American Beauty (album)

American Beauty was the result of a prolific period of the songwriting partnership of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter – one that yielded two studio albums in one year for the Grateful Dead. This was the only time the band would return to the studio so quickly. However, unlike the previous effort, where almost all the songs were written solely by the pair, the album saw more input from the rest of the band. Included are Phil Lesh's "Box of Rain" and Bob Weir's "Sugar Magnolia", both written with Hunter, and "Operator", Ron "Pigpen" McKernan's only singing-songwriting effort on a Grateful Dead studio album.

The album was produced after the discovery that the band's manager, Lenny Hart (father of drummer Mickey Hart), had renewed their contract with Warner Brothers Records without their knowledge, and then skipped town with a sizable chunk of the band's wealth.{{cite book |last=Lesh |first=Phil |date=2005 |title=Searching for the Sound |publisher=Little, Brown & Co., New York, NY. Chapter 11 |isbn=978-0-316-00998-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/searchingforsoun00lesh }} In between near-constant touring and gigging, recording began only a few months after the release of Workingman's Dead{{spaced ndash}}without their regular sound crew, who were out on the road as part of the Medicine Ball Caravan tour (which the Dead were originally scheduled to join). Instead, studio staff engineer Stephen Barncard replaced Bob Matthews as producer{{spaced ndash}}"a move that irks Matthews to this day" (Matthews had co-produced the band's two previous albums{{cite book |last=Trager|first=Oliver |date=1997 |title=The American Book of the Dead|publisher=Simon and Schuster, New York, NY. }}). Barncard also mused "I had heard bad stories about engineers' interactions with the Dead but what I found were a bunch of hardworking guys".{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Blair |date=1999 |title=Garcia: An American Life |publisher=Penguin Books, New York, NY. p. 196}}

Both Workingman's Dead and American Beauty were innovative at the time for their fusion of bluegrass, rock and roll, folk, and, especially, country music. Lyricist Hunter commented "We went back into American folk tradition but, being experimenters, nothing would do but that we try to reinvent that."{{cite AV media|title=Classic Albums – The Grateful Dead: Anthem to Beauty |date=1999 | medium=DVD | publisher=Rhino/WEA}} Compared to Workingman's Dead, American Beauty had even less lead guitar work from Jerry Garcia, who increasingly filled the void with pedal steel guitar. It was also during the recording of this album that Garcia first collaborated with mandolinist David Grisman, a friend who had recently relocated to California following the dissolution of Earth Opera. "I just bumped into Jerry at a baseball game in Fairfax, and he said, 'Hey, you wanna play on this record we're doing?'{{-"}} commented Grisman, whose playing is heard on "Friend of the Devil" and especially "Ripple".{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Blair |date=1999 |title=Garcia: An American Life |publisher=Penguin Books, New York, NY. p. 202}} Howard Wales, another musician from outside of the band, added keyboards to three songs. Drummer Bill Kreutzmann commented, "Wales came to us through Jerry, who played with him in side projects. [He] had done session work with James Brown and the Four Tops before we brought him in for American Beauty."{{cite book |last=Kreutzmann |first=Bill |date=2015 |title=Deal |publisher=St. Martin's Press, New York. Chapter 10 |isbn=978-1-250-03380-2}} MIT student Ned Lagin, a jazz pianist who had corresponded with the band after attending their 1969 New Year's Eve concert at the Boston Tea Party, also contributed piano to "Candyman".Gans, David (February 3, 2001). [http://www.gdhour.com/transcripts/lagin.010203.html "Ned Lagin Interview"], The Grateful Dead Hour. Retrieved January 1, 2017. Lagin subsequently sat in with the band on occasion from 1970 to 1975.

Phil Lesh, in his autobiography Searching for the Sound, commented "the magnetism of the scene at Wally Heider's recording studio made it a lot easier for me to deal with [the loss of my father] and my new responsibilities. Some of the best musicians around were hanging there during that period; with Paul Kantner and Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane, the Dead, Santana, Crosby, Nash, and Neil Young working there, the studio became jammer heaven. Thank the Lord for music; it's a healing force beyond words to describe."Phil Lesh: Searching for the Sound by Phil Lesh, Little, Brown and Company, 2005, p. 190.{{Quote box|width=25em|bgcolor=#A9E5E1|quote="It was a surprise to us{{spaced ndash}}as it was to everybody else: this machine-eating, monster-psychedelic band is suddenly putting out sweet, listenable material"|source=—Robert Hunter}}

Though both albums focused on Americana songcraft, Workingman's Dead mixed the grittier Bakersfield sound with the band's psychedelic roots, whereas the mostly-acoustic American Beauty focused more on major-key melodies and folk harmonies, evincing the influence of Dylan and studio neighbors/friends Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Kreutzmann later explained, "The singers in our band really learned a lot about harmonizing [from] Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, who had just released their seminal album Déjà Vu. Jerry played pedal steel... on that record. Stephen Stills lived at Mickey's ranch... and David Crosby enjoyed partying as much as we did. So our circles overlapped."{{cite book |last=Kreutzmann |first=Bill |date=2015 |title=Deal |publisher=St. Martin's Press, New York. Chapter 9 |isbn=978-1-250-03380-2}}

Crosby has demurred on this point: "Sometimes they have given us credit for teaching them how to sing and that's not true. They knew how to sing; they had their own style and they had the most important quality of it down already, which is tale-telling". However, he has also stated "The idea is{{spaced ndash}}when you hang out with other musicians{{spaced ndash}}to sort of cross-pollinate your idea streams, and that naturally happened between us on a level that was very rare. We would listen to what they were doing with time signatures and with breaking the rules, and it appealed to us a lot."

American Beauty was released just over four months after Workingman's Dead. The title of the album has a double meaning, referring both to the musical focus on Americana and to the rose that is depicted on the front cover. Around the rose, the album title is scripted as a text ambigram that can also be read "American Reality". The back cover features a photograph by George Conger of a diorama containing ferns, roses, a bust, shadowboxes and other curios. To each side of the photo are illustrated panels with a vaguely-shaped guitar, whose strings are also rose stems. The cover artwork was produced by Kelley–Mouse Studios.

"Truckin' ", a blues/boogie-based rock tune with a shuffle rhythm, was also released as a single (backed with "Ripple"), and the songs "Box of Rain", "Sugar Magnolia", and "Friend of the Devil" also received radio airplay.{{cite web|url=http://www.deaddisc.com/GDFD_Grateful_Dead.htm#s1|title=Grateful Dead Family Discography: The Grateful Dead Discography|website=www.deaddisc.com|access-date=April 4, 2018}} The single version of "Truckin{{'"}} is a completely different mix, with extra lead guitar fills throughout, reverb on Weir's vocals, fewer verses, and without Wales's organ part. The autobiographical song became the one most associated with the band, and their track most commonly played on FM radio classic rock formats. In his book on Garcia, Blair Jackson noted that "if you liked rock'n'roll in 1970 but didn't like the Dead, you were out of luck, because they were inescapable that summer and fall".

American Beauty peaked at No. 30 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart, while the single, "Truckin{{'"}}, peaked at No. 64 on the Pop Singles chart. It was the final album with Mickey Hart until his return to the band four years later, in 1975. Eight of the album's ten songs would remain in live setlists throughout the band's history.

The album was remixed for 5.1 surround in 2001 by Mickey Hart. This version is heavy in reverb and bass drum, and received mixed reviews, with one reviewer calling it "musically and sonically goofy".{{cite web|url=http://www.audiostream.com/content/grateful-dead-complete-studio-albums-collection|title=Grateful Dead: Complete Studio Albums Collection Remastered in HD|date=October 7, 2013|website=audiostream.com|access-date=April 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228134622/http://www.audiostream.com/content/grateful-dead-complete-studio-albums-collection |archive-date=2013-12-28 |url-status=dead}}

It was remastered and expanded with eight bonus tracks as part of the box set The Golden Road (1965–1973) in 2001. This version was released separately in 2003.

A 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of American Beauty was released as a three-disc CD on October 30, 2020. Disc one is a newly remastered version of the album. Discs two and three are a live concert by the band, recorded on February 18, 1971 at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York.{{cite web |first=Eric |last=Torres |date=September 9, 2020 |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/grateful-dead-american-beauty-gets-50th-anniversary-reissue/ |title=Grateful Dead's American Beauty Gets 50th Anniversary Reissue |work=Pitchfork |access-date=August 20, 2023}}{{cite web |first=Hal |last=Horowitz |date=October 30, 2023 |url=https://americansongwriter.com/the-grateful-deads-50-anniversary-american-beauty-review/ |title=The Grateful Dead's 50 Anniversary Reissues Continue With 'American Beauty' |work=American Songwriter |access-date=August 20, 2023}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/american-beauty-mw0000192627|title=American Beauty|last=Thomas|first=Fred|website=AllMusic|access-date=April 4, 2018}}

|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide

|rev2Score = A−{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: G|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=G&bk=70|access-date=February 24, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies}}

| rev3 = Pitchfork

| rev3score = 10/10{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/grateful-dead-american-beauty-the-angels-share/ |title=Grateful Dead: American Beauty |last=Cush |first=Andy |website=Pitchfork |date=October 31, 2020 |access-date=October 31, 2020}}

| rev4 = Rolling Stone

| rev4Score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-grateful-dead/albumguide |title=Grateful Dead album ratings |magazine=Rolling Stone |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228234021/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-grateful-dead/albumguide |archive-date=December 28, 2013 }}

| rev5 = Sputnikmusic

| rev5Score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/385/The-Grateful-Dead-American-Beauty/|title=Grateful Dead – American Beauty (album review 4) – Sputnikmusic|website=www.sputnikmusic.com|access-date=April 4, 2018}}

| rev6 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev6Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=Omnibus Press|edition=5th|isbn=978-0857125958|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}

}}

Andy Zwerling of Rolling Stone felt that the album was a continuation of Workingman's Dead, though there was more care and contentment in the singing, as well as the instrument playing being rich.{{cite magazine |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/american-beauty-19701224 |title=American Beauty |department=Album Reviews |magazine= Rolling Stone |first=Andy |last=Zwerling |date=December 24, 1970 |access-date=December 4, 2011}} Robert Christgau also compared the album to Workingman's Dead, feeling it was "sweeter vocally and more direct instrumentally".{{cite web |url= http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=1445&name=Grateful+Dead |title=Grateful Dead |first=Robert |last=Christgau |website=robertchristgau.com |access-date=December 4, 2011}} The Washington Post writer Tom Zito felt that the album showed "wisdom of age" when compared to their earlier works, while maintaining an "exuberance of youth."{{cite news |url=http://media.proquest.com/media/pq/hnp/pc/1745232/page/26/pdf?hl=&_a=ChgyMDE2MDIwNjE1NTMyNDIwNzozMzYzMjMSBTk2Njg2GgpPTkVfU0VBUkNIIg0xNTIuMi4xNzYuMjQyKgU0NzAxMjIJMTQ3Nzc4MzY2Og9TaW5nbGVQYWdlSW1hZ2VCATBSBk9ubGluZVoCSVBiA1BGVGoKMTk3MC8xMS8yOHIKMTk3MC8xMS8yOHoAggElUC0xMDA2MzU5LTE0MjQ0LUNVU1RPTUVSLW51bGwtMTE1NjYxNJIBBk9ubGluZcoBSE1vemlsbGEvNS4wIChXaW5kb3dzIE5UIDYuMTsgV09XNjQ7IHJ2OjQzLjApIEdlY2tvLzIwMTAwMTAxIEZpcmVmb3gvNDMuMNIBFUhpc3RvcmljYWwgTmV3c3BhcGVyc5oCB1ByZVBhaWSqAitPUzpFTVMtUGFnZVBkZlBhZ2luYXRpb24tZ2V0UGFnZVZpZXdQZGZVcmwxygIPRmVhdHVyZXxBcnRpY2xl0gIBWeICAPICAA%3D%3D&_s=lP0LicF6WEO8IFulLg8C2%2BBzIC4%3D#page=1 |title=The Grateful Dead: Settling Down|last=Zito|first=Tom|date=November 28, 1970|page=B6|newspaper=The Washington Post |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 6, 2016}} Jason Ankeny at AllMusic feels that the album is the Dead's "studio masterpiece", and in comparing it to Workingman's Dead, it is "more representative of the group as a collective unit".{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/american-beauty-r8554 |title=American Beauty – Grateful Dead |first=Jason |last=Ankeny |website=AllMusic |access-date=December 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930142834/http://www.allmusic.com/album/american-beauty-r8554 |archive-date=September 30, 2011}}

In 2003, the album was ranked number 258 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The American National Association of Recording Merchandisers placed the album at number 20 in its 2007 list of "definitive 200 albums".{{cite web |url=http://www.timepieces.nl/Top100%27s/2007NARM.html |title=The Definitive 200 as chosen by a committee of music retailers within the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) |publisher=National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) |date=March 6, 2007 |website=TimePieces in history of music recording |access-date=December 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210030146/http://timepieces.nl/Top100%27s/2007NARM.html |archive-date=February 10, 2010 }} The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die{{cite book |author1=Robert Dimery |author2=Michael Lydon |title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition |date=7 February 2006 |publisher=Universe |isbn=0-7893-1371-5}} and in 1991 Rolling Stone ranked American Beauty{{-'}}s album cover as the 57th best of all time.{{cite web |url=http://rateyourmusic.com/list/fedderedder/rolling_stones_100_greatest_album_covers/ |title=Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers |publisher=Rate Your Music |date=November 14, 1991 |access-date=March 18, 2011}}{{deprecated inline|certain=y|date=November 2024}} It was voted number 103 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000).{{cite book|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Virgin Books|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=76|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| extra_column = Lead vocals

| title1 = Box of Rain

| writer1 = {{hlist|Phil Lesh|Robert Hunter}}

| extra1 = Lesh

| length1 = 5:18

| title2 = Friend of the Devil

| writer2 = {{hlist|Jerry Garcia|John Dawson|Hunter}}

| extra2 = Garcia

| length2 = 3:24

| title3 = Sugar Magnolia

| writer3 = {{hlist|Bob Weir|Hunter}}

| extra3 = Weir

| length3 = 3:19

| title4 = Operator

| writer4 = Ron McKernan

| extra4 = McKernan

| length4 = 2:25

| title5 = Candyman

| writer5 = {{hlist|Garcia|Hunter}}

| extra5 = Garcia

| length5 = 6:14

| total_length = 20:40

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| extra_column = Lead vocals

| title1 = Ripple

| writer1 = {{hlist|Garcia|Hunter}}

| extra1 = Garcia

| length1 = 4:09

| title2 = Brokedown Palace

| writer2 = {{hlist|Garcia|Hunter}}

| extra2 = Garcia

| length2 = 4:09

| title3 = Till the Morning Comes

| writer3 = {{hlist|Garcia|Hunter}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|Garcia|Weir|Lesh}}

| length3 = 3:08

| title4 = Attics of My Life

| writer4 = {{hlist|Garcia|Hunter}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|Garcia|Weir|Lesh}}

| length4 = 5:12

| title5 = Truckin{{'-}}

| writer5 = {{hlist|Garcia|Lesh|Weir|Hunter}}

| extra5 = Weir

| length5 = 5:03

| total_length = 21:41

}}

• Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–10 on CD reissues.

{{Track listing

| headline = 2001 Rhino reissue

| title11 = Truckin{{'-}}

| note11 = Single Version

| writer11 = Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Hunter

| length11 = 3:17

| title12 = Friend of the Devil

| note12 = Live – May 15, 1970, at Fillmore East in New York City{{efn|name=RoadT}}

| writer12 = Garcia, Dawson, Hunter

| length12 = 4:21

| title13 = Candyman

| note13 = Live – April 15, 1970, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco{{efn|name=Thirty}}

| length13 = 5:18

| title14 = Till the Morning Comes

| note14 = Live – October 4, 1970, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco{{efn|name=Workin}}

| length14 = 3:20

| title15 = Attics of My Life

| note15 = Live – June 6, 1970, at Fillmore West in San Francisco

| length15 = 6:31

| title16 = Truckin{{'-}}

| note16 = Live – December 26, 1970, at Legion Stadium in El Monte, California

| writer16 = Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Hunter

| length16 = 10:10

| title17 = Ripple

| note17 = Single Edit

| length17 = 3:02

| title18 = American Beauty radio promo

| length18 = 1:11

| total_length = 37:10 79:31

}}

Notes

:The final two tracks are unlisted

{{notelist|refs=

{{efn|name=RoadT|Later released with more selections from this date on Road Trips Volume 3 Number 3}}

{{efn|name=Thirty|Later released with entire concert performance on 30 Trips Around the Sun}}

{{efn|name=Workin|Another track from this date is a bonus on Workingman's Dead}}

|close}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition – disc two: February 18, 1971 (Set 1) – Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, New York

| title1 = Bertha

| note1 = Single Version

| writer1 = Garcia, Hunter

| length1 = 6:20

| title2 = Truckin{{'-}}

| length2 = 9:14

| title3 = It Hurts Me Too

| writer3 = Elmore James, Tampa Red

| length3 = 5:56

| title4 = Loser

| writer4 = Garcia, Hunter

| length4 = 6:55

| title5 = Greatest Story Ever Told

| writer5 = Weir, Hunter

| length5 = 3:48

| title6 = Johnny B. Goode

| writer6 = Chuck Berry

| length6 = 3:08

| title7 = Mama Tried

| writer7 = Merle Haggard

| length7 = 3:22

| title8 = Hard to Handle

| writer8 = Alvertis Isbell, Allen Jones, Otis Redding

| length8 = 9:14

| title9 = Dark Star

| writer9 = Hunter, Garcia, Mickey Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, McKernan, Weir

| length9 = 7:02

| title10 = Wharf Rat

| writer10 = Garcia, Hunter

| length10 = 7:24

| title11 = Dark Star

| length11 = 7:21

| title12 = Me and My Uncle

| writer12 = John Phillips

| length12 = 4:13

| total_length = 73:57 116:18

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition – disc three: February 18, 1971 (Set 2) – Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, New York

| title1 = Casey Jones

| writer1 = Garcia, Hunter

| length1 = 7:38

| title2 = Playing in the Band

| writer2 = Weir, Hart, Hunter

| length2 = 6:11

| title3 = Me and Bobby McGee

| writer3 = Kris Kristofferson, Fred Foster

| length3 = 6:35

| title4 = Candyman

| length4 = 7:59

| title5 = Big Boss Man

| writer5 = Luther Dixon, Al Smith

| length5 = 5:42

| title6 = Sugar Magnolia

| length6 = 7:12

| title7 = St. Stephen

| writer7 = Hunter, Garcia, Lesh

| length7 = 6:26

| title8 = Not Fade Away

| writer8 = Buddy Holly, Norman Petty

| length8 = 4:31

| title9 = Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad

| writer9 = traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead

| length9 = 5:03

| title10 = Not Fade Away

| length10 = 4:00

| title11 = Uncle John's Band

| writer11 = Garcia, Hunter

| length11 = 6:39

| total_length = 67:56 184:14

}}

{{infobox album

|name = American Beauty: The Angel's Share

|artist = Grateful Dead

|cover = American-Beauty-The-Angels-Share.jpg

|type = studio

|recorded = August–September 1970

|studio = Wally Heider Studios

|released = October 15, 2020

|label = Rhino

|length =

|prev_title = Dave's Picks Volume 35

|prev_year = 2020

|next_title = Dave's Picks Volume 36

|next_year = 2020

}}

On October 15, 2020, a collection of demos and outtakes from the American Beauty recording sessions entitled American Beauty: The Angel's Share was released in streaming and digital download formats.{{cite web |first=Andy |last=Cush |date=October 31, 2020 |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/grateful-dead-american-beauty-the-angels-share/ |title=Grateful Dead: American Beauty / The Angel's Share Album Review |work=Pitchfork |access-date=July 4, 2024}}{{cite web |first=Michael |last=Broerman |date=October 1, 2020 |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/grateful-dead-american-beauty-angels-share/ |title=Grateful Dead Announce 'American Beauty: The Angel's Share', Release Demos |work=Live for Live Music |access-date=July 4, 2024}}{{cite web |first=Scott |last=Bernstein |date=October 15, 2020 |url=https://www.jambase.com/article/grateful-dead-american-beauty-angels-share |title=Grateful Dead Releases 'American Beauty: The Angel's Share' Outtake Collection |work=JamBase |access-date=July 4, 2024}}

{{Track listing

| headline = American Beauty: The Angel's Share{{cite web |url=https://store.dead.net/en/grateful-dead/home/american-beauty-the-angels-share-digital-album/081227892098.html |title=American Beauty: The Angel's Share Digital Album |work=dead.net |access-date=July 4, 2024}}

| title1 = Friend Of The Devil (Demo)

| length1 = 3:29

| title2 = Sugar Magnolia (Demo)

| length2 = 3:25

| title3 = Candyman (Demo)

| length3 = 5:42

| title4 = To Lay Me Down (Demo)

| length4 = 5:49

| title5 = Truckin’ (Demo)

| length5 = 4:14

| title6 = Hand Me Down (Ripple) [Demo]

| length6 = 4:07

| title7 = Brokedown Palace (Demo)

| length7 = 3:56

| title8 = Til The Morning Comes In (Demo)

| length8 = 4:03

| title9 = Attics Of My Life (Demo)

| length9 = 4:58

| title10 = Operator (Demo)

| length10 = 2:24

| title11 = Box Of Rain (Acoustic Mix)

| length11 = 5:24

| title12 = Candyman (Alternate Take)

| length12 = 7:45

| title13 = Truckin’ (Alternate Mix)

| length13 = 5:41

| title14 = Operator (Take 1) [Slated]

| length14 = 3:07

| title15 = Operator (Take 2 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length15 = 0:24

| title16 = Operator (Take 3) [Slated]

| length16 = 2:48

| title17 = Operator (Take 4 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length17 = 0:24

| title18 = Operator (Take 5) [Misnamed as Take 6] [Slated]

| length18 = 2:53

| title19 = Operator (Take 6 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length19 = 0:14

| title20 = Operator (Take 7 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length20 = 0:12

| title21 = Operator (Take 8) [Slated]

| length21 = 2:44

| title22 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 1 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length22 = 0:21

| title23 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 2 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length23 = 0:50

| title24 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 3 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length24 = 0:33

| title25 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 4 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length25 = 0:33

| title26 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 5) [Slated]

| length26 = 3:37

| title27 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 6) [Slated]

| length27 = 3:32

| title28 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 7) [Slated]

| length28 = 3:42

| title29 = Friend Of The Devil (Arranging Take 1) [Not Slated]

| length29 = 2:18

| title30 = Friend Of The Devil (Arranging Take 2) [Not Slated]

| length30 = 1:30

| title31 = Friend Of The Devil (Arranging Take 3) [Not Slated]

| length31 = 1:05

| title32 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 9 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length32 = 0:16

| title33 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 10 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length33 = 0:27

| title34 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 11) [Slated]

| length34 = 0:35

| title35 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 12 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length35 = 0:08

| title36 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 13) [Not Slated]

| length36 = 3:29

| title37 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 14 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length37 = 0:17

| title38 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 15) [Slated]

| length38 = 3:32

| title39 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 16) [Slated]

| length39 = 3:35

| title40 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 17) [Slated]

| length40 = 3:48

| title41 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 18) [Slated]

| length41 = 0:39

| title42 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 19) [Not Slated]

| length42 = 3:35

| title43 = Friend Of The Devil (Take 20) [Slated]

| length43 = 3:39

| title44 = Attics Of My Life (Take 1) [Slated]

| length44 = 5:54

| title45 = Attics Of My Life (Take 2 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length45 = 0:23

| title46 = Attics Of My Life (Take 3 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length46 = 2:53

| title47 = Attics Of My Life (Take 4 Breakdown) [Slated]

| length47 = 0:46

| title48 = Attics Of My Life (Take 5) [Slated]

| length48 = 5:39

| title49 = Attics Of My Life (Solo Version)

| length49 = 5:14

| title50 = Hand Me Down (Ripple) [Take 1 Breakdown] [Slated]

| length50 = 1:12

| title51 = Hand Me Down (Ripple) [Take 2 with Vocals] [Slated]

| length51 = 3:37

| title52 = Hand Me Down (Ripple) [Take 3] [Slated]

| length52 = 3:43

| title53 = Hand Me Down (Ripple) [Take 4] [Slated]

| length53 = 3:46

| title54 = Hand Me Down (Ripple) [Take 5 Breakdown] [Slated]

| length54 = 1:33

| title55 = Hand Me Down (Ripple) [Take 6 Breakdown] [Slated]

| length55 = 0:42

| title56 = Hand Me Down (Ripple) [Take 7] [Slated]

| length56 = 3:36

}}

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Grateful Dead

• Jerry Garcia – guitar, pedal steel, piano, vocals
• Mickey Hart – percussion
• Robert Hunter – lyrics
• Bill Kreutzmann – drums
• Phil Lesh – bass guitar, guitar, piano, vocals
• Pigpen (Ron McKernan) – harmonica, vocals, lyrics on "Operator"
• Bob Weir – guitar, vocals

Additional musicians

• David Grisman – mandolin on "Friend of the Devil", "Ripple"
• David Nelson – electric guitar on "Box of Rain"
• Ned Lagin – piano on "Candyman"
• Dave Torbert – bass guitar on "Box of Rain"
• Howard Wales – organ on "Candyman", "Truckin{{'}}"; piano on "Brokedown Palace"

Technical personnel

• Produced by Grateful Dead
• Co-producer, audio: Stephen Barncard
• Dave Collins – pre-mastering assistance
• Artwork: Kelley/Mouse Studios
• Rear photo: George Conger

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Reissue personnel

• James Austin – producer
• David Lemieux – producer
• Peter McQuaid – executive producer
• Michael Wesley Johnson – associate producer, research coordinator
• Eileen Law – archival research
• Cassidy Law – project coordinator
• Eric Doney – business affairs
• Nancy Mallonee – business affairs
• Malia Doss – business affairs
• Dennis McNally – Grateful mentor
• Jeffrey Norman – additional mixing
• Joe Gastwirt – mastering, production consultant
• Jimmy Edwards – project manager
• Joe Motta – project coordinator
• Gary Peterson – discography annotation
• Shawn Amos – liner notes coordinator
• Vanessa Atkins – editorial supervision
• Daniel Goldmark – editorial research
• Hugh Brown – reissue art direction
• Greg Allen – reissue art direction
• Rachel Gutek – reissue art direction
• Design: Rachel Gutek – design
• Greg Allen – design

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The album has been released in a multitude of ways since its original release. In 2001, the CD version was remastered and expanded with live tracks and singles for The Golden Road (1965–1973) 12-CD box set. This version was given individual release in 2003. Additionally in 2001, a standalone DVD-Audio version was released including a 5.1 Surround Sound mix. On October 24, 2004, the album was released as a DualDisc recording, including a DVD side with interviews with Mickey Hart and Bob Weir, a photo gallery, and lyrics to all songs. In 2006 it was released in a CD replica of the original vinyl edition, with period labels and inner sleeve.

† Re-mastered edition with bonus tracks

• Anthem to Beauty – a 1997 documentary on the making of American Beauty and Anthem of the Sun
• So Many Roads (1965–1995) – a 1999 box set that includes the outtake "To Lay Me Down"
• The Warner Bros. Studio Albums – a 2010 box set which includes this album

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|title=A Brief History of Album Covers|first=Jason|last=Draper|publisher=Flame Tree Publishing|location=London|year=2008|pages=96–97|isbn=9781847862112|oclc=227198538}}

{{Grateful Dead}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:American Beauty (Album)}}

Category:1970 albums

Category:Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios

Category:Grateful Dead albums

Category:Rhino Entertainment albums

Category:Warner Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Stephen Barncard

Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients