Oct 10
25
Book Review – Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead by Phil Lesh
While there have been countless books written about the Grateful Dead, this is the first one written with an insider’s view by an actual band member. And we love it!
Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead, written by GD bass player Phil Lesh without the aid of a ghostwriter, is an entertaining journey into the storied career of the Grateful Dead. While you may not find anything truly new or revelatory, Lesh writes with such enthusiasm for the past that you can’t help but get sucked into his words. I have read a lot of Dead related books over the years and I keep coming back to this one for pure enjoyment.
What I find refreshing is that we are treated to brief flashes of Phil’s early life and how that life turned him towards music. In this respect you can trace his musical lineage from early childhood playing the violin, switching to trumpet in his early teens, and then over to bass as a young man. You get a sense that his career in music was no accident, and that from an extremely young age he was quite aware that music would consume him. It brings you ever closer to his musical mind and after reading just the early chapters you want to throw on some Dead and listen with a new perspective.
Another fascinating aspect is that we get to meet Jerry Garcia as a young man trolling around the Palo Alto area guitar in hand. We are reminded that Jerry wasn’t always the wise old sage with silver hair and instead that he was a normal guy like any other at the time, looking to use music as a way to raise his consciousness. It is indeed interesting to read Lesh’s take on meeting Jerry and the general atmosphere of the area at the time, a time that seemed littered with so many characters that have now faded into the past. In this it reads almost like a story of a era long gone, a simpler time filled with a certain romance that we can never get back to. Ah well…
There is also plenty of talk of life on the road with the Dead including some wonderful stories of their famed 1972 tour of Europe and a fascinating glimpse into their visit to the temples of Egypt in 1978 and, consequently, why they played so terribly during their stay there. Lesh gives us just enough detail to understand how the excesses of fame could easily overcome even the noblest of men, and although the time is looked back at fondly there is also a hint of regret. Still, the stories of life on the road are fantastic and Lesh’s writing style allows you to place yourself right there in the moment.
Of course, throughout it all, there is the music. Musician readers will love some of the more detailed aspects of the book talking about minor this and B flat that, while fans of the band will surely revel in the history of how certain songs came to fruition. There is also much talk about Phil’s own musical journey on the bass, from his early Guild Starfire to his later Alembic, and how he shaped and changed his sound over the years. There are stories told from the perspective of being right up on stage playing a show, or in the studio recording an album, that further reflect just what the Dead were really about on a musical level and it is this aspect that makes the book such a special and fascinating read.
Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead is wholly enjoyable and never dwindles on one subject too long. It moves passionately through Phil’s time with the Dead, from the earliest years to the latest and everywhere in between, and even touches on life after Garcia’s passing from a personal standpoint. Lesh’s writing style is almost oral in execution and you can hear his voice in your head as you read along. It has the feeling of an old friend telling you stories about his past, mixed with humorous anecdotes and wonderful asides. Like I said, there are many Grateful Dead books out there, but this one is pure enjoyment.
