tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post8093987448981416276..comments2024-03-26T23:10:34.814-07:00Comments on Grateful Dead Sources: 1968: Anthem of the Sun reviewLight Into Asheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-56947864752844406242018-06-20T20:35:17.707-07:002018-06-20T20:35:17.707-07:00Sherri Funn was the pseudonym for the rock columni...Sherri Funn was the pseudonym for the rock columnist in the U of Michigan student paper in 1968. I'm surprised he liked Anthem so much, since in general he was in favor of "honest," non-pretentious, non-gimmicky rock without a whole lot of studio trickery - he preferred hummable songs to brilliant engineering. He considered Sergeant Pepper a terrible influence on rock music, was disdainful of the Airplane, and despised Cream (in the 10/1/68 column, he said Cream "exemplifies perfectly to me what is rancid about today's rock scene," calling them "dishonest, overly slick, and creatively sterile"). On the other hand, he was a Doors fan. <br /><br />He'd seen the Dead live (though not mentioning it here), which might inform the review. He praises Garcia & Lesh as players, and says the Dead are more "mature" than other psychedelic groups. <br />But this is a strange review in that he doesn't actually say much of anything about the album. He admits that it's difficult and not very accessible, but says the electronic effects are "subtle" and implies the songs are quick, simple, and short - which is so far from the case that I wonder if he was putting on readers. Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.com