Robert Hunter 2: Tiger Rose

Only a year after his first solo album, Robert Hunter had amassed enough lyrics and music for another. Maybe guessing he needed the help, Jerry Garcia took a more active role on Tiger Rose, not just contributing guitar, vocals, and synth, but producing the album. Expatriate Mickey Hart provided the studio and added percussion (as well as drums under a pseudonym); other familiar names included David Grisman, Dave Torbert, Donna Godchaux, Pete Sears, and David Freiberg, the latter two most recently associated with Jefferson Starship. Yet the auteur still did all the singing, for better but mostly worse.

The title track has something of a traditional bayou feel, while “One Thing To Try” packs on the platitudes for a more contemporary sound. “Rose Of Sharon” is very sweet, and we’re surprised that this one hasn’t been covered more; indeed, none of the songs here made it into any Dead set. He yells his way through the shaggy Western saga in “Wild Bill”, and manages to keep up with all the disparate parts of “Dance A Hole”. One of those parts recalls the sea chanteys of his first album, as does “Cruel White Water” with its imagery and metaphors. “Over The Hills” is pleasant adult contemporary pop about the power of music, but “Last Flash Of Rock And Roll” fails at the same effort. “Yellow Moon” is just him strumming and singing with Jerry playing along, so it’s a nice break. Mickey provided the music for “Ariel”, bringing the set to a stately close. (This is another one that could have soared onstage.)

While some of the arrangements are a little dated, the production thin, and the vocalist subpar, Tiger Rose is still a worthy chapter in the Grateful Dead saga. The songs deserved better. Even Hunter himself knew his vocals weren’t his strong suit, so when the album was reissued by Rykodisc in 1989, he took the opportunity to redo them, as well as shuffle the tracklist. Decades later, the album was expanded for its 50th anniversary, using the original sequence and vocals, and adding a bonus disc of alternates.

Robert Hunter Tiger Rose (1975)—2½
2025 Deluxe Edition: same as 1975, plus 9 extra tracks

Robert Hunter 1: Tales Of The Great Rum Runners

Outside of the band members themselves, few names are more sacred to Deadheads than that of Robert Hunter. His lyrics first appeared on the band’s second album, and he would contribute more to just about every album after that, usually collaborating with Jerry Garcia but sometimes with Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart. According to one source, he is the only non-performing member of any band that has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He managed to rack up a pile of tunes that hadn’t been recorded by the time the Dead had their own label, and thus Tales Of The Great Rum Runners was his solo debut, albeit with some of the band helping him out. Unfortunately, his voice leaves something to be desired, forced when loud and nervous when quiet. While it does have some of the same weedy qualities as Garcia’s, to the point where one can imagine these as Dead tunes, Jerry could actually hit the notes and carry the tunes. Indeed, “It Must Have Been The Roses” would reappear on a Garcia solo album, and become part of many a Dead set. We can almost hear Jerry singing “That Train”, “Maybe She’s A Bluebird”, and “Children’s Lament”, the latter here with a nostalgic bagpipe background. “Keys To The Rain” is Dylanesque in words and delivery, except for the meter changes and mariachi horns. And as befitting the album title, each side begins with something of a sea chanty, sung a cappella.

Since it’s Robert Hunter, Tales Of The Great Rum Runners is essential for Deadheads, who will enjoy the lyrics and many of the arrangements. But his legacy is better appreciated on other albums. (The album was expanded on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, with six alternate versions of album tracks and ten outtakes, all very much in the same vein of what made it in the first place.)

Robert Hunter Tales Of The Great Rum Runners (1974)—2½
2024 Deluxe Edition: same as 1974, plus 16 extra tracks