''Weir Here – The Best of Bob Weir'' is a 2004 live/studio compilation album featuring former

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

rhythm guitarist and co-vocalist

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with the Other Ones, later known as the Dead ...

. A career retrospective, it features tracks from many of Weir's bands, solo and duo projects, as well as those from his main gig with the Dead.

Content

Similarly to '' Birth of the Dead'', The album contains two discs – one studio and one live. The studio disc proceeds chronologically, beginning with Weir's first solo effort and then including his work in the bands Kingfish,

RatDog RatDog is an American rock band. The group began in 1995 as a side project for Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir. After the Dead disbanded later that year, RatDog became Weir's primary band. They performed some Grateful Dead songs, a mi ...

, Weir & Wasserman (though the duo is here a trio, augmented by

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

), Bobby & the Midnites, and one track by the Grateful Dead. The final track of the disc is from a then-recent appearance on a children's album by Dan Zanes (of

Del Fuegos The Del Fuegos were an American 1980s garage-style rock band. Formed in 1980, the Boston–based band gained success in 1986 with their songs "Don't Run Wild" and "I Still Want You" and appearing in a widely seen television commercial for Mi ...

fame). The live disc features a variety of songs from Grateful Dead performances with Weir as the lead singer – though five of the tracks were previously unreleased – and one track by RatDog (a Dylan cover from a 2003 band rehearsal).

Production and critical reception

The album was compiled by Hybrid Recordings, with final approval by Weir. It is currently out of print. The cover art is by

Alton Kelley Alton Kelley (June 17, 1940 – June 1, 2008) was an American artist known for his psychedelic art, in particular his designs for 1960s rock concert posters and album covers. Along with artists Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso ...

with liner notes by Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally. The title refers to the focus being on Weir, "speaking up" as the Dead's "secondary" guitarist, and is a pun on "we're here", a reference to the existential element of attending a live Grateful Dead concert (and in general). In the album's press release, Andrew Clarke of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' called Bob Weir "arguably rock's greatest, if most eccentric, rhythm guitarist."

Joel Selvin Joel Selvin (born February 14, 1950) is an American San Francisco-based music critic and author known for his weekly column in the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', which ran from 1972 to 2009. Selvin has written books covering various aspects of po ...

of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' said, "No major rock star's solo career has ever received less attention than Weir's." He said the album " hinessome light on Weir's long-term (albeit secondary) solo career", and that "he can let other musicians pick out the material he sings. He doesn't care about that. He is the rarest of musical animals – a hands-off bandleader. It hasn't exactly been a bell-ringing, million-selling solo career. Still, underachiever Weir has never gotten his due for some genuine high points and a whole lot of good music under his own brand."

Track listing

Disc one - studio Disc two - live All tracks performed by the Grateful Dead, except track 11 performed by RatDog.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weir Here - The Best Of Bob Weir Bob Weir albums 2004 greatest hits albums Hybrid Recordings albums