Steve Silberman posted this comment in the WELL‘s Grateful Dead conference; I agree with his sentiments, and I post here with his permission:
I’ve been relistening to Mystery Box, which I felt at the time wasn’t getting enough attention — “that Dead drummer guy? Who cares?” — and I’m re-impressed by not only how beautiful the music and singing are, but how devastatingly poignant, wise, and relevant to the post-Garcia era Hunter’s lyrics are. I think that was a classic batch of Hunter songs, presented in an astonishingly fresh setting. And the more I listen to lyrics I sort of just passed over at the time, like “bury the baby and strike the tent” — I mean, Hunter’s kid committed suicide! — they’re very profound and full of wisdom we still need now.