Looks like vinyl is finally sold out at dead.net.... I'm surprised the ltd editions have lasted as long as they did but I guess thats what happens when they offer 50 different options to buy...
Any other vinyl impressions? I noticed it at my local yesterday--looks like a nice set and the playing is great, just a little concerned about pressing issues.
My copy purchased direct from Grateful Dead Merchandising was flat, clean and pretty quiet. Only one side had a bunch of ticks and pops for the first 4 minutes or so. A through cleaning of that side took care of most of that noise.
Just got a gorgeous slightly used copy of the vinyl for fifty bucks. And it sounds great. Love the package. You're a Dead fan? Buy it. Pure and simple.
Just got through the Blu ray. Stunning surround sound. Discrete too! Instruments (piano, guitar, drums) often placed in the rears. You feel like you are in the middle of the band at times. Incredible clarity too.
I'd love to read your article about how arduous it was to release Sunshine Daydream. Did you post it already?
I've had this since January and haven't watched the DVD content yet. The audio is very enjoyable. I typically don't have the time to watch a lot of concert footage, but I'll get to it one of these days. markbrow, very much looking forward to reading your article.
Oddly I started spinning my 4-LP set this morning not even thinking about the anniversary (something must be in the air). I only had time for LP1 today but tomorrow it goes all-the-way-double-rainbow-across-the-sky: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Aren't we Grateful Dead enthusiastics lucky? Exactly 42 years ago, The Grateful Dead (also known as The Sunstroke Serenaders) gave one of the most memorable shows of one of their most memorable years, everything captured on 16-track, and a nice chunk of it filmed for posterity. This last Acid Test held under a scorching August sun inspired an already inspired band to give a top-notch show. Exquisite versions of "China>Rider", "Playing In The Band", "Jack Straw", "Bird Song", and it that was not enough, an epic "Dark Star>El Paso>Sing Me Back Home". Truly one of the best Dead shows ever, just for those approximate 100 minutes of perfection. Did I mention that the rest of the show is simply great? Make yourself a favor, listen to this!
Listening today...still kills me when Bobby walks all over Jerry's entry into Morning Dew and audibles to El Paso...must have been the heat.
I traded my retail copy on the spur of the moment to a buddy for a Dick's Pick #33 and I need to replace it. What version would be recommended?
Maybe Bob had a brief psychedelically induced vision of the future and experienced the last episode of Breaking Bad, compelling him to sing El Paso with urgency. I would recommend the Blu-Ray deluxe version, as the sound on the video is outstanding for those portions of the show. You can always turn off the picture when you get sick of pole guy. Nice booklet, too, although the bonus documentary is definitely only (barely) worth watching once, as others have said.
Even though there are tons of naked hippies performing their psychedelic terpsichorean calisthenics, the film also provides nice close shots of the band playing, nearly as good as those in The GD Movie. The sorround mix is great, but it could use a little boost on the subwoofer department (a minor detail, not even a complaint).
True. I've yet to turn off the video, pole guy aside. I don't have a 5.1 setup, but the 2-channel Blu-ray also sounds great. I had forgotten that the NRPS opening set is also commercially available, will definitely think about picking it up.
And it's hotter than $#*! in Veneta today just like it was in '72. It's hot enough to turn pole guy into jerky.
I'm grateful that they managed to get some pants on pole guy by the time Dark Star began. I'm grateful that I now get a look at a time that sadly is past-we are now more worried about catching something from the person next to us than sharing something with them. And I'm grateful that this exists. I throw the China Cat>Rider on frequently-I love the moment when Billy kicks it into Rider, and then Jerry won't stop soloing! And this Dark Star showed me the true meaning of "face melting jam". I'd often wondered.
Jerry doesn't make too strong a move to start Morning Dew, but to me, it's Phil who steps on it most vehemently with that Eb double-stop right at the end of DS. And when Bobby starts El Paso, Jerry's pretty quick to take up his noodlin'. As much as I love a good Dew (I was at SPAC, June 18, 1983, when the world almost stopped turning), that version of Sing Me Back Home probably wouldn't have happened if they'd played Dew, and that song, as the sun goes down, is a truly great moment in music history.
Okay, just finishing up the show now (One More Sat. Night) and I'm pretty charged up. What a show - I've been waiting all summer to play it on the anniversary. I actually hadn't played this show since last fall, but you know what? Sometimes GREAT things happen to those who wait! LOL Highlights: the whole thing is awesome, of course, but "China/Rider" is amazing, "Bird Song" is a top 10 (maybe 5) version, "Greatest Story..." SMOKES, and the entire Disc 3 is pure gold.
Its there..IMO most 72 Dark Stars fade into Dew, you can hear the beginnings, but I agree with your Sing Me Back Home comment. It would have never followed Dew if it had been played and it is a strong version.
Also, with the perspective from the stage, players can maybe see pockets of freaks who need a pick me up.....
Yes; I can hear a quick D from Jerry a few seconds before they go into El Paso. Interestingly, the two previous Dark Stars were 8/21/72 and 8/24/72, both from Berkeley Community Theater. On 8/21/72, Dark Star segued into El Paso (I've had a tape of this second set since about '83) and on 8/24/72, Dark Star segued into Dew. It seems to have been a short-lived experiment with the El Paso segue and if you see the brief pattern there, Bobby may have been thinking that El Paso worked two times ago and last time was Dew, so we're doing El Paso. Considering how regularly they rotated Dark Star and The Other One in '72, a rotation of segue choices seems plausible, at least some of the time. Before the "El Paso Experiment," Dark Star --> Comes a Time had a couple of turns on 7/18/72 (Roosevelt Stadium) and 7/26/72 (Paramount Theater). Most of E '72 was DS --> Sugar Mag or DS --> Dew.
