Let me start off by saying that I am a HUGE Grateful Dead fan, so I will try my best to give this album as fair and balanced of a review as possible.

Now, onto the review, Wake of the Flood was the 6th studio album in the line of the Grateful Dead saga, and this is the first album since the death of Ron "Pigpen" McKernan. But I will have to say, this has to be one of the best albums ever made by the band, especially it being a studio album. Most people would agree that the Dead is known to be one of the best live jam bands of all time. That is primarily how they gained their popularity throughout the 60's, 70's, and 80's. I see this album to be a huge step for the Dead, this is the first album made under Grateful Dead Records, not Warner Bros. And this album will almost change the face of the band completely. Seeing that Pigpen is gone, Keith Godchaux will change the bands style from a Blues theme to a Jazz theme. When I review each track it can definitely be seen that there is a large Jazz presence in each track.

Wake of the Flood consists of 10 bone chilling tracks, almost all of them being beyond par.

This track is one of the more fast paced songs on the album, it consists of smooth guitar riffs and a good beat. It almost has a taste of southern rock to it. The vocals are almost outstanding and the piano also makes a great addition to the song in general.

I found this track to be one of my least favorites on the album, but it still was a pleasure to listen to. As mentioned above, the Jazz theme added by Godchaux is definitely prominent in the song. Strong trumpet and catchy vocals, good addition to the album.

One of my favorite tracks on the ENTIRE album. Row Jimmy has terrific vocals with a bone chilling feel to it. The song has a depressing mood to it, and it does an excellent job of sucking you in to listen to the lyrics closely.

I won't give much away about this one, I find Stella Blue to be an absolute gem in the entire album, smooth vocals, amazing guitar, and painfully strong lyrics. This is one track to remember folks. Definitely give this one a whirl.

A catchy tune at best, almost sounds like a Coca-Cola commercial, the guitar is great the song has a very happy mood to it. This one never ceases to make me smile.

Another one that I didn't joy as much, the live version added to this track sounds much better and is twice as long as this studio version. Still a good track, but not as compelling as Row Jimmy or Stella Blue. I think you will enjoy the live version on the album much more.

Here it is folks, the end all be all of the entire album. This song is pure ecstasy to my ears, from start to finish. The vocals are chilling, and the guitar is unbelievable. I can almost listen to this song 100 times and never get old of it. The song starts off slow and soon speeds up with faster guitar and vocals. This is one you don't want to miss people, the album comes with an acoustic version as well. That version almost made the album worth more money than it actually is.

An interesting edition to the album, I liked this track alot, it was different from the entire album in a sense.

Well, there it is, this is my first review in Music Banter, I hope it was alright. Please give it a look and give feedback, and check out this album. We need more Dead fans around here!

YouTube - Grateful Dead - Weather Report Suite (Studio Version)
YouTube - Grateful Dead - Row Jimmy (Studio Version)