Thanks a lot for following up and letting us know what he wrote, and thanks to him for replying in detail. I like that he chose the converter for the sound rather than the HDCD, and even though he used the peak extension lightly for a while, he gave it up when he decided that the sound difference for non-HDCD listeners was not worth it. Always nice to hear that the person working on the recordings is just concerned with the sound rather than having features used.
I would agree with that assessment. If 6/4 circulated in SBD I think there would be a mix up in the rankings. For me I always find my self reaching for the last week of May (5/21, 22, 25, 28) more than I do the Winterland run in June. Not knocking the run, it's just I don't find myself there all the time while listening to that era.
OK I am listening to that Cosmic Charlie for the 4th time, because I keep getting distracted. It is pretty good--I wouldn't say it's so cracking that it's converted me to fanhood of the song or whatever, but it's definitely pretty good.
Today I listened, for the first time since this past summer at some point, to Dark Star from 4/24/1972. Maybe it's partly because I have heard it more recently, but I'm almost tempted to go with Archtop and convert from my favorite being 4/8 to this one. There are so many cracking sections, and MAMU is a good move because they reset Dark Star and come back to it refreshed, it begins with a moody section much like the post-verse Space they often do, which is a totally different feel than they left it at. This has been one of my favorites for years, as has 4/8. I think I discovered both of them at exactly the same time, and they both were instant favorites. I can't say why but for some reason, however, I have always felt slightly more of an attraction to the 4/8 one. I don't know that I ever thought it was better, exactly, but it has had a slightly more cherished place in my heart, although both are in my top 5 and indeed probably in my top two. I think they're both at the level of greatness where it's hard to really choose a better one. I think the beginning of 4/8, and the way it sets me up for the rest of it, partly explains my usual preference. There's something both very heavy yet also slightly somewhat tentative about the way that one begins, like a heavy sky pregnant with a rainstorm. In both cases the opening riff is played very fast compared to a year later, but once it gets underway, 4/8 has a sense of taking it's time and setting a scene in very dramatic fashion. It's definitely a question of mood, and the consequent emotional attachment I have to each version. 4/24 is arguably a little more engaging intellectually, whereas 4/8 has a very heavy feeling (although in some ways they're similar in that regard).
Moi? In general, I don't care for Phil's bass soloing - they sound almost purposefully abstract to me and hence, somewhat contrived. Phil is a master listener and improviser, so he works best in an interactive setting. As for the end of DS on 2/15/73, Phil's solo isn't pointless, but it is basically what I describe above to my ears. However, just before the beginning of Eyes (after the bass solo), we get about 45 seconds of Phil and Jerry with Billy's hi-hat and that moment is among the best things one can ever hear. [Edit:] I should add that by soloing, I mean that in the literal sense of the word, not in the sense of "Jerry's solo on Big River is great." In contrast, the "lead lines" that Phil plays on some of the jams out of Eyes, particularly in '73 and '74, are fantastic. He hammers the Major 7th.
The 5/2/70 Harpur College version (Dick's 8) is stunning - it comes out of the most intense Cryptical reprise I’ve ever heard the boys play. Probably as strong a sequence as the epic close to that legendary show.
Can you still climb through the balcony level restroom window onto the tiny wrought iron porch overlooking the alley (and smoke Chicago-size J's with your new local best friends)?
A+ stuff here. Although I'm unsure of my authority to do so, I declare you winner of the thread. Mr. Norman's reply to you confirms something I read in the Dead.net comments a while back and repeated here, or somewhere, i.e., they shouldn't tout HDCD because they're not using peak extend. But really, as long as Jeff keeps doing what he does on these, they can call it Sensurround or Vistavision for all I care.
Thanks for asking that question and passing it along @Stone Turntable You do make a strong point about people being confused by it thinking they are missing out on something that isn't really there.
After 3 fingers of fine 18 year Single Malt and a visit or two from Puff the Magic Dragon....everything is in HDCD. Lols.
I still say that as a Grateful Dead fan, it's best to have an HDCD player since there are releases that use the features. Plus, on other releases such as Tom Petty's Playback boxset or The Cars HDCD albums, heavy use of peak extend and filtering settings result in dramatically better sound when decoded.
I fully agree.......I like 6/7 and 6/8 better (same Winterland run). They both have that "spark" and 6/9 doesn't seem to have it, even though....yeah, it's good and like some other GD periods it's kind of like complaining about spots on the sun, but............
I believe the first time I saw the bean was fall of 75 with the garcia Hopkins band. I worked for a band and the guitar player had one. It weighed a ton but always stayed in tune due to the aircraft aluminum neck even in the winter.
Final conclusions on Tivoli night #2, 4/17/72: The first two sets have many highlights and are unique in that songs such as One More Saturday Night, Casey Jones, and Truckin' are played at seemingly random placement within the setlist. This is likely due to the TV broadcast. Opening the gig with "Cold Rain and Snow" is a big plus and the Johnny Be Goode ending is fun and unique for the tour. However, the big jam during set three is not quite as amazing as the best shows of the tour. "Dark Star" has some really nice gentle and introspective stuff in it and there is an especially nice jam after the atonal/space segment. However, as a whole it lacks the drama or narrative of the top Stars of the tour. The Caution that follows is noticeably weaker than the previous two (4/8, 4/14) renditions. The energy and groove just don't quite cook and burn enough and Pigpen sounds tired. Still, there's plenty to enjoy from this show. I would not put it in the top ten of the tour though and it's probably the "least great" of the six shows so far in my E72 adventure.
OK, this Slipknot from 6/14/1976 is absolutely outstanding in every possible way. This is almost enough to convince me to listen to 1976 more.
Well yeah, no argument about lead lines. We are intending the same thing by "soloing." I was hoping you would say "they're the greatest thing ever, if you were a bass player you'd understand" so I could convince myself that I like it. I don't get much out of the solo parts, although sometimes the "Philo Stomp" is pretty heavy.
Please do. The tempos may be languid (thanks JGB), but the playing is often very creative and inspired. Admittedly, it's not the place to look when you want the GD to "rock out" - Dick's Picks 33 excepted, of course. I'll take the lovely sound '76 sound over the cocaine-arena rock, screaming vocals '78 sound any day. Okay, okay, sometimes it's fun to listen to that '78 sound...
The thing with Sunrise, and the same with LLR and Cassidy, even Touch to a certain extent, is that Jerry seems to go into an extra gear when there's a solo with a specific, largely unchanging number of measures. It's entirely different from his ambient/open-ended playing in a way that I really dig. There's a sense of urgency and an idea that is heading towards an anticipated/planned moment. I don't know if that makes sense, but it's one of my favorite aspects of Jerry's playing.
To me the problem is not the tempos but the somewhat languid feel (as opposed to "pace") of a lot of the shows.
Also Foolish Heart and Estimated, although I don't think (I may be wrong) there's a set number of measures in those, I think the effect is much like you're describing--he has a task, to bring the solo section to a peak, and the structure is more or less set. Although forgive me if that's not in the same vein as you are intending.
I didn't get here until the afternoon today apart from the odd look-in, and that's enough to be buried. I have to read this thread several times a day to keep up! It's a good problem to have, though. But if there's ever a blackout for a few days I will be in serious trouble...
I don't get a lot of internet time on the weekend. Not that I'm complaining, I appreciate the family time and the break from screens to do, y'know, outside stuff from time to time. But I agree, it can't be slightly overwhelming on Monday morning to see 12 new pages added over the weekend. But like you said, it's a really good problem to have. So many great folks here make this one of my absolute favorite little corners of the internet.
