Harkening back to Jerry Garcia's days as a bluegrass picker, an acoustic-focused selection of country songcraft breathed new life into the Dead. From the first strummed lick of the opener "Uncle John's Band," a rootsy feel predominates: "Will you come with me/ won't you come with me?" the band harmonizes, inviting listeners along on their bucolic path. "A real close-to-the-bone approach, the way they make country & western records," is how Garcia described it. Pals Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (for whom Garcia had just contributed pedal steel on Déjá Vu) effectively taught the Dead about vocal layering — which shines on every track. In addition to steel, Garcia adds to the C&W sonics via banjo (another holdover from his days in Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions) and emotive singing. The Bakersfield sound of Buck Owens kicks in with "Dire Wolf," one of Robert Hunter's most inspired story songs. A rumination on the doomed Altamont festival the previous December, "New Speedway Boogie" channels the Delta blues. The workingmen referenced in the title populate the catchy hoedown "Cumberland Blues" (miners) and FM staple "Casey Jones," the story of a trainman derailed by too much cocaine (note the aural… read more »