Amir Bar-Lev
's winding, thorough
Grateful Dead
documentary is naturally titled Long Strange Trip -- really, what else could it have been called? -- and it's only appropriate that its accompanying soundtrack also follows a twisting road. The album -- available either as a two-disc set or a three-disc set at exclusive retailers -- tells a familiar tale, sometimes with familiar material, but it doesn't quite proceed in a predictable fashion. Like the film, the
Long Strange Trip
soundtrack skips entire portions of
the Dead
's history because it focuses on the bigger picture. Some eras are soft-peddled and some classic songs are missing but by threading in studio cuts with the live tracks, this gives a good idea of everything
the Grateful Dead
did and why they matter. Which isn't to say that
is definitive -- any collection lacking "Truckin'," "Sugar Magnolia," and "Casey Jones" can't be called definitive -- but it does wind up as an excellent introduction to
's eccentric charms, illustrating not just their instinct for exploration (with its heavy dose of '70s live material, the first disc offers ample proof of this) but also how they could groove on-stage (the cuts from the legendary Cornell concert from 1977). Then, it also proves that beyond those improvisations,
have a strong song catalog that withstands all their revisions -- and the sometimes indifferent studio productions, none of which can be heard here -- and the fact that this soundtrack shows both sides of
makes it valuable indeed. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine