Tracks
- Box of Rain
- Friend of the Devil
- Sugar Magnolia
- Operator
- Candyman
- Ripple
- Brokedown Palace
- Till the Morning Comes
- Attics of My Life
- Truckin'
American Beauty is a mellow album. The music is folk rock and country rock. It's mainly an acoustic album, but there is a clear presence of electric guitars.
This album got better the more I listened to it. Although Box of Rain sounded better each time, I don't think it or Friend of the Devil should kick off the album. There are stronger songs to start with.
I think it's worth listening to, but I'm not sure why it deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list. Gram Parsons was doing this kind of stuff with the Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers a few years back. So, it's a good album, but nothing that hasn't been heard before.
All of the songs are quite good. The stand outs are: Box of Rain, Sugar Magnolia, Ripple, Brokedown Palace, Till the Morning Comes and Truckin'.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Tracks
- Dark Star
- St. Stephen
- The Eleven
- Turn On Your Love Light
- Death Don't Have No Mercy
- Feedback
- And We Bid You Goodnight
Live/Dead is a long album. It's a live album and the music is standard psychedelic rock.
The Dead clearly like to jam during their shows. I'm still not sure whether I'm meant to tune in or tune out when I'm listening. If I'm meant to tune in, then this album didn't keep me interested. If I'm meant to tune out and let the music exist in the background, then it's a worthy album.
Because it's the Dead's thing to do long jams, it's not possible to question whether or not they are necessary. They are essential. The songs themselves are enjoyable, but are they enjoyable for ten or more minutes? I don't think so.
As for recommending this album, it's certainly worth listening to once, if only to figure out whether it's worth listening to.
Turn on Your Love Light and Death Don't Have No Mercy are notable songs. St. Stephen is also enjoyable at times.
I'm giving this album eight stars, instead of seven or six, because I do enjoy it as background music.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
