Grateful Dead

American Beauty

1970

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  • American Beauty - Grateful Dead (Warner Bros. WS 1893)
    Download MP3 (256kbps) or Download FLAC


  • The Dead:
    Jerry Garcia - guitar, pedal steel, piano, vocals
    Phil Lesh - bass, guitar, piano, vocals
    Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
    Pigpen (Ron McKernan) - harmonica, vocals
    Mickey Hart - percussion
    Bill Kreutzmann - drums
    Robert Hunter - songwriter

  • Full album download includes Bonus Material:
    Truckin' (Warner Bros. Single #7464 A-Side - Released 1/20/71)
    Friend Of The Devil (5/15/70 Late Show, Fillmore East, New York, NY)
    Candyman (4/15/70 Winterland, San Francisco, CA)
    Till The Morning Comes (10/4/70 Winterland, San Francisco, CA)
    Attics Of My Life (6/6/70 Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA)
    Truckin' (12/26/70 Legion Stadium, El Monte, CA)
    Ripple (Warner Bros. Single #7464 B-Side - Released 1/20/71)
    Radio Ad for American Beauty

  • Released in November, 1970

  • Recorded in August and September, 1970, in San Francisco, at Wally Heider's Studio, 245 Hyde Street, between Turk and Eddy Streets, with the Blackhawk Jazz Club across the street. Stephen Barncard was the engineer for this album, and mixed it. Most of the album was recorded "live" with Jerry Garcia on acoustic guitar, Phil Lesh on bass, and Bill Kreutzmann on drums. During the recording sessions of the rhythm tracks, Weir and Garcia were sat close together, and baffles were placed around Kreutzmann's drum kit. Barncard used AKG C60 small capsule condenser microphones for the acoustic guitars, placing them in the guitar's sweet spot. On "Truckin'" and "Candyman", the acoustic guitars were routed through a United Audio Model 1176 limiter. On most of the vocals, Garcia sings the melody, Lesh sings the upper voice, and Weir sings the middle voice. The vocals were recorded using Shure 67 mics, each mic run through its own limiter, and then doubled. Because they could not "double" themselves consistently, when the vocals were double tracked, sometimes the results were six voices.

  • "Till The Morning Comes" and "Candyman" were recorded in Studio A, and the rest of the album was recorded upstairs in Studio C.

  • Parts of "Friend Of The Devil" were written at Rock Scully's house in Kentfield, California: Robert Hunter brought over the beginning words and John "Marmaduke" Dawson provided the "set out running but I take my time, a friend of the Devil is a friend of mine" line.

  • The lyrics to "Truckin'" was started by Robert Hunter in San Francisco, and finished while touring with the Dead in Florida.

  • The death of Garcia's mother was the inspiration for "Brokedown Palace".

  • "Box Of Rain" was written for Phil Lesh's father, who was dying.

  • Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics to "Ripple", "To Lay Me Down", and "Brokedown Palace" in the span of one day while he was in London, England.

  • On "Box Of Rain", David Nelson plays the electric guitar solo on a Fender Telecaster guitar with a Parsons/White StringBender, David Torbert plays bass, and Phil Lesh plays acoustic guitar.

  • David Grisman plays mandolin on "Ripple" (where he was double tracked) and "Friend Of The Devil".

  • Bob Weir plays a Leslie-speakered electric guitar on "Sugar Magnolia", which was then double tracked.

  • Howard Wales plays organ on "Candyman" and "Truckin'", and plays piano on "Brokedown Palace".

  • This is the first album with Ned Lagin, who plays piano on "Candyman".

  • Jerry Garcia plays pedal steel guitar on "Sugar Magnolia" and "Candyman".

  • (notes excerpted with permission from "The Compleat Grateful Dead Discography" by Ihor Slabicky)
  • Reviews

    eric 2/9/2009 11:02:09 PM

    "everyone should own this album"

    Products

    Box Of Rain 317

    49866-TRACK

    Friend Of The Devil 201

    49867-TRACK

    Sugar Magnolia 197

    49868-TRACK

    Operator 142

    49869-TRACK

    Candyman 370

    49870-TRACK

    Ripple 249

    49871-TRACK

    Brokedown Palace 245

    49872-TRACK

    Till The Morning Comes 187

    49873-TRACK

    Attics Of My Life 310

    49874-TRACK

    Truckin' 304

    49875-TRACK

    Truckin' 193

    49876-TRACK

    Friend Of The Devil 261

    49877-TRACK

    Candyman 315

    49878-TRACK

    Till The Morning Comes 200

    49879-TRACK

    Attics Of My Life 388

    49880-TRACK

    Truckin' 543

    49881-TRACK

    Ripple 175

    49882-TRACK

    American Beauty Radio Spot 70

    49883-TRACK

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