Grateful Dead fans rejoiced at yesterday's news that the National have finally set a May 20th release date for their long-anticipated Dead tribute album, Day of the Dead. Featuring 59 covers from artists ranging from Anohni to Courtney Barnett to Wilco, there’s never been a Dead covers project of this extent before. After years of ignorance or closeted fandom, it seems that, as the Flaming Lips long ago prophesied, finally the punks are dropping acid.
Considering how important covers were to the Dead’s musical legacy, with many becoming worn to the point of being mistaken for Dead songs, this tribute — which benefits arts-centric HIV/AIDS non-profit Red Hot— is indeed a fitting one. But even 20 years ago it might have been hard to imagine that there would be 50-plus indie-rock bands interested in releasing Dead covers, even for charity. Kurt Cobain, for example, was an outspoken hater of the Dead, going as far as comparing them to Phil Collins. Despite the Dead's massive songbook and unquestionable cultural legacy, there were only a limited number of published covers of their songs before the 1991 compilation Deadicated — not counting, of course, versions by jam bands, a scene where the Dead were obviously deified and covered ad nauseum.
About 10 to 15 years ago, though, you could feel the shift in the air as indie artists began to reference the Dead more frequently. Pivotal moments included Ryan Adams channeling Jerry Garcia on 2005’s Cold Roses and covering the Dead on his subsequent tour, and Animal Collective receiving the first cleared Dead sample for their 2009 track “What Would I Want Sky” (see also: jam-band mag Relix’s August 2008 cover of Jerry with the title “Rock’s Original Hipster”).
Now it’s a bright new future for indie-loving Deadheads. Ahead of Day of the Dead, here’s a handful of the most interesting Dead covers by acts you would not consider jam bands. (Check out a few extras, too, in this extended playlist.)
Cracker, “Loser”
From Kerosene Hat (1993)
Though technically a Jerry Garcia solo song, I’m going to go out on a limb and call this cut the sleeper pick Best Dead Cover of All Time. Typically, the most-covered Dead songs feature prominent, celebrated melodies that make it harder for the artists to step outside and really own a song. Here, Cracker take this lonely dark country ballad and stretch it out into a proper sleeping-under-the-stars desert death ode — a rare example of a band extending a Dead song and not the other way around.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy, “Brokedown Palace”
From Pebbles and Ripples split EP with Brightblack (2004)
This gentle cover of the beloved classic from American Beauty is sweet, understated and elegant, featuring only Oldham, his guitar and some female backing vocals. His performance feels so natural that’s it’s probably unsurprising that Oldham also has three new Dead covers on Day of the Dead. I’ve listened to this version a million nights and will surely hear it a million more.
Oneida, “Cold Rain and Snow”
Heads Ain’t Ready single (2008)
2008 was right around the time where it felt like Dead references were starting to fly, with many pointing toward the band’s earliest efforts from ’65-’67, much of which wouldn’t sound out of place on the Nuggets box set. The upbeat, punky rhythm of the original suits Oneida perfectly on this cover, which would slot in nicely on just about any garage rock playlist. Try and also track down “Cream Puff War," included on the flipside of this limited-release 7-inch.
Elvis Costello, “Ship of Fools / Must Have Been The Roses” (live)
From Stolen Roses (recorded 1987, released in 2000)
Elvis Costello’s arch-melodic new wave makes him a somewhat unlikely suspect for Dead covers, but his version of “Ship of Fools” appeared on the aforementioned Deadicated in 1991. This version from later comp Stolen Roses, however, feels even more appropriately Dead, as it features a perfect segue from “Ship” into the chorus of another Dead song, “Must Have Been the Roses.”
Ryan Adams, “Wharf Rat” (live)
From a 2014 MyMusicRx session
Adams began heavily championing the Dead in interviews, on his records, and on stage — even performing a number of times with Dead bassist Phil Lesh — in the mid 2000s, helping to turn young ears towards the band. While these endeavors brought him dangerously close to jam-band territory, this solo acoustic cover of Garcia’s “Wharf Rat” testifies otherwise, showcasing the underrated songwriting of both Garcia and his lyricist Robert Hunter.
Willie Nelson, “Stella Blue”
From Songbird (2006)
Nelson’s “Stella Blue” sounds perfect running back-to-back with the previous version of “Wharf Rat” above, because both versions feature a similar sonic backdrop with immediately identifiable Ryan Adams guitar. Taken from Songbird, which was produced by Adams, the original's mournful whisper of a melody sounds absolutely perfect for Nelson’s warm, delicate vocals.
Los Lobos, “Bertha”
From Deadicated (1991)
One of the better covers (though very early '90s) found on the Deadicated compilation, this upbeat number works perfectly for Los Lobos’s version of Americana. The band make the song its own much in the way the Gipsy Kings did with the Eagles’s “Hotel California” for the Big Lebowski.
Akron/Family, “Turn on Your Lovelight” (live)
From a 2008 Relix compilation
“Lovelight” is a great example of a Dead cover song made arguably more famous by them than its originator, Bobby “Blue” Bland. Though nothing will probably ever touch a smoking Dead version from ’68 or ’69 (see the legendary version on Live/Dead), this 9-minute-plus Akron/Family version makes it clear how well much of the Dead’s early blues repertoire fit alongside the freak-folkers of the mid-late ’00s.
Matt Krefting, “To Lay Me Down”
From I Couldn’t Love You More (2009)
The original “To Lay Me Down” was an American Beauty outtake that I can only guess was too beautiful to include on that record (a less stately, more vaudevillian version appeared later on Garcia’s first solo record). This flangey version on by Matt Krefting isn’t as obviously pretty as the Cowboy Junkies cover found on Deadicated, but gets credit for its experimental James Blake-esque take that approaches the wistful loneliness of the original.
Bonus: The Byrds, “I Know My Rider (I Know You Rider)”
From Never Before (recorded in 1966, released in 1989)
This one isn’t really a Dead cover, or even a Dead-inspired cover of a song the Dead themselves covered. This 1966 Byrds take of an old blues song was released before the Dead had ever put out a record. But for Deadheads who know this song well (as simply "I Know You Rider") from its staple status on Dead setlists, it’s great to hear this song in peppy rave-up form.