Terrapin Station (Remastered/Expanded) [Original recording remastered]

Ok, it's hold my hands up time.
I've had an absolute field day on these reviews pages at the expense of the Dead (and others!) in general, and 'hippy types' in particular.
I've penned reams about faded loons, floral shirts, 10 minute mellotron solos, and, my particular favourite, the enjoyably ubiquitous centre-parting.

I suppose it's my inadequate way of coming to terms with the fact that I've been immersed in an art form that's completely alien to me. I've sneered, scoffed and chortled my way round some strange, intoxicating music, which I've usually grudgingly acknowledged, while at the same time, sarcastically pointing out every fallibility I can find. In short, I've stretched a point to breaking, with no other justification than narky inexperience.
Well that ends here.

My latest stop is 'Terrapin Station' and it's MAGNIFICENT on every level. A devastating mix of funk, rock and reggae, from the steely opening chords of 'Estimated Prophet' to the jumping climax of the 16 minute 'Terrapin Station pt1,' we're on a winner in a big way.
There's lyrical and melodic strength that's joyous and delightful, there's serious cohesion (my favourite rock term), clarity, and huge swathes of justified confidence. Justified because The Dead are on some kind of creative summit here-and don't they know it. The swagger is unmistakable. Each exquisitely crafted hook, each spray of feisty brass, every huge orchestral sweep is definite indication of a group on fire.

Despite the dodgy labeling, this is almost pure pop. It has a funny kind of sisterhood with Captain Sensible's album 'Revolution Now', in that its surface sheen and pomp is (incredibly!) just the bait that draws you in, ultimately to discover the width and depth of what lies beneath. A clear sign of inner richness.

The scope and aspiration of 'Terrapin Station' is breathtaking and immense. It has subtleties and intricacies that other lesser, workmanlike musics can only dream of - and it's sustained. It applies pressure in the first 5 seconds and never let's up; relentless, whirling rock music which is appealing well beyond a delirious few listens, and has a resonance and resolve which is unshakeable.

As with all truly great music, it's profoundly influential, good and bad. The obvious offspring are the likes of Chic and the stomping Brothers Johnson. Unfortunately the lineage ends somewhere around those mortifying uglies, Level 42, but it does illustrate that even the most hopeless cruds can't be ALL bad, if they're trying to emulate 'Terrapin Station'.

A truer album you won't hear. It's full, across the board solid. Alert, soulful and downright FUN.
I'm not even gonna whine about the awful (again!) cover art (I can still smell nappies when I think of 'Blues for Allah'), because for once, the ludicrous details which I normally cheekily celebrate, are unimportant.
And I've even jettisoned a slew of train jokes in favour of breathless positivism, such is the chill-inducing, magical beauty of 'Terrapin Station'.
I'm glad I'm alive.

Speaking strictly as a recent person recently introduced to the Grateful Dead,hearing their post 1972 studio albums (especially as I am by way of Grateful Dead: Beyond Description (1973-1989)) really brings to the forefront how there ended up being a whole lot more to the bands sound then a mere San Fransisco psychedelic jam band from the 60's.The 70's offered up a number of new musical forms for rock to draw from in general,everything from fusion to reggae to funk and soul.On a series of albums on the own self titled label all of these styles worked their way around the bands overall sound culminating in a masterpiece called Blues for Allah in 1975. A year or two later the Dead took their label to Arista and created an all new masterpiece.As if they were expected to they easily equalled (if not topped) the previous album in terms of innovation.Again the main thrust of the is funk,and hard funk for that."Estimated Prophet" has a hefty,kicking groove that for this point really knows where it's going.A similarly high octane "Dancin' In The Streets" has the same effect;it cannot beat the orginal of course (NO ONE can) but they create their own excellent interpretation."Passenger" and "Samson & Delilah) find a harder rock and lightly reggae/caribbean influence on a traditional arrangement.Donna Godchaux gets her own song here in the etheral,folksy "Sunrise",the one thing on this albums that assures the music's deep San Francisco "hippie" backround. The 16+ minute title suite is a masterpiece of itself,not so much a jam but a series of flowing compositions (not quite a rock opera) that include the Martyn Ford Orchestra and the English Choral adding a surreal kind of backround to the songs which explore this heavy funk/rock/fusion kind of groove all the way through. The bonus tracks,again a series of groove oriented outtakes are very good but all pale in comparasin to the superb album you get here in the first place. For all their accomplishments musically throughout their career the Greatful Dead got little more then a musical write off for their trouble:that being they become the poster children for the stoner jam band. But much as with bands like the Dave Matthews Band today (whose new CD Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King owes an awful lot to albums like this one) they have created a unique musical legacy all their own and despite the assersion of Dead Heads that they are better live their studio recordings should (and now probably do) stand in a much higher place in the relm of popular music.

This album has always presented certain problems for Deadheads and the band alike. It was the first in a decade to be produced by an outside producer Keith Olson. In fact, this was recorded at his studio in Van Nuys, California. He had just produced the album Fleetwood Mac which was that band's first big hit album. This was the Dead's first for new label Arista and it was clear everyone wanted a hit. The band had interviewed a number of outside producers before Keith Olsen. Keith produced audiophile albums unlike most of what had been put out by the Dead up to this point. The original recording sessions ran rather smooth. Unfortunately, when the band went out on tour in the early part of 1977, Keith decided to take matters in his own hands. Recording orchestras and singers without the band's involvement and actually erasing band member's parts from the recording sessions. What ended up happening was that the band ended up with a radio friendly album. Even a lot of the critics seemed to like it. One even referred to it as the Dead's Dark Side Of The Moon. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect on the band. Robert Hunter hated the way it turned out and said he would never write another involved song project for the band. As for fans themselves, is is the way it usually works - listen to Estimated Prophet and Terrapin Station and bypass the rest. I think that is a little harsh most of this album actually comes across pretty well. An interesting thing about the cd versions is that the studio Dancin' on here with horns is actually the single version. The original lp version didn't have horns. The new bonus tracks are REALLY good. Peggy-O while not having a vocal track is about the prettiest I've ever heard it. The Ascent is a short instrumental run thru that sound nice. Catfish John comes across better than any of the Jerry Garcia version I've heard. Equinox is a Phil Lesh tune that has been circulating for many years and it's great to have a great sounding copy. Fire On The Mountain has slightly different lyrics than later versions and is much more enjoyable the the Shakedown Street version. The live Dancin' is from 5-8-77 which is a favorite among many, but not me.