Postcards of the Hanging: Grateful Dead Perform the Songs of Bob Dylan

1	When I Paint My Masterpiece
2	She Belongs to Me
3	Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
4	Maggie's Farm
5	Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
6	It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
7	Ballad of a Thin Man
8	Desolation Row
9	All Along the Watchtower
10	It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
11	Man of Peace

Barnes & Noble

The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan were part of a mutual appreciation society. The Dead began covering Dylan songs in their live sets early in their career and continued until the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995. Dylan, for his part, admired the group and particularly its lead guitarist ("His playing was moody, awesome, sophisticated, hypnotic and subtle," Dylan once wrote of Garcia) to such a degree that he joined the group for a landmark tour in the summer of 1987. Postcards of the Hanging captures nearly 20 years of live Dead renditions of classic Dylan songs, starting with "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" in 1973, with the San Francisco band joined by two of its southern jamming buddies, guitarist Dickey Betts and drummer Butch Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band, and stretching to "Desolation Row" from 1990. The majority of the performances date from the '80s (by 1988 the Dead were including a Dylan song in almost every show). And the band picked wisely, sinking their teeth into the cream of Dylan's wide repertoire; highlights include impassioned takes on "All Along the Watchtower," "Just like Tom Thumb's Blues," "She Belongs to Me," and "Ballad of a Thin Man." As an added treat, two tracks with Dylan fronting the Dead from tour rehearsals in 1987 are included. Steve Futterman

All Music Guide

Manfred Mann has stated that since Bob Dylan's versions of his own songs are so idiosyncratic, it is easy to approach his material from a fresh angle. Perhaps, but few bands would return to Dylan as frequently and successfully as the Byrds and the Grateful Dead. Interestingly, collections were issued from both bands in 2002, each featuring a disc full of the master's covers. Postcards of the Hanging: Grateful Dead Perform the Songs of Bob Dylan gathers 11 live cuts from the Grateful Dead over a span of 27 years, reaching back to 1973 for a version of "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" and including a 1990 version of "Desolation Row." A quick glance at the song list reveals that the Dead chose their covers carefully, sticking to jewels like "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" and "Ballad of a Thin Man." Jerry Garcia delivers soulful vocals on "She Belongs to Me" and "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry," and the band stretches both songs to pass the seven-minute mark. One of the joys, in fact, of the Dead's interpretations of Dylan is how they give a song room to breathe. Bob Weir allows "When I Paint My Masterpiece" to unwind at a leisurely pace, allowing the lyric to slowly unfurl as the band chugs along. There are also a couple of surprises. Phil Lesh offers a rare vocal on "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" and Dylan himself shows up on "Man of Peace," which is handled much better than the material issued on Dylan & the Dead. Postcards of the Hanging is a fun collection that lovingly documents the Dead's appreciation of rock's most celebrated poet. Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.