Grateful Dead Box Set - Spring 1990 (The Other One)

Seeing Tom H's Brent remarks I was very interested in how those remarks would be taken. Fairly well. I understand that most folks on this thread are Brent fans and I understand your devotion. I also know that folks like myself are ignored by not seeing eye to eye with the Brent/Vince bunch. As I said in another post about 4/21/86 "What if Donna had pulled that sort of stunt?". Brent gets "wow, talk about a guy who wore his heart on his sleeve." Leaving that show that is not what was being said by most folks. It was not musically or aesthetically pleasing (being kind to say the least). At this very moment there is a thread about Bob that is full of assumptions and inuendo, not the case on that April evening Brent was wasted...

 

I listened to the Marsalis show on archive.org, inspired by this thread of course. Awesome, I'm going to get it. I can't believe they still leave commercial shows up for streaming!!!

 

Well, it hasn't been actually released yet. It'll be taken down when it gets to stores. I actually think they (GDM) know that the streaming being available kind of works to sell their show. I mean, they just got a sale from your listen, didn't they?

 

10/11/83

 

12/31/85 is the first one I ever heard (when I taped it live off the FM broadcast), and it is still my favorite. 6/19/89 (part of a very hot, generally unheralded show) is another good one. 7/4/87 (released as a bonus track on the reissue of In The Dark) isn't too shabby either.

 

yep, he was wasted. would've said the same thing if it were Donna Jean or any other band member. Ive had the great honor to meet and interact with almost every past living(and some deceased) members of the band, including Donna. Even sat on a barstool next to Brent one night. Life is not all sunshine and unicorns in GD land. The one thing I have come to realize over the years is this: We are all human. You want to see the tragic side of Hunters lyrics one needn't look any further than the musicians themselves.

 

Could not agree more! Great post. The first post I ever wrote (I am new to the computer) was about this very subject. If you spent a lot of time in that world you saw the good, bad and ugly( just like life). I also spent time with the band and some of it was not pretty and I include myself in that mix. Was Back stage that run and that evening things where very strange from the jump. Human frailty is very powerful indeed as is human strength. Well said fishcane and thank you for your honest reply!

 

touché!!

 

This video ran before the Meet Up at the Movies Bremen show. It's got Bobby, Jeffrey Norman, and Branford talking about the Spring 1990 box set. Pretty cool!

 

It's always interesting to me to hear the band's perspective. Bobby thinks Spring 1990 was their 'cracklin' best'. While it is certainly the top of latter-day Dead, to these ears (IMO, of course, etc.), the stuff they were doing musically in '72 to '74 has always seemed to me to be far more complex, unified, radical and exploratory.

Not trying to start a 'which era is the best' debate - just sharing an observation. I have always thought I might appreciate 89-90 better if I could overcome my own personal bias against the electronic/midi soundscape. That being said, my preorder is in and I'm looking forward to this one mightily!

 

Bobby made similar remarks around the time when the first box set came out. I wonder if he doesn't remember the 70s as well? Perhaps it has something to do with Brent? Or maybe they were hitting a major peak. I love the era, even with the MIDI, which isn't my favorite thing, but it's mostly tolerable, so I recognize my own bias.

I would certainly agree that they jammed much better in 72-74, but 89-90 was a really tight sound - kind of like 1977 - and the spring 90 tour epitomizes that like none other. Of course, both the aforementioned eras are in my top 5 for the band so there's that.

 

I kind of interpret Bobby's comments to imply that this was the peak of this particular era...which if we are talking about the Brent years, I would agree whole heartedly along with much of 89.

 

I saw 20 shows from '82-'85, plus a Knick straggler in '91 which was an absolute "why, why, why didn't I drive myself; I could be home right now listening to some great music." That said, I'm not a deadhead. Rather, I am someone who loves about 15% of the Dead's output (considering temporal and song list/personnel changes) as among the best music ever produced by any outfit of any genre. Further, '77 is a coke-fueled microcosm of rebirth that doesn't put the Dead's best strengths to the fore. On the other hand, '71-'74 does do that. Throw in the midi crap from the late '80s and '90s and that era just falls into the "absolutely unlistenable" category for me.

I get the sense that Branford agrees, but as a high-profile musician, he chose to be tactful in how he put it down.

Big Dead fan - of certain eras. Carry on...

 

I don't like Brent and his MIDI sound. Just cannot get into it. I am glad that they didn't release a 70's box set. There is no way that I'd be able to swing THAT and the Beatles mono box in a matter of months.

 

I was there, and I just didn't cotton on to what was happening. My friends and I discussed the fact there was no "space" but had no idea Brent had a meltdown onstage. Hearing it now, it's obvious!

 

Also, I will always maintain that their best and most consistent vocal blend was with Brent.
Some older Heads at the time thought he was too much, but he added an element of soul. Yes, a little over the top at times, but you could feel it.

 

I guess this period might represent, to Bob anyway, Jerry's recovery and the band's return to, and last enjoyment of, consistent playing.

Doesn't Phil not show this era much love in his book?

 

I saw all twelve nights of which you speak...the 6 at MSG '90 and the 6 at Boston Garden, and I agree with you; both were great runs, with the BG shows being the last great run I saw/heard.

 

Weir has made some comments that he thought the long, avant garde jams of 1972-4 were losing too many people in the audience. I would have been okay with them continuing to jam and lose the audience but then perhaps the band wouldn't have the capital to be putting out all of these box sets now.

 

When this set arrives I'm gonna be torn.... do I just play the shows contained therein, or do I go back and play the whole tour from start to finish.

 

I never thought about doing that ---- that might be fun.

 

On the fence about this one. Saw one date in 1990, and would love to have this. But $239 is quite a lot of do-re-mi...

 

I have grappling with the horns of the same dilemma. I don't know if my wife, who is somewhat tolerant of but not really a fan of the GD, will be able to handle it if I subject her to an epic journey of 16 shows. But it makes so much sense to do it once, like I did with the Europe trunk. I have to admit, I'm a big fan of late Brent era shows, but I almost ran out of steam slogging through the first box in order, so that also weighs against it. But OCD compulsions/completist tendencies are probably going to win out.

 

The comment on not remembering the 70s was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek.

 

I plan to go through this box once and then the whole tour in order. Looking forward to it!