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

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 ...

Oh wait, this thing has the two Red Rocks shows on it? Ok now I'm down

I'm as big a Deadhead as anyone here, and generally a pretty big sucker when it comes to Dead stuff (Spring 90 box, anyone?), but '78 is pretty notoriously lousy, coming off the high of '77 and including the disastrous Egypt thing. I think there are a handful of shows that are decent, and yes the Red Rocks Betty Boards sound cool, but I'm much more psyched about this, which is the only reason I'm leaving the house on RSD:

www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/8343

Damm that looks sweet, wish it was on CD as well (Bardo Pond RSD thing w/ various Acid Mothers and Guru Guru ppl sounds worth stepping out for too, tho)

Only really know the 78 stuff on that lousy Closing of Winterland set - so weird how they're coming off arguably their best-ever live year (Tarfumes man, you've got to move beyond 74 by three years at least), and they still have their best-ever keyboard player in the group, and yet they mostly blow less than a year later. Heroin sucks, eh.

(Tarfumes man, you've got to move beyond 74 by three years at least)

I've tried. I listened to that Cornell show a bunch of times, and while I can objectively recognize it as Good Dead, I just can't get into it.

Cornell show a bit overrated imho (tho' the Morning Dew at the end is poss the best ever Dead version) - I much prefer the May 77 show on Dick's Picks 3 (15 minute Sugaree, an incredibly tight Help on the Way/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower, ends w/ Eyes of the World>Wharf Rat>Terrapin Station>Morning Dew - sooo good.) Even the disco Deadified Dancing in the Streets is p good.

I might give it a go, but it's the overall feel of the '77 stuff that keeps me away. They were sharp and almost sprightly up to '72; but '77 feels plodding and flumpfy.

at the urging of a few 'heads, i was checking out a 78 dicks picks today (new haven / springfield) and while it wasn't terrible, i think i lay the blame on mickey hart -- he just seems to be pulling the band in directions none of them want to go in.

ends w/ Eyes of the World>Wharf Rat>Terrapin Station>Morning Dew - sooo good.)

Am listening to this part now, up to "Morning Dew." Still not into it. I don't despise it or anything, but like tylerw, I place the blame on Hart. He was fine and sometimes great in '68 - '70 or so, but man, he's really dragging things down and killing a lot of the spontaneity. But then, Kreutzmann was getting to be a drag by '73, so maybe Hart got dragged down to his level.

The key word here is drag.

I much prefer the May 77 show on Dick's Picks 3 (15 minute Sugaree, an incredibly tight Help on the Way/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower, ends w/ Eyes of the World>Wharf Rat>Terrapin Station>Morning Dew - sooo good.) Even the disco Deadified Dancing in the Streets is p good.

― Chicamaw (Ward Fowler), Friday, March 18, 2016 10:20 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is otm. DP3 (and 10) are classic 77 shows.

xpost
If you can't have a drag while listening to the Dead, while I dunno man *s

I def agree that the tempos, on the whole, slowed down after 72, but sometimes that works pretty well imho (eg Friend of the Devil)

it wasn't even "dragging" that was bugging me on this 78 show -- like on "eyes of the world" Mickey is playing this kinda disco-y high-hat thing. i'm not opposed to that in theory, but man the rest of the band seems opposed to it. and it goes on for 12 minutes without anyone really resolving it! i think kreutzmann is great through '75.

I might give it a go, but it's the overall feel of the '77 stuff that keeps me away. They were sharp and almost sprightly up to '72; but '77 feels plodding and flumpfy.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, March 18, 2016 10:59 AM (53 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

at the urging of a few 'heads, i was checking out a 78 dicks picks today (new haven / springfield) and while it wasn't terrible, i think i lay the blame on mickey hart -- he just seems to be pulling the band in directions none of them want to go in.

― tylerw, Friday, March 18, 2016 11:08 AM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ends w/ Eyes of the World>Wharf Rat>Terrapin Station>Morning Dew - sooo good.)

Am listening to this part now, up to "Morning Dew." Still not into it. I don't despise it or anything, but like tylerw, I place the blame on Hart. He was fine and sometimes great in '68 - '70 or so, but man, he's really dragging things down and killing a lot of the spontaneity. But then, Kreutzmann was getting to be a drag by '73, so maybe Hart got dragged down to his level.

The key word here is drag.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, March 18, 2016 11:49 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It sounds like all of you guys need a good dose of both '74 and '76. '76 is my favorite year because it hints at the intense, tight, disco Dead period but still retains some of the jazz-y, stoned languidness of '74. If you dig '72 (and who doesn't?) but can't get with cocaine Dead, '76 is the antidote!

Hart haters should just start plowing through all the '74 shows (at least until October), which are mostly great. Some days I think the Dead's best years were the single drummer years. Weirdly, though, '73 seems to be a pretty mediocre year (although, as with '78, there are obviously exceptions; Dick's Picks 1 in Tampa is GREAT. Of course, that was December).

what 76 would you suggest -- that's the one where I feel like things just drrrrraggggggg

There are '76 shows still going on as we speak.

All of June is pretty representative iirc, and there's a Dick's Pick that has two shows from September that I remember listening to a lot. I forget which number it is though - too much Dead!

yeah it is true, sooner or later when i'm trying to like some show from 82 or something, i think jesus christ there are like 25 shows from 1972 I've never heard, what am i doing.

https://archive.org/details/gd1976-06-03.mtx.seamons.ht06.123898.flac16

i'm not a big fan of 76 but do enjoy this mix. really, really crispy sound with a nice dose of the audience recording to give you a sense of the room. the Help on the Way... is a favorite of mine, but could definitely be accused of dragging. It's dark and spacey and subdued and I like that!

"But then, Kreutzmann was getting to be a drag by '73,"

^^this is pure crazy talk, btw. he's their secret weapon

Always thought it was revealing that Kreutzmann was the one GD member who got to play on Garcia's first, superb solo alb