should i give the grateful dead a chance?

phil is this fascinating mix of innovative player and obnoxious noise-maker. when he goes into something like the "philo stomp", i'm _extremely_ impressed, but as much as i love avant-garde music, "seastones" is just a load of crap.

there’s this dead show from the early 90s I watched awhile back that was equal parts awesome and hilarious... I don’t know if bob was on something that night but he was doing weird stuff with his vocals. Like he sang the verse of “estimated prophet” as a series of descending semitones so it sounded like all haunted and fucked. and he wouldnt sing the proper chorus of “one more Saturday night” he would just sing “..... yah Saturday night!!”

284 bootlegs of which a good 80% plus are marked as "REALLY GOOD", this is why people don't get into dead boots :)

lollll

which people?

@dow - read good things about Ace, so def. on the list. Have listened to Weir's recent-ish albums like Kingfish and Blue Mountain quite a bit and liked most of it.

Haven't heard those, but think Ace is still gen. considered his best.
xpost The only person I've ever actually met who didn't get into Dead boots etc. was this guy who used to shop a turn-of-the-century store where I worked; Dead product pretty much kept the lights on. One day I was describing how I finally got into the Dead, and he said, "Yeah---that's great, if you want to hear 500 performances of the same 18 songs," this mummified hippie with his kindly gap-toothed smile---and the scales fell from my eyes! For a second.

hi all, i've been doing the Year of The Dead for awhile now and today's show from the Fillmore West 1968 is something else. the first show after Anthem was released, 21 min. Alligator! peace

https://archive.org/details/gd1968-08-21.139746.sbd.MasterReel.Gastwirt.Miller.Noel.pcfix.t-flac1644

listening to a lot of the dead lately, really into them. lots of random dick's picks listens on Spotify etc. have been taking a lot of hallucinogens also, turning into a boomer hippy at 36.

started off p much mortified every time bobby was getting into it but grown strongly fond of him.

Lol, jim, I wouldn't have thought. That was about the age I got into them seriously.

@llurk what is that Year of The Dead thing you mention? Listening to a show from the same date a whole year long? And how do you decide from which year you pick the date?

Enjoying 1975 at the moment, One From the Vault is a true gem I keep going back to

I've been listening This Day in Dead History on archive.org every day for months now, prep course for Advanced Head Studies. The calling comes as an unexpectedly exceptional version of Looks Like Rain.

I started by focusing on the years that I knew were choice - 73/74, 77, 68 - but then branched out into all eras. There's good stuff all over, the August 1982 Midwest tour and current 1972 run to Veneta, OR have been epic.

Look for a Matrix mix of the best soundboard/audience tapes available or mastered by Mr. Charlie Miller, they tend to sound the best, dropping into the jam of Playing or a favorite song can give you a sense if the band is 'on' that night.

and rizzx, check out their next show on 9/28/75 - its One From The Vault as a free show in Golden Gate Park. https://archive.org/details/gd1975-09-28.mtx.seamons.102155.sbeok.flac16

Sounds like a fun job! I've been telling myself stick to the albums available on Spotify because I always do that to myself, put restrictions on my listening. Barriers to prevent me from losing myself completely. But I'll check those archive shows out though!

Archive.org at least used to have almost every show in various file formats.
Like from 65 or 66 through to Garcias death in 96. Probably some of the related stuff too Other Ones, Furthur etc.
I think there was possibly some removed thanks to commercial releases or made into stream only or something.
I used to frequent the site in the early 00ies.
They also have a load of Dream Syndicate as well as quite a few other bands in less complete form.

I think I'm becoming a Pigpan fan, good grief

er Pigpen lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmP4BEIzE4s

Pigpen is their secret weapon----

Nah he's too much of a basic blues dude, with a lot of passion but still...I keep skipping his tunes after two minutes

I used to think that, but listening today to "I'm A King Bee" on the Port Chester 1971 live set on the 50th anniversary Workingman's Dead, I heard something deeper.

Hmmm shall give it a try, but maybe you're just tired? No but I am, I need a rousing PITB now

Lovelight from Live/Dead is where it's at

^^^
Possibly Pigpen's greatest moment (other than hiring the Hell's Angels at Altamont).

Mr Charlie, Easy Wind, that's all folks.

OPERATOR

doctor say better stop ballin that jack

Central done forgot it

As I promised myself, I listened to the 50th Anniversary Workingman's Dead today, Labor Day (getit?): YouTube rolled all sounds through my headphones right on cue, in a way I'd never noticed before (my old record player was not so good). Pitchfork review of this edition confirms Garcia and sound specialists meticulously planned the design, resulting in, as the 'fork points out, a combination of "bracing" clarity or maybe they said precision, with "weathered" textures of instruments, but I think weather is most of all generated from these songs def. being ones of experience---the rays of hopefulness come from experience of knowing you need 'em, also maybe from flashbacks. Clarity also reveals occasional vocal limitations I hadn't noticed before, ditto occasional lyrical limitations of Hunter's cracker barrel philosophizing. But many felicities of playing are now revealed (helps that I haven't listened in however long it's been), including even the double-drumming spotlight turn on "Easy Wind," which now sounds like old horses motivated to git up and dance on floorboards of the general store. I once made the mistake of listening to "Black Peter" when I was sick, not that sick, but put me off playing (or owning) the record any more---but now it sounds like one of their best studio tracks ever, incl. when they slam into, "See now how everything/Leads up to this day/It's just like every day, that's/Ever been." Yes!
Listened to most of the bonus show via archive.org: downloaded the vbr playlist and played some of it offline, even though its page is now marked "streaming only," since inclusion on the 50th Anniversary Ed., of course. Another xpost Charlie Miller flac from soundboard, and song selections go well enough with WD (charming Weir lead vocal on "Me and Bobbie McGhee"), also enjoying Bill's drumming without Mickey all through this. Several reviewers of several postings of this show say that it's not quite as hot as previous ones during this Feb. '71 visit to Port Chester, so I may check those too.

A bit confused by the mention of Garcia- I guess you mean the sound design of the original release, not this edition? Anyway, a great album, and "Black Peter" is a great track.

Yes, sorry, I was thinking of WD backstory in Stephen Thomas Erlewine's Pitchfork review of The Angel's Share, which I'll have to listen to:
Much of that precision can be chalked up to how the Grateful Dead mapped out all of Workingman’s Dead prior to recording the album with their live-sound team of Bob Matthews and Betty Cantor, a pair who shared a co-production credit with the band. Nothing was left to chance. Matthews, Cantor, and Garcia drew up a provisional sequencing during these sessions, circulating this rough draft on demo cassettes among the band. Rehearsals came next, then the rapid sessions, outtakes of which can be heard on The Angel’s Share, a digital-only collection released alongside the 50th Anniversary edition of Workingman’s Dead. The chief insight provided by The Angel’s Share is how Garcia kept the Dead on track, calling for changes in tempo and directing the arrangements so neither the song nor vibe is obscured. Compared to its willfully spacy predecessor Aoxomoxoa—an album the band recorded twice, as the band exhausted the possibilities of a new 16-track tape recorder while exhausting the patience and wallet of Warner Bros—the simplicity of Workingman’s Dead is bracing, even refreshing, but it’s the earthy, weathered grooves that give the album its distinct character and power.

The Feb. 71 show on on the Workingman's Dead 50th reissue is one of the best-sounding shows they've ever released. The show rocks too--the sound of Billy unchained

I tend to be cranky about remasters, but what jumped out at me on first listen to this one is that it's very "Phil Zone."

Sometimes clarity is the enemy imo. Modern engineering places way too much of a premium on clarity.

It may well be that I would have noticed those limitations I mentioned even w/o added clarity---actually I remember thinking the sound was too spare, sparse, even, but like I said, bad record player back then---not a prob now, and bringing out the bass may well have helped; I worked in a Dirty South CD store for several years, and must have bass. If you mean the live set, no prob with it there either, so far (though I haven't listened to the whole thing yet; it's long).

Sorry for two "may well"s

I meant the studio versions -- it's subtle, but Phil's bass just barely crossed the line from supportive into intrusive for me on certain songs

wow yeah the show accompanying the reissue sounds terrific

I'm trying to find earlier releases for comparison, but it seems like youtube may have auto-replaced them all with the 2020 remaster? Either that or they're mislabeled.

When I listened to the reissue, it really felt like hearing it again for the first time (though my first listen was only about nine years ago). It's a much more (and I'm not a fan of this overused term) immersive. And I've never been much of a fan of Three From The Vault, so I wasn't too excited about another show from that run, but they're really on fire here. Definitely (and strongly) prefer this to Three. Like J. Sam said, it's Billy unchained. On Three he sounded like, "uh-oh...what do I do without Mickey?" but two nights later he's all, "THIS is what I'll do without Mickey!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdq_gg9rJZ8&ab_channel=DSDtape

New newsletter, w link to hear Angel's Share of American Beauty, also podcast, then link to pre-order 50th Anniversary AB, ditto for next Dave's Picks:
http://view.email.dead.net/?qs=7c09a14552edfd1d0036a5e34b20833f9178db113d8e8f89fa613a7a5643983e2012adcf82122aa34784207164165d4d59d13e76e17f33748775a08bdcc865aa1dd7b6af32fcfbf8

The Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast is such a good podcast. Interview with Ned Lagen last week was so interesting, and they did a deep dive on If I Could Only Remember My Name. They have such good people working for them.

The submissions are comin' in and what a mighty fine bunch they are - from the (naturally) all female-fronted Brown Eyed Women Band to a Hebrew version of "Friend Of The Devil," we're already feeling inspired. How about you? There's plenty of time to bide, so why not safely gather your tribe or do the Dead from a distance?
Already done did it? Simply upload your rendition to YouTube, tag it "DeadCoversProject," and we'll make it available to view on the band's official YouTube channel in February.
More info:
http://view.email.dead.net/?qs=6093a5e362a95f29ab5941b9eef7feac75b364bcb1b4da8471cecdfe25c551802cf32a2de67bb8c35c42ee5bbe5316360d6056b8a94241aacd78e96af31393cd8bbb0a9d7b0bc2343ac38beaea3b934e

i grew up on touch of grey so is that a good start?

the guitar-guitar/guitar-piano interplay in this continues to beguile me. I think it's one of the most sublime things in recorded music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDuZfdf4hFQ

Sometimes I think that the 6/23/74 Jai-Alai Fronton is my favorite Dead show ever. Tonight is one of those nights. I mean, a killer “Seastones”! That jam into “Ship of Fools”! The “Dark Star” jam! So much to love. It’s a killer night for Keith too. I’m listening to the Dave’s Picks version now, but this tape was one of the instrumental ones when I first got j to the Dead and I’m glad it still sounds as good today.

“got into”, damn my fat fingers posting from my phone

haven’t heard that one, will check it out!

It’s a stone-cold classic

https://i.imgur.com/VfkZ70m.jpg

nice acoustic set, night before harpur college. at first i couldn't believe that the harmonies in the first set were the dead, because they were in tune- then i realized members of NRPS were sitting in

https://archive.org/details/gd1970-05-01.sbd.miller.95683.sbeok.flac16/gd70-05-01d2t01.flac