Day of The Dead - Grateful Dead cover compliation

[pepband99]

Personally, I'd put the Stones in there. The amount of fervor they still inspire is staggering. Especially among the younger crowd. For me Stones > Beatles. They still instantly fill an arena.

They don't get covered as much though. Mainly, I think, because it's the playing/sound that is so....I don't know the word. I can't think of a single Stones cover that is better than the original. I can think of covers of Beatles/Dylan songs that are better or more iconic. (eg Hendrix - All Along the Watch Tower).

A good point. Covers came to mind seeing Hornsby on this list. Not shockingly, he covers the Dead extensively in concert, and does killer versions of songs often (Black Muddy River, Standing on the Moon being most frequent.)

 

[HuskyHawk]

Ive liked a few of the releases Ive heard so far. Its such a huge project.

It speaks to the timelessness of the songs that people are discovering their genius in some cases 45-50 years after they were written.

It is obvious at this point that their canon is only matched by the Beatles and Bob Dylan in terms of longevity and relevance. People will be listening to (and covering) the songbook in 100 years) Unlike the other two though, the Dead never got the acclaim for that in their moment.

I've never been a Dead Head, but like a lot of the music. I find it's under appreciated by the average person due to the phenomena that was their following/followers and associated stigmas. But I think you're right in talking about catalogs, because it's the writing that's impressive. Local guy/guitar at a restaurant did Ripple last night and had me thinking about what a great song it is.

Dylan performs almost none of his songs better than the people who cover or record them, but they're his songs. The Beatles catalog looks better if you think of it as the Paul McCartney catalog and add Wings and solo stuff...turns out he wrote most of the Lennon-McCartney attributed tunes, even Eleanor Rigby, which everyone just knew was one of Lennon's.

The artist I'd consider adding is Bruce Springsteen. I've never been one of his fanatical followers either, but the guy has written a crapload of good songs that hold up, including those made hits by other people. Diverse folks, too, Patti Smith, Manfred Mann, 5 Man Electrical Band and the Pointer Sisters.

Stones...great performers, not writers of great songs really aside from Sympathy for the Devil. Hell Neil Young has probably written more great tunes than they have.

EDIT: Ray Davies is the most under-appreciated songwriter out there. The guy is brilliant.

 

[intlzncster]

Stones...great performers, not writers of great songs really aside from Sympathy for the Devil. Hell Neil Young has probably written more great tunes than they have.

If you are talking lyrics only, then maybe, but song overall? Only one? Heck Sympathy isn't even their greatest. Satisfaction has arguably the most famous rock guitar riff of all time (right along with Smoke on the Water). It might even be a Top 5 All Time song. You Can't Always Get What You Want, Brown Sugar, Honky Tonk Woman...

I know this is subjective, and not an iron clad source, but Rolling Stone has updated their 500 greatest rock albums of All Time for a number of years now. Here's a quick summary:

Artists with the most albums
11 Bob Dylan (ten solo albums and an additional album as Bob Dylan and The Band; two in the top 10 including the #9 and #4 spots)
10 The Beatles (four in the top 10 including the #10, #5, #3, and #1 spots; an additional four from their solo careers, two from John Lennon, one from George Harrison, and one from Paul McCartney and Wings, make the list beyond the 10 as a group)
10 The Rolling Stones (one in the top 10 including the #7 spot)
8 Bruce Springsteen
8 Eric Clapton (two solo albums, three with Cream, one with Derek and the Dominos, one with The Yardbirds and one with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers)
8 Neil Young (four solo albums, two with Crazy Horse, one with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and another with Buffalo Springfield)
7 The Who
6 David Bowie
6 Lou Reed (two solo albums, four with The Velvet Underground)
5 Bob Marley and the Wailers
5 David Crosby (three albums with The Byrds, two with Crosby, Stills & Nash)
5 Elton John
5 Paul Simon (two solo albums, three with Simon and Garfunkel)
5 U2
5 Led Zeppelin
5 Radiohead
5 The Byrds
4 Elvis Costello (two solo albums, two with the Attractions)
4 Grateful Dead
4 Pink Floyd
4 Prince
4 Sly and the Family Stone
4 Stevie Wonder
4 Talking Heads
4 The Police
4 The Smiths