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 (4 Customer Reviews)
The Dead's first attempt at sixteen-track recording, AOXOMOXOA was remixed at Alembic Studios in San Francisco in 1971 by original engineers Bob Matthews and Betty Cantor. This is the mix used for the CD issue.
All tracks have been digitally remastered using HDCD technology.
Named after one of famed San Francisco poster artist Rick Griffin's lysergic palindromes, the Grateful Dead's third album saw the band inject their acid-fueled sting into folk music of various ages. Hunter added a lyrical landscape perfect for the band's blend of exploration and tradition. Portraits of a rebellious mystic ("St. Stephen") and a dandy day-tripper ("Cosmic Charlie"), proper Olde English tales ("Dupree's Diamond Blues"), and hallucinatory excursions to the borders of Hunter's muse ("China Cat Sunflower," "Mountains Of The Moon") are remarkable in that their expansive overview is interwoven with precise detail.
The elongated strides of ANTHEM OF THE SUN were replaced with short bursts that hinted at the music's timeless sources. "St. Stephen" is a raw clarion call from Temple Mount. "Dupree's Diamond Blues" sounds like it fell out of the bluegrass tradition into a field of poppies. "Cosmic Charlie" is built on a "Revolution"-like riff, but with a far more subtle thrust and sweetly contrary harmonies. And "What's Become Of The Baby" is a nearly nine-minute excursion into weirdness that clearly mapped out one of the interstellar musical spaces the Grateful Dead had begun visiting.
The Grateful Dead's third studio effort was also the first that the band did without any Warner Bros. staff producers or engineers hampering their creative lifestyle and subsequent processes. As they had done with their previous release, Anthem of the Sun, the Dead were actively seeking new forays and pushing envelopes on several fronts simultaneously during Aoxomoxoa (1968) -- which was created under the working title of "Earthquake Country." This was no doubt bolstered by the serendipitous technological revolution which essentially allowed the Dead to re-record the entire contents when given free reign at the appropriately named Pacific High Recording facility. As fate would have it, they gained virtually unlimited access to the newly acquired Ampex MM-1000 -- the very first 16-track tape machines ever produced -- which was absolutely state of the art in late 1968. The band was also experiencing new directions artistically. This was primarily the net result of the budding relationship between primary (by default) melodic contributor Jerry Garcia (guitar/vocals) and Robert Hunter (lyrics), who began his nearly 30-year association with the Grateful Dead in earnest during these sessions. When the LP hit the racks in the early summer of 1969, Deadheads were greeted by some of the freshest and most innovative sounds to develop from the thriving Bay Area music scene. The disc includes seminal psychedelic rockers such as "St. Stephen," "China Cat Sunflower," and "Cosmic Charlie," as well as hints of the acoustic direction their music would take on the Baroque-influenced "Mountains of the Moon" and "Rosemary." The folky "Dupree
1969 Remastered W/ 4 Bonus Rarities.
Recorded at Pacific Recorders, San Mateo, California in 1969. Includes liner notes by Gary Lambert.
Personnel: Bob Weir (vocals, guitar); Phil Lesh (vocals); Tom Constanten (keyboards); Mickey Hart (percussion).
Audio Mixer: Jeffrey Norman.
Liner Note Authors: Gary Lambert; Blair Jackson.
Recording information: Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA (09/1968-03/1969); Pacific High Recording Studio, San Francisco, CA (09/1968-03/1969); Pacific Recording Studio, San Mateo, CA (09/1968-03/1969).
Photographers: Bob Seidemann; Jim Marshall ; Tom Weir.
Arranger: Grateful Dead.
The Grateful Dead: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir (vocals, guitar); Phil Lesh (vocals, bass); Tom Constanten (keyboards); Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann (percussion); Ron "Pig Pen" McKernan.
Additional personnel: John "Marma-Duke" Dawson, David NelsRolling Stone (7/12/69, p.36) - "...AOXOMOXOA is the work of the magical band....The gentle choir, the dancing mountain harpsichording, the mystical aura of another consciousness....No other music sustains a lifestyle so delicate, loving and lifelike."
Down Beat (1/02, p.74) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...A dense and occasionally arcane studio effort that includes several vintage Dead perfromances....epitomizing [their] late-'60s drug-infested mindset..." Grateful Dead Aoxomoxoa Songs Aoxomoxoa Music Review Average Rating: (4 out of 5 stars)   Studio or live?
Some people argue that Grateful Dead studio albums are not worth listening to but I am the other side. This album, from 1968, sounds brilliant to me. The folk/bluegrass rock of "Dupress's Diamond Blues" is my favorite track. This album was made almost 40 years ago and the dead were still developing. I love the 1st album but the difference between this album and their debut is very obvious. Although the dead were known for their live act, I believe they were some of the best studio musicians, mainly because their songs were written so well. This is the first album that they wrote all the songs on and that is what makes it special. "Whats become of the Baby" is the worst song I've ever heard, but every other song on every other album on and after this sound great.
Submitted by mustin321 (Michael Mustin, Anderson, IN)
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The end of an era
This album marks a major transition in the Grateful Dead's direction as a band. It's the last studio album with keyboardest Tom Constanten as a member, who adds a fine touch to these tracks. I love this album (it was my first Dead record), and it certaintly contains some fine tracks, like Mountains of the Moon, Cosmic Charlie, and the Eleven jam, which is a bonus track on this release. Essential Dead for all who love their music.
Submitted by Steve (Philadelphia)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No One of the best studio albums
I would rate this Grateful Dead album, (along the partially live “Anthem of the Sun” and the two that followed this one) as one of their 4 best studio albums. The next two recordings, “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty” are also brilliant. However their unique mixture of folk, bluegrass and country rock on these later works seem to almost be from a different group – less of an experimental musical phenomenon of the psychedelic era, and more of an (exceptional) alt country rock band.
After 1970, their studio work was spotty at best. Nevertheless their live recoridings –which included show stoppers from “Anthem of the Sun” and “Aoxomoxoa” continued to soar with the psychedelic experimentation begun with this period that lasted throughout the 70’s (with inroads into jazz rock/post rock that remains unsurpassed) and in some instances until they disbanded in the 90’s.
Submitted by a reviewer (New Zealand)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  The Dead's worst studio album?
Grateful Dead was a live band. They never did that well in the studio. This album is maybe the best example of that. It seems they try really hard to make it good, but everything that could go wrong seem to have gone wrong. Some of these songs were played live for a short period, but were soon abandoned in favor of better songs. Only "St. Stephen" and "China-cat sunflower" became a part of their repertoire in the 70s. "China-cat sunflower" is a really good song, but not in this version. All in all, the sound on this album is terrible, and few songs are worth having ("Mountains of the moon" is maybe an exception). PS! This re-mastered edition have three extra bonus tracks with some cool and jazzy jamming! It also contains a live version of "Cosmic Charlie", many people's favourite track on this album.
This is probably an album you either like, or you don't. I certainly don't, and I see no reason to buy this album when the market is full of double and tripple live albums, which are soooo much better.
Submitted by asmund.svensson (Oslo, Norway)
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