Box of Rain
Friend Of The Devil
Sugar Magnolia
Operator
Candyman
Ripple
Brokedown Palace
Till the Morning Comes
Attics Of My Life
Truckin'
Two classics in one year? Who said the Grateful Dead were lazy? After hanging with Crosby, Stills and Nash, Jerry Garcia realised his boys could own the mic sing too, albeit with a rougher edge, but it suited Workingman's Dead – which arrived in June 1970 – and American Beauty, which appeared in November.
Phil Lesh’s Box Of Rain, a poignant eulogy to his dying father, brought him out-front, manna from heaven to the fans, while guitarist Bob Weir was now a bona fide equal to Captain Trips himself. Sugar Magnolia and Truckin’ (whose lyric immortalised a band bust in New Orleans) reeked of newfound confidence. Friend Of The Devil is pick of a splendid bunch, alongside the country folk of the doom-laden Candyman.
Ripple (originally titled Hand Me Down) and Brokedown Palace were written in London and considered for Workingman’s Dead, indicating why the discs are often viewed as parts of a whole.
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in November 1970
- Derek And The Dominoes: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
- Bryter Layter - Nick Drake
- The Man Who Sold The World - David Bowie
- No Dice - Badfinger
- Barrett - Syd Barrett
- Loaded - The Velvet Underground
- The J. Geils Band - The J. Geils Band
- Naturally - Three Dog Night
- Despite It All - Brinsley Schwarz
- Emerson Lake & Palmer - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills
- Tea for the Tillerman - Cat Stevens
- All Things Must Pass - George Harrison
- Gentle Giant - Gentle Giant
- Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One - The Kinks
- Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus - Spirit
- Play It Loud - Slade
- Air Conditioning - Curved Air
- Blows Against the Empire - Paul Kantner & Jefferson Starship
- Cruel Sister - Pentangle
- Loaded - The Velvet Underground
- Medusa - Trapeze
- Number 5 - Steve Miller Band
- Starsailor - Tim Buckley
- Steppenwolf 7 - Steppenwolf
- Warhorse - Warhorse
What they said...
"A complete contentment shines through the vocal work on this album. A full contentment. The instrumentation is rich with sound that moves through, under, and into the listener. Damn it all, the album is American beauty, of the best possible kind. The positivity of the Dead just can’t be kept down. Look at the cover. "American Beauty" can also be read as "American Reality," thanks to Mouse Studios. If more of the American reality were this album, we’d all have a lot more to be thankful for. (Rolling Stone)
"This is the simplistic folk-rock album Workingman's Dead is supposed to be--sweeter vocally and more direct instrumentally, with words to match. Robert Hunter is better at parsing American conundrums than at picking American beauties, so too many of the lyrics revolve around love, dreams, etc. But only Attics of My Life has nothing upstairs." (Robert Christgau)
"Though American Beauty is undoubtedly the Dead’s most beloved studio album, by fans and skeptics alike, most of its songs were never major staples of their live sets, making it something like an island in the stream of their larger canon. One exception is Truckin’, the album closer, an easygoing ode to the open highway that became an anthem for Deadheads and for freaks and hippies more generally." (Pitchfork)
What you said...
Wesley Winegarden: I was born shortly before this album was released and the songs on it always take me back to my innocent childhood and my misspent youth. I grew up on a farm in Canada where my parents held an annual late-summer barbecue to celebrate the year's bounty of produce. This album always featured on the evening's playlist. Later, in my late teens, I would take over the tradition of hosting parties on the farm, this album was still on the playlist (normally near the end of the evening, when I was trying to chill the party-goers out so they would leave).
Probably the most accessible of The Grateful Dead's albums, it was my gateway into the long strange world of the Dead, and remains on my barbecue playlist.
Shane Reho: Another week, another classic. As much as I hate to be a bandwagon jumper, I'd be hard pressed to mount an argument against this being the best Grateful Dead studio album. Every song is a winner in my book. To highlight a few tracks, few albums can boast that they have one of the most beautiful songs ever written on them. This album can claim two with Box Of Rain and Ripple. Box Of Rain is great enough without knowing the story behind it, but factor that in and you have a great tribute from son to father and as fitting an epitaph as could be asked for Phil Lesh. Ripple is one of those songs I could sit and listen to over and over and never tire of. Arguably Garcia and Hunter's finest moment as songwriters.
Elsewhere, Friend Of The Devil and Sugar Magnolia are the classics they deserve to be, Operator is a nice deep cut from Pigpen, and Candyman is interesting in the way it blends a calm melody and great harmonies with quite a violent lyric ("If I had me a shotgun, I'd blow you straight to hell," for example). Brokedown Palace, Till The Morning Comes and Attics Of My Life are all great songs, and then there's Truckin', which, besides Dark Star, probably stands as the definitive Grateful Dead song. Hell, the definitive road song, too, more likely than not. An easy 10/10 for me. RIP Phil.
Gary Claydon: I remember seeing a photo of Grateful Dead's 'Wall of Sound' which mightily impressed the teenaged me and prompted me to thinking along the lines of "damn, I gotta listen to this band"! Didn't take me long to realise there wasn't anything by the Dead that I'd want to hear played through it, though.
Not sure their brand of jam-band Americana transferred at all well to this side of the Atlantic and I for one always found them boring. Still do. At least American Beauty doesn't descend into another long jam snorefest but that's pretty much its only saving grace.
Brian Carr: I really try not to be a music snob. After all, one of the beautiful things about music is that there is something out there for every taste and mood. That said, I never had the desire to delve into the Grateful Dead. Is it fair to dismiss them, though, when I’ve only heard a couple of tunes by them? So I actually gave American Beauty a spin tonight.
In this case, I was absolutely on target. I’m six songs in and there is nothing musically appealing to me. It reminds me of Crosby, Stills and Nash with none of the wow moments. Oh, well - it’s not like they’re hurting for fans!
John Naples: Great Album.
Chris Elliott: I first bought this as a battered slightly warped used LP in a 10p bargain bin as an 18-year-old hippie. At the time, based on "legend", I was expecting some weird stoned psychedelia - not this folky/country thing. I rediscovered it a few years down the line and finally understood its reputation.
Today I'm slightly ambivalent. Its influence is undeniable. Along with Workingman's Dead it's the only Grateful Dead album that isn't self-indulgent. But dated is the wrong word. It's more that what followed leaves it sounding like a stepping zone; interesting, but there's better stuff. Unlike Gram Parsons, The Band and Kris Kristofferson it never made me explore the parallel world that is country/Americana
Even in its own time period, it's not the "best". The Byrds/Gram Parsons made far better country albums, The Band did "roots" better, outlaw country – at its best – leaves this feeling sort of naive. And it's not exactly Dylan-level folk. Given that alt-country / Americana found its feet in the last 20 years. the "competition" has left this a bit behind.
I enjoyed it walking the dog. It's a decent album and it's not yet another bargain bin dog. And in retrospect thankfully it wasn't some spaced-out jam
Mike Canoe: The only Grateful Dead album I've ever purchased as well as the only one I've listened to more than a couple of times. Five inarguable classics: Truckin', Friend Of The Devil, Sugar Magnolia, Ripple and Box Of Rain. Results may vary on the other five. I like Candyman and Operator a lot but Attics Of My Life has me reaching for the skip button. American Beauty is Americana before there was a name for it: folk, country, bluegrass, and blues all mixed together in a big bowl. Rest in peace, Phil Lesh. No one can put it better than the Dead themselves, "What a long, strange trip it's been."
Gus Schultz: Love them or hate them, I don't think there is a band that is more iconic as the Grateful Dead. Even if you have never listened to their music just the band's name alone conjures up images of hippies, tie-dye and psychedelia.
Although the band was a big part of that, their music was much more than those things. I became somewhat of a "Deadhead" way back, mainly listening to not much else but the band and attending many shows and discovering that they were all very talented musicians always experimenting, changing things up and doing some pretty amazing covers as well.
I think to appreciate them, going to a show or two helped as their studio work never really conveyed their talent and often their live LPs were better than most of their studio works. That being said, American Beauty is one of those albums that does shine a light on their talents and along with Workingman's Dead it was a prolific period in the studio for them.
With lyricist Robert Hunter they produced some of best music of their career, such as Sugar Magnolia, Friend Of The Devil and Truckin'., It was the later that mainstream success arrived with some airplay, and of course the Phil Lesh /Robert Hunter's Box Of Rain which seems very apropos now as it was written during or shortly after Lesh's father's death. American Beauty is definitely one of Grateful Dead's best studio works and certainly worth being in one's collection (but only if you can stand them)! RIP Phil.
Bill Griffin: I am of two minds where the Grateful Dead are concerned. I am not a fan of their live work. Jerry Garcia sounded like me playing leads and I can't play. On the other hand, I do find their studio work to be likeable and this album in particular fits that bill.
Tom Herrin: If it weren’t for Workingman’s Dead this would be the pinnacle of The Dead’s studio output. Nary a duff track here, with Ripple (one of a very few Dead tracks that doesn’t have a vastly superior live version) as a peak. In the words of Michael Stipe, “a must”.
Michael Saulle: This and Workingman’s Dead are the reasons I got into the Dead. Would’ve made a fine double album. Great harmonies, phenomenal musicianship, and, along with The Band’s first two albums, rightfully serve as the blueprint to the alt.country movement of the 90’s (Wilco, Son Volt, Jayhawks, etc.).
Jim Carson: This album is a quintessential piece in the Dead's studio catalogue and an accessible entry point into their music for many, contrasting with their improvisational approach to their live shows.
While I’m not a big fan, it’s impossible to overlook its influence and impact on listeners over the decades. This album showcases the band’s shift toward a folk-oriented sound, marked by introspective lyrics and a laid-back charm. Tracks like Ripple and Box Of Rain highlight their skill in capturing universal themes in simple, resonant melodies.
Evan Sanders: I had a feeling that the Grateful Dead would show up this week, to reflect on Phil Lesh's memory. A great choice, as the album opens with his passionate Box Of Rain. Similar to what others are writing, this album is a companion piece to Workingman's Dead, released earlier in the year. Both albums were an effort by the band to move to more of a folk-rock sound compared to the psychedelic music in their earlier albums.
Focusing on the opening song, Lesh wrote this while his father was dying, and poignantly closes with the lyric "a long long time to be gone, a short time to be there". For those who want more details, check out the Good 'Ol Grateful Dead podcast episodes from 2020, where each song gets its own episode. 9/10, marred only by the seldom-played Til The Morning Comes.
Evan Wall: The album artwork can be read as "American Beauty" as well as "American Reality". This was done on purpose by the artists Alton Kelly and Stanley Mouse.
Peter Thomas Webb: It’s impossible to convince somebody who hates the Grateful Dead why they should like them. Even I, who can appreciate all twenty-three minutes of Dark Star without dropping a hit of lucy, find some of the Dead’s self-indulgent jams the aural equivalent of filling out tax forms. It is often said that American Beauty is the Dead’s most “accessible” album – as if lovers of concise pop and rock are suddenly going to see the light by listening to it.
That isn’t really the case, which, for me, is part of the album’s charm. On American Beauty, the Dead go hard into bluegrass, folk music, and traditional country without bothering much with the rock element that normally defines “folk-rock” (as in, say, the Byrds or the Eagles). The Grateful Dead never did anything by halves. Songs like Friend Of The Devil, Ripple, and Brokedown Palace sound more like ancient ditties from the Ozarks or Appalachians than anything associated with modern rock.
Vocal harmonies by Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Pigpen McKernan are amiably woodsy and weather-beaten – a remarkable shift for a band knee-deep in psychedelia just a year earlier. To fully appreciate American Beauty, it helps to like the Weavers or the Louvin Brothers as much as Buffalo Springfield or Crosby, Stills and Nash. So, while its “accessibility” is probably overrated, American Beauty is great album of dusty melodies laced with earthy poeticism.
John Davidson: I've never listened to a Grateful Dead studio album before.. Notorious for their rambling jams live this is full of concise roots folk. I'm a fan of modern British folk music and the folk-informed rock of Jethro Tull, but this is 1970 and much like Fairport Convention the vocal harmonies sound very dated and the songs may reach for the profound but verge on the twee.
Also...failing the old grey whistle test, there's not a tune on the album that I can recall, nor a lyrics that I felt compelled to sing along with. Not for me.
Final score: 7.66 (83 votes cast, total score 483)
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