I've barely listened to the Grateful Dead this week, but just wrapped up my first ever listen to Jerry's All Good Things box. I'm looking forward to exploring the big booklet sometime soon, but I have to say the music was worth the small investment earlier this spring. And the fact that it's more than 50 percent bonus material is a treat. The only albums here that I knew before a week ago were Garcia (after 20-plus years I'm still not crazy about the "experimental stuff, but the songs are unimpeachable) and Reflections (picked up last summer and liked but didn't love until this week, and now I think it's the best of the bunch). Compliments is like a less essential and less revealing Jerry version of Self Portrait. I enjoyed it, but I can't say it's likely to see a whole lot of action. Run for the Roses barely left an impression. Cats Under the Stars, which I've now listened to twice, is surprisingly self-effacing. The longest track is a Donna showcase. As for the bonus stuff, I think this is ultimately where the box is at its most valuable. The stuff for the first album is fine, nothing terribly thrilling. The Compliments bonus tracks are basically an extension of the album -- good covers, a surprising amount of nice blues playing. Reflections has some good extras, like Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie and Fats Domino's All By Myself. I think the Run for the Roses bonus tracks are better than the album (probably doesn't hurt that they include two Dylan classics, Dear Prudence, Alabama Getaway, and Fennario). And there's an enjoyable and very listenable full disc of extras, mostly alternate takes but also some more off-the-cuff covers. I wish there was a better version of Warren Zevon's Accidentally Like a Martyr, which it turns out has an ideal Jerry melody. Also on that disc is My Sisters and Brothers, which brings me back to Cats Under the Stars, which has maybe my favorite bonus material in the whole box. I'm a big fan of Don't Let Go and The Way You Do the Things You Do, but I'll Be with Thee and Mighty High are real revelations for me. I've seen over the years I don't know how many references to a "gospel" element in the Keith/Donna/Maria Muldaur JGB era, and always kind of brushed it off, but my, have I ever been converted. How much more of this gospel stuff was in their repertoire? I'm a big(ger than you might expect) fan of postwar gospel, and this is really something you don't get from the Grateful Dead. I've not gotten into the JGB at all, but I've also never tried. This gospel stuff might be a good point of entry for me. Recommendations for further listening are more than welcome! Oh, and there was naturally a bonus disc for early buyers with four extra songs on it, which I don't "have" in the material sense, but... all 16 minutes of Visions of Johanna are glorious. It'll be American Beauty tonight, the way I first heard it -- minus some terrible radio static throughout Attics of My Life -- my head on a pillow and my headphones on. Happy August 9, everyone.
Great story! Thanks for sharing. Actually if you don’t mind me asking, I’m curious why you were waffling about sharing it. After reading that I was expecting it to include something illicit or perhaps embarrassing.
30 Trips 1967/1977/1987 This 1987 show is just outstanding. I think it's better than the 77 show. Short 1st set, but Bucket>Sugaree, Candyman, and Bird Song are all magnificent. Even Walkin' Blues and Masterpiece are solid and those aren't generally songs I love. 2nd set is also top-notch. Shakedown, Terrapin Station, GDTRFB, an incredible Morning Dew, not to mention the Good Lovin>La Bamba>Good Lovin burrito at the end of the show. Looks to be something that only happened four times, all in September, 1987. I may have to seek out those other three tasty treats sometime soon. 4/25/77 is a great show as well. Started with really strong versions of Minglewood and Deal. Loved the Peggy-O. The whole second set is great too. All you need to know: Terrapin Station>Playing In The Band>Drums>Wharf Rat>Playing In The Band 11/10/67 is just exactly perfect.
Just got my music only 30 Trips Box from Amazon today and it has box cutter slashes on about half of the 30 digipaks. Went to request a replacement through Amazon and the box is no longer for sale. Better then not having it I guess, but what a disappointment.
From what I can tell, both China--> Rider and Eyes from the GD Movie Soundtrack are from 10/16/74. I'll have to seek out 10/20 at my usual re.lis.ten.type.of.s.ite.s instead of this gnarly, silly btree.wtf stuff. Dammit Jim, I'm a musician, not an audiophile!
I don't know that there's a show with a ton of gospel. This is very good and has "I'll Be With Thee": Pure Jerry: Warner Theatre, March 18, 1978 - Wikipedia And the 1991 album has a great version of Sisters and Brothers
Sorry to read that, that’s a bummer. When it’s direct from Amazon they often offer some kind of discount if a replacement isn’t possible. I’m not sure if that would be possible since it’s a third-party seller, but might be worth a try (if you haven’t already).
Trying that now with an email to WarnerMarket through Amazon first, so we will see what happens. Will try Amazon directly after that. It is starting to get very frustrating with how bad dead.net’s quality control is getting. My last 2 DaP volumes have been damaged in shipping now this. Have a few old DaP with the box cutter damage as well. These issues are part of the reason I haven’t order the Pacific Northwest box yet.
My Dave's 16 arrived with one of the plastic trays having a nasty crack at the top. Otherwise I've had really good luck, especially since they stopped using media mail [sound of foghorn in the distance].
Does it look like a thin little white nick on the edge of the cardboard show case? I've discovered quite a few on my set as well. At first I thought that it was glue or a white speck, but when scuffing at it with my fingernail it seemed to widen/worsen the white mark so I've left them alone. Oh well, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. While I'm not too bothered about a small white mark on the edge of the cases, I am worried that there could be missing or damaged discs. So far, I've unsealed ten of them and no problems, but I should probably keep going.
I raved about the 1994 and 1995 30 Trips shows, but the 1993 (3/27/93) selection is just okay. I haven't made it to the post-drums part yet, but so far I'd say that it's good but not exceptional. I'm not sure why this show was picked, but it's likely due to the "Comes a Time", which admittedly is a strong rendition. Also, it has the unique twist of the 2nd set starting with "Eyes of the World", then going into "Estimated Prophet" instead of the other way around which was done dozens if not hundreds of times, of course. Don't get your hopes up - there's no "jam" between Eyes and Estimated. They just kind of stop and start again. The Estimated is a pretty good while the Eyes is average. The "Drums" was fairly boring, unlike the '94 and '95 shows where Drums was quite good.
I also really like the early '68, but then they seem to take another leap forward with the 6/14 Fillmore East, where legend has it they were challenged by a fantastic set from Jeff Beck & Rod Stewart, and proceeded to burn the house down. The fact that it's a lo-fi AUD just adds to the character of the performance. Fillmore West 8/21 is where they began the Dark Star>St. Stephen>The Eleven sequence, and the subsequent run at the Shrine in LA (especially 8/23) and Betty Nelson's Organic Raspberry Farm 9/2 continue their winning streak. 10/20 is a good one that came out in the 30 Trips box. And then the 11/1 Chico show, despite some tape degradation, is another searing, beautiful performance. Don't miss it. But 10/12 is my favorite of all. Love the poster, too. As it happened, Jimi Hendrix was at Winterland that week (recordings available in his Winterland box), and Cream had just played Oakland on 10/4 (available on bootleg). The Dead did not have a gig on the 4th (played Sacramento on the 5th), and were home playing the Matrix and the Avalon while Jimi was in town. Is it possible that Jerry and some of the boys had gone to see both acts, and were feeling an extra dose of competitive inspiration? Why, yes. I wonder. The story goes that Jimi had even arranged to come see the Dead on the 13th, and maybe jam. Some say that he showed up ready to play, but the Dead never waved him out from the wings. We don't know whether he actually made it, but I think something really must have been in the air. 10/13 has the same setlist, and a similar performance, but 10/12 is The One. The Dead were definitely feeling it that night.
The version of Magnificent Sanctuary Band is quite good too, although not Donny Hathaway level. It’s still mighty fine. Cats is hands down my favorite solo Garcia record and the studio album (GD or GD adjacent) I listen to more than any other. The original album is gangbusters and the bonus material just takes it up another notch.
You know, that is what is so impressive. I can be on the porch barbecuing pork necks, listening to an audience tape of a '93 show on my dumbphone and find myself immersed. Of course I love my GD big and bold, but sometimes a performance transcends gear limitations. When @warewolf95 dimension shifts on a show through $10 earbuds while soaking up the Starbucks ambience, you know his face would full melt at home on a big rig
Do you love listening the show from your birth day? I like listening to 10/18/74 Dark Star because it my birthday! (21 years later from that show) Is there any other great show that happend in October 18?
Insomnia has brought me to the 1992 30 Trips show from Ontario, Canada (3/20/92). This is more like it! The 93 show was good but a bit average, however, the first set of the '92 show has been excellent. I'd put it a tiny notch below the 94 and 95 first sets, but not by much. Looking at the set list from the second set, I think that I'm in for a treat! Bruce Hornsby really was their not-so-secret weapon back then.
In 1976 shows, Donna would sing Dorothy Love Coates' 'Strange Man,' more of a Donna showcase than a Garcia piece -- but check out their version of 'Who Was John': The JGB also frequently did 'Mighty High' live in '76, and 'My Sisters and Brothers' up through the '90s.
Those are the marks I am talking about. If you look at the box the cd’s came in you can see the slashes through the small horizontal box flaps at the top and bottom of the box. You would think by now they would find something a little safer to use to open new shipments since this has been an issue at times since the 3rd year of the DaP series.
Actually, this discussion probably is better off in the other thread. I'd just note that the frequent multitracking they did, at the same time as doing 2-track recording mixes, FOH mixes, and monitor mixes, means some method of 4-way splitting had to be going on. In any event, this is all just semi-informed guesswork by me. I originally thought that all SBDs were done the way Bear originally did them, simply by taping off the output of his FOH mix.
