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The first book to tell the full story of the Grateful Dead's "Wall of Sound," an unprecedented and since unparalleled speaker system.
Loud and Clear is the first book to tell the fully story of the Grateful Dead's "Wall of Sound," an unprecedented and since unparalleled speaker system that was as tall as a school bus is long and more than a hundred feet wide. The band's quest for roaring yet crystal clear sound began after their formation in 1965, colliding with the '60s progressive social climate.
Over the next few years, the Dead's growing crew of sound-obsessed techies and eccentric roadies took their speaker system to new technological heights. But as the Dead's relentless, drug-fueled touring schedule met this increasingly burdensome yet sonically perfect machine, in 1974, the Wall brought the band to its knees. The two years of "Wall shows" are legend among Deadheads, and this character-driven tale about human ambition, achievement, and the limits of both on a larger-than-life scale has the potential to reach a wide range of music fans and readers of cultural history.
Author Brian Anderson interviewed hundreds of people associated with the band and the construction of the Wall itself, including band members, roadies, tech wizards, fans and many more. This fascinating inside story of one of the most legendary rock bands of all time will appeal to Deadheads, music fans, audiophiles and many more.
BRIAN ANDERSON has been a Webby Award-winning senior features editor, writer, and producer at VICE in New York City (2011-2019). More recently, Anderson did a stint running the Science desk at The Atlantic (2020), where he was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team for early pandemic coverage, and was later a senior editor at Vox (2021-2022).
His 2015 VICE feature on "The Wall of Sound" served as the jumping off point for his first book Loud and Clear.
He currently lives and works in Chicago, where a piece of the Wall of Sound sits in his living room.
"A gloriously fun unpacking of the most ambitious and pivotal year in Grateful Dead history, making it one of the most ambitious periods for any artist ever, where they succeeded at rewriting the rules of record distribution, live sound, and even music itself, with no better symbol than the hyperreal Wall of Sound that loomed behind them as they performed, channeling luminous music and generating myths at every tour stop." -Jesse Jarnow, co-host of official Grateful Deadcast & author of Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America
"An industrious reporter and passionate writer with deep ties to the communities he writes about, Brian embodies the sheer joy of being present when 'something new is waiting to be born' creatively, as the Grateful Dead put it. He's a trustworthy guide to experiences that are hard to put into words." -New York Times bestselling author Steve Silberman, co-creator of Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads
Loud and Clear is the first book to tell the fully story of the Grateful Dead's "Wall of Sound," an unprecedented and since unparalleled speaker system that was as tall as a school bus is long and more than a hundred feet wide. The band's quest for roaring yet crystal clear sound began after their formation in 1965, colliding with the '60s progressive social climate.
Over the next few years, the Dead's growing crew of sound-obsessed techies and eccentric roadies took their speaker system to new technological heights. But as the Dead's relentless, drug-fueled touring schedule met this increasingly burdensome yet sonically perfect machine, in 1974, the Wall brought the band to its knees. The two years of "Wall shows" are legend among Deadheads, and this character-driven tale about human ambition, achievement, and the limits of both on a larger-than-life scale has the potential to reach a wide range of music fans and readers of cultural history.
Author Brian Anderson interviewed hundreds of people associated with the band and the construction of the Wall itself, including band members, roadies, tech wizards, fans and many more. This fascinating inside story of one of the most legendary rock bands of all time will appeal to Deadheads, music fans, audiophiles and many more.
BRIAN ANDERSON has been a Webby Award-winning senior features editor, writer, and producer at VICE in New York City (2011-2019). More recently, Anderson did a stint running the Science desk at The Atlantic (2020), where he was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team for early pandemic coverage, and was later a senior editor at Vox (2021-2022).
His 2015 VICE feature on "The Wall of Sound" served as the jumping off point for his first book Loud and Clear.
He currently lives and works in Chicago, where a piece of the Wall of Sound sits in his living room.
"A gloriously fun unpacking of the most ambitious and pivotal year in Grateful Dead history, making it one of the most ambitious periods for any artist ever, where they succeeded at rewriting the rules of record distribution, live sound, and even music itself, with no better symbol than the hyperreal Wall of Sound that loomed behind them as they performed, channeling luminous music and generating myths at every tour stop." -Jesse Jarnow, co-host of official Grateful Deadcast & author of Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America
"An industrious reporter and passionate writer with deep ties to the communities he writes about, Brian embodies the sheer joy of being present when 'something new is waiting to be born' creatively, as the Grateful Dead put it. He's a trustworthy guide to experiences that are hard to put into words." -New York Times bestselling author Steve Silberman, co-creator of Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads
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Reviews
"In Loud and Clear, Anderson captures both the technical brilliance and the absurdity of the project, with tales of flipped trucks, accidental electrocutions, broken limbs and blown deadlines."
Variety
"There's a lot to get lost in, and from their early days as a touring band, the Dead won legions of stoned and tripping devotees. Anderson's book, though, is dizzying in a different way: It's a detailed, almost show-by-show breakdown of the band's live performances across its first decade (roughly 1965 to 1974), augmented by insider stories. Readers meet not only Stanley but also other engineers,
The Atlantic