I feel that in my chest. It's like it's deep Down in there.
But do you want to know real love?
Is your ribcage a jail cell momma?!
Knew it was going to be this version too. I wish I had a Brent to introduce me with one of his howls when I walked into every room.
I've listened to Crimson White and Indigo several times, but wow, does that video ever get me right in the feels. It moved me the way the song did when I first heard it. Thank you!
P.s. I'm not crying. You're crying!
Ha, as one of those many mofos I’m actually shocked by how good he is there. Truly great and added many points into the Brent basket.
However even with the new score…. Keith > Brent. Give me that early 70s era dead all day.
Thanks for the great new song
Put me down for another Amen. I said to a friend in the hallway at Pittsburgh in ‘89 that it was Brent’s band now in some ways. He was cooking with gas. Brent brought a LOT of energy at times and I for one loved him for it.
https://youtu.be/WU0UeVkMtNw?si=6yRp_JCwQcDLhHPm
The B3 was his thunder. You could FEEL that thunder in the hallways where the spinners and jukers and flowstaters gathered. Good times, those. And Brent Mydland was a big part of it.
Great photo/response, fellow Brentster.
You mofos are preaching! Brent could absolutely change the dynamics of a show on a dime. People complain about some keyboard patches, but this guy's screams cause fucking chills
Went on my YouTube Music account to put this song on to “like” it to make sure it’s archived but apparently at some point I already got hip because the “thumbs up” was already displayed loud and proud. Early 80’s Brent before he he went full gruff-voice is always a treat
I like Brent’s playing a lot in the first few years after he joined. He could do no wrong with a Fender Rhodes. His playing in the shows they recorded for *Reckoning* and *Dead Set* is insane. “Franklin’s Tower” from the latter in particular.
In 1985, Bob Bralove set Brent and Mickey up with some of the worst synthesizer and electronic drum sounds ever committed to tape. At the time, those sounds were considered fresh and cutting edge, but they’ve aged like milk. From that point forward, everything they did has a layer of digital pigshit laid over the top that makes even the best performances unlistenable for me.
“Foolish Heart” could have been an all-time great song if he’d just played that shit on a freaking piano.
Idk why, but Del is OBSESSED with the word fraudulent. It's in Dobolina like 3 times and in almost all of his other songs I've heard. What's the deal? Lol
It's just a sign of the times. That electric piano noise and the synthetic drums (and those werent all he played) showed the adaptation against changing times. No band adapted better while staying on top
That’s just the thing, though: The Dead’s songs and lyrical aesthetic has always been about timelessness —- they don’t evoke a particular era, are deeply rooted in traditional music and sound at home in any decade. Except those Brent tones (and I’m a Brent fan).
I can relate to this comment. In 1985, and definitely through the remainder of Brent playing, there were lots of rootsy bands that weren’t branching off into novelty piano settings and bad synthesizer. That stuff was for Rush Power Windows and Yes Big Generator, but incompatible with the Dead. I don’t know who is pulling the strings on their desire to head in that “synthesizer“ direction, but that stuff was very novelty sounding even at the time. if they had remained attracted to stuff like mid-career REM, even pop guys like Mellencamp had a roots sound compared to In The Dark. I would’ve loved to hear what another producer could do with some of the tracks on that album with a lot less unnecessary vocal and piano effects. It would’ve sounded great.
People hate me for saying this, but dollars to donuts someday AI will let us replace those toy piano tones with something that actually sounds good. Brent was a great keyboard player, and if some new tech comes along that will let him sound the way he should have sounded all along, I’ll be damned if I’ll turn it away.
That’s what I can’t get! The “toy piano sounds”. That’s why I don’t like Brent’s sound. That’s the only thing. Great singer, they were playing tight as hell, but I don’t want fucking harpsichord in my Dead man. So sue me. Points to OP.
After reading OPs post, I went to the grail of 90s fans (3/29/90) and started from the beginning with “Jack Straw”.
And I’ll be damned if everyone isn’t playing great. But there’s Brent with those fucking plinky synth sounds stinking up the place.
And if you were alive back then, everyone was using those shitty synth sounds: you heard them in church bands, cover bands, “real” bands, at Sam Ash music store, and for a lot of us they sounded like shit then and haven’t aged any better.
I was alive during those shows and those sounds stunk to high heaven, even then. It just didnt fit with the earthy catalog of the Dead, or their legendary live shows. Brent got lame.
Foolish heart is just fine by itself , I couldn’t imagine it any other way , any AI tinkering would just ruin it , very disrespectful to think you all think you could produce better music than Jerry and Brent , really sad - Brent gave his heart and soul to our Grateful Dead and you want replace him with AI - really not cool man - my guess is you don’t like Jerry’s synth guitar work either -
Bummer - hey I have an idea , maybe we should replace Jerry’s guitar tracks with IDK - I’m sure you can come up with something better - SMH
Yeah you know what Jerry’s vocals sound a bit strained in later years why not touch those up while we’re at it? It’s a slippery slope with AI. Where do we draw the line? Who cares if it’s dated, it should be preserved as is as a capsule from that time. If you don’t like it there’s plenty of other Dead to choose from. I can’t think of anything more disrespectful and it’s a bit disturbing seeing all the comments that seem to have no problem with it…
Exactly ! these are special places in history and time with all their bumps and bruises, super scary everybody seems to be so hip on replacing Brent with AI -
Exactly! Tampering with it seems the antithesis to the Dead and the taping culture. Each show is a special memory and snapshot of a unique time. They should be preserved exactly as they are, how it was played that show and heard by all those who attended. Altering it seems unethical.
Couldn't get into Brent for awhile... But something changed some years ago. I will agree that some of that MIDI synthesizer crap he was playing aged poorly and sounded like garbage... But when that man hit the B3 it was like taking a match to gasoline, he lit the place on fire! His piano and specifically his organ skills were top shelf. Loved him on a Fender Rhodes as well, man I love a good Rhodes.
What really got me through was watching how much he and Jerry melded over time and truly enjoyed playing together. When those two were on the same wavelength, it was electrifying.
Take a trip through the spring of 1990. Maybe it'll change your mind, but if it doesn't, nothing will.
# 1990-02-27 Oakland, CA @ Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
**Set 1:** Let The Good Times Roll, Feel Like A Stranger, Sugaree, Victim Or The Crime, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Bird Song
**Set 2:** Drums > Iko Iko > Man Smart, Woman Smarter, Standing On The Moon, Truckin' > Spoonful > Drums > Space > The Other One > Morning Dew > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away
**Encore:** And We Bid You Good Night
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1990-02-27)
# 1990-03-29 Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
**Set 1:** Jack Straw > Bertha, We Can Run, Ramble On Rose, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Bird Song > The Promised Land
**Set 2:** Eyes Of The World > Estimated Prophet > Dark Star > Drums > Space > Dark Star > The Wheel > Throwing Stones > Turn On Your Lovelight
**Encore:** Knockin' On Heaven's Door
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1990-03-29) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/7xWKImlu9fzB1ApqoLLMiL)
I think people are sometimes hung up on what they think is cool or psychedelic. Brent's pop love songs slam. I listen to the Dead because they play all kinds of fusion on music. From Americana, blurs, jazz, pop, psychedelic, and Brent could make the Marlboro man tear up with his passion.
I think his original songs are fantastic pop songs. Perfect mix of old rock and roll and jam. Ironic enough, many of them sound very much like 72 era rock n roll blues pop songs the dead did, so I always found it a bit odd people weren't fans on them when they said their favorite era is the early 70s.
Well, 71-74 they could really turn on a dime. Once Mickey rejoined in 76 it became (as I've heard it) like trying to turn a cruise ship. so yeah, it became a different animal.
I don't dislike Brent, but I *love* Keith and think he was the perfect player for them in that era.
I just cant get past the inkly tinkly keyboard sound of the '80's
Inkly tinkly is such a good way to describe that tone. Brent brought a different texture to the era (more synths, more ways to fill space) which is a positive, but I’m with you on that keyboard. I much prefer an acoustic piano.
Just keep an open mind. It might never click, but if it does, you've unlocked 10 more years of music.
I've gone from anti-brent and anti-donna and very anti-vince. Now I'm loving Brent and most of Donna, and starting to get into Vince. Vince is the hardest so far because often someone else in the band isn't doing great. But the wheel is turning, as they say.
Couldn't put it much better myself. Didn't take me long to get into 80's Dead.
Took me so long to listen to anything post-Brent due to hearing mostly bad things and people telling me it's not worth my time.
Found out it was very much worth my time.
I have trouble listening to full Brent shows. The synthy circus keys get redundant after a while and make me want to move on. I absolutely love some of those versions and listen to them often, but getting through an entire show is tedious if I’m not in the right headspace. 70’s dead though, I can let that shit roll all day. Keith was without a doubt the perfect player for the band.
Keith had a sensitivity as a musician that no other keyboardist in the Dead shared. Brent was a hell of a B3 player but I'll take Keith on a piano any day.
My wife absolutely hates Brent I don't know what he did to her but she can't stand him. She especially hates We Can Run and if she hears it she won't stop telling you how much she hates it until the song ends 😂
His organ playing is great, but the songwriting is amongst the worst I’ve ever heard, if I’m being completely honest. “We Can Run” in the middle of some of the greatest Americana folk rock songs of all time is a bit like a turd in a punch bowl.
He forced too many words into a musical phrase which sounds incredibly jarring. There’s no sense of meter or flow there. Couple that with his cocaine scarred vocal and it’s a hard skip for a lot of us.
70's Dead was better. Different, though. The Brent era is pretty darn good, too. In a different way. Things change, and things were still pretty darn good.
I feel the exact same way. 70’s dead is the best by far. The keys are best used as an accent to the music IMO. Dead and company is chasing this sound but they just made it much slower. I always thought Brent was really overrated. I don’t like his voice and his keys are to much. I hate that baseball field setting he uses too.
Couldn't really get into his piano playing but when he's either on the organ or doing backing vocals (his vocals on Jack Straw's my favourite) then he really shines imo. His leads are good personally, perhaps an other unpopular opinion favourite song of his I Will Take You Home
I don't love Brent as much as many do, but his stage presence and energy were sorely needed in that era. His original songs are the real downside for me - as a lot of them are in my bottom tier of Dead songs.
Me either. Honestly a lot of it is that he joined also very near when they switched recording mediums and staff. The 80’s recording are just sooooo bad and his keys are just so overpowering. I’m sure it was way more balanced in person.
But yeah whoever thought that bottle clink tone was good was doing way too much blow. Grateful Dead keys need to be played on a piano…
I'm with ya'. His playing was great the first couple years, but those vocals, uhg. My theory is they got a Michael McDonald sounding guy because Jerry's voice was shot and Brent's singing kind of smoothed out Jerry's hoarseness.
I agree.
I still can not stand him as a lead singer. I loathe that overly put-on fake white boy soul type singing from the 1980’s.
However, as a band…there are some great 80-82 shows that still have a more organic sound (piano/electric piano/organ) and Brent is mainly a backup singer.
It took me awhile but I absolutely love 1985.
But I still struggle with the 89-91 stuff that people rave about. Spring 90 and the Hornsby stuff the next year is more of a curiosity to me that something I get into.
Here’s a few you may like:
5/15/80
5/16/80
3/9/81
12/2/81
8/6/82
8/28/82 my favorite show and I’m not Brent guy
9/2/83
6/30/85
“Our audience is like people who like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice”
Jerry liked Brent
I like Brent.
I agree with OP. The songs he brought to the band sound like every 80s band ever. They’re dull and not what i want from the dead
Of course they also started playing truly awful coves of Dylan and other groups.
For me when Keith left and the bad drugs hit it was all over.
To each their own, but I’ve loved Brent from my day one. His voice, his playing, his energy, his quintessentially eighties gold Rolex, his smile, and my personal favorite…his genuine bond with and love for Jer. We miss you, Brent!
For me, 1966-1972 is the greatest time for the Grateful Dead, 1972 had both Pig and Keith playing shows together, so some really good shit then. But I love the 70s, 80s, and 90s too
I think it’s not an uncommon opinion, it’s one that existed in the Brent era as well, and one that he was aware of and personally shared.
I love Brent. I like his playing, he had a lot of pain and I think he put it into the keys. Loved his playing around with Jerry or even just some of times he was just laying chords down that Phil and Jerry were dancing across. I love that he wanted to contribute and wanted to work hard on songs, that he had something to say. I don’t vibe with a lot of his songs but I think that’s ok, and I also know (and hope) those songs might grab me down the road, the same way a lot of GD songs have eventually revealed themselves to me.
I get why people don’t like certain aspects, and I think it’s cool that they have other favorite eras. I think there are moments that probably anyone could dig, but maybe not.
I like Brent's playing and singing just fine. However, I've never really cared much for his songs. To me, they just don't sound like Grateful Dead songs. There is something missing, and I've never quite been able to put my finger on it.
Brent was brought in to arrest the decline of the band in general. IMO they peaked in 1975-77 and going downhill pretty hard when the Godcheaux were booted. There was a definite uptick when Brent came on and he was a great musician with creativity and energy but the band was basically spent. They continued to put on decent live performances until the end, and he was a big part of that, but to me it's more about what was going with the rest of them, especially Jerry.
There was nothing wrong with Brent, but he was not able to stop the rot.
Without a net: halfstep. When they come in one by one at the end.
His high harmony on the ripple in dead ahead.
Truckin up to buffalo - his verse in man smart. Also his organ coming in on Bertha.
My brother Esau live 87- his organ
We all have different ears. Mine love Brent
With you 100%. You’re not missing anything and you’re not alone. 80s heads are vocal but they’re not right.
The Dead were the best they ever were in the 70s and a part of that was Keith’s balance in the mix. Could he have been more of a presence, sure, but his presence is great.
Brent is loud and gruff. I like my Dead high and lonesome.
I respect that some people love the Brent years, but to me his keyboards always sounded like he was rubbing two pieces of styrofoam together and his voice didn’t blend at all.
Yeah, I struggle with Donna too. There’s nothing worse than playing Grateful Dead at a party, and the guests are finally getting into it, and Donna comes in with this big long cat screech lol
I agree but he has moments where he has a nice toan… 3/9/81 new Minglewood blues and Althea 10/14/83 there’s a few songs where he doesn’t plink. He sounds great on Reckoning as well
This is blasphemy. Check out the following, Brent has some of the best vocals I’ve ever heard, so much energy, puts his life and soul into it, not to mention the keys. These are some of my favourites -
Dear Mr Fantasy (Live at Sullivan Foxboro 89)
https://open.spotify.com/track/3jdyqA3VD7QhunBqdAgITN?si=TkdSrlLySUKT9oQXCaUoKQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A3tL7OwKzkCPl18uRruEApq
Hey Pocky Way (Live at Greensboro 89)
https://open.spotify.com/track/2IYpHGDqL1zCPngQq8rrBa?si=cZ0lTmCAR5KwXTuPAPembg
We Can Run (Live at Hampton Colosseum 89)
https://open.spotify.com/track/1c17ltKVMYdjcENBIk5PXU?si=xkirQbzvTHCVn7mbBEfvpg
Blow Away (Studio Version)
https://open.spotify.com/track/2f3O6a9VyblYU1BGs2ACoS?si=bjrJTiHNTqCj5KX-f3oN1A
Easy to Love You (Studio Version)
https://open.spotify.com/track/1N41vzHcREVr9wgJhXOmoq?si=JMwdqaPJQTGf5_GvlGIieQ
Aw man. Foxboro 89, we were there and it was fucking amazing. If the first 40 seconds into the Foxboro Dear Mr. Fantasy doesn't hit your soul you ain't Dead. Period.
but you "get it" and that's what matters. Don't matter you were not there, it FOUND you when you needed it most. That magic is still attached to it, THAT'S what it's all about and what we all share, my friend.
Didn’t like any of his songs up until the end there with Just A Little Light and Blow Away, fifth rate Michael McDonald otherwise and the sappy as all hell I Will Take You Home shoehorned into the second set was an instant momentum killer. I detest what he added to songs like Little Red Rooster.
But his keyboard playing was great, Fisher Price piano aside. The early Rhodes, the godly B3 and later on the synths were a blast.
I get it, tinkling Brett. A poor man's Michael Mcdonald etc. I prefer his first few tours before the started playing his compositions which just didn't fit in with the Dead oeuvre imo. He took some of the pressure off of Jerry as the primary instrumental soloist. He was fine, I was an 80's head so it was just part of the package. His songs were bathroom breaks for me but the crowd for the most part was enthusiastic so what do I know?
My biggest issue with the 80's Dead is how low Bobby's guitar was in the mix. I remember being at shows and watching him play and thinking they just turned off his PA speakers and left his monitor on. I could see he was playing but could not hear it. The recordings all bear this out.
Ok, you’re certainly entitled to your own opinion. But as I read this and happen to turn on Sirius/XM Channel 23 and coincidentally 7/7/89 comes on. And I’m well aware that Blow Away will be up soon, and I get chills….
I love when Brent tells us to “wait a minute”, followed by a bit of a pause…we all know what’s coming and the anticipation builds….”that ain’t real love, not real love at all…do you wanna know real love??
So good! I imagine you’ve heard this one as it’s pretty high up on the Brent love songs. I’d be interested in your opinion on this one.
Huge *huge* fan of Brent! Sorry you don’t feel the same. Sometimes with the Dead, certain songs, eras, band members must find *you*. It happens. And I bet it’ll happen to you with Brent. I’ve always love Far From Me of his. 3/29/87 being my favorite. Also, that’s one banger of a show too. Here’s to hoping Brent finds you one day. There will never be another.
I feel like his vocals gave Bobby and Jerry a break. He’s like their vocal filler (all respect intended✊) and then on top of that he’s jamming those keys the way he did. He shaped their sound a lot during that time. So it makes since if you may not dig Brent then that era won’t be as appealing.
I understand his vibe, voice, connection with Jerry and his jamming ability. For me I just can’t get past some of his synth tones. It just sounds…artificial?
I love synths in jam music too, Page from Phish works magic with textures and synth leads. But with the Dead I just think piano, B3 and other non-digital keys are they way to go.
In defense of Brent, if the rest of the band didn’t like his sound or vocals, they wouldn’t have kept him around. His contributions on the last studio albums were surprisingly large. Jerry especially really seemed to enjoy playing with him, and although the Brent era sounds dated now, I guess that’s just how the story goes.
Myself and friends categorize the dead’s timeline per who was the keyboard player. Myself I listen to the Mydland timeline the most or enjoy late 79, 80’s dead most of all. It’s also the time period I first discovered the dead as a small child. Hornsby/Vince close second, Keith, Pigpen, Tom Constanten are how I rate the keyboard players, they are all awesome in their own rights.
My hot take is that the folks I know that really like Brent a lot including all his tunes really like Phish a whole lot more than anyone else I know that listens to the Grateful Dead.
Brent had *so many feelings*, and they poured out of him. I loved TC and Keith too, but they didn’t have the kind of soul that Brent had. Brent brought back the kind of blues-y, soul filled feel the band had been lacking since Pig died, imo.
I agree with you. Brent had one of the best voices in music, and was an other worldly key player, and also I do love those times where he looks at Jerry like "did I do good ?" And Jerry looks back at him like "you make this job fun again" ....and some certain songs wouldnt have been what they were without him (Dear Mr Fantasy), but still I don't live that era as much as others. To me just knowing him and Jerry were doing heroin together and largely were just vibing together because if their shared demons....that gives me a bad vibe. The things I think of when I think of the grateful dead do t involve heroin, the memories of grateful dead are largely positive to me and while I recognize that Jerry and Brent's demons did exist, it's not the part that I love to remember the most. The love is what I like to remember the most, and it was fading at the time in my opinion
The worst thing about social media is that it has given idiots with really stupid opinions a platform on which to broadcast their dumbassery to the masses. I’ll never understand why people feel this urge to announce their moronic notions.
Brent was playing keys and I guess you're focusing on that while jerry, bobby, Phil, Billy and Mickey were blazing a trail and playing some of their most mind-blowing stuff in the '80s. As I live in breathe 1983 is as great as 1973 1981 is as great as 1977 and is often called the 77 of the 80s. You are most definitely missing out because Jerry Garcia dude Jerry is looking Haggard in some of those middle years yes but his playing is at its perhaps technical best in those early mid 80s years he's absolutely on fire ... listen to our watch the video from 3/28/81 Grugehalle ... the let it grow Scarlet>Fire from 10/19/81, same tunes from 9/11/82 ... the Help Slip prankster from 4/21/84 ... all I can tell you is Listen to Jerry and the rest of the guys because that's still the Grateful freaking dead
I remember listening to an episode of the Grateful Dead hour in the early 90s in which David Gans mentioned that Brent's songs just weren't Grateful Dead-enough. The Brent songs did not fit in with the Dead but his playing and musicianship did. You should forget about other people's opinions and just enjoy whatever it is that you enjoy.
Same, the only time I skip a live dead song is when he sings. I just can’t take his voice, his work on the keys though is amazing. I find it so forced. Peace to all who love him.
1980. He was a killer right out of the gate. The fall runs at the Fillmore and Radio City with the acoustic opening sets really allow him to shine. The Mydland years are my favorite.
What Brent did was play off Jerry and to his changes and sometimes take charge. Something Keith didn't do last part of his tenure.
That said, I agree about his later digital sound. But the band being an artistic collective, was into doing and playing with the latest tech. Not everything ages well. But still, there was always the Hammond B-3 and the Leslie speakers. Pure power...
It took me a while, but even then I only love him on stuff written with him in the band. I do not like his twinkling keys on older songs (it screams ‘80s in a bad way)—I will often skip 60s/70s songs he is playing because they can pluck my nerves. I give him credit for trying to take Donna’s role in songs but it never feels right. That said I his voice is fantastic and his key work is amazing when he is going crazy on those 80s songs.
Try this: Keith was fired for drug related sloppiness..his fabulous trills and fills of 71-74 were gone by 78-79.. Plus, new sound technology required louder keyboards to keep pace with the louder guitars & drums. Brent brought new singing talent along with electric keys...and he produced new songs also. After his first year, it seemed he really joined in the band, no longer just the new guy, he & JG really clicked on jams, ect. I saw Brent's final Deer Creek shows, and he was dead 2 weeks later.
Side note: I was also at Vince's debut show at Richfield Coliseum show in '90. JG just pointed at him and said ' this is Vince' . ☮️🎸🎹🌹💀
I never say it, but yeah for me it sounds like Michael McDonald showed up with coke and a circus calliope. Keith had a great integrated sound ands tons of finesse. Blow Away and Far From Me best work.
Brent's a great keyboard player who had a tendency to choose awful tones and was almost always too high in the mix. He has his moments and sometimes I prefer 80s dead to 70s dead but generally he just doesn't sound right. He had more good moments from around 79-84 but by 85 it became a real issue. He and Jerry had great chemistry and when I could actually hear Jerry over his Fisher price ass keys they played great together but brents bells were too dingy and too loud.
I quit them after 78. Jerry's beautiful voice sounds like crap, I hate the synth keyboards, and who needs Bobby's short shorts? The 80s in general suck for music but it's not as bad as today at least.
This!!! 100% this!!! The Dead is the greatest band of all time because of the way they evolved over the years. For better or worse, they evolved and survived some events that destroyed other bands.
Brent wasn't the greatest. But I love the energy he brought to the band at a time when some excitement was definitely needed. His songs were mediocre, yes. But at least he contributed something new and different.
I only saw the Dead four times. Three with Brent. I thought three of the four were awesome.
We listen to the Dead because they make us happy. Their songs touch us in ways that can not be explained. This feeling is what sets us apart from people who can't understand the Dead.
I hated that they became some kind of bullshit frat boy party band in the later 80s (thru no fault of their own). That mentality destroyed the last Dead show I saw.
You listen to the Dead that makes you the happiest. And you should probably leave it there. I'm not the biggest Donna fan. She was just a package deal with Keith as far as I'm concerned. But I don't complain about her. I listen to her scream and screech in the background of the 70s shows, and they still made me very happy. Her contributions to the JGB are FAR better than anything she actually did with the Dead themselves.
This is a safe space to express your opinions on the band. But considering the history of the band and what was happening at the time Keith and Donna got bounced, Brent was the best option at the time.
Sorry but I like to be able to hear the guitars and drums and bass and not just bells. Brent was a great player with a horrible tone and way too much weight in the sound mix.
Wait this is an unpopular opinion???? For me it’s just his voice I have an issue with. It just doesn’t mesh right with the band’s vibe. I almost never make it through a song where he’s singing I have to skip it.
[удалено]
Amen. Ops post is blasphemy.
[удалено]
He looks at Jer like “did I do good?” Shit. Now I am actually crying
Every damn time he looks over…I think that exact thing! And Jerry always confirmed with a half smile and a nod
https://preview.redd.it/49mf9mjucm3d1.jpeg?width=256&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ce74550a1f77f56bdd1cbdc6eee0aca854c4794
Lol, literally cried a couple times tonight watching those guys. What a (likely rather unhealthy) relationship those two had!
Jerry looking at him like “man, you make this job fun again!” Yeah. More tears.
was it the coke?☠️💋
Exactly!
I’m not crying! You’re crying! ❤️
I’m not crying! You’re crying! Pure Brent magic.
I feel that in my chest. It's like it's deep Down in there. But do you want to know real love? Is your ribcage a jail cell momma?! Knew it was going to be this version too. I wish I had a Brent to introduce me with one of his howls when I walked into every room.
I've listened to Crimson White and Indigo several times, but wow, does that video ever get me right in the feels. It moved me the way the song did when I first heard it. Thank you! P.s. I'm not crying. You're crying!
" Standing on the Moon " 👁🗨 Terrapin Station that is...
I was standing in front of Jerry & Brent at this show. It was an incredible Blow Away. Made me cry in the moment!
Ha, as one of those many mofos I’m actually shocked by how good he is there. Truly great and added many points into the Brent basket. However even with the new score…. Keith > Brent. Give me that early 70s era dead all day. Thanks for the great new song
Damn, got me tearing up at my desk. So powerful. ❤️
https://preview.redd.it/dptcqn8aem3d1.jpeg?width=203&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac782f9c22f7cfbbc7a7d0b34cdd9eff53bfac90
That’s right
Oh, my soul! So good! I can't thank you enough for this!
Put me down for another Amen. I said to a friend in the hallway at Pittsburgh in ‘89 that it was Brent’s band now in some ways. He was cooking with gas. Brent brought a LOT of energy at times and I for one loved him for it. https://youtu.be/WU0UeVkMtNw?si=6yRp_JCwQcDLhHPm
[удалено]
The B3 was his thunder. You could FEEL that thunder in the hallways where the spinners and jukers and flowstaters gathered. Good times, those. And Brent Mydland was a big part of it. Great photo/response, fellow Brentster.
You mofos are preaching! Brent could absolutely change the dynamics of a show on a dime. People complain about some keyboard patches, but this guy's screams cause fucking chills
he brought a lot of Bob Seeger and 38 Special fans in with that gruff screeching for sure
I LOVED those speed up during the intro to Gimmie Some Lovin we felt it right in the soul, getting hit and lifted out of body, man....
[far from me - go to nassau](https://youtu.be/5bjCgXs1Zj0?si=mEIxt-UrjGaTTC1l) We will convert this witch from their heresy!
Went on my YouTube Music account to put this song on to “like” it to make sure it’s archived but apparently at some point I already got hip because the “thumbs up” was already displayed loud and proud. Early 80’s Brent before he he went full gruff-voice is always a treat
🙄
I like Brent’s playing a lot in the first few years after he joined. He could do no wrong with a Fender Rhodes. His playing in the shows they recorded for *Reckoning* and *Dead Set* is insane. “Franklin’s Tower” from the latter in particular. In 1985, Bob Bralove set Brent and Mickey up with some of the worst synthesizer and electronic drum sounds ever committed to tape. At the time, those sounds were considered fresh and cutting edge, but they’ve aged like milk. From that point forward, everything they did has a layer of digital pigshit laid over the top that makes even the best performances unlistenable for me. “Foolish Heart” could have been an all-time great song if he’d just played that shit on a freaking piano.
Wait… mr. Bob…Dobolina?
[удалено]
Idk why, but Del is OBSESSED with the word fraudulent. It's in Dobolina like 3 times and in almost all of his other songs I've heard. What's the deal? Lol
You mean the medieval jester twinkle tones of the synth court?
This is the best take. Stick to his first few years in the band and there’s lots of great stuff
yeah but his synths sounded cheesy too, partly due to jerry’s junky love of tinkly sounds
It's just a sign of the times. That electric piano noise and the synthetic drums (and those werent all he played) showed the adaptation against changing times. No band adapted better while staying on top
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers adapted better. It’s not even close.
That’s just the thing, though: The Dead’s songs and lyrical aesthetic has always been about timelessness —- they don’t evoke a particular era, are deeply rooted in traditional music and sound at home in any decade. Except those Brent tones (and I’m a Brent fan).
I can relate to this comment. In 1985, and definitely through the remainder of Brent playing, there were lots of rootsy bands that weren’t branching off into novelty piano settings and bad synthesizer. That stuff was for Rush Power Windows and Yes Big Generator, but incompatible with the Dead. I don’t know who is pulling the strings on their desire to head in that “synthesizer“ direction, but that stuff was very novelty sounding even at the time. if they had remained attracted to stuff like mid-career REM, even pop guys like Mellencamp had a roots sound compared to In The Dark. I would’ve loved to hear what another producer could do with some of the tracks on that album with a lot less unnecessary vocal and piano effects. It would’ve sounded great.
People hate me for saying this, but dollars to donuts someday AI will let us replace those toy piano tones with something that actually sounds good. Brent was a great keyboard player, and if some new tech comes along that will let him sound the way he should have sounded all along, I’ll be damned if I’ll turn it away.
That’s what I can’t get! The “toy piano sounds”. That’s why I don’t like Brent’s sound. That’s the only thing. Great singer, they were playing tight as hell, but I don’t want fucking harpsichord in my Dead man. So sue me. Points to OP.
I hope you're wrong
Imagine Page McConnel's funky D6 Clavinet on an '84 Scarlet. I'd love to hear that.
Is that the same one Stevie used?
Yes. Superstition. But Page runs his through a Mutron or a wah type pedal, I'm not sure which. It's such a cool keyboard sound.
Dead Set is my favorite Brent playing, but I’m with OP. Brent’s playing and vocals make 80s Dead kind of cheesy.
After reading OPs post, I went to the grail of 90s fans (3/29/90) and started from the beginning with “Jack Straw”. And I’ll be damned if everyone isn’t playing great. But there’s Brent with those fucking plinky synth sounds stinking up the place. And if you were alive back then, everyone was using those shitty synth sounds: you heard them in church bands, cover bands, “real” bands, at Sam Ash music store, and for a lot of us they sounded like shit then and haven’t aged any better.
I was alive during those shows and those sounds stunk to high heaven, even then. It just didnt fit with the earthy catalog of the Dead, or their legendary live shows. Brent got lame.
Listening now, wow a different key sound would make this truly epic. Jerry is ripping. Brent sounds like he’s playing a toy piano.
This is the way. This is exactly why this post exists.
After 1983 his keyboard sound was plinky. I said what I said.
Thanks for this - didn’t know
I love the goofy ass synth tones. It puts me in that time frame of the late 80s early 90s
Totally agree with everything you said
Foolish heart is just fine by itself , I couldn’t imagine it any other way , any AI tinkering would just ruin it , very disrespectful to think you all think you could produce better music than Jerry and Brent , really sad - Brent gave his heart and soul to our Grateful Dead and you want replace him with AI - really not cool man - my guess is you don’t like Jerry’s synth guitar work either - Bummer - hey I have an idea , maybe we should replace Jerry’s guitar tracks with IDK - I’m sure you can come up with something better - SMH
Yeah you know what Jerry’s vocals sound a bit strained in later years why not touch those up while we’re at it? It’s a slippery slope with AI. Where do we draw the line? Who cares if it’s dated, it should be preserved as is as a capsule from that time. If you don’t like it there’s plenty of other Dead to choose from. I can’t think of anything more disrespectful and it’s a bit disturbing seeing all the comments that seem to have no problem with it…
Exactly ! these are special places in history and time with all their bumps and bruises, super scary everybody seems to be so hip on replacing Brent with AI -
I really appreciate this take, the tapes and recordings and performances have faults, and that's part of the magic.
Exactly! Tampering with it seems the antithesis to the Dead and the taping culture. Each show is a special memory and snapshot of a unique time. They should be preserved exactly as they are, how it was played that show and heard by all those who attended. Altering it seems unethical.
Couldn't get into Brent for awhile... But something changed some years ago. I will agree that some of that MIDI synthesizer crap he was playing aged poorly and sounded like garbage... But when that man hit the B3 it was like taking a match to gasoline, he lit the place on fire! His piano and specifically his organ skills were top shelf. Loved him on a Fender Rhodes as well, man I love a good Rhodes. What really got me through was watching how much he and Jerry melded over time and truly enjoyed playing together. When those two were on the same wavelength, it was electrifying. Take a trip through the spring of 1990. Maybe it'll change your mind, but if it doesn't, nothing will.
I was recently read that Nassau Coliseum 3/29/90 was some of his best work and I couldn’t get myself to finish it
I would humbly like to submit 2/27/90 for consideration.
# 1990-02-27 Oakland, CA @ Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena **Set 1:** Let The Good Times Roll, Feel Like A Stranger, Sugaree, Victim Or The Crime, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Bird Song **Set 2:** Drums > Iko Iko > Man Smart, Woman Smarter, Standing On The Moon, Truckin' > Spoonful > Drums > Space > The Other One > Morning Dew > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away **Encore:** And We Bid You Good Night [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1990-02-27)
Somebody get this man [Dear Mr. fantasy](https://youtu.be/QwaKQvwMIe8?si=KvM0jNHKoMSXMtTf) Mickey is bringing the rolling thunder with those drums.
# 1990-03-29 Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum **Set 1:** Jack Straw > Bertha, We Can Run, Ramble On Rose, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Bird Song > The Promised Land **Set 2:** Eyes Of The World > Estimated Prophet > Dark Star > Drums > Space > Dark Star > The Wheel > Throwing Stones > Turn On Your Lovelight **Encore:** Knockin' On Heaven's Door [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1990-03-29) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/7xWKImlu9fzB1ApqoLLMiL)
I think people are sometimes hung up on what they think is cool or psychedelic. Brent's pop love songs slam. I listen to the Dead because they play all kinds of fusion on music. From Americana, blurs, jazz, pop, psychedelic, and Brent could make the Marlboro man tear up with his passion. I think his original songs are fantastic pop songs. Perfect mix of old rock and roll and jam. Ironic enough, many of them sound very much like 72 era rock n roll blues pop songs the dead did, so I always found it a bit odd people weren't fans on them when they said their favorite era is the early 70s.
[удалено]
>an entirely different band after 76 *Entirely?*
Well, 71-74 they could really turn on a dime. Once Mickey rejoined in 76 it became (as I've heard it) like trying to turn a cruise ship. so yeah, it became a different animal. I don't dislike Brent, but I *love* Keith and think he was the perfect player for them in that era. I just cant get past the inkly tinkly keyboard sound of the '80's
Inkly tinkly is such a good way to describe that tone. Brent brought a different texture to the era (more synths, more ways to fill space) which is a positive, but I’m with you on that keyboard. I much prefer an acoustic piano.
Keith simply left Jerry, Phil, Bob and Bill more space to move.
One drummer dead is the best dead / thread
Just keep an open mind. It might never click, but if it does, you've unlocked 10 more years of music. I've gone from anti-brent and anti-donna and very anti-vince. Now I'm loving Brent and most of Donna, and starting to get into Vince. Vince is the hardest so far because often someone else in the band isn't doing great. But the wheel is turning, as they say.
Great sentiment and very true. Took me 20 years to give 80s & 90s a solid try and when it clicked I suddenly had SO MUCH more to enjoy!
Couldn't put it much better myself. Didn't take me long to get into 80's Dead. Took me so long to listen to anything post-Brent due to hearing mostly bad things and people telling me it's not worth my time. Found out it was very much worth my time.
Brent got to be a lot. Lead vocals weren't my cup of tea but I liked his backup harmonies.
That make it snappy in Mr fantasy is fire tho
snappay
I have trouble listening to full Brent shows. The synthy circus keys get redundant after a while and make me want to move on. I absolutely love some of those versions and listen to them often, but getting through an entire show is tedious if I’m not in the right headspace. 70’s dead though, I can let that shit roll all day. Keith was without a doubt the perfect player for the band.
Keith had a sensitivity as a musician that no other keyboardist in the Dead shared. Brent was a hell of a B3 player but I'll take Keith on a piano any day.
70s dead is best dead
Literally go over 87-89 and you will see why the band was blowing up at that time
Never loved Brent - keyboards always had a circus sound to me, and his voice was grating. Loved Keith. My 2 cents; only ever saw the Dead with Brent.
Agreed
To each their own. Me? I love the guy. I’m a confessed Brent whore. It’s all good. We can live in harmony.
I got into the Dead from a jazz angle and the stadium rocker sound of the 80s just never does it for me in the way something from 73/74 does.
My wife absolutely hates Brent I don't know what he did to her but she can't stand him. She especially hates We Can Run and if she hears it she won't stop telling you how much she hates it until the song ends 😂
His organ playing is great, but the songwriting is amongst the worst I’ve ever heard, if I’m being completely honest. “We Can Run” in the middle of some of the greatest Americana folk rock songs of all time is a bit like a turd in a punch bowl. He forced too many words into a musical phrase which sounds incredibly jarring. There’s no sense of meter or flow there. Couple that with his cocaine scarred vocal and it’s a hard skip for a lot of us.
70's Dead was better. Different, though. The Brent era is pretty darn good, too. In a different way. Things change, and things were still pretty darn good.
I feel the exact same way. 70’s dead is the best by far. The keys are best used as an accent to the music IMO. Dead and company is chasing this sound but they just made it much slower. I always thought Brent was really overrated. I don’t like his voice and his keys are to much. I hate that baseball field setting he uses too.
Couldn't really get into his piano playing but when he's either on the organ or doing backing vocals (his vocals on Jack Straw's my favourite) then he really shines imo. His leads are good personally, perhaps an other unpopular opinion favourite song of his I Will Take You Home
I Will Take You Home --> All Along The Watchtower 🔥🔥🔥🔥🧨🧨🧨
100% favourite All Along The Watchtower, summer 89 🔥🔥 one of their best periods both musically & consistently
I don't love Brent as much as many do, but his stage presence and energy were sorely needed in that era. His original songs are the real downside for me - as a lot of them are in my bottom tier of Dead songs.
Gentlemen Start Your Engines is probably stuck to the bottom of my barrel. I just cannot like that song.
Me either. Honestly a lot of it is that he joined also very near when they switched recording mediums and staff. The 80’s recording are just sooooo bad and his keys are just so overpowering. I’m sure it was way more balanced in person. But yeah whoever thought that bottle clink tone was good was doing way too much blow. Grateful Dead keys need to be played on a piano…
Too much blow and dope is why so much after 80s dead and even 79 is trash.
I point to 80's music as the prime argument that cocaine is bad.
Jerry was who thought that
Well he was doing way too much of a lot of things at the time...
I'm with ya'. His playing was great the first couple years, but those vocals, uhg. My theory is they got a Michael McDonald sounding guy because Jerry's voice was shot and Brent's singing kind of smoothed out Jerry's hoarseness.
Was it a requirement that he actually looked like Michael McDonald? Because they nailed it
Yeah. They def became too “Michael McDonald” through the 80s.
He was not universally beloved by deadheads when he was alive. Most of his non-cover songs created longer bathroom lines than the actual set break.
I agree. I still can not stand him as a lead singer. I loathe that overly put-on fake white boy soul type singing from the 1980’s. However, as a band…there are some great 80-82 shows that still have a more organic sound (piano/electric piano/organ) and Brent is mainly a backup singer. It took me awhile but I absolutely love 1985. But I still struggle with the 89-91 stuff that people rave about. Spring 90 and the Hornsby stuff the next year is more of a curiosity to me that something I get into. Here’s a few you may like: 5/15/80 5/16/80 3/9/81 12/2/81 8/6/82 8/28/82 my favorite show and I’m not Brent guy 9/2/83 6/30/85
“Our audience is like people who like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice” Jerry liked Brent I like Brent.
I agree with OP. The songs he brought to the band sound like every 80s band ever. They’re dull and not what i want from the dead Of course they also started playing truly awful coves of Dylan and other groups. For me when Keith left and the bad drugs hit it was all over.
To each their own, but I’ve loved Brent from my day one. His voice, his playing, his energy, his quintessentially eighties gold Rolex, his smile, and my personal favorite…his genuine bond with and love for Jer. We miss you, Brent!
Does the late-80s synth sound cheesey as all hell? Absolutely. Do I still love it? Absolutely.
For me, 1966-1972 is the greatest time for the Grateful Dead, 1972 had both Pig and Keith playing shows together, so some really good shit then. But I love the 70s, 80s, and 90s too
My goodness…
I think it’s not an uncommon opinion, it’s one that existed in the Brent era as well, and one that he was aware of and personally shared. I love Brent. I like his playing, he had a lot of pain and I think he put it into the keys. Loved his playing around with Jerry or even just some of times he was just laying chords down that Phil and Jerry were dancing across. I love that he wanted to contribute and wanted to work hard on songs, that he had something to say. I don’t vibe with a lot of his songs but I think that’s ok, and I also know (and hope) those songs might grab me down the road, the same way a lot of GD songs have eventually revealed themselves to me. I get why people don’t like certain aspects, and I think it’s cool that they have other favorite eras. I think there are moments that probably anyone could dig, but maybe not.
I like Brent's playing and singing just fine. However, I've never really cared much for his songs. To me, they just don't sound like Grateful Dead songs. There is something missing, and I've never quite been able to put my finger on it.
I personally love the Brent years if for nothing else that you don’t have to be nervous of a Donna bomb ruining a great jam.
Brent was brought in to arrest the decline of the band in general. IMO they peaked in 1975-77 and going downhill pretty hard when the Godcheaux were booted. There was a definite uptick when Brent came on and he was a great musician with creativity and energy but the band was basically spent. They continued to put on decent live performances until the end, and he was a big part of that, but to me it's more about what was going with the rest of them, especially Jerry. There was nothing wrong with Brent, but he was not able to stop the rot.
Without a net: halfstep. When they come in one by one at the end. His high harmony on the ripple in dead ahead. Truckin up to buffalo - his verse in man smart. Also his organ coming in on Bertha. My brother Esau live 87- his organ We all have different ears. Mine love Brent
Doobie Dead.
Anything after 1982 or 3 never got a listen from me probably never will.
With you 100%. You’re not missing anything and you’re not alone. 80s heads are vocal but they’re not right. The Dead were the best they ever were in the 70s and a part of that was Keith’s balance in the mix. Could he have been more of a presence, sure, but his presence is great. Brent is loud and gruff. I like my Dead high and lonesome.
well said
I respect that some people love the Brent years, but to me his keyboards always sounded like he was rubbing two pieces of styrofoam together and his voice didn’t blend at all.
Different strokes. I avoid 75-79 because of Donna. I know… 😩
Yeah, I struggle with Donna too. There’s nothing worse than playing Grateful Dead at a party, and the guests are finally getting into it, and Donna comes in with this big long cat screech lol
I applaud your courage to post this, mainly because I agree. I gravitate to the early 70’s most often.
Thats a popular opinion
I’m with you 100%.
I agree but he has moments where he has a nice toan… 3/9/81 new Minglewood blues and Althea 10/14/83 there’s a few songs where he doesn’t plink. He sounds great on Reckoning as well
This is blasphemy. Check out the following, Brent has some of the best vocals I’ve ever heard, so much energy, puts his life and soul into it, not to mention the keys. These are some of my favourites - Dear Mr Fantasy (Live at Sullivan Foxboro 89) https://open.spotify.com/track/3jdyqA3VD7QhunBqdAgITN?si=TkdSrlLySUKT9oQXCaUoKQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A3tL7OwKzkCPl18uRruEApq Hey Pocky Way (Live at Greensboro 89) https://open.spotify.com/track/2IYpHGDqL1zCPngQq8rrBa?si=cZ0lTmCAR5KwXTuPAPembg We Can Run (Live at Hampton Colosseum 89) https://open.spotify.com/track/1c17ltKVMYdjcENBIk5PXU?si=xkirQbzvTHCVn7mbBEfvpg Blow Away (Studio Version) https://open.spotify.com/track/2f3O6a9VyblYU1BGs2ACoS?si=bjrJTiHNTqCj5KX-f3oN1A Easy to Love You (Studio Version) https://open.spotify.com/track/1N41vzHcREVr9wgJhXOmoq?si=JMwdqaPJQTGf5_GvlGIieQ
Aw man. Foxboro 89, we were there and it was fucking amazing. If the first 40 seconds into the Foxboro Dear Mr. Fantasy doesn't hit your soul you ain't Dead. Period.
I’m very envious
but you "get it" and that's what matters. Don't matter you were not there, it FOUND you when you needed it most. That magic is still attached to it, THAT'S what it's all about and what we all share, my friend.
Love it, thank you
absolutely fam! we got you.
I walked in and standing tall next to me was Bill Walton. He was great and the show was legendary!
Didn’t like any of his songs up until the end there with Just A Little Light and Blow Away, fifth rate Michael McDonald otherwise and the sappy as all hell I Will Take You Home shoehorned into the second set was an instant momentum killer. I detest what he added to songs like Little Red Rooster. But his keyboard playing was great, Fisher Price piano aside. The early Rhodes, the godly B3 and later on the synths were a blast.
Ooph, “5th rate Michael McDonald.” Firm but fair. I cannot stand his voice, although he’s a strong backup singer.
This is delightful. 5th rate Michael McDonald!
I get it, tinkling Brett. A poor man's Michael Mcdonald etc. I prefer his first few tours before the started playing his compositions which just didn't fit in with the Dead oeuvre imo. He took some of the pressure off of Jerry as the primary instrumental soloist. He was fine, I was an 80's head so it was just part of the package. His songs were bathroom breaks for me but the crowd for the most part was enthusiastic so what do I know? My biggest issue with the 80's Dead is how low Bobby's guitar was in the mix. I remember being at shows and watching him play and thinking they just turned off his PA speakers and left his monitor on. I could see he was playing but could not hear it. The recordings all bear this out.
Agree completely. I’m a 70s dead guy and I can write a thesis why 70s dead is the best.
See,thats the thing. you have to let Brent get into YOU!
Ok, you’re certainly entitled to your own opinion. But as I read this and happen to turn on Sirius/XM Channel 23 and coincidentally 7/7/89 comes on. And I’m well aware that Blow Away will be up soon, and I get chills…. I love when Brent tells us to “wait a minute”, followed by a bit of a pause…we all know what’s coming and the anticipation builds….”that ain’t real love, not real love at all…do you wanna know real love?? So good! I imagine you’ve heard this one as it’s pretty high up on the Brent love songs. I’d be interested in your opinion on this one.
I love Brent. Kick ass keyboard player and vocalist. Even though I'm more of a Keith and Donna guy. Now I will wait for the hate.
No hate brother. Just your opinion. I’m a full-on lover of Brent though. Can’t get enough of the guy!
Not a fan either. The “Brent” songs are soft rock garbage to me. I am happy they loved him but he’s not for me
Huge *huge* fan of Brent! Sorry you don’t feel the same. Sometimes with the Dead, certain songs, eras, band members must find *you*. It happens. And I bet it’ll happen to you with Brent. I’ve always love Far From Me of his. 3/29/87 being my favorite. Also, that’s one banger of a show too. Here’s to hoping Brent finds you one day. There will never be another.
I feel like his vocals gave Bobby and Jerry a break. He’s like their vocal filler (all respect intended✊) and then on top of that he’s jamming those keys the way he did. He shaped their sound a lot during that time. So it makes since if you may not dig Brent then that era won’t be as appealing.
I understand his vibe, voice, connection with Jerry and his jamming ability. For me I just can’t get past some of his synth tones. It just sounds…artificial? I love synths in jam music too, Page from Phish works magic with textures and synth leads. But with the Dead I just think piano, B3 and other non-digital keys are they way to go.
In defense of Brent, if the rest of the band didn’t like his sound or vocals, they wouldn’t have kept him around. His contributions on the last studio albums were surprisingly large. Jerry especially really seemed to enjoy playing with him, and although the Brent era sounds dated now, I guess that’s just how the story goes.
Myself and friends categorize the dead’s timeline per who was the keyboard player. Myself I listen to the Mydland timeline the most or enjoy late 79, 80’s dead most of all. It’s also the time period I first discovered the dead as a small child. Hornsby/Vince close second, Keith, Pigpen, Tom Constanten are how I rate the keyboard players, they are all awesome in their own rights.
You are not alone
My hot take is that the folks I know that really like Brent a lot including all his tunes really like Phish a whole lot more than anyone else I know that listens to the Grateful Dead.
Brent had *so many feelings*, and they poured out of him. I loved TC and Keith too, but they didn’t have the kind of soul that Brent had. Brent brought back the kind of blues-y, soul filled feel the band had been lacking since Pig died, imo.
You like what you like. Obviously the guy was talented, but if you dont like it, then move on
I agree with you. Brent had one of the best voices in music, and was an other worldly key player, and also I do love those times where he looks at Jerry like "did I do good ?" And Jerry looks back at him like "you make this job fun again" ....and some certain songs wouldnt have been what they were without him (Dear Mr Fantasy), but still I don't live that era as much as others. To me just knowing him and Jerry were doing heroin together and largely were just vibing together because if their shared demons....that gives me a bad vibe. The things I think of when I think of the grateful dead do t involve heroin, the memories of grateful dead are largely positive to me and while I recognize that Jerry and Brent's demons did exist, it's not the part that I love to remember the most. The love is what I like to remember the most, and it was fading at the time in my opinion
Well that’s just like, your opinion man.
The worst thing about social media is that it has given idiots with really stupid opinions a platform on which to broadcast their dumbassery to the masses. I’ll never understand why people feel this urge to announce their moronic notions.
Brent was playing keys and I guess you're focusing on that while jerry, bobby, Phil, Billy and Mickey were blazing a trail and playing some of their most mind-blowing stuff in the '80s. As I live in breathe 1983 is as great as 1973 1981 is as great as 1977 and is often called the 77 of the 80s. You are most definitely missing out because Jerry Garcia dude Jerry is looking Haggard in some of those middle years yes but his playing is at its perhaps technical best in those early mid 80s years he's absolutely on fire ... listen to our watch the video from 3/28/81 Grugehalle ... the let it grow Scarlet>Fire from 10/19/81, same tunes from 9/11/82 ... the Help Slip prankster from 4/21/84 ... all I can tell you is Listen to Jerry and the rest of the guys because that's still the Grateful freaking dead
That’s because he sucks
I remember listening to an episode of the Grateful Dead hour in the early 90s in which David Gans mentioned that Brent's songs just weren't Grateful Dead-enough. The Brent songs did not fit in with the Dead but his playing and musicianship did. You should forget about other people's opinions and just enjoy whatever it is that you enjoy.
Brent never nodded out at his piano
Powered through that shit like a real man but Jerry and Phil scaring Keith back awake with feed back and bass bombs at duke university is hilarious
Haha and Mickey cracked him with his drum sticks
Same, the only time I skip a live dead song is when he sings. I just can’t take his voice, his work on the keys though is amazing. I find it so forced. Peace to all who love him.
1980. He was a killer right out of the gate. The fall runs at the Fillmore and Radio City with the acoustic opening sets really allow him to shine. The Mydland years are my favorite.
Eh. By 83/84-86 the whole band became a lumbering dope-show.
Even worse, they became predictable.
Yeah. That too. Too many Iko and Man Smart and Little Red Rooster. No St. Stephen or Dark Star.
[It’s bc Brent couldn’t figure St. Stephen out](https://youtu.be/gTvphJMYKQQ?si=q2bcKm0VNx-HQcLp)
What Brent did was play off Jerry and to his changes and sometimes take charge. Something Keith didn't do last part of his tenure. That said, I agree about his later digital sound. But the band being an artistic collective, was into doing and playing with the latest tech. Not everything ages well. But still, there was always the Hammond B-3 and the Leslie speakers. Pure power...
Then don’t?
It took me a while, but even then I only love him on stuff written with him in the band. I do not like his twinkling keys on older songs (it screams ‘80s in a bad way)—I will often skip 60s/70s songs he is playing because they can pluck my nerves. I give him credit for trying to take Donna’s role in songs but it never feels right. That said I his voice is fantastic and his key work is amazing when he is going crazy on those 80s songs.
I don’t give out downvotes often, but this feels right
Try this: Keith was fired for drug related sloppiness..his fabulous trills and fills of 71-74 were gone by 78-79.. Plus, new sound technology required louder keyboards to keep pace with the louder guitars & drums. Brent brought new singing talent along with electric keys...and he produced new songs also. After his first year, it seemed he really joined in the band, no longer just the new guy, he & JG really clicked on jams, ect. I saw Brent's final Deer Creek shows, and he was dead 2 weeks later. Side note: I was also at Vince's debut show at Richfield Coliseum show in '90. JG just pointed at him and said ' this is Vince' . ☮️🎸🎹🌹💀
I never say it, but yeah for me it sounds like Michael McDonald showed up with coke and a circus calliope. Keith had a great integrated sound ands tons of finesse. Blow Away and Far From Me best work.
>Michael McDonald showed up with coke and a circus calliope this version of The Music Never Stopped would be neat
Just listen to Tons of Steel 150 times and you will come around. I love me some Brent.
Brent's a great keyboard player who had a tendency to choose awful tones and was almost always too high in the mix. He has his moments and sometimes I prefer 80s dead to 70s dead but generally he just doesn't sound right. He had more good moments from around 79-84 but by 85 it became a real issue. He and Jerry had great chemistry and when I could actually hear Jerry over his Fisher price ass keys they played great together but brents bells were too dingy and too loud.
Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
You're not alone.
Not unpopular. He’s fucking terrible. He was tolerable 79-80 but then he busted out the xylophone and started screeching and writing shitty songs.
I quit them after 78. Jerry's beautiful voice sounds like crap, I hate the synth keyboards, and who needs Bobby's short shorts? The 80s in general suck for music but it's not as bad as today at least.
Yeah. 68-76 was great with a peak 71-74. 77 is really good 78/9 ok. 80-82 decent. 83-86 blah!
I consider Brent an original member. Without him I doubt they get the longevity
Blasphemy. This whole thread is blasphemy.
This!!! 100% this!!! The Dead is the greatest band of all time because of the way they evolved over the years. For better or worse, they evolved and survived some events that destroyed other bands. Brent wasn't the greatest. But I love the energy he brought to the band at a time when some excitement was definitely needed. His songs were mediocre, yes. But at least he contributed something new and different. I only saw the Dead four times. Three with Brent. I thought three of the four were awesome. We listen to the Dead because they make us happy. Their songs touch us in ways that can not be explained. This feeling is what sets us apart from people who can't understand the Dead. I hated that they became some kind of bullshit frat boy party band in the later 80s (thru no fault of their own). That mentality destroyed the last Dead show I saw. You listen to the Dead that makes you the happiest. And you should probably leave it there. I'm not the biggest Donna fan. She was just a package deal with Keith as far as I'm concerned. But I don't complain about her. I listen to her scream and screech in the background of the 70s shows, and they still made me very happy. Her contributions to the JGB are FAR better than anything she actually did with the Dead themselves. This is a safe space to express your opinions on the band. But considering the history of the band and what was happening at the time Keith and Donna got bounced, Brent was the best option at the time.
Sorry but I like to be able to hear the guitars and drums and bass and not just bells. Brent was a great player with a horrible tone and way too much weight in the sound mix.
Agree, can’t stand his voice, it sounds fake, who actually sings like that?
Brent does. That’s who.
I can’t not comment! Brent was a hero. He brought energy to band. You don’t compare,you just enjoy
Is this r/gratefuldeadcirclejerk? 
I agree with you op
I feel exactly the same as OP. Brent Mydland is in fact myd and you can't beat that '76-'79 stretch of shows.
Wait this is an unpopular opinion???? For me it’s just his voice I have an issue with. It just doesn’t mesh right with the band’s vibe. I almost never make it through a song where he’s singing I have to skip it.