Robert Hunter's Grateful Dead writing partner
Jerry Garcia took a major role on his second album, producing and arranging the songs and playing guitar. The result was a more consistent, listenable album than Hunter's debut,
Tales Of The Great Rum Runners.
Hunter sang in a somewhat more natural, assured voice on these mostly country-flavored tracks that sometimes recalled
the Dead's Workingmans Dead and
American Beauty albums, though he continued to strain to reach high notes. As usual, the imagery in
Hunter's lyrics was rich and poetic, with a Western tone. (Despite the improvement in his singing,
Hunter took the occasion of a Rykodisc reissue of
Tiger Rose in 1988 to record new vocals over the instrumental tracks. Released in 1989, this version of the album is reviewed separately.) ~ William Ruhlmann
