The Complete Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics: The Collected Lyrics of Robert Hunter and John Barlow, Lyrics to All Original Songs, With Selected Traditional and Cover Songs

I bought this sight unseen and - knowing its origin in a web page - wasn't necessarily expecting that much in terms of quality. In fact, though, this is a lavish publication which contains everything that you could ask for and a little bit more.In addition to the lyrics written by The Dead's poet-in-residence, Robert Hunter, there are also those to all the other Grateful Dead songs, including a handful of songs that they often recorded but didn't write, such as "Not Fade Away". Each song appears in chronological order with details of first recording & performance, making this a useful reference tome from the get-go.Next up: you get copious B&W illustrations (effectively cartoons) by Jim Carpenter, set sympathetically into the page, plus a handful of full-page colour illustrations by various hands. To be honest, the Carpenter illustrations don't do much for me, but they do add browsing interest.Finally, the annotations. Not every song is annotated, but some (e.g. "Stagger Lee") get several pages of notes. Some songs get a full essay of explanation (e.g. John Barlow's note on "Cassidy") while others make do with curious or irrelevant details. For example, we are told the population of Mexicali in 2005 and in 1993, but not in the year that "Mexicali Blues" was written.Picking on these details only reminds us, though, that this work is the result of a long process involving many contributors bound together solely by a shared love of the subject. It isn't an academic treatise, and doesn't pretend to be.In production terms, the volume has been expertly typeset in order to keep all the information clear and distinct. The square page means that lyrics and annotation can be closely interrelated, and the binding and paper used are of coffee-table quality.This is a book that fans will find frequent reasons to revisit, and casual listeners will admire for its clarity and completeness. Lyrics books are a fairly nerdy thing, and this one is more so than many, but its outstanding quality and lack of pretentiousness make this one a model that others would do well to emulate.

Every deadhead should really read this before listening to the studio albums. The music makes so much more sense, provides soul and meaning to some of the finest progressive rock music from the last 50 years, Do not hesitate , lovely book with artwork ,lyrics ,essays about the band and with members of the band and more, lots more, in fact you will probably not stop reading it until you are thoroughly DEAD!!

This book is a "must buy" for all fans of the Grateful Dead. Comprehensive, well-written, with some fascinating and illuminating background notes on some of the band's most well-known songs. Some cool artwork too!

Oh a book you can just dip into or read from cover to cover. Don't always agree with the David about the meanings of some of the lyrics, but hey, that's the beauty of any form of poetry. The book is a labour of love and it shows. Well worth adding to your library.

A beautiful book. The kind I'll keep on my coffee table for years. Well over an inch thick and beautifully packaged, from the layouts to the illustrations and cover. Spent many nights with this on my lap. If you don't already have the previous editions, buy this one. If you do, you might want to buy this one too, it's worth it.

Great book! Now I know I've been singing all the wrong words for years.A bit like Christmas carols really." King Wensess last looked out"!

Haven't read it yet but 'pon skimming it seems to contain a huge amount of research and insight for not a lot of outlay. I'm looking forward to taking my time on this journey.

This book is the ultimate lyrics companion for all serious deadheads....if you are a fan then be sure to get yours asap!

Great book, This version is nicer than the original. If you appreciate the Dead’s lyrics it a wonderful book to have around. Nice intro written by Robert Hunter.

Any Dead Head would love this book, super interesting and tons of information you may not know.

Ein sehr schönes und hochinformatives Buch! Die Aufmachung wirkt locker wissenschaftlich und wirkt wie eine Reise in lang vergangene Zeiten…

Fantastico!!!! Meraviglioso!!!

The book in and of itself is good for what it is, although it was not as compelling a read as I had expected. There are some colour plates but nothing as psychedelic as I had hoped. Most pages have a cartoon-like sketch along with the lyrics and notations (many of which are long and tedious). A great reference for lyrics even though I have never felt that stoned rock stars had anything significant to say. I was curious to know what the lyrics were to incomprehensible dirges like "Whatever Happened to the Baby?" (from their third album) and now I know that they are what I had expected all along: nitrous oxide-induced gibberish. Be that as it may, my problem with this book is that about 40 pages or so were MISSING, and in their place were reprints of other pages in the same book. Unfortunately, I discovered this too late to return the book, so I threw it in the recycled paper bin. I do like The Dead but I'm not a true and DEAD-icated Deadhead so perhaps I don't need to reorder, but absolute believers will love and cherish this book. Depends on how committed you are to the band. But be aware as others have had this same problem,,, check the pages of the book as soon as you receive it to make sure they are all there and in proper sequence.