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Having only come to appreciate the Dead for what they were in recent years, I have been intrigued by Lee's formative Dead fandom and how that informed his SY input. The main connection to SY music I see is the loose approach to song-forms, with structured composed sections breaking down into unstructured loose sections which may or may not return to the composed section, or can veer off into extended collective improv. The seamless transition from studio recording to live recording on Karen Revisited seems like a sly reference to Anthem Of The Sun. I wasn't sure what era he experienced, cool to hear that it was relatively early (my fave too), & especially that he was at Watkins Glenn in '73. Somewhat cautious but still looking forward to hearing the indie-Dead tribute when it comes out.
As to whether the Dead suck or not, it is complicated. I would say there were times they were incredibly good, and others when they did suck ass. It helps to be a fan of folk, folk-rock, psychedelic-folk-rock, psychedelia, country-rock, the classic rock era, and jazz fusion in general to appreciate them. Music fans strictly into punk (proto & post inclusive), skronk, avant improv*, industrial, etc... will not find much to love. There is/are listless stoned noodling, very bad vocals, cheezy guitar synths, cheezy keyboard sounds, and some mediocre songs to be found at various points within their catalog. Their itinerant fanbase did a lot to turn many people off to their music without hearing much of it. I did not like their long improvised jams much until I got into jazz first, and a bit later jazz fusion (the good bits!), and only then came to understand them as a folk-rock band approaching jazz-fusion from the rock side of the fence. Their slow ballad songs walk a fine line between harnessing a slow-burning deep intensity (on a good night and/or decade), or lifeless meh (on a bad night and/or decade); probably also dependent on the listeners moods, tastes and perceptions. I still don't like all their material or eras, but have found a lot that I do like.
*there is a strain of avant electro-acoustic improv within their broad pallete, but you probably don't want to hear me go on about it...
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