GRATEFUL DEAD - Wake Of The Flood (50th Anniversary Edition) LP

180 gram vinyl.

Wake of the Flood is, exactly as the title suggests, the evidence of the high-water mark of the Grateful Dead in the recording studio.

Workingman's Dead was their paean to Death. You should revisit that album if that statement doesn't make sense to you. Those songs about murder, mayhem and extreme unction are all reflective of the guilt and remorse that the band was suffering during the aftermath of Altamont.

Three years later, Wake of the Flood fully respires with the affirmation of Life. It is as gentle and warm as the kindest Spring morning. The Godchauxs are all over this record and it a wondrous thing. Donna has plenty of detractors, as she would regularly be unmusical in the live setting. But in the studio, with opportunities for retakes, her contribution to the band is both critical and unmistakeable.

Between these, Workingman's and Wake, The Dead fully embrace the cycle of living. These are their crowning achievements.