They really are an aquired taste. I lived to hate them for the longest time. I'll see what I can do ;)

It's hard to know where to start as no one thing is representative of the whole. Most bits I only like in certain moods. It took about twenty years of hearing bits of different albums at different times in different situations played for me by different people before I looked around one day and said, ok, this stuff isn't so bad after all

I don't like them at all and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like them either. Despite their spacey rep, their music overall isn't very trippy or experimental sounding. It's mostly rootsy jams with a strong country influence.

Surely you must have heard some of their more popular songs here and there though? "Casey Jones"? "Truckin'"? "Touch of Grey"?

Yeah, but try listening to Side One of Anthem Of The Sun, for example (well, it's the only really odd example I can think of) or possibly the "Dark Star" from Live/Dead ... Yeah, they definitely transmogrified into a "saloon band" after that, tho

"Dark Star" is the only song I've ever heard by them that sounds remotely psychedelic to me. Not coincidentally it's also one of the only songs I like by them.

Not that I know off or I can't remeber them anyhow. There is a whole raft of free stuff on archive. org but I have never really bothered with it lol

the archive.org stuff is by its very nature hit and miss - just about every show ever is up there - maybe not a great place to start... Although the Kevar Stadium show from 1975 where they start with Blues For Allah might be worth your time ... tho it seems to have been pulled from archive.org as it has now been commercially released. Bet you could find it somewhere if you looked around.

Lets be friends. :love:

I don't love the Dead, their endless jams can test even my patience, but yes, I really f*cking admire them. Great musicians all around. The Pigpen era stuff is great.

If you think their usual psychedelic stuff is boring though, at least check out American Beauty, it's a really gorgeous country album, no jamming, and it has some of their more well known songs.

I agree 100% completely.
I have moments where I get the bug to listen to them and it's a craving that bgs to be satisfied.
As far as their country side goes nothing beats Reckoning.
Ill see if I can root out a link somewhere.

Years.
 

I like the dead through the 60's and 70's but after that they kinda got weird sounding with all the extra added sounds and synthesizers. Dont believe me? Well then listen to their last two studio albums.