Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead

I picked up this book hoping it would be about the actual "search for the sound"---ie, the effort that the went into trying to write and perform songs. What I got instead was a fascinating history of the Grateful Dead. Despite having no idea what they were doing, and continually "blowing the big ones", they somehow did alright for themselves. It's an inspiring book on that front, but damned depressing in terms of they were torn apart by bad management, the inability to focus on anything other than music, and a bunch of substance abuse.

I guess Deadheads would better enjoy this intelligently written book of reminiscences by the group’s bass player, but I found it of middling interest, like the group’s music. But overall there is an earnest, thoughtful and melancholy tone that is noteworthy.

I was really looking forward to this for two reasons:

1. The Dead is the best band of all time.
2. Phil Lesh always struck me as the Michael Palin of the Dead.

And while it begins well enough, Searching for the Sound soon becomes the written version of the 15-minute Space of set two that--admit it--you skip each time it comes up on iTunes. The problem is that Lesh continually tries to describe what he felt during some of his shows, and the result is unreadable:

"Invisible bands march across the soundstage in two different directions at different speeds; a solo viola mutters an occult hymn-tune as the rest of the orchestra spreads fireworks in all directions; the chorus intones wordless transcendental benedictions as the music fades away show more into silence."

Or:

"It was as if the music was being sung by gigantic dragons on the timescale of plate tectonics; each note seemed to take days to develop, every overtone sang its own song, each drumbeat generated a new heaven and a new earth. We were seeing and singing the quantum collapse of probability into actuality--it was frightening and exhilarating at the same time."

What the hell is he talking about? I feel bad ragging on a guy who has written "Box of Rain" and "Unbroken Chain," and maybe the second half of the book is better, but I'd rather hear him hold forth with his bass. Yet again I claim and bemoan the fact that no one has yet written a readable, engaging history of the Dead. Everything is either a freakshow or faux-philosophical treatise on "layers of being," etc. And don't get me started on that awful Amazon documentary. show less

Read this book immediately after Kreutzmann's Three Decades of Drumming. This made a very interesting comparison of events and views by the two band members. Phil admittedly was a prick to music industry people and hanger-ons, but still comes off as the more mature band member. Kreutzmann also seems to relish in his tales, Phil tries to find the cosmic connection between everything. Billy was 'there', Phil was looking for 'beyond there'. Kreutzmann likes to kiss and tell where Lesh leaves very little of his escapades. One thing that comes clear out of both books is the strong bind that Garcia was. Both Kreutzmann and Lesh go to great details on their relationship with Jerry and how close they were while neither provides much information show more with regards to their relationship with other band members with one exception - Lesh does talk about close ties to Pigpen. Point being though is that Jerry was the glue and leader that they all looked to for guidance, decisions and keeping things together - though neither admits it. show less

Very well written & very entertaining, Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh provides a detailed look at the formation and early years of the Grateful Dead. The latter half of the band's career is provided in less detail, but still remains fascinating to a read. Of all the biographies/autobiographies of rock & roll figures that I've read, Lesh's is the best. There is a tendency in the genre to go tabloidesque in the writing, clamoring over the excesses of sex, drugs and alcohol that often permeate the industry. Lesh acknowledges the presence of such factors in a very down-to-earth manner without obsessing over them or glamorizing them. Highly recommended to Deadheads & to fans of rock & roll biographies.

I've read a few books about the Grateful Dead over the years, including the huge timeline based Grateful Dead: The Illustrated Trip, and this is by far the most fun to read of the bunch, as well as the only book written by a band member. There aren't any earth shattering revelations to be had, but the writing style transfers the reader to an imaginary realm where you can sit back and listen to a master musician tell a story. It is very narrative and informal. Phil goes in to some detail about how classical music shaped his thinking about how music should sound, taking cues more from Bach's counterpoint than Jack Bruce, McCartney, John Entwistle or any other rock band bassist. I've had a few mind benders myself listening to the classics, show more notably a program on Mighty Handful which was extremely emotional, and he is totally right. Phil goes on to relate his history with the band in a chain of stories that carries you quickly through thirty years of great music, the obvious drug use and it's permutations over the decades, and personal relations with the other band members. Not to mention one of the best April Fool's gags ever. Phil had a dude in a Barney the Dinosaur suit sneak on to the stage for the second set, and Jerry didn't notice until after they started playing. Phil was behind his stack of amps and speakers playing, while Barney was dancing around with a backup bass strapped on. Jerry had a moment of total disbelief, which was a pretty rare thing for Captain Trips, after all the crazy hallucinations that he had played through over the years. If you are in to the band, you can't go wrong with Phil's book. If not, it's still a funny story about a Long Strange Trip, well worth reading anyways.

Just to save someone from asking, the Mighty Handful were an incredible group of five masters, self taught musicians who met in St. Petersburg in the late 1850's or so. Their goal was to bring traditional Russian music into the Romantic Era more famous for Brahms, Liszt, Schubert and whatnot. They were Balakirev, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and Cesar Cui. They are well worth looking for at your library, Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' is probably my favorite work in the entire Classical repertoire. show less

very enjoyable and pretty fair, albeit one man's version. fairly frank and direct, though some controversies are skipped (and that's not necessarily a criticism). if you're a fan, read it.