Dead to the Core: An Almanack of the Grateful Dead

by Eric Wybenga

The Grateful Dead have left us a musical bounty of thirty years and thousands of shows.  Now Dead to the An Almanack of the Grateful Dead takes Deadheads through the seasons and years of the Dead's dazzling array of music, with lavish treatment of those "bumper crop" eras from which their most succulent songs and shows and shows can be harvested.  It is part reference, part critical companion to the best the Dead have to offer, a work liberally stocked with trivia, lore, humor, and arcana.  No Head "farmer" wanting to reap the dankest of the Dead kind will want to be without this essential resource.Includes...Show-a-day seasonal calendarsDetailed show reviews from key yearsMusical and lyrical analyses of the Dead's core tunesAnnotated lists of hot versions of key tunesCapsule reviews of shows from throughout the Dead's careerPersonal anecdotes and observations from DeadheadsA guide to the best Dead-related sites on the InternetIn-depth essays on the Dead's prime eras...And much, much more, including the Dead-Dylan connection, the Dead and Garcia's place in the musical universe, the Deadhead pantheon, tour lore...

Genres: Music, Reference, Nonfiction

457 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 7, 1997

Reviews

[Tim Julian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subtitled "An Almanac of the Grateful Dead", this is essentially a guide to what the author considers to be the most significant of the approximately 2,200 Dead shows available online. Wybenga organises his book into almanac-style sections: Spring (1967-74), Summer (1977-81), Fall (1985-91) and Winter (a short coda to wrap things up as no post-1991 years are judged worthy of lengthy analysis). In addition to the critiques of individual shows or sets (typically the Dead performed two, occasionally three sets a night) there are sections on a range of topics, from best versions of specific songs to thumbnail sketches of celebrity Deadheads, and an Appendix which reviews notable shows from the entirety of their career, including years (notably 1976, 1982-4 and 1988) not covered in the main body of the book.
The musical analysis is accessible and illuminating to a non-musician, readable, and less biased towards a specific era or keyboardist than is normally the case with similar books of Dead exegesis. Indeed, Wybenga gives it as his opinion that the Dead reached a peak in 1990,  which is an appealingly unorthodox counterweight to those who would claim that they were never the same after 1977.
Ideally this is a book to be read a page or two at a time while listening to the relevant show on headphones, but time being what it is I skim-read the accounts of shows I haven't heard yet, with the intention of returning to those at my leisure. Lots for Deadheads to argue over and enjoy. 4 stars.

[Bill Keithler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an indispensable book for Deadheads--not a history or biography but a chronological exploration of the band's evolution over their 30 year history highlighting notable concerts, important songs with exceptional performances cited and explicated. Eminently readable, the book is designed like an almanack, divided into seasons charting the cyclical ebb and flow of the band, through their ups and downs, stellar performances and those which can be passed over. Through the book, one gains a heightened sense of the changing sound and style of the band through the performances of key songs and how they evolved over the years. Wybenga charts the influences of changes in personnel of the band (primarily at the keyboard position) on the bands overall sound, despite the core of the band remaining intact until the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995.

If nothing else, this volume serves as a guide to experience and appreciate the band as they grew over the years by following the recommendations in the book for specific concerts, or versions of certain songs. Many of these shows have not been officially published, although they are readily available if one looks--you just have to poke around.

[HeavyReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I realized I am never going to read this book as it is meant to be enjoyed, which is with recordings of the shows it mentions. I think the reader should also be the listener. It would be so cool to read about one of the shows mentioned in the book, then to listen to the show, possibly referring to the book while listening, and maybe again after listening as well. I am probably never going to read this book that way.

I have decided to sell this book in hopes that it will get to a Grateful Dead fan who will enjoy it. No sense hoarding a book that is meant to be actively enjoyed.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference resource from a Dead fan that isn't afraid to delve into all eras of the band. I checked this out from my local library, but I wish I could keep it around to reference as I check out new tapes. It's a fun read.