Got them.
I I mean the fact that it's uhabout a guy high on cocaine,
it's amazing that it got theradio play it did at the time
(25:44):
that it did.
SPEAKER_03 (25:45):
Yeah, that's true, because it well, it was FM
radio, so you know Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:50):
Yes, FM radio would have picked up on it a lot more
than but the FM radio wasprobably playing their other
stuff too.
SPEAKER_03 (25:57):
Oh yeah, absolutely.
Well I was gonna say that wasthat was the time when um when
the DJs were allowed to uh pickwhat they were gonna play, so
there was not as many uh therewas more freedom to uh to get
away with things.
SPEAKER_02 (26:14):
People seem to get away with certain things a
little bit more nowadays, but asfar as the freedom to select the
things that you were going toplay, it was way better back
then.
SPEAKER_03 (26:27):
A hundred percent.
It absolutely was.
There was less people, I guess,were well like the FCC and and
like organizations like thatwere a little more uptight, but
I think they had less um less ofa grip on uh on on radio
(26:48):
especially, like FM radio.
Um I think they were moreconcerned about what was
happening on TV at this time.
SPEAKER_02 (26:55):
It's probably true.
But uh they did have concernover things on the radio too.
And uh especially it it uh youknow came to a head in the
eighties.
But uh there was definitely sometense moments throughout the
sixties and seventies, andcertainly the fifties.
Yes, there were.
SPEAKER_03 (27:15):
But that's another another topic for another show.
Um, but uh I guess I guess we'llget back into the album.
Um let's uh the it's and uhsecond side starts with this
song uh Cumberland Blues.
SPEAKER_01 (27:31):
We'll now take a few seconds before we begin side
two.
Thank you.
Here's side two shots, just popmy uh ending the album with
(28:11):
Casey Jones.
SPEAKER_03 (28:13):
Uh yeah, I I enjoyed this album quite a bit.
Um yeah, I like the sort of morerootsy side of of The Grateful
Death.
It was it was fun to listen to.
And yeah, there was some I thinkthe second side was a little
more interesting.
Um, but uh overall I think thealbum was was was pretty well
(28:33):
done.
SPEAKER_02 (28:34):
I gotta say, uh the album version of Casey Jones is
way better than the radioversion.
There's uh a lot more going on,like they didn't edit out the
guitar solos and it's got a moreinteresting ending.
It doesn't just fade out.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (28:50):
Yeah, that's um that's something they used to do
quite a bit um with uh you knowthe I I don't think they do it
so much anymore because I thinka lot of music is recorded for
radio, but they um yeah, it'sunfortunate that they did sort
of the radio edits back in theday.
(29:12):
Um but yeah, you're right.
The the I was noticing that too.
The um the album version is uhit's I I I don't know.
I could be maybe I'm rimisremembering the radio
version, but I think the albumversion is a little better
mixed.
It feels a little more um itfeels like uh a little more
(29:36):
lively.
There's a little maybe a littlemore reverb or something.
I don't know.
It feels elevated a little moreor something.
I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
Yeah, no, I agree.
It's uh yeah, I think that thatalso added to it.
It just there's everything felta little more present.
And the uh yeah, it was justwell mixed, and and again, the
the things that were going onthat were cut out of the other
version.
Um it was just it's just a lotbetter and and the song was
(30:06):
better for it.
SPEAKER_03 (30:07):
Yeah, I yeah, I definitely agree.
And I think that's it was the umwell I mean the the album
version obviously is is theirtheir vision for what the the
song is meant to be and thatsort of comes through a lot
clearer.
And yeah, I mean I think I thinkthe album overall is uh is
(30:28):
really well done and uh yeah soI guess that uh brings us to the
question is what would be yourthree uh highlights on the
album?
SPEAKER_02 (30:37):
My three favorites on the album it's a little I've
had to I don't usually wind updoing this when I you know pick
three songs but as I'm goingthrough the album I sort of pick
them as I'm going along and Idon't usually wind up having to
kick ones off because of othersongs.
(30:58):
Um but I've had to do that.
Yeah I'm gonna have to go withnew Speedway Boogie.
Ooh it was better.
I I think I like CumberlandBlues there's a lot of g good
guitar in that and Casey Jonesis just I was surprised how much
I like that song.
You know hearing it properly Imean I always kinda like the
song but it's just a better songnow.
SPEAKER_03 (31:19):
Yeah yeah I agree I think uh I think I would
probably go with uh new SpeedwayBoogie and Cumberland Blues as
well um yeah Casey Jones thatversion of Casey Jones is great
but I think I would probably gowith with easy wind.
I I really like that one aswell.
Um yeah I think those areprobably my my choices.
SPEAKER_02 (31:42):
That's that's another really good one.
I had to kick it out of out ofits contention just because of
Casey Jones.
SPEAKER_03 (31:48):
Yeah I that's um yeah so I guess that brings us
to the question is uh would youlisten to this album again?
SPEAKER_02 (31:57):
Oh yeah I'd listen to this again.
SPEAKER_03 (31:59):
Yeah yeah I would too I mean I think it's it's a
it's a great album and and youknow I'm sort of s becoming more
of a a fan of of the GratefulDead.
I think they're uh I I neverdislike them but uh yeah I I
definitely uh want to get moreinto their stuff.
Yeah they sort of flew outsidemy radar.
(32:20):
But yeah I guess we'll uh endthe episode there.
Uh thank you so much forlistening if you made it this
far.
Uh we would love to hear fromyou if you want to uh check out
uh the website go topolyphonicpress.com and uh you
can get all the past episodesthere and uh go to the contact
page you can uh it's just rightthere in the uh in the top menu
(32:41):
uh so go to contact and drop usa line and maybe we'll uh read
one of your messages on one ofthese episodes and uh definitely
if you're interested you cancheck out the Patreon go to
patreon.com slash polyphonicpress lots of cool stuff there
too you can get these episodesthe day before they go live and
uh you can pick up an album forus or for us to review and uh
(33:04):
even get a shout out duringthese episodes and um and yeah I
think that just about does it uhI'm Jeremy Boyd and I'm John Van
Dyke take it easy
It's just a normal point of here.
SPEAKER_00 (00:13):
This is Polyphonic Press, the podcast where two
music fans pick a classic albumcompletely at random.
Using the patented random albumgenerator, they are given an
album to review from a curatedlist of over 1,000 classic
releases, spanning multiplegenres.
And now onto the show.
(00:34):
Here are your hosts, Jeremy Boydand John Van Dyke.
SPEAKER_03 (00:46):
Alright, hey, welcome to Polyphonic Press.
I'm Jeremy Boyd.
And I'm John Van Dyke.
And uh let's not waste any time.
We've got the patented randomalbum generator right in front
of us here.
Uh so let's hit the button andsee what album we're gonna be
listening to this week.
And the album we're gonna belistening to is Grateful Dead.
(01:08):
Okay.
Here's a description of thealbum.
It says Working Man's Dead in1970 is one of Grateful Dead's
most celebrated and influentialalbums, marking a sharp turn
from their earlier, moreexperimental more experimental
psychedelic sound toward arootsier song-focused approach.
Recorded quickly and on a tightbudget after years of heavy
(01:32):
touring and debt, the recorddraws heavily from folk,
country, and Americanatradition.
Its stripped-down arrangements,warm harmonies, and storytelling
lyrics show the band's deepeningconnection to American roots
music and their desire to createsomething more accessible than
their previous sprawling jam.
The album features some of thedead's most enduring songs,
(01:54):
including Uncle John's Band,Casey Jones, Dire Wolf, and High
Time.
These tracks showcase thegroup's evolving focus on vocal
harmonies inspired bycontemporaries like Crasby
Stills and Nash, and narrativesongwriting rooted in rural
imagery, cautionary tales, andmythical Americana.
The shift reflected both apractical need, simpler songs
(02:17):
worked better on the road, andan artistic choice, capturing
the spirit of early 1970s backto the back to the land culture.
Critically, Working Man's Deadwas a turning point that brought
the band new recognition andcommercial success.
It helped redefine theiridentity from a purely
psychedelic San Francisco SanFrancisco jam band into a
(02:41):
cornerstone of America acornerstone of American and
Brock.
Along with its companion album,American Beauty, released
released later the same year, itremains a fan favorite and a
landmark in the fusion of rockwith folk and country to
traditions.
SPEAKER_02 (02:57):
Yeah, when you mentioned 1970, I was thinking,
yeah, I think this is around thetime they just they went in sort
of a folkier direction.
SPEAKER_03 (03:04):
Yeah, and this album was released, yeah, June 14th,
1970.
And the genres are Roots Rock,Folk Rock, Country Rock, and
Blues Rock.
And uh released on WarnerBrothers Records and produced by
uh Bob Matthews, Betty Cantor,and uh then the Grateful Dead.
(03:25):
And there are eight songs on thealbum.
Uh and side one and side twosplit split pretty evenly, uh,
four and four.
And so what we like to do is uhtake a pause at the halfway mark
um and uh discuss the album atuh uh after side one or wherever
the half halfway point of thealbum is.
(03:45):
And the album uh opens withUncle John's band, and side one
ends with New Speedway Boogie.
So if you're listening along,which we do encourage you to do,
uh if you want to take a pauseat that uh song to hear the uh
halftime discussion, and umwe've linked the album to both
Spotify and Apple Music so youcan get it on your preferred
(04:08):
streaming service.
Uh okay, here is the uh firstsong on the album, uh uh Uncle
John's Band.
(04:45):
All right, and uh ending sideone with new speedway boogie.
Uh yeah, this is uh this isabout what I was expecting about
from this album based on thedescription.
Yep.
It's that sort of rootsy rockthat was sort of popular in the
late 60s, early 70s with bandslike uh you know, Creden's
(05:06):
Clearwater Revival and the Bandand uh Crosby Stills and Nash
and Neil Young's solo stuff.
That kind of it's sort of inthat sort of um aesthetic, I
suppose.
SPEAKER_02 (05:19):
Yeah, uh I do believe so.
Um, you know, that aestheticsort of came about with like the
birds and um BuffaloSpringfield.
Sort of started that back in thelate 60s.
SPEAKER_03 (05:32):
Yeah, and I I I enjoy it uh so far.
I've always had a sort of anaffinity for that sort of Americ
Americana uh music.
It it's sort of I wouldn't sayit's like the anti-psychedelic
music, but it's sort of a nicecounterpart.
They sort of like complementeach other really well.
Yeah, they do.
SPEAKER_02 (05:52):
And sometimes even when you blend them, they
actually there's likepsychedelic folk out there,
which is kind of, you know, inthe same vein in a lot of ways.
Um yeah, it's uh, you know, sofar I'm enjoying it.
It's uh yeah, I think the onlyone that sort of had dragged on
a little bit for me was hightime.
It just seemed a little, I don'tknow.
SPEAKER_03 (06:35):
Yeah, that one i it was a good song, but yeah, I I
can I see what you mean.
It's sort of like um i it sortof could have ended a little
more, uh like they it could havebeen trimmed down a little bit.
SPEAKER_02 (06:49):
Maybe.
Maybe I just need something witha little more energy at the
moment.
Um and that song was just kindof I don't know, dragging.
I think a lot of people likethat song, probably, especially
potheads, probably.
Um but uh you know, GratefulDead concerts and potheads and
(07:09):
kind of are they are prettysynonymous with each other.
Um but yeah, that's the onlysong that actually sort of was
like a lulled a little bit forme.
Um but yeah, that uh thingsreally picked up with new
speedway boogie.
I thought that was pretty good.
SPEAKER_03 (07:28):
Yeah, that was pretty good.
Yeah.
Um sort of a slow um theirversion of like well, a boogie,
sort of like what John LeeHooker would do kind of thing.
SPEAKER_01 (07:46):
Please hold dominate the last pack if you got nothing
to say.
SPEAKER_03 (08:12):
Yeah, it's interesting.
I don't know a whole lot aboutThe Grateful Dead, and I don't
really know their um theircareer trajectory, but I do know
I think like what our either Ithink it was our second episode
we did their either their firstor second album, which was um uh
(08:32):
the name escapes me right now.
SPEAKER_02 (08:34):
Yeah, I know what you're talking about.
I didn't realize it was oursecond episode.
SPEAKER_03 (08:38):
Yeah, it's uh Antha Anthem of the Sun.
And uh and that one was a lotmore a lot more psychedelic.
That was like you know, more ofthis the San Francisco, you
know, psychedelic sound.
And you know, I i I I it's notthat surprising.
(09:00):
Like that was only that was in68, so that was only two years
before this.
But it's not really thatsurprising that they would go
from that to this kind of music.
It it's it's um it seems like anatural progression.
And then later when we did um Ithink on American Beauty.
(09:21):
American Beauty, from what Iremember, it was more like a
blend of the two.
It's sort of more of a blend ofthe two, whereas this is
definitely like rootsy countryrock almost.
Almost like Graham Parsons orlike the Flying Burrito
(09:43):
Brothers.
SPEAKER_02 (09:44):
That's a very good uh description, yeah, and even
later bird stuff.
It's um yeah, it's uh it it itdoesn't surprise me at all that
they sort of kind of went inthis direction either, because
it's they seemed like verylaid-back people, and they do
laid back music for the mostpart, and even like their
psychedelic stuff was still kindof spacey in the head sort of
(10:08):
thing.
Maybe it wasn't like as laidback in like the playing or
something like that, but itdefinitely it just yeah, this is
definitely a more the relaxedside of things, I think.
SPEAKER_03 (10:22):
Yeah, no, I I I know what you mean.
It it's it's um but e even likeI've heard some of their stuff
from like the mid-70s and evenlater 70s, and they did
incorporate some more more likefunk elements in there, like
especially on the song uhShakedown Street.
Oh yeah.
And uh so like it but even thatis more of a laid-back version
(10:48):
of it.
Yeah.
Yeah, it has a definite swing toit, to the rhythm.
Um so yeah, so even when they'reeven their songs with that have
more energy is is sort of inthat relaxed, sort of loose
feel.
Um But uh, you know, with this,I think uh well yeah, American
(11:12):
Beauty was was the uh was thefollow-up to this.
But then I think the after thatthey they sort of went back to
their more bluesy sort of stuff.
Every album after is a livealbum.
They did a lot of live albums.
They were always touring.
Yes, yeah, that is true.
(11:32):
And they they have a policy,they have they sort of started
the whole live bootleg movement,and they allowed people to sort
of bring um their own recordingequipment and record all of
their show shows.
And there is a there is a hugeum network of Grateful Dead
(11:55):
fans.
Uh first of all, like GratefulDead fans are the i they're they
are not typical rock and rollfans.
Um they uh first they they tendto uh travel when the band goes
on tour, they s a lot of themwill travel with the band and
and i if not the whole tour,they will you know go with them
(12:18):
for a b a big chunk of the tour.
And so it's sort of thiscommunity that is developed, and
it's uh it's it's cool.
You see like with the advent ofthe internet, you see all of
these uh communities sort of uhstarting and people from uh you
know different places and it'swhatever special interest you
(12:40):
have and whatever hobby youhave, you see these communities
developing.
But the Grateful Dead sort ofdid that same had that same
thing, but back in the 70s itwas that the just the the
mindset of you know everybody'staking care of each other and
and that kind of thing.
And so it was a real communitysort of uh feel.
(13:03):
And and part of it was uh youcould uh you could record, you
could take your own recordingequipment and you know, you
could record for the show, uh,but they also they recorded
everything from the soundboard.
So you and you would p tradeback and forth with people and
(13:25):
you would mail tapes back andforth and and and it was a real
network of people.
And I and you know, uh like thejam bands in the 90s were sort
of picked that up with likethere's a a real culture of that
with like fish and and and bandslike that.
But um The Grateful Dead kind ofstarted that in the 70s.
(13:46):
60s and 70s.
Yeah, late 60s.
Mostly in the 70s.
Definitely in the 70s, yeah.
Yeah.
And uh, and so it's it's just itit is um, you know, I just I
think that's I think that'sreally cool that that they were
like I was saying, it's commonnow to have that sort of
community, like with if you're afan of something, um, to find
(14:10):
people on the internet, but theywere doing that, you know 30
years before that was reallycommon.
Um and and yeah, I I don't knowhow or why that started, but
it's just I don't I don't thinkthe band really intended for
that to happen.
It just sort of happened aroundthem.
Um and uh yeah, it's it's areally, really cool thing.
SPEAKER_02 (14:34):
It could have started with practically any
band, but it started I thinkprobably Well, somebody figured
out that they were always ontour, or mi or or several other
people.
Really, you know, big FearfulDead fans decided, oh, they're
constantly on tour, and I guessthey're going to be in the next
city over the following night.
(14:55):
Well, I might as well go overthere and see that see them
then.
And uh, you know, some of themjust decided to keep going
because they, you know, well alot of them I guess didn't have
much else to do.
It probably started organicallylike that and it just started
snowballing.
Well, that's yeah, that's a lotof it.
You know.
(15:15):
Yeah.
Um And that culture then sort ofestablished itself.
And by the time the 90s camealong, well it's already a thing
going.
SPEAKER_03 (15:23):
I'll I'll tag along too, and it just Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (15:26):
Let's get a bus and paint it up and follow the van.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (15:32):
I you know, I mean I mean look, uh I th there are
certain substances that weretaken in those in those uh uh at
those concerts, and you know, umI'm not judging it or anything,
but it it was uh I'm sure thathelped, because you know that um
you know, it was just this sortof I think a lot of the time
(15:55):
like a lot of the when you we'retalking about like uh people
often refer to the the end ofthe sixties or the the death of
the sixties or when the sixtiesdied.
And a lot of people attribute itto like in uh December of 69
when um the Rolling Stones hadthe Ultimate concert and and
(16:17):
somebody was stabbed by the uhthe Hells Angels, and a lot of
the sort of idealism of the 60ssort of died with that and
people got a lot more guarded.
But but I think The GratefulDead sort of proved that you
know you can sort of keep itgoing.
You can it doesn't have to die,but maybe it just maybe it just
(16:40):
got too big and it got a littletoo out of hand.
But if you keep it small andkeep it keep uh like you can
keep a community going and keepan idea going.
SPEAKER_02 (16:51):
Yeah, I think so.
Um Yeah, I I've heard people saythat uh, you know, the sixties
died at Aldermont as well.
Um, you know.
It would have been an awesomeshow, but it really I don't
think anybody was in aparticularly good mood after
that, you know, that show.
SPEAKER_03 (17:09):
No.
Well, I mean when you hire theHells Angels to do your
security, that's not um that wasnot a wise choice uh by, you
know, but you know, lessonlearned, I suppose.
Yeah, hard lesson learned.
Yeah.
Um but uh getting back to thisalbum, I did manage to find a
few uh pretty interesting factsabout the album.
(17:31):
It was uh I didn't know this, itwas written after a drug bust.
Um in 1969, the band wasarrested in New Orleans on drug
charges.
The experience, combined withthe stress of constant touring
and fan and financial troubles,influenced the dead to simplify
their approach and focus ontight harmony-driven songs
(17:52):
rather than sprawlingpsychedelic jams.
Interesting.
SPEAKER_02 (17:56):
I not entirely sure how the two relate, but that's
sort of interesting.
I don't know.
SPEAKER_03 (18:02):
Um Well, I th I think they sort of um you know,
sometimes an experience can justsort of shake you out of the
haze that you're in, and maybethey just got too far into the
the jam stuff and they weren'treally writing any cohesive
songs.
And they decided, you know.
(18:23):
Yeah, it could be that.
It could just be as simple as,hey, you know, this thing
happened and it's just a parentsomething some outside influence
had had like a paradigm shiftfor them, and or something.
I don't know.
Um and like we said, the in andand uh you know, sort of not
surprising, there was a biginfluence from Crosby, Stills,
(18:45):
and Nash.
Uh the band was inspired by thevocal blend of Crosby, Stills
and Nash, who were exploding inpopularity at the time.
Um, this influence is clear inthe rich layered harmonies
throughout Working Men instead,particularly on Uncle John's
band.
And yeah, I I can definitelyhear the influence of the
harmonies um there, for sure.
(19:06):
Um and uh the album was uhrecorded very quickly, and
unlike their earlier albums,which were complex and expansive
uh studio undertakings, WorkingMan's Dead was recorded in just
nine days at uh Pacific HighRecorders in San Francisco,
giving it a raw and naturalfeel.
SPEAKER_02 (19:29):
Eight songs in nine days.
I wonder which one they didtwice.
SPEAKER_03 (19:33):
Yeah, you know, I mean that That just happens.
I mean, um sometimes when a bandis is they've been touring and
they're familiar with eachother, they uh can come come in
and just record very quickly.
I know the Black Crows, theirsecond album, they toured like
(19:54):
for a year and a half on theirfirst album, Shake Your
Moneymaker, and then they tooklike a week off, and then we're
back in the studio, and theirsecond album took uh nine or
eight days.
Um and and they just said, and acouple of the songs that are on
(20:15):
the album are first takes, theyjust kind of looked at each
other and said, Well, probablynot gonna get much better than
that, and just move on to thenext one.
SPEAKER_02 (20:23):
Yeah, sometimes that's when a second album isn't
like a flop.
Like oftentimes, like we werediscussing at one point where
it's a you know, a band willhave like, you know, their whole
lives to write their firstalbum, and then their second
album comes along while webecome sort of like a rush job.
But uh if the band is tightenough, you know, after lots of
(20:45):
touring and stuff like that,sometimes yeah, if they get a if
they can if they actually manageto write the songs, um then the
songs come out quite well veryquickly.
Because the band just knows whatthey're doing at that point.
SPEAKER_03 (21:02):
Yeah, and and I'm sure it's the same case here, is
like they as much as theytoured, I know and they didn't
really have a whole lot oflineup changes.
And so they're very familiarwith each other, toured a lot.
So I I I don't know about all oftheir albums, but I'm sure like
(21:22):
this one obviously benefits fromfrom that sort of uh and you can
hear that it's like I'm sureit's mostly live.
There may have been someoverdubs of like maybe you know,
let's add a part here and there,but the the core performance is
is you know off the floor.
Off the floor, yeah.
(21:43):
Um and uh interesting, I didhear this is uh Jerry uh uh
Jerry Garcia's pedal steelguitar.
Garcia played pedal steel guitaron Direwolf and High Time, uh
showcasing his growing interestin country music.
Around the same time he wasplaying pedal steel with uh New
Raiders of the Purple Sage, uh,another side project that he
(22:05):
had.
Yeah, pedal steel is isdefinitely different than
playing guitar.
It's a whole it's a whole otherinstrument.
SPEAKER_02 (22:14):
It really is.
It's uh it's it's related to theguitar through things like the
dobro and the s and the lapsesteel.
And the pedal steel basicallytakes that, lifts it up, and
then adds pedals for stringbending.
SPEAKER_03 (22:33):
Yeah, and that's a different tuning and yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (22:36):
Yeah, it can you can use a similar tuning.
Well, there's a lot more stringsusually.
I mean I've seen many differenttypes, but uh yeah, um pedal
steels became real I guess itwas around the 1950s with like
Hawaiian music was like takingoff and it was sort of like
(22:58):
mixed in with the country soundof the 50s as well.
And it just kind of stuckaround.
And that's the sort of the musicthat uh influenced a lot of rock
bands even in in the latesixties and into the seventies.
Um if they ever decided to, youknow, play a uh it it's a
(23:22):
definitely a different animalthan playing blues slide, which
usually is on a regular guitar,although you can definitely do
it uh on a lap steel.
Um but yeah, a lot of like steelguitars in general have got this
real glassy sound to it.
(23:42):
It's very it's a very cleansound, and uh you can barely
even hear hear like the ridgesin the strings or anything like
that.
It's it's just so smooth, yeah.
It's just really, really smooth,really, really glossy, really
and and but but it doesn't soundlike you know uh it it's a good
(24:03):
sound to mix in with somethingso long as it's not
overproduced.
Because uh, you know, you couldvery easily get everything too
glossy and then it just kind ofyou know loses a little bit of
its its uh well loses all of itstexture.
And you kind of want texture inother areas to sort of
counteract the really ultraclean sound that's kind of
(24:25):
piercing.
It's a very biting sound, too.
It it really uh makes its way tothe forefront of your uh uh mix
very easily.
SPEAKER_03 (24:36):
Exactly.
Yes, exactly.
And uh the the album was uh itwas a turning point, it was a
their commercial breakthrough.
Um the album was a turning pointfor the dead's career.
Uncle John's band and CaseyJones uh received significant FM
radio airplay, helping the groupreach a wider audience and
(24:57):
proving that they could balanceaccessibility with their
experimental roots.
And um I think their biggest hitwas that song Touch of Grey in
like 1990 or something likethat.
But the other song that I beforeI really knew anything about uh
The Grateful Dead, I knew thatsong.
(25:18):
But the other song that I knewwas Casey Jones.
SPEAKER_02 (25:21):
Yeah, Casey Jones, I think up to definitely around
this point was their biggesthit.
Well, it was a hit for a bandthat didn't necessarily write
hit songs.
That one was the one thatactually made radio play.
Yes, exactly.
Got them.
I I mean the fact that it's uhabout a guy high on cocaine,
it's amazing that it got theradio play it did at the time
(25:44):
that it did.
SPEAKER_03 (25:45):
Yeah, that's true, because it well, it was FM
radio, so you know Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (25:50):
Yes, FM radio would have picked up on it a lot more
than but the FM radio wasprobably playing their other
stuff too.
SPEAKER_03 (25:57):
Oh yeah, absolutely.
Well I was gonna say that wasthat was the time when um when
the DJs were allowed to uh pickwhat they were gonna play, so
there was not as many uh therewas more freedom to uh to get
away with things.
SPEAKER_02 (26:14):
People seem to get away with certain things a
little bit more nowadays, but asfar as the freedom to select the
things that you were going toplay, it was way better back
then.
SPEAKER_03 (26:27):
A hundred percent.
It absolutely was.
There was less people, I guess,were well like the FCC and and
like organizations like thatwere a little more uptight, but
I think they had less um less ofa grip on uh on on radio
(26:48):
especially, like FM radio.
Um I think they were moreconcerned about what was
happening on TV at this time.
SPEAKER_02 (26:55):
It's probably true.
But uh they did have concernover things on the radio too.
And uh especially it it uh youknow came to a head in the
eighties.
But uh there was definitely sometense moments throughout the
sixties and seventies, andcertainly the fifties.
Yes, there were.
SPEAKER_03 (27:15):
But that's another another topic for another show.
Um, but uh I guess I guess we'llget back into the album.
Um let's uh the it's and uhsecond side starts with this
song uh Cumberland Blues.
SPEAKER_01 (27:31):
We'll now take a few seconds before we begin side
two.
Thank you.
Here's side two shots, just popmy uh ending the album with
(28:11):
Casey Jones.
SPEAKER_03 (28:13):
Uh yeah, I I enjoyed this album quite a bit.
Um yeah, I like the sort of morerootsy side of of The Grateful
Death.
It was it was fun to listen to.
And yeah, there was some I thinkthe second side was a little
more interesting.
Um, but uh overall I think thealbum was was was pretty well
(28:33):
done.
SPEAKER_02 (28:34):
I gotta say, uh the album version of Casey Jones is
way better than the radioversion.
There's uh a lot more going on,like they didn't edit out the
guitar solos and it's got a moreinteresting ending.
It doesn't just fade out.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (28:50):
Yeah, that's um that's something they used to do
quite a bit um with uh you knowthe I I don't think they do it
so much anymore because I thinka lot of music is recorded for
radio, but they um yeah, it'sunfortunate that they did sort
of the radio edits back in theday.
(29:12):
Um but yeah, you're right.
The the I was noticing that too.
The um the album version is uhit's I I I don't know.
I could be maybe I'm rimisremembering the radio
version, but I think the albumversion is a little better
mixed.
It feels a little more um itfeels like uh a little more
(29:36):
lively.
There's a little maybe a littlemore reverb or something.
I don't know.
It feels elevated a little moreor something.
I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
Yeah, no, I agree.
It's uh yeah, I think that thatalso added to it.
It just there's everything felta little more present.
And the uh yeah, it was justwell mixed, and and again, the
the things that were going onthat were cut out of the other
version.
Um it was just it's just a lotbetter and and the song was
(30:06):
better for it.
SPEAKER_03 (30:07):
Yeah, I yeah, I definitely agree.
And I think that's it was the umwell I mean the the album
version obviously is is theirtheir vision for what the the
song is meant to be and thatsort of comes through a lot
clearer.
And yeah, I mean I think I thinkthe album overall is uh is
(30:28):
really well done and uh yeah soI guess that uh brings us to the
question is what would be yourthree uh highlights on the
album?
SPEAKER_02 (30:37):
My three favorites on the album it's a little I've
had to I don't usually wind updoing this when I you know pick
three songs but as I'm goingthrough the album I sort of pick
them as I'm going along and Idon't usually wind up having to
kick ones off because of othersongs.
(30:58):
Um but I've had to do that.
Yeah I'm gonna have to go withnew Speedway Boogie.
Ooh it was better.
I I think I like CumberlandBlues there's a lot of g good
guitar in that and Casey Jonesis just I was surprised how much
I like that song.
You know hearing it properly Imean I always kinda like the
song but it's just a better songnow.
SPEAKER_03 (31:19):
Yeah yeah I agree I think uh I think I would
probably go with uh new SpeedwayBoogie and Cumberland Blues as
well um yeah Casey Jones thatversion of Casey Jones is great
but I think I would probably gowith with easy wind.
I I really like that one aswell.
Um yeah I think those areprobably my my choices.
SPEAKER_02 (31:42):
That's that's another really good one.
I had to kick it out of out ofits contention just because of
Casey Jones.
SPEAKER_03 (31:48):
Yeah I that's um yeah so I guess that brings us
to the question is uh would youlisten to this album again?
SPEAKER_02 (31:57):
Oh yeah I'd listen to this again.
SPEAKER_03 (31:59):
Yeah yeah I would too I mean I think it's it's a
it's a great album and and youknow I'm sort of s becoming more
of a a fan of of the GratefulDead.
I think they're uh I I neverdislike them but uh yeah I I
definitely uh want to get moreinto their stuff.
Yeah they sort of flew outsidemy radar.
(32:20):
But yeah I guess we'll uh endthe episode there.
Uh thank you so much forlistening if you made it this
far.
Uh we would love to hear fromyou if you want to uh check out
uh the website go topolyphonicpress.com and uh you
can get all the past episodesthere and uh go to the contact
page you can uh it's just rightthere in the uh in the top menu
(32:41):
uh so go to contact and drop usa line and maybe we'll uh read
one of your messages on one ofthese episodes and uh definitely
if you're interested you cancheck out the Patreon go to
patreon.com slash polyphonicpress lots of cool stuff there
too you can get these episodesthe day before they go live and
uh you can pick up an album forus or for us to review and uh
(33:04):
even get a shout out duringthese episodes and um and yeah I
think that just about does it uhI'm Jeremy Boyd and I'm John Van
Dyke take it easy
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