Skeletons From The Closet (Best Of...)

Performer: Grateful Dead
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Grateful Dead: Jerry Garcia (vocals, guitar, pedal steel guitar, piano); Phil Lesh (vocals, guitar, piano, bass); Bob Weir (vocals, guitar); Ron "Pig Pen" McKernan (vocals, harmonica); Bill Kreutzmann (drums); Micky Hart (percussion). Digitally remastered by Joe Gastwirt using the Sonic Solution NoNoise System. Skeletons from the Closet has been long-lived as a Grateful Dead primer, though it was superseded by The Very Best of the Grateful Dead in 2003. Fans of the band's live show have noted that Skeletons only contains two live tracks from a band whose live shows are its strongest suit. Still, Skeletons remains a good introduction to the band's early -- and arguably best -- work, and is also a great disc for the casual fan. Favorites include "Truckin'," "Sugar Magnolia," "Friend of the Devil," and "Casey Jones," classic tracks taken from 1970's Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. The disc also includes a couple of early Bob Weir jewels, "Mexicali Blues" and "One More Saturday Night," and an edited version of "Turn on Your Love Light" by Ron "Pigpen" McKernan. The disc offers several selections from the Dead's early albums, including "The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)," "St. Stephen," and "Rosemary." The tracking order of the songs isn't always chronological but it does have a natural flow, with the possible exception of the high-powered "Love Light." While most new fans will opt for The Very Best of the Grateful Dead, Skeletons -- for longtime fans -- will always be a great disc for a lazy Sunday afternoon. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. This pleasant collection of songs assembled in 1974 is subtitled "The Best of," which is a somewhat amusing notion to hardcore fans for several reasons. First, the Grateful Dead created an extensive song repertoire, and singling out any 11 cuts is an exercise in arbitrary selection. Second, the Dead were a live band, and only two songs from SKELETONS FROM THE CLOSET are culled from concert recordings--"One More Saturday Night" and "Turn on Your Love Light." Lastly, this album rests on the considerable strength of six of the Grateful Dead's most recognized songs--"Truckin'," "Casey Jones," "Friend of the Devil," "Uncle John's Band," "Sugar Magnolia" and "St. Stephen"--songs that intermediate and beginner fans will insist upon owning, but that serious Deadheads will consider too obvious. Still, if one will only own one Grateful Dead CD, SKELETONS FROM THE CLOSET is a tidy way to go.

The Grateful Dead were right there at the birth of the 1960s West Coast psychedelic scene, but they handily incorporated simple folk, blues, and country sounds into their swirling, jam-oriented style. With an endless touring schedule and a huge following of devoted fans, the group fueled hippie visions well into the '90s and sparked the jam-band movement that would eventually fill the void left by the dearly departed Grateful Dead after the passing of guitarist Jerry Garcia. Since Garcia's passing, surviving members of the band have participated in various musical projects, including a reunion tour in 2003 under the shortened name of "the Dead."

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