Speaking of ludicrous speed, I finally got around to listening to DaP23 (1/22/78 McArthur Court) Disc 3 tonight... I've known this portion of the show for over 30 years, but it is a blast finally hearing an official version from the master reel with all the bells and whistles. And suddenly I feel compelled to go to Devil's Tower.
Well they could have filled it in from this AUD, sounds pretty good. I was enjoying trying to hear what's new with Wolf, as this is the version with the new humbucker pickups. You can hear it on 'Don't Ease.' So far the best part has been that MHSUT>FT (Stone Turntable ) that opened the show, but I haven't gotten to the jam yet. (just as an aside, I might have to change the name of jam to ham, because I seem to type ham a lot when I mean jam, because h and j are next to each other, and I'm tired of correcting it.) I took a break from 5-4-79 to listen to a bunch of studio hams from the Blues for Allah rehearsals. The sound Garcia gets on 'Distorto' (Crazy Fingers) is a nice departure: 2-28-75 Studio Rehearsals You'll never go wrong with the Grateful Dead Guide: Grateful Dead Guide: Brief Guide to 1975 Studio Rehearsals After this I may check out the rest of Hampton, or I may save it until tomorrow.
My guess is they thought 5/4/79 was a good vinyl release because what they had in the Vault wasn't the complete show, but perfectly fits two vinyl records and probably wouldn't have been released otherwise. I wish it had the Half-Step->Franklin's, though. I love the Distorto guitar sound, wish Garcia used it more often! I had been derelict in my Dark Star duties today up until now, so I'm listening to 4/8/72 (the Steppin' Out version) for the first time in quite a while. Over on Facebook some old friends and I have been getting into a discussion that started with favorite '72 Dark Stars (this is mine, followed by 3/23, although I haven't heard them all), which morphed into a discussion of wine pairings for specific Dark Stars. I have realized that if it could be a career, my perfect job would be Dark Star sommelier. I am drinking a cheap Cotes du Rhone right now, but 4/8/72 is really calling out for a well aged Petite Sirah or perhaps a Chateau Neuf de Pape.
I listened to disc 3 of Cornell last night. I found the end of Morning Dew frustratingly frantic and rushed. The song ought to present as majestic. The Cornell one is exciting, I suppose, but it just gets too bombastic and the drummers are don't serve the song, at least, they don't do what I think would have been better - reinforce it. I struggle to see how this version often gets called the best.
Of course I had to keep going through Sugar Mags and now Caution after the 4/8/72 Dark Star. What an incredible sequence, and that transition from Dark Star into Sugar Mags (with both songs playing at once, basically) is something else. I need to listen to this show more often, and if I wasn't marathon-ed out after listening to so much of Spring '77 in a row, I might be ready for another deep dive into the steamer trunk. As it is, next time I get a hankering from the GD, I'm going to revisit some of the shows in the trunk, especially those that I have only listened to once.
Median price on Discogs of $42 is not that bad for an out of print limited edition double-LP, but it is also not my problem since I bought it on RSD when it came out.
Erase dl=0 and replace it with raw=1 Winterland footage is much better and more fun to look at. They should have shot Egypt on 16 or 35mm with a light crew. Devils Tower is a very cool place. Wyoming is fantastic. Especially the northwest parts
But it's CORNELL, man! Everyone on the internets says it's the best Dead show ever, man! I can't think for myself, man, and I wouldn't know a psychedelic jam if it came up and pissed on my shoes, man! /s Save for the Glory at SPAC (ask @Archtop for the details, he and I were both there), the best version of Morning Dew comes without opium and is featured in the Grateful Dead Movie.
Partly because it is the longest, partly because the sound quality is so good. Many listeners find the stretched out ending to be appealing, as opposite to your feeling (the opposite). I'm not saying I agree with any of that, but that is why.
Official release help streamline selection - I 100% agree with this. One of the reasons that I primarily listen to the official stuff (although I am a collector too. My collection isn't 100% complete, but probably in the 90% realm for official stuff on CD).
Being a contrarian SOB I just have to say that both Rocking the Cradle and Closing of Winterland are two parts of my bottom three GOGD releases of all time (no, Dylan & the Dead is not the third part of the equation). Uninspired playing, really bad singing and way too drugged out, sloppy bordering on frightening and probably scared me away from '78 and all points after for years. Then again, I haven't watched or listened to either of them since my convertion and today I probably love 'em both more than life itself
I was ripping my DVD box set a few weeks ago and found an error in my copy of the Grateful Dead Movie. Total bummer because I have the Blu-Ray too, but I don't have a bluray drive on my computer so I can't rip it instead. I had to find it via other means, but since I already bought it twice I don't feel bad about it.
I love the lyrics, perfectly described by the words I quoted over here. And I also find the melody on the plus-side of pretty ok. It reminds me of the Band because the words convey hidden meanings in a way that still makes perfect sense. Maybe I'm just reaching here...
