The Grateful Dead - Classic Album: Anthem To Beauty

2000 • 59 minutes

About this movie

This installment of the Classic Albums series follows the making of two Grateful Dead albums, the fiercely experimental Anthem of the Sun and the understated masterwork American Beauty, which spawned melodic gems like "Sugar Magnolia" and "Ripple." Between the archival scenes and contemporary interviews with band members, the program shows a band making seismic in roads in pop music and five young guys coming to terms with artistry, mortality, and, yes, the pursuit of happiness. There is priceless footage of Neal Cassady driving Ken Kesey's bus and of the Dead, surrounded by martini sipping hipsters, on Playboy After Dark. The best scenes involve band members talking about specific songs (you will never hear Phil Lesh's "Box of Rain" again without thinking of it as a gift to his dying father) or deconstructing a tune by playing each track separately. Intimate and surprisingly cohesive, Anthem to Beauty is a rare glimpse into how the Dead's magic was made.

Track List:

1. Truckin' 00:21
2. Candyman 04:40
3. Acid Test Story 08:13
4. Anthem of the Sun 17:30
5. That's It For the Other One 18:03
6. Robert Nelsons 1967 Movie 28:57
7. Whicker's World BBC 1967 32:28
8. Attics of My Life 36:47
9. Friend of the Devil 40:14
10. Ripple 43:44
11. Sugar Magnolia 48:40
12. Box of Rain 53:58
13. Brokedown Palace 57:03

Ratings and reviews

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