96. Grateful Dead - American Beauty

I went through a Dead Head phase in high school. Almost everyone in the 70's did. But even in the absolute deepest of my Dead Head days, I could not hold a candle to my friends who spent their summer breaks following them around the country, who went to hundreds and hundreds of shows.

I went to about 50 Dead shows all through high school. I enjoyed the shows, but I didn't immerse myself in them the way my friends did. Yes, I got stoned or dropped acid and grooved with the band for the first few songs. It was all well and good until they broke out into Morning Dew and you knew there was a 700 minute space jam coming. I tried to get into the whole "dance like a crazed banshee in the aisle" thing, but there wasn't enough acid in the world to keep me from falling asleep during those jams.

But as much as I distance myself from my Dead days and as much as I try to deny I was a huge fan, if you put this album on in front of me, I will sit there from the first note of Box of Rain to the last note of Truckin' and I will know every word and enjoy every single minute and I will ask to play Ripple at least two more times.

I think it's time to reconcile myself with my 14 year old Dead Head self.

Favorite song: Ripple
Me, in my Dead Head days