Weir Here – The Best of Bob Weir

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
ReleasedMarch 23, 2004
Recorded1972–2003
GenreRock, jam
Length155:24
LabelHybrid Recordings
Bob Weir chronology
Live at Roseland
(2000)
Weir Here – The Best Of Bob Weir
(2004)
Fall 1989: The Long Island Sound
(2013)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
The Music Box [2]

Content

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Similarly 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

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The 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

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Disc one - studio

No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Cassidy"Barlow, Bob WeirAce3:42
2."Mexicali Blues"Barlow, WeirAce3:27
3."Looks Like Rain"Barlow, WeirAce6:11
4."Playing in the Band"Weir, Hunter, HartAce7:38
5."One More Saturday Night"WeirAce4:31
6."Lazy Lightnin'" (Performed by Kingfish)Barlow, WeirKingfish3:02
7."Supplication" (Performed by Kingfish)Barlow, WeirKingfish2:57
8."Feel Like a Stranger" (Performed by the Grateful Dead)Barlow, WeirGo to Heaven5:08
9."Easy to Slip"George, KibbeeHeaven Help the Fool3:06
10."Wrong Way Feelin'"Barlow, WeirHeaven Help the Fool5:12
11."Shade of Grey"Barlow, WeirHeaven Help the Fool4:30
12."(I Want to) Fly Away" (Performed by Bobby and the Midnites)Barlow, WeirBobby and the Midnites3:59
13."Easy Answers" (with Rob Wasserman and Neil Young)Bralove, Hunter, Wasserman, Weir, WelnickTrios6:01
14."Two Djinn" (Performed by RatDog)Graham, Chimenti, Karan, Lane, McGinn, Wasserman, WeirEvening Moods9:04
15."Ashes and Glass" (Performed by Ratdog)Pessis, Chimenti, Ellis, Karan, Lane, McGinn, Wasserman, WeirEvening Moods5:55
16."Wabash Cannonball" (with Dan Zanes & Friends)traditionalHouse Party3:41

Disc two - live

All tracks performed by the Grateful Dead, except track 11 performed by RatDog.

No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateLength
1."Truckin'"Hunter, Garcia, Lesh, WeirApril 29, 19719:22
2."Estimated Prophet"Barlow, WeirMarch 21, 199011:09
3."Hell in a Bucket"Barlow, Weir, MydlandOctober 12, 19896:24
4."Me and Bobby McGee"Foster, KristoffersonApril 24, 19726:04
5."New Minglewood Blues"traditional, arr. WeirOctober 14, 19896:13
6."Man Smart, Woman Smarter"SpanJuly 4, 19894:27
7."Jack Straw"Hunter, WeirMay 26, 19725:05
8."Sugar Magnolia"Hunter, WeirApril 25, 19716:00
9."Throwing Stones"Weir, BarlowJuly 26, 19877:53
10."The Music Never Stopped"Weir, BarlowJuly 17, 19898:58
11."Masters of War"DylanMarch 19, 20035:34

References

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  1. ^ Planer, Lindsay. "Weir Here: The Best of Bob Weir". AllMusic. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  2. ^ Metzger, John (April 2004). Weir Here: The Best of Bob Weir, The Music Box
  3. ^ "Grateful Dead Family Discography – Weir Here: The Best Of Bob Weir". Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  4. ^ "Hybrid Recordings – Weir Here". Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  5. ^ Clarke, Andrew (21 August 2003). "Bob Weir: The living Dead". The Independent. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  6. ^ Selvin, Joel (21 March 2004). "Dead Man Talking". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 26, 2016.