''Anthem to Beauty'' is a music documentary about the making of the Grateful Dead albums ''

Anthem of the Sun ''Anthem of the Sun'' is the second album by rock band the Grateful Dead, released in 1968 on Warner Bros/Seven Arts. It is the first album to feature second drummer Mickey Hart. The band was also joined by Tom Constanten, who contributed avant ...

'' and '' American Beauty''. It originally aired in a somewhat shortened version in 1997 as part of the television series ''

Classic Albums ''Classic Albums'' is a British documentary series about pop, rock and heavy metal albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music. Format The TV ser ...

''. It was released on VHS video tape in 1998 and on DVD in 1999, with a running time of 1 hour 15 minutes.

Synopsis

The video combines footage from the early years of the Grateful Dead with 1997 interviews of former band members and associates. Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bob Weir, Robert Hunter, and David Grisman, among others, discuss the creation of 1968's experimental, psychedelic ''Anthem of the Sun'' and 1970's folk-rock classic ''American Beauty''. They also listen to and analyze the original master recordings for the albums, and talk about being in (or working with) the Grateful Dead at that time. Recording engineer Stephen Barncard rolls the original master tape and solos tracks, recalling the recording sessions and highlighting specific moments. Keyboardist

Tom Constanten Tom Constanten (born March 19, 1944) is an American keyboardist, best known for playing with Grateful Dead from 1968 to 1970, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Biography Early career Born in Long Branch, N ...

discusses the artificiality of appearing on Hugh Hefner's show ''

Playboy After Dark ''Playboy After Dark'' is an American television show hosted by Hugh Hefner. It aired in syndication through Screen Gems from 1969 to 1970 and was taped at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. Overview ''Playboy After Dark'' followed much the sam ...

''. David Grisman plays his full version of the mandolin part for ''Ripple'', as he had intended.

Track listing

The track listing for the DVD release is: #Introduction #"

Truckin' "Truckin" is a song by the Grateful Dead, which first appeared on their 1970 album '' American Beauty''. It was recognized by the United States Library of Congress in 1997 as a national treasure.''Grateful Dead: The Illustrated Trip'' . Jake Wo ...

" ( Garcia, Hunter,

Lesh Lesh is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Fyodor Lesh (1840 - 1903), physician * Pavel Lesh (1887 - 1915), sport shooter * Phil Lesh (born 1940), musician * Richard Lesh, professor * Ulysses Samue ...

Weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

) #"Candyman" (Garcia, Hunter) #Celebration #''American Beauty'' Album Cover Creation #1965 — Beginnings # Neal Cassady #A Record Contract on Their Own Terms #"The Other One" ( Kreutzmann, Weir) #

#''Anthem of the Sun'' Album Cover Creation #"

Born Cross-Eyed "Born Cross-Eyed" is an original composition by the San Francisco psychedelic rock group the Grateful Dead. It was written by rhythm guitarist Bob Weir during the band's sessions creating the album ''Anthem of the Sun'', produced by David Hassing ...

" (Weir) #

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

#"Mountains of the Moon" (Garcia, Hunter) #"St. Stephen" (Garcia, Hunter, Lesh) #"

China Cat Sunflower "China Cat Sunflower" is a song performed by the Grateful Dead which was first recorded for their third studio album ''Aoxomoxoa''. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music composed by Jerry Garcia. The song was typically sung by J ...

" (Garcia, Hunter) #"Attics of My Life" (Garcia, Hunter) #" Friend of the Devil" (Garcia, Dawson, Hunter) #"Ripple" (Garcia, Hunter) #" Sugar Magnolia" (Weir, Hunter) #" Box of Rain" (Lesh, Hunter) #"Brokedown Palace" (Garcia, Hunter) #End credits

Credits

Jeremy Marre Jeremy Marre (7 October 1943 – 15 March 2020) was an English television director, writer and producer who founded Harcourt Films and made films around the world. Much of his work focused on musical subjects. His reputation was made with the '' ...

– director * Nick de Grunwald, Bous de Jong – executive producers * Caroline Thomas – series associate producer * Chips Chipperfield – series consultant * Terry Shand, Geoff Kempin – executive producers for Castle Music Pictures * Phil McDonald – editor * Joel Wykeham – series production manager * Mike Shoring – sound recordist * Richard Gibb, Mike Elwell – camera *

David Gans David Gans ( he, דָּוִד בֶּן שְׁלֹמֹה גנז; ‎1541–1613), also known as Rabbi Dovid Solomon Ganz, was a Jewish chronicler, mathematician, historian, astronomer and astrologer. He is the author of "Tzemach David" (1592 ...

– consultant

References

{{Grateful Dead Grateful Dead Rockumentaries 1997 films Classic Albums films 1990s English-language films