Dead Set
	Produced by Dan Healy, Betty Cantor-Jackson and Jerry Garcia
	Released on August 1981
	US CHART POSITION #29
	Find it at GEMM
A2CD 8112 cover [high resolution scan]

B zzzuhhrrr. Welcome to the world, electrick brother. From the belly of a barren decade came two twins: acoustic Reckoning and electric Dead Set. Their acoustic/electric personalities are amplified by comparable fare: a handful of classics plus early and integrated solo works. Brent Mydland and his electric organ are magic, the sanguine Weir and pale Garcia play their parts. Highlights this time include a lullabied “Friend of the Devil,” the experimental “Space” softly crashing into “Fire on the Mountain,” another “Deal” and the unshakable “Franklin’s Tower.” The Weirer it gets, the less I’m interested. Reckoning is the smarter of the two twins because it shoots the Dead in soft light. The electric Dead Set opts for a harsh light that has a withering effect on Garcia. “Candyman,” “Brokedown Palace” and “Loser” nearly break down. The show also loses some momentum during the succession of “Loser,” “Passenger” and “Feel Like A Stranger,” not three songs that the Dead will be remembered for at the end of the day. It’s up to “Franklin’s Tower” to restore our faith, and the Dead are alive again. Among the Mydland chronicles, Reckoning and Dead Set are tales of triumph. No longer driven lonely by the twin sails of guitar, the music moves mainly under Mydland’s mainsail of organ and electric piano. It’s not enough to atone for a half-inflated Garcia or overinflated Weir, but it helps. And from the liner note legal department: The 1986 single-disc reissue omits “Rhythm Devils.” In 2006, Rhino reissued Dead Set with ten additional tracks as a two-disc set (and, yes, rhythm devils’ in the details this time).

TRACK LISTING

record one

1. SAMSON AND DELILAH    (trad., arr. by Grateful Dead)
2. FRIEND OF THE DEVIL    (Jerry Garcia/John Dawson/Robert Hunter)
3. NEW MINGLEWOOD BLUES    (trad., arr. by Grateful Dead)
4. DEAL    (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
5. CANDYMAN    (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
6. LITTLE RED ROOSTER    (Willie Dixon)
7. LOSER    (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
   
   record two
   
8. PASSENGER    (Phil Lesh/Peter Monk)
9. FEEL LIKE A STRANGER    (Bob Weir/John Barlow)
10. FRANKLIN'S TOWER    (Jerry Garcia/Billy Kreutzmann/Robert Hunter)
11. RHYTHM DEVILS
12. SPACE    (Phil Lesh/Brent Mydland/Billy Kreutzmann/Mickey Hart)
13. FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN    (Mickey Hart/Robert Hunter)
14. GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD    (Bob Weir/Robert Hunter/Mickey Hart)
15. BROKEDOWN PALACE    (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
    
    2CD reissue bonus disc
    
1. LET IT GROW
2. SUGAREE
3. CC RIDER
4. ROW JIMMY
5. LAZY LIGHTNIN'
6. SUPPLICATION
7. HIGH TIME
8. JACK STRAW
9. SHAKEDOWN STREET
10. NOT FADE AWAY

CREDITS

JERRY GARCIA --
MICKEY HART --
BILLY KREUTZMANN --
PHIL LESH --
BRENT MYDLAND --
BOB WEIR --

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