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REVIEWER / CRITIC COMMENTS
"What a delightful and unexpected treat it was when I popped Lee Johnson's Dead Symphony #6 into my CD player
and discovered that the Georgia-based composer and educator had succeeded in creating a work of great passion,
depth, subtlety and imagination. It wiped away my cynicism real fast, and made me curious to find out more
about the man who put it together, and the thinking behind this extraordinary work."
- Blair Jackson, Dead.net
"I have heard symphonic Led Zeppelin, Bjork, The Beatles, Tori Amos ... none of them capture the majestic,
sweeping quality of Dead Symphony no. 6. It could be argued that it was that free-form quality found in their
jamming that gave the Dead their name in history. They transcended genres here, and I think this is what
composer Lee Johnson has captured in his symphony -- that free-spirited, bigger-than-life, almost mystical
vibe."
- Lauren LaRocca, Frederick News Post
"It makes no difference whether one is a just a Dead Head or only a fan of classical music, because there
is something for everyone on this wonderfully different CD. The music of the Grateful Dead is timeless,
and Lee Johnson's Dead Symphony is one for the ages."
- John Lynskey, Hittin' the Note
"This disc has already gone alongside American Beauty, Wake of the Flood, Terrapin Station, Reckoning and
hundreds of bootlegs in my CD case as another treasured Grateful Dead album. Thank you Mr. Johnson and the
Russian Symphony Orchestra."
- Dave Terpeny, KyndMusic
"This is a truly amazing work of art and goes the whole way to proving what American originals The Grateful
Dead were. Lee Johnson is a treasure. If you love orchestral music with a unique, American voice, he can be
mentioned in the same sentence as Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein."
- Tim, Music Fan
"The disc resembles a rich and varied film score, ripe with vivid coloration. That's high praise for a
patchwork symphony with a dozen short movements, but not surprising, as Johnson has won awards for his
scoring of television and independent films."
- Dorothy Andries, Oak Park Leaves
"For an American composer to travel all the way to Russia to conduct and record Grateful Dead music is a
long, strange trip indeed, even for a band famous for long, strange trips."
- Paul Liberatore, Marin Independent Journal
"The essence of the Dead's music was improvisation, and the root of that is an attitude that says
transformation is at the center of all art. Dead Symphony no. 6 takes different fragments of the Dead's
music and reweaves them into a sparkling tapestry that satisfies a whole 'nother realm of possibility."
- Dennis McNally, Grateful Dead Historian and Publicist
"The twelve-movement score is as ear-pleasing and mind-bending as any performance by the noted group."
- Behind the Beat
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