Completely Conspicuous 498: Aoxomoxoa

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's third album, Aoxomoxoa.

Show notes:

- Recorded at CompCon world HQ

- Aoxomoxoa was released in 1969

- A big year for rock music

- Tons of legendary albums came out: Zeppelin, Who, Beatles, Neil Young, Stooges, MC5, Stones

- First two Dead albums were commercial failures

- Went way over budget in studio, stuck to their guns

- Very experimental sound

- Robert Hunter contributed lyrics to most of the album

- Songs featured eccentric characters, way out lyrics

- Plenty of drugs were part of the process

- The old West, the devil, the rose were recurring themes

- First album ever recorded using 16-track technology

- Band spent $180k on the album

- Jay: A lot to like about this album

- "Dupree's Diamond Blues" sounds like a Kinks song

- "What's Become of the Baby" is 8 minutes of weirdness that should have been left off album

- When bands release unnecessary hits compilations

- There was a definite '60s resurgence in the mid-80s that led to growth in popularity of the Dead at colleges

- And then jam bands really caught on: Phish, Allman Brothers, Blues Traveler, Widespread Panic

- Iconic Dead skull and lightning bolt logo was released in '69

- Phil: Band was very good at mobilizing fanbase

- Dead merch is so unique and well-known

- The confounding popularity of "Africa"

- "China Cat Sunflower" is a Dead classic

- Some songs evolve in concert, some don't get played at all

- Aoxomoxoa sounds like the Dead

- Jay: Jams can be fun, but you don't necessarily want to put them on a record

- We'll listen to more live stuff vs. studio albums going forward

- Next up: Live/Dead

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The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.