Grateful Dead on vinyl.

Hi everyone,

Since the arrival of a turntable in my house, I must admit I haven't played one cd anymore.

I was wondering, since being a DeadHead for not too long, what lp's can you recommend from The Grateful Dead. I am looking for pressings which sound better then their cd counterpart, and I am most interested in the live stuff.

I hope you guys can help me. As I did with cd's, I am always looking to add the best sounding pressings to my collection.

Thanx in advance, Grendel.

 

We'll start you with a no-brainer: the first issue/original mix of "Aoxomoxoa". It's significantly different, much weirder and (in my opinion) vastly superior to the latter mix found on subsequent LP reissues & CDs. The album was (originally) mixed under the influence of Nitrous Oxide, if I recall correctly.

 

Start with these four:

Workingman's Dead
American Beauty
Wake of the Flood
Blues for Allah

Later, Chris

 

Since you are interested in live recordings, let me just say I do not recommend Dead Set on vinyl. Some tracks sound better than others, but overall mediocre to poor sounding. FWIW my copy was cut @ Masterfonics and I've got no other version of the recording to compare it against. I just know I prefer the sound of the other live Dead I have on cd (Closing Of Winterland, Dozing At The Nick, Go To Nassau, etc). In fact, I'd say live Dead is a good reason to keep your cd player in service

My WB green label Workingman's Dead sounds fabulous, and my original Artisan cut of Blues For Allah also sounds very good. I find the sound hit and miss on my WB watermark label pressing of What A Long Strange Trip It's Been. Not sure if this is a general indictment of later pressings or just that some of the early albums from which the comp was drawn don't sound that good to begin with since I don't have alternate sources for a lot of the early WB material.

I have heard good things about the recent Rhino boxset reissuing all the WB studio recordings, but I haven't heard it myself.

 

Live Dead, Without A Net are other options for live GD on Vinyl. W/O a Net is tough to find though...OOP.

The re-issue of Shakedown Street sounds pretty good to my ears. Still need to compare to the original though.

 

The gold label mono mix of the debut is the way to hear that album. It's recently been reissued, but I haven't heard it to have an opinion.

Agree with the original mix of Aoxomoxoa.

 

Over the last year and in the next few months, there are a ton of new Grateful Dead releases on vinyl. As far as live goes, I'd recommend:

Live/Dead - Mofi is reissuing this in the next month or so. Before that, Rhino reissued it. An absolute must have. (1969)

Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses) - Also being reissued by Mofi in the next month or so (1971)

Europe '72 - 3 record set has sounded great in many pressings. Essential (1972)

Reckoning - Acoustic set from the Fall Tour of 1980. Wonderful sounding and great performances.

 

Thanx for all the help sofar. I guess I'll keep my eyes on the upcoming MoFi's for sure. I forgot to mention I have Europe '72 on vinyl and it sounds great! I was planning on grabbing Live/Dead, but I will wait for the MoFi..

 

Go w Green label Warner pressings for all material through 72, try for w7 green labels for everything up through Live Dead
Im not a reissue guy, but Ive never heard of the above mentioned copies being bested.

 

American Beauty is one of the most satisfying vinyl listens I can think of. Look for the olive green label.

 

Audio Fidelity are also releasing some GD on vinyl. But I am not sure if they have any Live versions in the pipeline. Just bought "Blues For Allah" on 180 G limited numbered vinyl........

 

Don't forget From The Mars Hotel, either the WB original or if you can't find a near mint copy the MoFi, but that is the second best choice imo. Something did not gel with the MFSL copy I heard...couldn't hold a candle vs the excellent WG LP I had in the days...
These GD albums sounded really good when they came out on Warner Bros.
Expect at least the Live In Europe 3 LP quality

 

American Beauty
Workingman's Dead
Wake Of The Flood
Europe 72

 

I would suggest this one! MoFi will probably do a good job with it, but my original pressing is hard to beat. I love the performances on this release. Part of it might be nostalgia as it was the first GD release I got. I saw them for the first time at the Fox Theater in St. Louis in 1972.

 

If you don't have time or inclination to search out originals, the recent box set by Warner is worth a look.

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/6...rner_Bros_Studio_Albums-180_Gram_Vinyl_Record

 

Mars Hotel was on Grateful Dead Records.

 

I'd recommend this box set as well. I don't have the originals to compare, but I think it sounds great! 100% analog pressings from the original master tapes.

 

+2 Nice set for a fair price.

 

Agree with this. I preferred my originals after hearing the Rhino vinyl box set.

 

American Beauty on the Green label is better than the Rhino reissue to my ears. Interestingly, the reissue is brighter; the guitar sounds twangier if you like that. . .

 

Two words: Live Dead
Look for the original W7 pressing for a superior listening experience.

I like the late 60's "primal" era, so I'm going to say:
Aoxomoxoa W7 press only, Anthem Of The Sun, and Grateful Dead a/k/a Skull & Roses.

Phil Lesh remixed Anthem in the mid-70's, the remix has WB "Burbank" labels and came in a white cover, Lesh sucked the life out of it, luckly he only remixed side one. It's worse than the Aoxomoxoa remix from '71.

 

I was told years ago that the Warner reissue on the beige label from the 80's (not the Rhino) was superior to the earlier green label. Hard for me to believe, but I did score a minty copy of this reissue. Will listen soon.

 

Usually pretty pricey, but IMHO the first MFSL vinyl pressing of "American Beauty" sounds fantastic!


And as for "Workingman's Dead", though I doubt it sounds as good as an original Green Label (a copy of which I have recently acquired but have yet to wet-vacuum clean), I have a "Palm Trees" label reissue of it, pressed at Capitol's Hollywood plant, that I think sounds really, really good

 

I listen to my vinyl copy of Reckoning all the time. Fantastic.

 

The Warner green label Workingman's Dead is superb!