DOC A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead by Dennis McNally in Arts-Photography

Description

The complete history of one of the most long-lived and legendary bands in rock history; written by its official historian and publicistndash;a must-have chronicle for all Dead Heads; and for students of rock and the 1960srsquo; counterculture.From 1965 to 1995; the Grateful Dead flourished as one of the most beloved; unusual; and accomplished musical entities to ever grace American culture. The creative synchronicity among Jerry Garcia; Bob Weir; Phil Lesh; Bill Kreutzmann; Mickey Hart; and Ron ldquo;Pigpenrdquo; McKernan exploded out of the artistic ferment of the early sixtiesrsquo; roots and folk scene; providing the soundtrack for the Dionysian revels of the counterculture. To those in the know; the Dead was an ongoing tour de force: a band whose constant commitment to exploring new realms lay at the center of a thirty-year journey through an ever-shifting array of musical; cultural; and mental landscapes.Dennis McNally; the bandrsquo;s historian and publicist for more than twenty years; takes readers back through the Deadrsquo;s history in A Long Strange Trip. In a kaleidoscopic narrative; McNally not only chronicles their experiences in a fascinatingly detailed fashion; but veers off into side trips on the bandrsquo;s intricate stage setup; the magic of the Grateful Dead concert experience; or metaphysical musings excerpted from a conversation among band members. He brings to vivid life the Deadrsquo;s early days in late-sixties San Franciscondash;an era of astounding creativity and change that reverberates to this day. Here we see the group at its most raw and powerful; playing as the house band at Ken Keseyrsquo;s acid tests; mingling with such legendary psychonauts as Neal Cassady and Owsley ldquo;Bearrdquo; Stanley; and performing the alchemical experiments; both live and in the studio; that produced some of their most searing and evocative music. But McNally carries the Deadrsquo;s saga through the seventies and into the more recent years of constant touring and incessant musical exploration; which have cemented a unique bond between performers and audience; and created the business enterprise that is much more a family than a corporation.Written with the same zeal and spirit that the Grateful Dead brought to its music for more than thirty years; the book takes readers on a personal tour through the bandrsquo;s inner circle; highlighting its frenetic and very human faces. A Long Strange Trip is not only a wide-ranging cultural history; it is a definitive musical biography.