Album Review: Dylan and the Dead

   The 1989 live album, Dylan and the Dead, was recorded by Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead. Dylan and the Dead is made up of the finest songs from the American tour that the two famous musicians did together. Performing exclusively Dylan-penned material, the Grateful Dead provided possibly the world's most well known backing band of all time. However, the Dea were hardly in their prime in 1989 and Dylan's already gravelly voice had regressed to an ugly, nasal attack on the microphone. Jerry Garcia's drug-induced health issues had previously left him in a diabetic coma for weeks, and by 1989 he was but a shadow of his former self.

   The album is fairly short, clocking in at just a few seconds over 43 minutes long, in other words, roughly one third of a usual Grateful Dead show. The first track is a decidedly average rendition of 'Slow Train' that was performed in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Dylan sounds worse than ever and although the Dead give the song an interesting jammy feel to it, 'Slow Train' kicks off Dylan and the Dead to an unimpressive start. The first side of the album continues with an awesome version of one of my favorite under appreciated Dylan classics 'I Want You' which is perfectly suited to Dylan's gravel voice and Garcia's psychedelic-folk riffs that made the Dead so famous. One of the best tracks on the album, 'I Want You' has the album headed in the right direction. The final two songs of the four-song A-side to the album are 'Gotta Serve Somebody' and 'Queen Jane Approximately', respectively. These are also two of Dylan's finest songs and two of my personal favorite Dylan jams, but neither live version does any justice. Dylan sounds so ancient rattling off the stanzas of 'Gotta Serve Somebody', once one of his fiercest songs, that the audience almost feels bad for the man. 'Queen Jane' is also below average despite the best efforts of the Dead to keep the audience interested.

   The B-Side begins with a long, sloppy rendition of 'Joey' recorded in Foxborough that could not be saved by the all-time greatest jam band. The longest song on the album, 'Joey' leaves the listener with nine minutes of average concert material from the Grateful Dead at this time, which was far past their glory days of the 1970s and early 80s. Closing the album with the album's two best songs, 'All Along the Watchtower' followed by 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' leave the listener with a good final impression, but neither is near the quality of work that Dylan or the Dead had put out in their lifetime. Dylan sounds almost as old as Jerry looks, and the album's closing track makes the audience wonder just how long Bob Dylan and Jerry Garcia have before they are literally "knocking on heaven's door".

   Overall, I would rate the album a 6 out of 10 because it has it's bright spots on both sides of the album, but is nowhere near the quality of material that each artist had out out throughout their glorious careers'. Dylan and the Dead is definetly worth a listen, but be forewarned that this is not the Bob Dylan from Highway 61 and these are not the Grateful Dead from American Beauty.