Nice review of Phil show in the NY Times... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/a...ds-at-the-brooklyn-academy-of-music.html?_r=0
I always liked Jerry's "Tangled Up In Blue." I've never been a huge fan of the Dead's Dylan covers (of the Chuck Berry songs for that matter). For me most of them are just over-played and boring. I also feel a bit shortchanged when a show has 2 or more Chuck Berry songs. YMMV, obviously.
Word. "Promised Land", "Around & Around" and "Johnny B. Goode" are all the same song, anyway, right? Snoozers, for sure.
great idea for a thread! I would love to get some info for (officially released) Dead/JGB shows beyond what I own---which is nothing from Dick' picks, dave's picks, road trips: Here is my Dead collection: so anything essential I am missing please advise! Golden Road (12 cd box set) Beyond description (12 Cd box set) Jerry Garcia---All good things 6 CD box set One from the vault Two from the vault It's interesting. Most people would say I've got a huge, pretty expansive collection, but with the Dead there is so much to explore!
Winterland 1973 box is essential in my book... EDIT: and Winterland 77, and May 1977, and Europe 72...
I would get the Fillmore 1969 3CD set, which is still available at a reasonable price. For a taste of latter-day live Dead, the 'So Glad You Came' compilation from the Spring 1990 box is pretty good. I also see 'To Terrapin' still in stores, which is a live show from Hartford in 1977 and serves as a great intro to that era. Finally, 'Sunshine Daydream', 8-27-72 is still on most shelves. Based on any and all of those, just dive in where it sounds best to you. There's something to love on just about every Dick's Pick, Dave's Pick, Road Trips or vault release. But beware, your wallet will suffer ...
Listening today to 2/15/1973 from the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, WI. I love how Phil just dominates Dark Star with his bass solo that then flows so well into Eyes of the World. The China > Rider in the first set, while missing the "Feelin' Groovy" bridge from 73-74, really rips as well.
Anything that has Help/Slip/Frank, Terrapin, Dark Star, The Other One, Uncle John's Band, or Crazy Fingers on it - for starters.... For latter day Dead I don't think you can go wrong with Without A Net, IMO.
A few years ago I heard a version of Around & Around that actually grabbed my attention. I was shocked. I think it was from Chicago '76, but I never bothered to seek it out because, well, it was Around & Around and it wasn't worth it.
I would say start with the Sunshine Daydream (8/27/72), which was recently released and easy to find, and one of the most well known, well regarded shows of all time. After that, the Ladies and Gentlemen... set from Fillmore East '71, and the Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders et al. Keystone box set, the 3CD Fillmore '69 set, and either of the GD Winterland boxes. But really, you can't go too wrong with whatever you can find for a decent price, and all of the suggestions you've been given are good ones.; once you have a better handle on particular eras you like best, you could then hunt down harder to find releases that you are most interested in. Also, be aware that new limited edition releases often sell out FAST. Consider a Dave's Picks subscription for next year (available starting sometime in November), as it is a great bargain and you get a bonus disc and are guaranteed to get releases that otherwise often sell out in a few days (or even one day, which is what happened to the most recent release), plus subscribers pay less for each release.
I disagree, but I'm a big fan of Chuck Berry and the Stones (who, of course, do his stuff a bit more accurately). Well, post-Donna era, Around & Around became more than a bit perfunctory (although I think for a brief period around Spring '90 it got more interesting again), but otherwise, it's fun to hear Jerry rip on some double note lead lines. Promised Land has some nice harmony vocals from Jerry as well - I love it when he doubles up Weir's lead vocals with a harmony line, like on this tune and some of the earlier, and better, versions of When I Paint My Masterpiece and Desolation Row. "Had to be held down by big police!"
I always think of Around & Around, Promised land, Me & My Uncle etc... as moments where the Dead can kind of cool off a little bit, and not try to reach for the stars on an extended jam. With their long shows, they needed moments like this, just to recharge their batteries and play a good old 4 minute rock n' roll song.
A big YES to both of these suggestions. Ladies and Gentlemen is a SUPER SOLID release. I can't say enough good things about it. And SSDD, well, just trust us. It's money well spent.
I'm not saying I don't like Chuck or the Stones (just to clarify), I just think the Dead WAY overdid the Chuck Berry tunes. I actually really like their version of The Last Time, although It's All Over Now it a bit monotonous to me.
I see your point. As with the Dylan covers, more than one per show can be a bit too much. I am fine with a high Dylan quotient in the solo Jerry, though. Funny, I feel pretty much the opposite re: Last Time vs. It's All Over Now, but the era when they started playing the former probably has a lot to do with it,
It was also done in the 60s, except Bob sang it. We know this from interviews. No tapes unfortunately
7.16.90 Rich Stadium Killer summer... Set 1 Hell In A Bucket Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo Blow Away Mama Tried -> Mexicali Blues Loose Lucy It's All Over Now High Time Let It Grow -> Don't Ease Me In Set 2 Sugar Magnolia -> Scarlet Begonias -> Man Smart, Woman Smarter Ship Of Fools Truckin' -> Jam -> Drums -> Space -> The Wheel -> Gimme Some Lovin' -> Wharf Rat -> Around And Around -> Sunshine Daydream Encore Brokedown Palace
Deadbase lists it on 1/7/66 at the Matrix, but it is not posted on the Archive. Dylan had only released it 10 months earlier on BIABH. Once Dylan got out of the "folkie" stuff and into electric is when he apparently grabbed Jerry's attention... “I never used to like Bob Dylan until he came out with an electric music. And I’m not sure why I like that more. I sure liked it a lot more. Boy, when Bringing It All Back Home came out. Yeah, lovely. Very fine guitar player. [Bruce Langhorne] It just all of a sudden had something going for it. And Bob Dylan was getting a little less heavy. He was having a little more fun…and that was a nice change. And I remember another thing that turned me on a lot was when I saw Bob Dylan on television, on the Les Crane show. [February 1965] When he went on there and sang those songs, you know, and just rapped insanely. Beautiful mad stuff. And that turned us all on, we couldn’t believe it.” “I dug his stuff really from Bringing It All Back Home. Back in the folk music days I couldn’t really dig this stuff, but on Bringing It All Back Home he was really saying something that I could dig, that was relevant to what was going on in my life at the time.”
Re Chuck Berry I saw a great show in Greensboro, NC in 1991 where the 2nd set had a powerful 1-2 Chuck punch of Around & Around -> Johnny B. Goode. Lots of great stuff beforehand. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~./gdead/dead-sets/91/3-31-91.txt The next night was even better
Any general comments on this show and the SQ of this release? I have been eyeing this for a while but still have it gotten to it. 76 is a different animal so I am pretty curious about it. I am sure I am forgetting something but other than One From the Vault, I can't think of another release with Crazy Fingers on it.