Pryor Stroud: A bombastic, multi-episode indie rock opera based on the Grateful Dead’s project of the same name, “Terrapin Station” swells with novelistic ambition and fills its over-15-minute length with a variety of interlocking aesthetics, moods, and pop music templates. While it definitely necessitates a prolonged listening experience, it is deserving of the effort it requires, as the sense of narrative it generates — of following a character through multiple settings and situations — is hard to come by in contemporary rock. [7/10]
Chris Ingalls: As a long-time Deadhead, this tribute album is particularly exciting for me, not just because the 1991 tribute album Deadicated has not aged well (despite the occasionally impressive roster); there’s a breadth of contemporary artists taking a swing at the Grateful Dead repertoire this time around that has the potential to makes all these songs seem fresh and exciting. Here, Rossen and Bear (of Grizzly Bear) team up with the National, whose Dead bona fides are impressive (they’ve performed and gigged with Bob Weir, to wonderful effect). They don’t really try to reinvent the wheel here, and although I prefer covers to be drastically different from the originals, they stay just far enough away from the Dead’s 1977 version to give it their own particular spin. It’s bold yet respectful, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of this tribute album. [9/10]
Emmanuel Elone: I really can’t blame “Terrapin Station (Suite)” for its major fault, since it stems from the original track by the Grateful Dead. It’s a long-winded, woozy rollercoaster ride, which makes this song tiresome for all but the most loyal Deadheads. Having said that, though, there are some nice musical moments, especially the main guitar riff that pops up every once in awhile throughout the song. The best aspect about this cover, however, are Daniel Rossen’s vocals, which truly capture the essence and personality of Jerry Garcia. Overall, “Terrapin Station (Suite)” is a great tribute song to the psychedelic rock band, with it’s positives far outweighing the negatives. [7/10]
Chad Miller: Starts off wonderfully, sounding timeless with a beautiful vocal melody. I wasn’t as sold on the instrumental section from the middle to the end though. I probably would have enjoyed the track a lot more had they not dragged the song out so long. The track is somewhat renewed closer to the end though as the pace picks back up and the choir joins in, ending the track in an enjoyable place. [7/10]
This piece appears on Day of the Dead, which will be released on 20th May via 4AD with all profits going to Red Hot Organization.
SCORE: 7.50