Grateful Dead live, Dick's Picks etc - S&D

"Couldn't disagree more. I think the Dead were best with a single drummer."

so do most people. they seem to dislike polyrhythm.

Have been on a vacation but thanks for good suggestions, have booked Live Dead and Dick's Picks 1 - looking forward to hear what it's all abt

L/D is fantastic, but those will give you a very hermetic-sounding version of the band imo. For something with the presence of actual concert attendance, try Europe '72 and/or Dozin at the Knick, the latter latter-day but much better approximating the sound of an AUDience recording rather than one from the SoundBoarD.

That makes sense, just booked Europe 72 too. Cool that the library has this stuff...

30 Trips Around The Sun: 4-disc sampler, 26 bucks. Might do it; anybody heard most/all of this material? I've heard some of the early stuff; pretty good.
http://www.amazon.com/Trips-Around-The-Sun-Definitive/dp/B00YDF76AK/ref=pd_sim_15_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51U1LZJdfjL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR121%2C160_&refRID=0MK5E9H906F07A9QR0MM

i'm really enjoying it, but i'm not a dead scholar by any means. some really magical moments on the second disc especially, where the band is just totally alive and flying through musical wormholes

This makes me want to further investigate 1973, lest I have the wrong impression(s) -- is this the March '73 or September '73 Nassau show?

late answering this, but it's the March one

THe only thing about 73 I never really got into was the addition of 2 saxophonists for a brief while. Haven't listened to anything from that collaboration for years since I've been trying to avoid it. Could be taht it did work better than I'm remembering it.

But otherwise it does seem to be a pretty good year. I think most of the time before the supposed retirement is pretty great with the possible exceptionof '71 when they were stretching out less for a while. Though they did seem to be working as the greatest bar band ever I don't think they were as great as their more improvisatory material. Seem to be back on form by '72 and maybe it is only a short term thing after the departure of Micky Hart on discovering his father's embezzlement.

I do find myself a lot less interested in music past that retirement, though i do still like One From |The vault which is one of their rare dates from '75. Is that the date repeated in this box set?

Finally picked up Two From the Vault after the suggestions to do so over a year ago upthread. Didn't realize it was a '68 recording. Did the lame thing and skipped right to 'Dark Star'/'St. Stephen'. Currently getting all jammy while my mom watches Megyn Kelly.

Take that, rest of the house.

Yeah August 68 which seems to be their peak month of a peak year. May '70 is up there too, not sure what month in 69 though Live Dead is around February I think.

August 68 is also when the bonus material on the remaster of Anthem of the Sun is from.

So, can anyone recommend a good '75/Blues for Allah era show?

They only played four shows in '75. One of them was at Great American Music Hall, which is an incredibly small room for the Dead. That's the One from the Vault show, which is rightly acclaimed. '76 is better; I really like the Oakland Coliseum shows from October.

Cool, thanks!

Have now gone back and listened to all of Two From the Vault. 'Morning Dew' is awesome. Probably my fav version, after Europe '72.

late answering this, but it's the March one

― tremendous crime wave and killing wave (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Saturday, October 31, 2015 9:31 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Thanks for the info! Makes sense, as all the '73 shows I've heard were later in the year/somewhat tired-sounding.

Just ordered One From the Vault.

Curse your good deals, Discogs marketplace.

really digging One From the Vault so far

yeah i really came around on one from the vault (and '75 in general) recently. in particular, the vocal harmonies are really dialed in for once. might be the smaller venue that helped.

I'm hoping to get mine in the mail today.

xpost
Also, they hadn't run their voices ragged playing 200 shows a year, that year

Really like this '76 Dick's Picks, btw - good clean sound, tight performances, great song selection

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick%27s_Picks_Volume_33

ha, yeah that's true re: the vocals.
the almost all instrumental SNACK benefit show from earlier in 75 is pretty amazing, wild stuff.

So, going back to Two From the Vault, that's gotta be one of the "happiest" performances of 'Dark Star.' It's really bouncy and nice.

yeah! those early dark stars are pretty sprightly, before it became a lumbering behemoth.

Really into it right now.

68-69 dark stars are outstanding, some of my favorite music from the dead. Version on two from the vault is one of the best

That whole album is incredible

'76 Dick's Picks' and 'Two From the Vault' are on the bucket list

I really like the Dark Star that's on disc three of this '71 set - still twinkly and exploratory, but a bit more concise than other 70s versions, and it leads into a great sequence of DS>St Stephen>Not Fade Away>Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladies_and_Gentlemen..._the_Grateful_Dead

Oh god, yes, that Fillmore East set really goes. Wonderful 'Loser' on that as well.

After a few days out of town, a package containing One From the Vault was waiting for me upon my return. Listening now, and yep, the opening 'Help on the Way'/'Slipknot!'/'Franklin's Tower' is just about as good as I had hoped for.

I love how Bill Graham introduces them one at a time, like a jazz band, while they join in noodling in the background, and then blast into "Help..."

yeah, that's one of those classic album openings for me. my folks used to play it a lot.

"on rhythm guitar, mr bob wee-uh...."

that intro is so smooth

can't remember if i already posted this but man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9bVAdjv79g

man thx to whoever recommended that oakland 76 dicks picks

God Tyler that Moonlight Mile is simply wonderful, it's quarter til one in the morning after a long day where I am and it is just hitting the spot so perfect, thank you.

Nice, yeah I kind of can't believe how good it is. I guess they only played it a few times.

awesome cut, i needed that.

kinda pissed about how you can stream DP's on Spotify but you have to pay up the nose if you want to buy the discs. DP 8 and 33 are currently in heavy rotation. would love to buy these, but i'm not going to buy mp3's either

It's kinda insane that Dick's Picks - both the old, oop ones and the recent "reissues" - continue to be so prohibitively expensive. 33 is one I'm still looking for, too.

http://www.discogs.com/Grateful-Dead-Dicks-Picks-33-109-1076-Oakland-Coliseum-Stadium-Oakland-CA/release/3632454

76 bucks

yeah kind of annoying -- i would definitely scoop up "budget-priced" versions of these things...

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/12795495_10153590877068731_5670788927179756347_n.jpg?oh=d4cafefe5989a10aed0b6c12319a68ce&oe=5767AFA5

http://www.dead.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/product-main/dead_78_product_v6.jpg?1458064180

If that doesn't show up, it's the cover of July 1978: The Complete Recordings---yes, incl. Betty Boards---much more info here:
http://www.dead.net/store/1970s/july-1978-complete-recordings?cmpid=dn/2016March15/1978CompleteRec-main-image-1&eml=2016March15/3264088/6131962&etsubid=33554028

(also check archive.org of course)

prett questionable claim from lemieux: "To many ears, mine included, 1978 is considered one of the best years in Grateful Dead history" ...

Ha, it's always fun interpreting DeadMarketingSpeak:

"one of the best" = meh

"while it's not always mentioned in discussions of their best years..." = complete garbage.

haha yeah. would be funny if they just doubled down on honesty: "While Garcia is clearly sleepwalking through much of these sets, and the drummers seem to be playing two different tunes at once, we all know you're going to buy this Complete September 1984 box set. You have no choice."

prett questionable claim from lemieux: "To many ears, mine included, 1978 is considered one of the best years in Grateful Dead history" ...

VERY questionable imo. Probably the dullest of their years.

yeah, not that i've spent a lot of time with shows from that year, but it does strike me as the worst year in the 70s. I've heard some pretty solid 79 shows anyway.

I am thinking they're definitely scraping now. The 67/68/69 and 91 (Branford) shows aside, the 30 Trips box for me is pretty weak. Cosign on 79 having a lot of interesting shows. Going back to Dick's Picks ...