I just stopped by because I want to say: Loser should be more recognized (outside of among raving lunatic fanatics like most of us here) as one of the crowning achievements of the Garcia/Hunter song catalog. An unreliable, either self-deluded or trying transparently to delude or both, narrator and so many great lines, nifty melody and great riff (much like a slowed down Jack-A-Roe, actually). One of my favorite lines "come to daddy, on an insight straight." Obviously, Hunter knows his poker and the unspoken odds of that inside straight just make it a great line. Anyway, maybe it's the wine talking, and perhaps not coincidentally, Garcia accidentally sings the "drinking that wine" at least once too often in this Austin 12/15/71 version, but I gotta testify while the testifyin' iron is hot.
Wow, I know that many have commented on it before, but it is fascinating how on 5/3/72 the band "disobeys" Phil's drop into The Other One several times while they continue on an ambient swell theme. When they finally join in to the mayhem it gets quite intense for a few minutes. Then they drop into silence for a Phil/Bobby duo (w/ Pigpen Hammond swells). When Jerry and Keith rejoin the improv is at a dizzying high. ...and this all happens only in the opening half of an hour-long jam sequence! Disc 3 of this release may be in the top 10 discs of the Trunk box. Top 20 without question! Considering how hot the other three discs are, it's no surprise that this show is in many fan's top five from the Europe '72 tour. This is a very interesting "Other One" based-set, since other than the drum solo, you get A LOT OF PHIL with the other musicians dropping in and out.
On behalf of all us Grateful Threaders, we love you too Crispy R. Oh, and I agree with you about "Loser", of course.
Enjoy! That's It for The Other One is fierce and out-of-control, and the Dark Star, well... legendary. Yet, I enjoy the other three shows from that run even more.
The original press release said they plan on releasing all 4 shows on vinyl so I’ll have to get the others now as well
This show circulated on tape way back in the day, I got mine in the very early 80's, and has been a long-time favorite. Mind expanding.
My Media Player notes are "~4:30-Phil @6:43, 6-7x later 8:00, they arrive." It's funny because Phil is quite insistent from 6:43-7:15 or so and then basically gives up and when Jerry finally acquiesces around 7:35, Phil's completely ambivalent and just ignores him. Well, sort of. But he's power-playing there. I think.
Had an itch last night to listen to 4-8-72 second set and it did not disappoint. The underrated gem of this set must be the Hurts Me Too. Jerry’s slide guitar soars through the room and the band turns the song into a raucous stomp. Just awesome. The Dark Star is certainly epic and is so precise that compared to most versions it truly sounds as if it was rehearsed with the notes laid out on pages in front of the band. If it had a flaw it would be that it’s too perfect - if that’s a thing! It really is a breathtaking version and goes to so many wonderful places. I love the Sugar Magnolia that follows as (not surprisingly) it has more spring in its step than usual. The Caution is at good as it gets. Certainly of the great ones they’ve played. Jerry is utterly possessed for most of it. I was envisioning him looking straight at the rest of the band rocking out and propelling the band to move deeper and deeper into the music. Not surprised the Hundred Year Hall release was between this and the 4-26-72 show. Tough to pick a favorite between them so I won’t!
I listened to that Dark Star yesterday. Marvelous. My only quibble is that it's not quite perfect - after the meltdown, I feel as if Jerry's just a bit too anxious to show us the light. At 28:03, he's already announcing the departure from the darkness, but I would have preferred that he let the melt linger a bit longer so Phil's final rumble could fade a bit as the ending to that. Very minor stuff and I can certainly live with it as it is. I think you must mean 4/24/72 (Rockin' the Rhein (with an even better Dark Star!!!)) here, as 4/26 is Hundred Year Hall. 4/24 also boasts the best Playin' of the tour, so it's a keeper.
I’d love to hear how the new vinyl compares to the sound of past mixes especially since it’s gone through the Plangent Process. No versions out there sound bad. It’s possible that my favorites from this historic run may be the Charlie Miller ones available online. The drums have a vibrancy to them compared to the others.
Well to do it right you’d have to stand with both hands resting on the edge of a chin high dresser or filing cabinet; but then I’m sure you did just that!
When they were debating in 1995 which show to release from the tour it was basically a tie between 4-8-72 and 4-26-72 I recall reading...4-26 edged it out due to the uniqueness of the Lovelight jam according to Phil...soon after Hundred Year Hall came out Dick gave the 4-8-72 to Gans to play on the radio which was mighty kind of him!
Here's what I don't understand about the Dead vinyl releases (and a minor quibble)... but given how much attention they put into everything... and given the fact they know their fans will buy it... why not take the time to do AAA? This is one band who has preserved their reels and for which this would be possible. I bought 5.8.77... I'm holding off on 2.27.69 (though I'm sure I'll buckle soon enough).
The best thing about 4/26 is them playing NFA and GDTRFB at the same time and just when you're convinced they'll play NFA, they don't.
A lot of those tapes were stored in less than ideal conditions and aren't in perfect shape. I think that a lot of the tapes also need baking before they will play, and then only for a limited time before they become unusable again. It's easier to transfer them to digital and then have as much time as they need to do the necessary editing, bug fixing etc. Also, they transfer using the plangent process which corrects the wow and flutter in those fragile tapes.
AAA vinyl would be amazing...I’m guessing the people involved in the releases feel much more comfortable doing any mixing / mastering in the digital realm as opposed to analog. Things like Plangent Process is a digital process for example. My big issue with modern day vinyl releases is the variability with the actual pressings. You either get a great one or you don’t. For that reason I’m *really* hoping they one day put out 24 bit hi-res files of the Plangent Process 69 Fillmore West run.
Fair enough. I guess I'm just thinking if you have Live/Dead, and you have the Fillmore West Box, then this would be an added bone to get me to buy this once again.
It’s my wife’s favorite GD song by far. She has tangential exposure to the GOGD at best. Saw them twice, the second time with me when we were first dating. I don’t think she plays them much if ever on her own although she asked to have a few things GD on her phone. Point being this must have struck a chord with her to your point. I think a ‘72 version tends to get the most likes in the house. The runner up favorite song is MAMU in case you were wondering.
When I think of what are the best E72 shows based on the entire show - set 1 thru the encore 4/26 and 5/3 are my tops. I know most/all second sets from the tour are consistently amazing but I am talking first song to last. Discuss - YMMV!
Hands down my favorite “Sugar Magnolia.” The “song” part is rough at times, but mostly I just wait for Jerry’s solo, which feels like one of the happiest pieces of music ever. Or I feel so happy while it’s playing. Just irresistible. And now I can’t not get my hopes up every time a “Sugar Magnolia” appears.
