Overview

The Grateful Dead were one of the most successful live acts of the rock era. Performing over 2300 shows between 1965 and 1995, the Grateful Dead's reputation as a ""live band"" was-and continues to be-sustained by thousands of live concert recordings from every era of the group's long and colorful career. In Live Dead, musicologist John Brackett examines how live recordings-from the group's official releases to fan-produced tapes, bootlegs to ""Betty Boards,"" and Dick's Picks to From the Vault-have shaped the general history and popular mythology of the Grateful Dead for over fifty years. Drawing on a diverse array of materials and documents contained in the Grateful Dead Archive, Live Dead details how live recordings became meaningful among the band and their fans not only as sonic souvenirs of past musical performances but also as expressions of assorted ideals, including notions of ""liveness,"" authenticity, and the power of recorded sound.

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9781478020707

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Reviews

In this book, musicologist John Brackett uses the concept of 'liveness' as a lens through which to interpret and recount the history of the Grateful Dead and their music. Integrating material from popular, academic, and archival sources, he writes with the sensibilities of a Deadhead and the rigor of a scholar. As someone who likes her Dead live and prefers to dance to music in person, his perspective resonates with me. As an academic who studies Deadheads, I welcome this thoroughly researched and impeccably documented account of how and why 'live recordings came to dominate the discourse of the Grateful Dead.' -- Rebecca G. Adams, coeditor of * Deadhead Social Science *

“Integrating material from popular, academic, and archival sources, John Brackett writes with the sensibilities of a Deadhead and the rigor of a scholar. As someone who likes her Dead live and prefers to dance to music in person, his perspective resonates with me. As an academic who studies Deadheads, I welcome this thoroughly researched and impeccably documented account of how and why ‘live recordings came to dominate the discourse of the Grateful Dead.’” -- Rebecca G. Adams, University of North Carolina Greensboro, coeditor of * Deadhead Social Science * “As avatars of without-a-net musical improvisation, the Grateful Dead staked out sonic territory that took the importance of live performance to whole new levels. John Brackett does an exceptional job of presenting the history of ‘liveness’ in modern music and then placing the Grateful Dead securely within that tradition.” -- Peter Conners, author of * Cornell '77: The Music, the Myth, and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead’s Concert at Barton Hall * ""Brackett’s measured and thoughtful approach makes this worthwhile reading for both committed Deadheads and those interested in the study of live music."" * Publishers Weekly * ""In his eloquent analysis of this aspect of the Dead’s music and history, Brackett examines how 'live recordings came to dominate the discourse of the Grateful Dead.' Deadheads are bound to love Brackett’s book."" -- Henry Carrigan * No Depression *

“Integrating material from popular, academic, and archival sources, John Brackett writes with the sensibilities of a Deadhead and the rigor of a scholar. As someone who likes her Dead live and prefers to dance to music in person, his perspective resonates with me. As an academic who studies Deadheads, I welcome this thoroughly researched and impeccably documented account of how and why ‘live recordings came to dominate the discourse of the Grateful Dead.’” -- Rebecca G. Adams, University of North Carolina Greensboro, coeditor of * Deadhead Social Science * “As avatars of without-a-net musical improvisation, the Grateful Dead staked out sonic territory that took the importance of live performance to whole new levels. John Brackett does an exceptional job of presenting the history of ‘liveness’ in modern music and then placing the Grateful Dead securely within that tradition.” -- Peter Conners, author of * Cornell '77: The Music, the Myth, and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead’s Concert at Barton Hall *

“In this book, musicologist John Brackett uses the concept of ‘liveness’ as a lens through which to interpret and recount the history of the Grateful Dead and their music. Integrating material from popular, academic, and archival sources, he writes with the sensibilities of a Deadhead and the rigor of a scholar. As someone who likes her Dead live and prefers to dance to music in person, his perspective resonates with me. As an academic who studies Deadheads, I welcome this thoroughly researched and impeccably documented account of how and why ‘live recordings came to dominate the discourse of the Grateful Dead.’” -- Rebecca G. Adams, coeditor of * Deadhead Social Science *

Author Information

John Brackett is an independent scholar and author of John Zorn: Tradition and Transgression, and coeditor of The Routledge Companion to Popular Music Analysis: Expanding Approaches.

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