Where The Beat Meets The Street
	Produced by Jeffrey Baxter
	Released on August 1984
	US CHART POSITION #166
	Find it at GEMM
BFC 39276 cover [high resolution photo]

W ith all these forays into the fields of Weir, I should have an immunity to mediocrity. What lures me into these barren places is the discographer’s desire to complete the big picture (in this case, the Dead), but Weir’s work never seems to fit. He’s not cultivating the same audience as the Dead, not feeding some alternate creative engine, but seems to be biding his time on the off-chance that he’ll sail into a commercial crosswind. Starship got lucky like this in the ‘80s, so lightning could strike twice, especially when you consider that Bobby Cochran (who sings half the material) sounds a little like Grace Slick. But the material, much of it written by professional songwriters, is lame. “She’s livin’ like a lady of leisure / And lovin’ like a thief in the night” (from “Lifeguard”) is fair warning that it gets pretty deep. If you’re looking for islands of integrity, Weir’s turns on “Thunder & Lightning” and “Ain’t That Peculiar” are pretty good. But the opening “I Want To Live In America” is more indicative of the Midnites’ bald intent to follow the radio dial into the great, bland beyond. The closing “Gloria Monday” is a better use of the band’s time, although you have to wonder whether Weir will still have any groupies left after this album. Honestly, this album is probably as far as I’ll get in the world of Weir. He’s never cultivated the kind of solo career that Jerry Garcia or Mickey Hart have, never delivered on the potential of the Dead’s second gunslinger (except presumably for Ace) and seems to drift through projects with minimal engagement. And we are not immune.

BFC 39276 back cover	BFC 39276 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. (I WANT TO LIVE IN) AMERICA    (Bobby Cochran/Bob Weir/John Barlow/Gerrit Graham)    3:21
2. WHERE THE BEAT MEETS THE STREET    (Nicky Chinn/Steve Glen)    3:32
3. SHE'S GONNA WIN YOUR HEART    (Mentor Williams/Billy Burnette)    3:59
4. AIN'T THAT PECULIAR    (William Robinson/Warren Moore/Marv Tarplin/Robert Rogers)    3:50
5. LIFEGUARD    (Peter Beckett/Dennis Lambert)    3:52
6. ROCK IN THE 80'S    (Bobby Cochran)    3:10
7. LIFELINE    (Rod Roddy/Leon Medica/Dennis Frederiksen/Tony Haselden)    4:23
8. FALLING    (Bob Weir/Jeff Baxter/Kenny Gradney/John Barlow)    4:22
9. THUNDER & LIGHTNING    (Bob Weir/Bobby Cochran)    3:35
10. GLORIA MONDAY    (Bob Weir/John Barlow/Jeff Baxter)    4:09

CREDITS

BILL COBHAM -- drums
BOBBY COCHRAN -- lead vocals, lead guitars, background vocals, additional overdub engineer
DAVE GARLAND -- keyboards, synthesizers, tenor & alto sax, background vocals
KENNY GRADNEY -- bass, background vocals
BOB WEIR -- lead vocals, guitars, background vocals
Jeffrey Baxter -- synthesizers, guitars
Paulette Brown -- background vocals
Steve Cropper -- guitar
Paulinho Da Costa -- percussion
Chuck Domonico -- bass
Lee Drucker -- bass
Jim Ehinger -- keyboards
Sherlie Mathews -- background vocals
Jim McDonnell -- drums
Kathie Pinto -- background vocals
Brian Setzer -- guitar
Ike Ueno -- guitar
Larold Rebhun -- engineer
Joel Zimmerman -- art direction
Jan Cobb -- front cover photo
Glen Wexler -- back cover photos

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