HIGH TIMES CD REVIEWS

HEAD TO JAMAICA -- Video Preview of Chef Ra Escapes Babylon


I just returned from the 30th annual Hash Bash, which takes place on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. LESH LIFE

It's no secret that Phil Lesh & Friends have evolved into the best of the post-Grateful Dead solo projects, but even the band's most ardent supporters are likely to be surprised at the focus and precision of There and Back Again (Lapis Music/Columbia), Lesh's remarkably disciplined studio album. Lesh tried several different combinations of players before settling on this quintet, which includes Warren Haynes and Jimmy Herring -- two of the most accomplished and virtuosic improvisational rock guitarists around -- Zen Tricksters keyboardist Rob Barracoa; and drummer John Molo.


For this effort, Lesh hired veteran Dead lyricist Robert Hunter to pen six tracks. Hunter's words on "Celebration," "Night of 1,000 Stars" and "Freedom" bring Lesh's music closest to familiar Grateful Dead territory.


It's hard to overestimate Haynes' contribution as a lead guitarist, frontman and songwriter. He has the Zelig-like ability to blend into a band concept as a sideman, singing harmony vocals, then stepping out front on three of his own songs -- "The Real Thing," "Patchwork Quilt" and "Welcome to the Underground" --- all of which deal with the personal nightmare of his best friend and Gov't Mule partner Allen Woody's death. Haynes provides the darker flipside to Hunter's optimism.


This is truly a band effort -- the guitarists play lines etched like diamonds on glass, and the lyrics offer a glimpse into the reason this music ever existed in the first place. Phil Lesh has made an album the Grateful Dead would have been proud of, and one that gives its legions of fans a clarion call to rally around. --John Swenson

DEAD ON THE TRACKS

Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead have always had a symbiotic relationship. The Dead covered Dylan tunes when they were still the Warlocks in the mid-'60s, and when Jerry Garcia began collaborating with lyricist Robert Hunter, the classics that tumbled out bore the unmistakable opaque mystery of the Master. And said Master was equally enthralled with the Dead. After touring with them as a backup band in '87, Dylan credited the experience as the inspiration to perform his own songs again, kicking off the last decade of a re-energized Bob.


That tour begat Dylan & the Dead, a serviceable, if underwhelming, recording. But now uber-Deadhead David Gans has compiled the superb Postcards of the Hanging: Grateful Dead Perform the Songs of Bob Dylan (Grateful Dead/Arista). Most of the material comes from Dylan's 1965-68 work; most of the performances, with the exception of one track, were recorded between 1985-90. After the '87 tour, Deadheads became accustomed to the so-called "Dylan slot" about five or six songs into the first set.

Bob Weir is the star here. He sings or co-sings six out of the 11 cuts; rarely have his recorded vocals been so consistently compelling, so experimentally out there. Weir fearlessly pushes beyond the boundaries of a limited voice box to brilliant theatrical effect. (Dig that falsetto on "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again"!)

The rest of the band is at its hydra-headed, perfect-beast best. Postcards reinforces what Deadheads already know: the music that's been released commercially is merely a glint of the gold in the vault. --Michael Simmons
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HIGH TIMES Reviews -- page 2

MR. SOUL

Before joining country-rock pioneers Buffalo Springfield in 1966, Neil Young was the chief guitarist in a short-lived R&B group, the Mynah Birds. Fronted by Rick "Super Freak" James, they were the first racially integrated act signed to Motown. The Mynah Birds recorded a demo, but the album disappeared in the Motown vault, never to be released.

Nearly 40 years later, Young has dipped into his R&B roots to produce Are You Passionate? (Reprise), his 34th solo album. A sharp departure from his grunge and country-tinged albums of the '90s, Passionate is reminiscent of his 1988 experiment in blues, This Note's For You.This Note's For You had the feel of a novelty album -- as did much of Young's work from the ‘80s -- Are You Passionate? is a focused attempt at musical growth.


Even by Young's standards it's an unusual album, featuring his long-awaited collaboration with legendary soul organist Booker T. Jones, who first performed with Young at the Bob Dylan tribute in 1992 (they toured together the following year). The songs are among the catchiest of Young's career. Opening track "You're My Girl" cheerfully laments a daughter's coming of age, and establishes loss, heartbreak, family and sacrifice as the album's central themes. Young almost rapping in a low growl and answering in his familiar falsetto on "Mr. Disappointment" is just one of the album's striking innovations. His guitar work is exceptional, cleaner and more controlled than usual. However, two songs with his old band, Crazy Horse -- "Goin' Home" and the 9/11 anthem "Let's Roll" -- don't seem to fit with the rest of the album.


Are You Passionate? is a heartfelt offering from a musician who, let's face it, has nothing to prove. To his credit, Neil Young still pushes himself to change and grow, to overcome four decades of musical baggage and stay passionate. --Mark David Dunn

THE COMPLETE ALLMAN BROTHERS

If you are a factually retentive, hardcore Allman Brothers fan, you must pick up a copy of The Complete Discography of the Allman Brothers Band, compiled by Dean Reynolds. A longtime collector of all things Allman, Reynolds has spent 30 years gathering every possible nugget of data available about the recordings of the Brothers, as well as their individual projects, offshoot bands and guest session work.

The Complete Allman Brothers is 224 pages in full color, and it is deep and accurate. The longest section of the book includes detailed facts about every Allman Brothers album, as well as all pre-Allman projects -- the Allman Joys, Hourglass, the Second Coming. Short essays, album covers, release dates and publicity photos are included for each record. The book also contains segments on Gov't Mule, Sea Level, the solo efforts of Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts, and a plethora of imports, bootlegs, videos and memorabilia. Reynolds' chapter on "Guest Appearances" is particularly fascinating and meticulous. --John Lynskey