Psychedelic jam bands were nothing special during the hippie heyday. They were everywhere. Any artist trying to fashion a contemporary mould was, at some point, going to scatter themselves in the hopes of capturing a Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-like cry. A mixture of fearing goodwill and fantasising about the drugs and debauchery of the times. Jerry Garcia takes up the mantle of a free-living spirit with a heart of gold and tries his best to maintain Grateful Dead’s second album, Anthem of the Sun. It is as jam-led as it gets, a psychedelic experience playing to the strengths and expectations of the time. But Anthem of the Sun goes beyond this, as much of The Dead’s work so often did. A messy bit of work but an album where the band comes into their own. A new form is taken, a surprising level of complexity within this muddy, mixed second release.
Anthem of the Sun may be a sporadic piece of quality but when it hits those exceptional notes and captures the spirit of the times as successfully as the rest of those plugging away in the genre, it works exceptionally. That’s it for the Other One has a sinister scope to it, a modern twist towards its fourth part which relays an earthquake of instrumental bad trips and bold beginnings. Gone are the covers of their self-titled debut, in comes a sense of wanting more from a period dominated by drugs elevating spirits and minds. This is a time of overwhelming acid-rock. Where wordplay and the feeling of them, a phoneme, takes precedence over the meaning. New Potato Caboose suggests this most of all but it relies on some slick and inviting bass grooves from Phil Lesh. His great talent for Grateful Dead releases was his consistency, a much-needed firmness to the core of these projects, particularly Anthem of the Sun.
Groovy improvisation, or at least the reflections and feel of spontaneous creativity, dominates the best moments of Anthem of the Sun. But pieces like Alligator, for all the instrumental joys they may hold, are a little flat. A bit too muddy and mixed up for their own good as the band crashes through those psychedelic influences. An instrumental jam which goes on a bit too long but provides plenty of slick instrumental work. Frankly fantastic guitar work from Garcia and held together by Bob Weir and Lesh. Anthem of the Sun is an early glimpse at a band whose complimentary style was starting to form. Closer Caution (Don Not Stop on Tracks) is another keen moment for Grateful Dead, an early belter which continues on those guitar-led Alligator joys.
Stick around for that eleven-minute powerhouse, shave a few minutes off the jam session feel and get to grips with a psychedelic next step. Grateful Dead were a ways off of their best works but Anthem of the Sun shares a vibrancy which the band would depend on for most of their releases to follow. Exciting yet somewhat timid in some sections, with a few instrumental spots of quiet, calmer moments to guide these Garcia-led songs. Is it all we need, as he keeps suggesting in the latter half of Alligator? No. There is much room for growth and it can be heard in the albums to follow, but Anthem of the Sun has a foot in the door for the band. Experimental experiences towards the end are the real trip but for something standard, with a better consistency and an easier experience, those opening tracks are where it is at. A balanced album for all the messiness, which proves quite the treat.
