#409: Workingman's Dead

Revisiting Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020)

The Grateful Dead, 1970

This is a classic American album, fully embracing American folk traditions, and it's fantastic. I’ve not really been into Grateful Dead as they seemed a little niche, but this one nonetheless exceeds my expectations.

#410 was Wild Honey by The Beach Boys, and I commented that it felt “lo-fi;” Workingman’s Dead is also lo-fi, a quiet album rather than the bluesy psychedelic rock you might expect from Grateful Dead. These eight songs are ballads or folk tales or blues. “Cumberland Blues,” sung in harmony, is a standout, one of the more uptempo tracks but still a quieter track despite the electric guitar. There’s “Dire Wolf,” “Black Peter,” and “Casey Jones,” near ghost stories; “New Speedway Boogie” and “Easy Wind” are a bluesy tracks, and “Uncle John’s Band” and “High Time” are folk songs.

I enjoyed this low-key release from the Dead, and I look forward to American Beauty at #215, another 1970 release.