Wake the Dead Personnel
Maureen Brennan ~ Irish harp
Cindy Browne ~ double bass
Danny Carnahan ~ vocals, octave mandolin, guitar, fiddle
Kevin Carr ~ fiddle, uilleann pipes, Galician pipes, tin whistle
Sylvia Herold ~ vocals, guitar
Paul Kotapish ~ vocals, mandolin, guitar
Joe Craven ~ percussion
Reviews
“This marks the beginning of an era of music that I think is the most important, wonderfullest thing to happen to Grateful Dead music since Jerry died. I haven’t heard anything that portrays the spirit — not even coming from the Grateful Dead members — that came close to realizing the kindness of Jerry Garcia and the spirit of the Grateful Dead.”
~ Vince Welnick
“Wake the Dead is a thorough delight from start to end, seamlessly interweaving the good old tunes with the good older tunes — traditional airs, jigs and reels (plus one original dubbed an “unreel”). You’ve never heard songs like “Bertha,” “The Wheel,” “Sugaree” and “Bird Song” quite like this, and it’s likely that you’ll never listen to them in quite the same way again.”
Grateful Dead Almanac
“[Wake the Dead] have found a spiritual walkway between Irish music and the Grateful Dead . . . There’s a sense of longing in every CD track.”
San Francisco Examiner
“If you didn’t know the songs, or hadn’t read the credits, it would be easy get swept up in this music and imagine that some of the Garcia/Hunter material came from the pen of Turlough O’Carolan himself. Every segue works, and every track is beautiful. This, then, is the living legacy of the Grateful Dead, great new performances of great songs. Dead songs live, and the lives of listeners everywhere are better for it.”
Shaun Dale, Cosmik Debris Magazine
“Take eight classic Grateful Dead tunes, add seven seasoned musicians who groove to a joyful Celtic rhythm, blend it with a healthy dose of love for both, and you’ve got one hell of a party! In this case, it comes in the form of a delightful CD, Wake the Dead. From rock grooves to a touch of bluegrass to hot Irish reels to hauntingly beautiful melodies, the combination puts forth a new kind of sound that conjures up memories of Old & In the Way and early Grateful Dead vibes, familiar to Deadheads everywhere. The comfortable adaptations make it sound as if these songs were written to be performed in this manner, proving once again that the music of the Grateful Dead is capable of crossing all social and cultural boundaries, including a vast array of musical genres. A stellar cast of musicians.”
Portland Observer, Portland, OR
