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    So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead
    So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead
    So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead
    Audiobook15 hours

    So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead

    Written by David Browne

    Narrated by Sean Runnette

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The Grateful Dead's long, strange trip has been the subject of countless books-but none like So Many Roads. Drawing on new interviews with surviving members and people in their inner circle along with previously unknown details gleaned from the group's extensive archives, David Browne, acclaimed music journalist and contributing editor at Rolling Stone, lends the Dead's epic story the vivid feel of a novel. He sheds new light on the band's beginnings, music, dynamics, and struggles since Jerry Garcia's death in 1995.

    No longer dismissed as relics of the hippie era, a new generation has lionized the Dead for creating a culture that paved the way for social networking, free music swapping, and the uncompromising anti-corporate attitude of indie rock. Now, fifty years after the band first began changing rock 'n' roll-both sonically and psychically-So Many Roads paints the most vivid portrait yet of the Grateful Dead, one of the most enduring institutions in American music and culture.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateApr 28, 2015
    ISBN9781622316717
    So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead
    Author

    David Browne

    David Browne is the music critic for Entertainment Weekly. A former reporter for the New York Daily News, he has crontributed to Rolling Stone, the New York Times, New York magazine, Sports Illustrated, and other publications. He lives and very occasionally skateboards in Manhattan. He is the author of Dream Brother a highly acclaimed book which looked at the lives of Tim and Jeff Buckley.

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    Reviews for So Many Roads

    4/5

    26 ratings8 reviews

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    • 3/5
      The Grateful Dead probably wasn't the greatest musical group of their era, nor the best known, but for a particular subset of music listeners they were somehow utterly magical ... and their fame proved to be powerful and enduring enough that it helped influence how the world looked at an entire generation of music. That fame was really less about the music itself than it was about the unique subculture that surrounded the band, and its the spirit of that subculture that this audiobook attempts to capture.It does this pretty well, actually, through the retelling of a long series of non-linear anecdotes rather than via a chronological narrative. Taken individually, a lot of the anecdotes are pretty fun, and collectively they say a lot about the Grateful Dead subculture. A hardcore Deadhead would probably be in heaven listening to this volume.I'm not quite a hardcore deadhead, though, and for me the stories started to blend together into a repetitive and slightly muddy pool after a while. The nature of the book's organization made it difficult for a casual listener to fit the stories into a broader context, but it was kind of fun listening to them one at a time as individual anecdotes. Unless you're pretty hardcore, I probably wouldn't recommend sitting down with the whole thing. (And even if you *are* hardcore ... who knows? I lent the audiobook to my sister, who was much more into the Dead back in the day, and she gave up on the thing pretty quickly.)
    • 3/5
      I thought this book would offer more insights into the band members and more about the music. Instead it was a series of anecdotes, which bounced back and forth in time. Following the story in a chronological order would have helped me. As other reviewers have said, this book is more for the hard core deadheads. They would relish the opportunity to delve into stories probably not heard before. But a little went a long way for me.
    • 4/5
      This book will be catnip for Deadheads but for the casual Dead listener (like me) it seemed like a whole lot of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. With that said, I was most intrigued by the second half of the book which examined the Grateful Dead following the arrival of MTV and the scrutiny of the MTV generation and the (mostly negative) impact that those newer, younger (maybe less serious) music fans had on the Grateful Dead live music listening experience in the late 1980s and 1990s. I was also interested in Jerry Garcia who seemed to steal the spotlight throughout most of the book with the other band members relegated to his shadow. A must read for some, a might read for others.
    • 3/5
      I received an audiobook of So Many Roads through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in exchange for a review, just at the outset of the hype surrounding the Dead’s Fare Thee Well “final” shows in Santa Clara and Chicago. I should say at the outset that I’m not a Deadhead and have never read a book about them, so I’m not going to help potential readers who want to know if there is “new” stuff in this history. However, I’m their age, have lived in the Bay Area most of my life, gone to some of the same schools as some of them, have been involved in music for most of my life, and even have Bob Weir’s old phone number (Bob, I have 25 years of messages for you…) so I can give you my opinion based on that and purely as a reader/listener.First, David Browne needs a map. Concord is not a “suburb west of San Francisco.” That would be a damp location. Nor is Lafayette “west of Berkeley.” Also soggy. Saying that Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae is “close to Mill Valley” is curious, too, since, more to the point, it’s a lot closer to Jerry Garcia’s home at the time, San Rafael. Trivial? Maybe in themselves these errors are minor, but they suggest that the author may not be so accurate about other, more important things. Anything that calls into question the accuracy of a book of nonfiction is serious. More importantly, the book’s organization is poor. Ostensibly, the idea was to have each chapter relate to a significant date in the Grateful Dead’s long history. But it’s hard to say what happened on a specific date without providing a backstory about the things that lead up to that day. Which is what Browne does, starting each chapter with a particular concert or other event, then flashing back to what’s been going on for the previous year or so, finally bringing us back to the event. This might have sounded swell when pitching the book, since it may distinguish it from other books about the Dead. However, it’s a very disconcerting way to listen to a narrative, going back and forth in time. Some episodes, such as the Dead’s New Orleans bust and their living in Olompali, are mentioned in passing but never described. As the narrative swoops back and forth temporally, some odd things happen, like talking about Brent Mydland after his death has already been described in a previous chapter.I learned some things that I didn’t know about the band and its members by listening to So Many Roads, but I recommend it only to those who are already well versed in the Grateful Dead’s music and history.
    • 5/5
      Having always been a Grateful Dead fan and the wife of a fanatical Deadhead who carries a picture of Jerry on his iPhone case, I was excited to receive my audio copy of David Browne's book, So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead. Listening to the detailed and sometimes surprising tale of the Dead's 50 years for 15+ hours while driving my teenaged kids around would surely prove to be one long, strange trip. (Some of the Dead's language and extra curricular activities are not exactly what I would encourage my teenaged daughters to emulate.) I found myself anxiously awaiting my next solo excursion so I could hear more. The author cleverly tells the tale of 50 important and interesting days that stand out in story of Jerry Garcia's Grateful Dead. Originally a ragtag bluegrass band called the Warlocks, one of my favorite quotes include Jerry calling the groups new name, the Grateful Dead, a "stunning combination of words"; and in chapter 3, when Browne wrote "onstage they wore miss-matched stripe shirts and vests combined with Lesh's, Garcia's, and Pigpen's mushrooms of hair, they sometimes resembled better dressed versions of caveman" I found myself chuckling. Overall, I enjoyed listening to David Browne's So Many Roads. (after I dropped off my girls at school and lessons of course.) I only wish Garcia's amazing music could have been playing along in the background. That surely would have made my own adventures down so many roads experience - even more perfect.
    • 4/5
      When it comes to the Grateful Dead, I am a novice and a half. I know maybe four songs, their artwork, Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia, and stories of their rampant drug abuse. That was about the sum total of Dead knowledge I had before listening to this audiobook. I am happy to say that this book was a crash course in understanding the Dead lore, history, music, and legend. I will never be the world's biggest fan, but I most definitely appreciate the Grateful Dead more than ever before. This book pieces together the band's 50 year history and sheds light on all the members, the music, and the drama. Confusing at times (it's not always told in the most linear fashion), but worthwhile, this book is a must read for any Deadhead and a great introduction for newbies like me. It was comprehensive, but not overwhelming, and has definitely converted me to the dark side :)I received this book for free from Library Thing in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.
    • 5/5
      This is being touted as one of the most unique & comprehensive books about the Grateful Dead ever to be written. Author David Browne claims even hardcore fans will learn something new. Since I am a blossoming 21st century Deadhead I thought I would invite my husband to listen in to give his opinion. He helped in the writing of this review.As an audio book, this was a bit different. Neither my husband or I could follow the format at first. The prologue jumps to 1970 pretty early which confused my resident Dead aficionado. Unlike other biographies this one is not in linear chronological order. The organization is as such: Browne chooses a date significant to the Grateful Dead's history whether it be fateful like the day Jerry and Bob met, historic like day the infamous wall of sound was conceived, or tragic like the day Pigpen died. He then centers a chapter around that day in time. But, as it was pointed out, Browne doesn't stick to that date. He'll leave the time frame and circle back to it again and again within the chapter. From an audio standpoint, it makes for interesting listening.Extremely detailed and factual, Browne is spot on. Drawing from a multitude of interviews he is able bring the culture of the Grateful Dead to life. There is a sensitivity to his storytelling. For example, Hart's pain when his father ran off with over $75,000 of the band's earnings. The story goes much deeper than Mickey's self imposed exile from the band and Browne illustrates the journey to forgiveness beautifully. Everything about the Dead is there: the drugs, the women, the struggles with fame, traveling, relationships within the band, the highs and lows, but mostly importantly, the music that continues to influence generations. The attention given to the Grateful Dead sound was particularly enthralling. As someone who latches onto thought provoking lyrics, the sections including Robert Hunter and his collaboration with the band were my favorite. As a result of listening to David Browne's So Many Roads I understand the Grateful Dead much better. I am looking forward to their Fare Thee Well tour in Chicago! I will not only be listening with my ears, but with my heart as well.
    • 5/5
      So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Deadby David Browne Arrived as a book on CD which means I need to pay a little more attention to format when requesting to review. I love books on tape or Cd but only when I'm driving. During the school year it isn't an issue since I can listen while commuting, heading into summer finds it a little more challenging. Still after beginning the book, I found excuses to drive to listen to more. It is a captivating look at the Grateful Dead using anchor points in time for each chapter. I'm not a Deadhead although I did attend one of their last concerts at The Shoreline and the first Further Festival in Sacramento.i was familiar with some of their music and a little of their culture. As Browne states at the beginning of the book, he wanted to focus on the dynamics of the group those things that pulled them apart and those that pulled them back together. Culling from previous works and from extensive interviews, Browne succeeded. I appreciated the inclusion of dissenting opinions concerning some events without an editorial support of either version of the events. For me it was a great overview of the Dead phenomenon without microscopic detail of their individual lives.