{"id":807578,"date":"2020-05-18T14:45:49","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T20:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=999651"},"modified":"2020-05-18T14:45:49","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T20:45:49","slug":"read-jim-james-american-beauty-tribute-from-new-grateful-dead-vinyl-boxset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/read-jim-james-american-beauty-tribute-from-new-grateful-dead-vinyl-boxset\/","title":{"rendered":"Read Jim James\u2019 \u2018American Beauty\u2019 Tribute From New Grateful Dead Vinyl Boxset"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/my-morning-jacket\/\" id=\"auto-tag_my-morning-jacket\" data-tag=\"my-morning-jacket\">My Morning Jacket<\/a>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/jim-james\/\" id=\"auto-tag_jim-james\" data-tag=\"jim-james\">Jim James<\/a> praises <em>American Beauty<\/em>, his \u201cgateway\u201d into the world of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/the-grateful-dead\/\" id=\"auto-tag_the-grateful-dead\" data-tag=\"the-grateful-dead\">the Grateful Dead<\/a>, in this exclusive excerpt from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vinylmeplease.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Vinyl Me Please<\/a>\u2019s <em>The Story of The Grateful Dead<\/em>, a 14-LP box set culled from the legendary jam band\u2019s career.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anthology.vinylmeplease.com\/products\/vmp-anthology-grateful-dead\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>The Story of The Grateful Dead<\/em><\/a>, the latest installment in the VMP Anthology series, contains eight classic Dead albums \u2014 <em>Workingman\u2019s Dead, American Beauty, Live\/Dead, Europe \u201972, Terrapin Station, Reckoning, Without a Net<\/em> and <em>Wake of the Flood<\/em> \u2014 each remastered from the original tapes and pressed onto an assortment of 180-gram colored vinyl.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Each album in the VMP Anthology set is also accompanied by liner notes featuring an artist paying tribute to that Dead LP, including Animal Collective\u2019s Avey Tare on <em>Live\/Dead<\/em>, Dirty Projectors\u2019 Dave Longstreth on <em>Workingman\u2019s Dead<\/em>, Margo Price on <em>Wake of the Flood<\/em> and more. Members of the National, the Decemberists, STS9, Hiss Golden Messenger and more also pen odes to their respective Dead favorites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xNYMaOWzrz0?version=3&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;autohide=2&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In his liner notes for <em>American Beauty<\/em>, James writes that even though he was exposed to the Dead at a young age the band didn\u2019t connect with him\u2026 until he purchased his own copy of the 1970 LP during a My Morning Jacket tour.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cI listened to the album two or three times that night just taking it in, living in its world and loving it, trying to understand what this feeling was,\u201d James writes. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t happy, nor was it sad. Yet, it reflected the presence and possibility of every emotion in the rainbow, and the recording was unbelievable. The talent and musicianship were undeniable. The lyrics melted my mind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">James continues, \u201cAnd then one day it hit me: When someone hears the Grateful Dead, in whatever state or form it may hit you in \u2014 and there are many \u2014 they feel the way they WANT to feel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1000563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/VMP-Anthology-Grateful-Dead.jpg?w=1024\" alt width=\"1024\" height=\"688\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>The Story of the Grateful Dead<\/em> follows VMP Anthology collections <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/stax-records-vinyl-me-please-923903\/\">dedicated to Stax Records<\/a>, the women of Motown, Ghostly International and more. The set is <a href=\"https:\/\/anthology.vinylmeplease.com\/products\/vmp-anthology-grateful-dead\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">available to order now<\/a> through Vinyl Me Please.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Read James\u2019 entire <em>American Beauty<\/em> tribute below:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">American Beauty. <em>This was, for me, the grand gateway arch into the wide, weird world of the Grateful Dead. In high school, when I first heard of the Dead, it was always in seemingly negative surroundings \u2014 I didn\u2019t fit in with the punk rockers, I didn\u2019t fit in with the jocks, and I never quite fit in with or felt welcome by the \u201chippie\u201d kids at school \u2014 and of course, all they ever listened to or talked about was the Grateful Dead. Whenever I would hear the Dead in passing, it never really hit me.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">For years, folks were like, \u201cYo, but dude, you gotta check out the Capitol Theater show or the Columbus \u201871 or such and such bootleg!\u201d An amazing friend I worked with at the zoo even lent me a huge collection of her bootlegs on cassette, with beautiful hand-done artwork and stickers and everything. We would sit together selling tickets for elephant rides, and you could really feel the love she had for the Dead \u2014 you could see it in her eyes: the Dead and their scene was like family to her. So, I felt committed to listening and trying to hear what she was hearing. I would pop those cassettes into my car and go for long drives, but again, they never really HIT me.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">I remember in high school when Jerry died: how sad everyone was and how much they loved him, and how much his music was in the air. Many more times, I tried to be captured and pulled in by the music of the Dead\u2026but still, it did not hit me.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">Later on, I remember one day listening to \u201cTeach Your Children\u201d by Crosby, Stills, Nash &amp; Young \u2014 really listening to it over and over, just being in love with the song, and particularly the pedal steel. Talking about the song with a friend around time, he told me, \u201cYou know that\u2019s Jerry on the pedal steel, right?\u201d My mind was blown. If someone could put this much expression and power into a performance like this, I had to give them yet another chance.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">My Morning Jacket was playing The Fox Theatre in Boulder at the time, and I was out walking around before the show. I popped into a cool little record store, and after browsing for a little, I picked up<\/span><\/em> <span class=\"s1\">American Beauty <em>and<\/em> Workingman\u2019s Dead<\/span> <em><span class=\"s1\">based on our drummer Patrick\u2019s recommendation. Having been friends with me since 4th grade, he knew of my struggles to get into the Dead and he knew me well enough to say, \u201cMan, if these records don\u2019t do it, I don\u2019t think anything ever will!\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">I remember that night, after the show, we were on the road in our 15-passenger van, and I was laying in the back seat coming down from the show. I popped<\/span><\/em> <span class=\"s1\">American Beauty<\/span> <em><span class=\"s1\">into my CD walkman and pressed play: \u201cLook out of any window \/ any morning any evening any day\u2026\u201d something about it, for the first time, started to hit me. The possibility of it all\u2026I\u2019ve always been into a wide variety of music, but there was just something about this music I had never felt before.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">I listened to the album two or three times that night just taking it in, living in its world, and loving it, trying to understand what this feeling was. It wasn\u2019t happy, nor was it sad. Yet, it reflected the presence and possibility of every emotion in the rainbow, and the recording was unbelievable. The talent and musicianship were undeniable. The lyrics melted my mind.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">A few days later, we were staying at a friend\u2019s house in Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles. It was late at night, and I took a walk down to the beach by myself with my CD Walkman containing my new favorite album at the time,<\/span><\/em> <span class=\"s1\">American Beauty<\/span><em><span class=\"s1\">. I\u2019ll never forget sitting back against a lifeguard shack just watching the waves when \u201cCandyman\u201d came on again and just SENT ME REELING.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">I listened to it on repeat for hours: the harmonies, the guitar solo, OH MY GOD, the way those guitars melt and blend. And then, I became obsessed with the trio of \u201cCandyman,\u201d into \u201cRipple,\u201d into \u201cBrokedown Palace,\u201d into the rest of the record \u2014 over and over again. Sweet Lord.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">Those songs became a place where I was safe. I could live inside this album and get hit with waves of emotion all over the spectrum. Feeling joyous and dancing in the sunshine daydream. Reminiscing deep and feeling sadness. Feeling loss. Feeling love. But all of these familiar emotions were contained in this new emotion I was experiencing with the Dead \u2014 just what was this emotion? I still had no name for it in the attics of my life.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">And then one day it hit me: when someone hears the Grateful Dead, in whatever state or form it may hit you in \u2014 and there are many \u2014 they feel the way they WANT to feel. And in wishing to feel how the music sounds, eventually you DO start to feel that way! Whenever I hear Jerry or Bobby\u2019s voices, or the shifting sounds of the band hit me, the emotion that registers is limitless possibility. This is how I wish I could feel; this is how I want to feel. And, if I listen hard enough, this is how I can feel. And I have listened. And I have felt. And I am forever changed.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pmc-contextual-player\">\n<h3>Popular on Rolling Stone<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/jim-james-american-beauty-tribute-grateful-dead-vinyl-me-please-boxset-999651\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Rolling Stone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My Morning Jacket\u2019s Jim James praises American Beauty, his \u201cgateway\u201d into the world of the Grateful Dead, in this exclusive excerpt from Vinyl Me Please\u2019s The Story of The Grateful Dead, a 14-LP box set culled from the legendary jam band\u2019s career. The Story of The Grateful Dead, the latest installment in the VMP Anthology [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-807578","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-10 19:08:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=807578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807578\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=807578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=807578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=807578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}