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I liked the Grateful Dead, but I was never a Deadhead. I wholeheartedly believe the sextet was better in the studio than they were live. To adherents of the late 20th-Century religion known as Deadism that statement is enough to send me to Hell for eternity. The Dead's faithful do not believe in Purgatory because it's not possible to cleanse a sinner's soul in the Afterlife. Only total devotion to the band while earthbound can save a person from eternal damnation. I know I'm one of the condemned because I believe The San Franciscans' sacrosanct triple LP/double CD,  Europe '72 , is boring. It's the album that never ends. I came to that conclusion after listening to it a few times back in my college days and again just a few weeks ago to see if my opinion had changed. It did not. Garcia, Weir and company continued to release live material regularly, but they abandoned the studio completely after 1980's Go to Heaven ...

I like the Grateful Dead, but I prefer their studio work. When the country-rock pioneers were tuneful and concise they were usually quite satisfying. Proof lies with the record that has always been considered their masterpiece, the stunning American Beauty . This outstanding set of ten tunes gave birth to five staples still heard on classic rock radio today. The opener, "Box of Rain," with Phil Lesh on vocals, is a standout and it's followed by the best thing the group ever laid down on tape in the studio, the RobertHunter/JerryGarcia/JohnDawson story song, "Friend of the Devil." It's about an outlaw who makes a deal with the devil and featured David Grisman guesting on mandolin with the Dead for the very first time. The last of the three perfect ways to open an album is Bob Weir's "Sugar Magnolia." Side two on the original vinyl LP begins with the mighty fine "Ripple," ...