Search - Vassar Clements :: Dead Grass

New American standards

George Schaefer | 07/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a wonderful album. I will admit to bias however as I have been a Dead Head for two decades now. Jerry Garcia was in a bluegrass band called Old & In the Way which was my first introduction to this classic American music style. (First fully conscious intro to the music. I was familiar with the theme to the Beverly Hillbillies even before then.) One member of Old & In the Way is fiddler extraordinaire Vassar Clements. This is an amazing musician that has played with Stephane Grappeli, Bill Monroe, David Bromberg and many other musical greats. He is a musician's musician who transcends generations with ease. Now he has decided to record an album of Grateful Dead songs in a bluegrass style. There is already and album called "Picking on the Dead" which is the same concept but this one is better. The bluegrass treatment allows one to hear nuances in the songwriting that often got lost in the extended jams of a live Dead show. Dead Grass makes these songs seem like old standards from a bygone era while still retaining a freshness. (This, of course, was a trick the Dead themselves often executed when they delved into old traditional songs.) Many rock songs are finding their way into the American canon and some of the new standards will be songs from the Grateful Dead catalogue. Listen to songs like "Ripple" and "Attics of My Life" and you will hear beautiful lyrics and melodies. Songs like "Dire Wolf" and "Friend of the Devil" sound like old traditional standards already. This is a great tribute to a legendary musical institution called the Grateful Dead."

Really pickin' on the Dead

Linwood I. Greer | Richmond, VA USA | 07/27/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While I enjoyed the Pickin' On offerings, this one is more satifying. Vassar provides authenticity and the young folks in the band provide some solid picking and vocals. I'd suggest this one strongly for any fan of acoustic music deadhead or not."

Reba sings the Dead

Ryan McNabb | Ooltewah, TN USA | 02/08/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I like this album a lot, and I especially like the fact that they hired a singer. My main complaint about "Pickin on the Dead" was that these great American songs were unsung. Brokedown Palace is a great American song - truly a lovely melody. But with the lyrics it rises to the level of genuine art, one of the great American songs in our history. To leave the lyrics off is to miss more than half the point.



That said, the vocalist seems to be channelling Reba McEntyre more than Jerry and the Boys. It makes me lonesome for Jerry's minimalist, almost Zen singing. He said "I serve the music", and you realize that with lyrics and music like they had, all you had to do was sing it straight and the poetry would shine like diamonds. To do more, to jazz it up and bend notes and draw attention to yourself as the singer, was to cheapen the experience. But she does a good job and is a fine singer. I just imagined that they were letting Donna sing a set and let it go at that.



Almost unmentioned here is the great, legendary Vassar Clements whose artistry is very tastefully on display. His fiddle playing is beyond brilliant, but this is not a Vassar album, and he wisely knew that. He, like Jerry, serves the music, not himself. So by doing less, he gives us a great deal more.



Highlights are Ripple and Brokedown Palace, two songs which of course beg for a bluegrass treatment. Less successful is Attics of My Life, which I always imagined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir could do well with, it's so grand and majestic. It doesn't really belong in a bluegrass band, but they pull it off nonetheless.



Very nice. Jerry would be proud."