Album review

Grateful Dead - The Very Best Of

Given that the surviving members of the Dead continue to maintain the psychedelic San Franciscans as a live force, the idea of a best-of doesn't seem so daft, until you consider that the band's massive output can hardly be distilled onto one disc. Virtually bereft of actual hits, the late Jerry Garcia's autobiographical "Touch Of Grey" aside, this easily assembled package concentrates on their more hummable moments like "Truckin'", "Ripple" and "Friend Of The Devil". The...Mars Hotel choices are welcome, but this is a marking/marketing time exercise in the implausible.

Rating: 2 / 10


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Editor's Letter

An encounter with Van Morrison


Consider this the last in a short series of encounters with somewhat cantankerous sorts, following accounts in this space over the couple of weeks of meetings with Lou Reed and Gordon Lightfoot, both of which have stirred some passing interest and lively comment. Today’s subject is Van Morrison...