Weir Here – The Best of Bob Weir is a 2004 live/studio compilation album featuring former Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist and co-vocalist Bob Weir. 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.[3]
| Weir Here – The Best Of Bob Weir | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | March 23, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 1972–2003 | |||
| Genre | Rock, jam | |||
| Length | 155:24 | |||
| Label | Hybrid Recordings | |||
| Bob Weir chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Music Box |  [2] |
Content
editSimilarly 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, Weir & Wasserman (though the duo is here a trio, augmented by Neil Young), 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 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
editThe album was compiled by Hybrid Recordings, with final approval by Weir. It is currently out of print. The cover art is by Alton Kelley 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).[4]
In the album's press release, Andrew Clarke of The Independent called Bob Weir "arguably rock's greatest, if most eccentric, rhythm guitarist."[5] Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "No major rock star's solo career has ever received less attention than Weir's." He said the album "[shines] some 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."[6]
Track listing
editDisc one - studio
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cassidy" | Barlow, Bob Weir | Ace | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Mexicali Blues" | Barlow, Weir | Ace | 3:27 |
| 3. | "Looks Like Rain" | Barlow, Weir | Ace | 6:11 |
| 4. | "Playing in the Band" | Weir, Hunter, Hart | Ace | 7:38 |
| 5. | "One More Saturday Night" | Weir | Ace | 4:31 |
| 6. | "Lazy Lightnin'" (Performed by Kingfish) | Barlow, Weir | Kingfish | 3:02 |
| 7. | "Supplication" (Performed by Kingfish) | Barlow, Weir | Kingfish | 2:57 |
| 8. | "Feel Like a Stranger" (Performed by the Grateful Dead) | Barlow, Weir | Go to Heaven | 5:08 |
| 9. | "Easy to Slip" | George, Kibbee | Heaven Help the Fool | 3:06 |
| 10. | "Wrong Way Feelin'" | Barlow, Weir | Heaven Help the Fool | 5:12 |
| 11. | "Shade of Grey" | Barlow, Weir | Heaven Help the Fool | 4:30 |
| 12. | "(I Want to) Fly Away" (Performed by Bobby and the Midnites) | Barlow, Weir | Bobby and the Midnites | 3:59 |
| 13. | "Easy Answers" (with Rob Wasserman and Neil Young) | Bralove, Hunter, Wasserman, Weir, Welnick | Trios | 6:01 |
| 14. | "Two Djinn" (Performed by RatDog) | Graham, Chimenti, Karan, Lane, McGinn, Wasserman, Weir | Evening Moods | 9:04 |
| 15. | "Ashes and Glass" (Performed by Ratdog) | Pessis, Chimenti, Ellis, Karan, Lane, McGinn, Wasserman, Weir | Evening Moods | 5:55 |
| 16. | "Wabash Cannonball" (with Dan Zanes & Friends) | traditional | House Party | 3:41 |
Disc two - live
All tracks performed by the Grateful Dead, except track 11 performed by RatDog.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Truckin'" | Hunter, Garcia, Lesh, Weir | April 29, 1971 | 9:22 |
| 2. | "Estimated Prophet" | Barlow, Weir | March 21, 1990 | 11:09 |
| 3. | "Hell in a Bucket" | Barlow, Weir, Mydland | October 12, 1989 | 6:24 |
| 4. | "Me and Bobby McGee" | Foster, Kristofferson | April 24, 1972 | 6:04 |
| 5. | "New Minglewood Blues" | traditional, arr. Weir | October 14, 1989 | 6:13 |
| 6. | "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" | Span | July 4, 1989 | 4:27 |
| 7. | "Jack Straw" | Hunter, Weir | May 26, 1972 | 5:05 |
| 8. | "Sugar Magnolia" | Hunter, Weir | April 25, 1971 | 6:00 |
| 9. | "Throwing Stones" | Weir, Barlow | July 26, 1987 | 7:53 |
| 10. | "The Music Never Stopped" | Weir, Barlow | July 17, 1989 | 8:58 |
| 11. | "Masters of War" | Dylan | March 19, 2003 | 5:34 |
References
edit- ^ Planer, Lindsay. "Weir Here: The Best of Bob Weir". AllMusic. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ Metzger, John (April 2004). Weir Here: The Best of Bob Weir, The Music Box
- ^ "Grateful Dead Family Discography – Weir Here: The Best Of Bob Weir". Retrieved July 24, 2016.
- ^ "Hybrid Recordings – Weir Here". Retrieved July 29, 2016.
- ^ Clarke, Andrew (21 August 2003). "Bob Weir: The living Dead". The Independent. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ^ Selvin, Joel (21 March 2004). "Dead Man Talking". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 26, 2016.