David West Was it the tie-dye? The thick air redolent with smoke and patchouli oil? The young women with flowers twined into their braids who were beatifically dancing in the middle of mud-splattered fields? Was it the sight of a hundred thousand people swaying together in an impossibly perfect union for just a few minutes? It was all of that and none. It was the Grateful Dead, a band who became a cultural phenomenon of a kind that's unlikely to hit the musical soundstream again in this millenium. Frontman and guitar genius Jerry Garcia once said in an interview that his introduction to the power of music came from sitting up nights listening to the strains of bluegrass music coming in over the static on his aunt's olf-fashioned radio. Jerry would be happy to hear his legacy continued on "Ignore Alien Orders/Pickin' On The Grateful Dead", an album of swift-fingered, toe tappin' bluegrass and country audio adoration dedicated to the musicianship of the band that changed the world - or at least the 60's. Featuring such indelible hits as "Friend of the Devil", "Truckin'", "Casey Jones", "Samson & Delilah", and the cult track "Dark Star", " Ignore Alien Orders" renders favorite tunes in a lively, down-home manner that should please long-time fans and new listeners alike.
Completely instrumental, the choice tracks are far-ranging enough to allow the listener to sing along with the loud gusto of an unstrained fan, or to listen quietly to the familiar tunes that shaped a generation. Either way, we're certain that this album of beautiful performances by Californian superpicker David West and his famous Dead Strings will become an all-time favorite.
Scarlet Begonias (Hunter/Garcia) 5:21 Friend of the Devil (Hunter/Garcia/Dawson) 4:23 Bird Song (Hunter/Garcia) 6:27 Truckin' (feat. the "Truckin' Telecasters") (Hunter/Garcia/Lesh/Weir) 6:03 Althea (Hunter/Garcia) 5:28 Lady with a Fan (Hunter/Garcia) 4:09 Casey Jones (Hunter/Garcia) 4:09 Samson and Delilah (Trad. arr. David West) 3:44 Touch of Grey (Hunter/Garcia) 5:59 Cumberland Blues (Hunter/Garcia/Lesh) 5:13 Ripple (Hunter/Garcia) 4:07 Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad (Trad. arr. David West) 3:56 Dark Star (Hunter/Grateful Dead) 4:14
