Took me awhile to get onboard the '89/'90/'91 bus too, but it's a good ride. All the retail sets are worth owning/spinning when the mood for that era hits.
Well, your references are not quite clear, as I've mentioned (or alluded to) three versions of Cassidy in my post. Weir said what in reference to which version? I didn't quote anything that Weir said; I was offering opinion. Fantastic Cassidy is which show?
All mental notes in my case. Mostly in the British sense of “mental.” Also occasionally heavily footnoted with footnotes to the footnotes like a David Foster Wallace novel.
Whoever said Garcia can’t play rhythm is way wrong. He does it in a more traditional way than Bob, but both are quite good at it (and other than maybe Billy probably the best at holding down a rhythmic groove in the band).
Mine too, a surprise standout in the box despite a nondescript setlist and not being a show that got a lot of attention beforehand.
Sorry for so many posts. Lots of GD listening over the past couple days. All of these first listens for me. First, Stanley Theater 9/26/72, probably the weakest of the run, but an absolutely stunning version of He’s Gone and a great Truckin’->Other One with a bad reel change. Everything played well, it’s a ‘72 show after all, but the next two nights are phenomenal so it suffers a bit perhaps by comparison. Also semi-noteworthy for the only known tuning jam of 26 Miles by the Four Preps, a song with which I was not previously familiar. (Phish later took inspiration from this 30-second tuning jam by singing about prep school hippies/hip school preppies). Next, 11/13/87 Long Beach. Well played but a pretty nondescript setlist. Good Friend of the Devil with some very odd effects on Weir’s solo, good Bird Song->Music Never Stopped first set closer, and a very good ‘80s Estimated with the perfect amount of Weir histrionics/Healy effects (a balance that isn’t always easy to strike, but for the ‘80s does require a liberal but not excessive amount of Weir histrionics; in my opinion, that is, bearing in mind that I also lean toward adding a lot of spice to my food, while also realizing there is a line beyond which most other flavors are too overwhelmed). Anyway, otherwise a fine but not particularly noteworthy show (except for kind of an industrial/Ministry sort of thing during Drums). Finally, the Charlie Miller version of the Jim Wise recording of 7/17/82 Ventura show. This was a really fun listen. Mostly very well played, an unusual Truckin’ with outro jam to end the first set, very nice Playin’->China Cat->Rider to start set II, Playin’ Reprise->Around and Around with Bobby vocal ad libs to spare after a very good and spooky Space, and very nice Baby Blue to end it. This was overall a very fun and at times wacky show, and well played throughout. Really liked how the China Cat->Rider transition got really mellow for a while, an unusual version.
4/15/70: If one cranks this up one can smell the wires burning during TOO!!! Love the mellow Cryptical reprise (as the band was tiring of drawing this out by now - the major exception would be Harpur College 17 days later!) into a stunning Dire Wolf.
It was all three (including the assumption that it didn’t matter), but I think the criticism in that regard after releasing the very expensive 30 Trips finally reached someone’s ears who cared. Historically, for those who don’t already know, there are some other examples of officially released albums that are at the wrong speed, usually inadvertantly. Kind of Blue (side one) and The Doors may be the most well known, but some releases of Beggar’s Banquet and Procol Harum’s Shine on Brightly are also noticeably off-speed. There are a number of other more obscure ones (some Steely Dan albums, although in some cases it’s only parts of an album); I wouldn’t be surprised if Wikipedia has a topic on it.
Derek and the Dominoes album Layla is also off speed (fast) giving an unusual urgency to Clapton's voice on the title song.
Going back to set 1 later. I’m not usually a fan of Lovelight but this one is shorter than most from this time-frame - under 25 minutes including a raucous diversion into a short NFA after 12 minutes. Some of the spacey/repetitive guitar from Jerry before that mini-NFA is stunning and the ending 7 minutes is almost feedback intensity. Oh to have been there @ Winterland up close. As usual the Dancing is great although it doesn’t quite get to where 4/12/70 or 5/2/70 goes but it’s all just a bit relative. Nothing can compare to the 5/2 Harpur College version but that is rightly known as one of the very best Dead shows ever.
For me it's no contest--Sailor>Saint is important because it's the Dead's entry into the yacht rock canon. I still don't get Corinna. I pretty much check out when it's played. Not to mention Dylan has a song "Corinna, Corinna" that blows it out of the water '83 30 Trips today. It's on my phone, anyway.
I'm fine with "Corrina". It reminds me of "Silver Bullet" by The Golden Palominos (with Jack Bruce on vocals)
See, I never liked that song, Dylan's version notwithstanding. My mom had the soundtrack from the Ray Liotta film of that name in the 90s and I hated it (it's probably fine, really, but by definition anything my mom liked was not cool back then.) Also I always thought 'Far From Me' was their entry to yacht rock (soundwise, I mean. I almost posted this without considering the whole yacht/sailor connection.) But really I have no problem with either, I just brought up Sailor>Saint to pose a dilemma for @US Blues. Corinna at least has lyrics by Hunter...
Well, this is my own, personal observation about Sailor/Saint. Dead yacht rock doesn't sound any more like yacht rock than Dead disco sounds like disco. Also, is Corinna and Corinna, Corinna two different takes of the same song? I didn't think so.
I've never heard the Dead's "Corinna," and I can't say a perusal of the lyrics has me racing to listen to it. Different songs for sure, although certainly they knew the old number and maybe there are small traces of it to be found in their song. I like Dylan's version, although I prefer Ray Peterson's big pop hit. Thanks, Phil Spector. EDIT: Adding to the Dylan connection, I heard this morning for the first time the Dead's first "Peggy-O" (12/10/73, on the Download Series 8 release). A little rough around the edges, but a nice debut overall. I think I prefer theirs to Dylan's in this case, although his rather hyper reading has its charms.
Sorry. Weir is the one who said Garcia can't play rhythm, and I was listening to Cassidy from 5/14/78.
Since 5/14/78 seems to be the threads pick of the day, I gave that Cassidy everyone is talking a listen. Fantastic, barn-burning version. Garcia getting some incredible tone out of the Wolf. A great final solo with some seriously inventive playing by Garcia, with weir and Phil complimenting his style beautifully. What I do find interesting that when the band comes in for the final verse after Garcia's solo, nobody sings! Perhaps everyone was too busy listening to Jerry and Bob/Donna got caught away from their mics? I've heard versions where the transition to the final vocal (Flight of the seabirds...) is poorly timed, but I don't think I've ever heard them just not sing it at all.
