Apologies if this has been covered. Listening to Portland ‘74 and vocals are extremely distant for many songs. Anyone else hearing this or should I check my setup?
'74 is probably my favorite year overall. A lot of that has to do with the soundboard mixing. '73 shows a lot more development however, and of course the jazz. '74 has more funk and I find myself enjoying the Rock and Roll circus of it all.
Oh, we're ranking years now? Game ON, friends: 72 = good band becomes great 74-77 = great band becomes the greatest band ever 77-85 - still the greatest band ever Sure, it's a large span of time, but 95% of my Dead listening happens between 72 and 85. And that remaining 5% is pretty much Two From the Vault, Live / Dead, and Spring 90 (Wake Up To Find Out, Disc 2 is one of my most often played of all the officially released Dead discs)
PSA: 26 June 1973- The transition from The Other One > Me & Bobby McGee is sublime. You are now being returned to your regular reality.
Listening to 6-22-73 jam. Again. The vibe of the jam is so intimate and each band member takes their time to get to where they want to go. Feels more like a practice session in a living room than a concert with 10,000 people.
Where's the Dark Star? (And yes, I know the real lyric). Or, to paraphrase Led Zeppelin, "where's that confounded Dark Star?"
I tried to be smart and purchased the 3CD sampler. I hadn't even finished the third disc when I was placing a full box order at the Dead store. The 1973 portion of the collection has blown my head off. After having my third ear opened to the slowly unrolling, reflexive playing of '77 (Get Shown the Light and Dick's Picks 15) I have become very sensitive to their subtle and mellow side. And these June shows seem to me the epitome of the subtlety in rock music. Can anyone explain why we have waited for so long for an official release of mid-1973 shows?
They left the Dark Star off the sampler, didn't they? They waited to get some of these tapes back through ABCD, LLC. Worth the wait, but let's get real- we need more '73 shows!
To add to the 72 vs 73 vs 74 chat. To my ear comes down to equipment and mainly Jerry's guitar tone. IMO he never sounded better than when playing a strat though fender amps. The Nash Strat especially! In 73 custom equipment started to creep in and the sound became less raw and of course 74 was crystal clear w/almost zero overdrive. So while I love 73 and 74, there's nothing that touches 72 IMO. Especially the perfection of Europe 72 when you still had Pig Pen, Keith was in top form and they were playing like their lives depended on it....Nothing Better!
There are at least a dozen 73 shows that are easily worthy of an official release. An embarrassment of riches still to come from that year.
