The Grateful Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by JRM, Apr 11, 2014.

  1. Crazy Otto

    Crazy Otto Voodoo all night long

    Location:
    Cologne, Germany
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  2. SJR

    SJR Big Boss Man

    I’ve spent today listening to the whole run at Fillmore East, New York City, NY, 17-20/09/70. Crazy. I know.

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    Culled from various sources, and despite some rough-sounding AUD recordings for the majority, this is f u c k i n g insanely good. Just imagine if fully complete, crisp and clean soundboards of this stuff emerged?! Wild, man. So settle down easy . . .

    — — —

    Fillmore East, New York City, NY, 17/09/70:

    The acoustic debut of Box Of Rain, performed only a couple of weeks after Phil’s father’s death, is as close to the album version I’ve heard (it features the same instrumental line-up as the studio version). It’s a beauty, very sweet. It’s just a shame the recording isn’t that great. The mid-set back-to-back of Ripple, Brokedown Palace, Box Of Rain is killer.

    Again, the sound is buried, but the Dark Star shines brightly in the 2nd set, with its long strange trip into outer Space, featuring some weird squealing feedback and strange noises, a phenomenally groovy Tighten Up Jam, and a beautifully peaceful passage which drifts along and guides us back into the main theme; St. Stephen that follows, is met with wild appreciation and rocks the place to its core; then a thunderous Drums > Good Lovin’ > Drums > Good Lovin’ to close (though it does sound like UJB is being strummed after—I’m not sure if that was actually played, as there seems to be no circulating sources).

    I (Acoustic): Truckin’ (False Start), Truckin’, Monkey And The Engineer, Dark Hollow*, Friend Of The Devil*, Ripple*, Brokedown Palace, Box Of Rain*, Rosalie McFall*, Cold Jordan** > Swing Low, Sweet Chariot**.

    II (Electric): Sugar Magnolia, Dark Star > St. Stephen > Drums > Good Lovin’ > Drums > Good Lovin’, Uncle John’s Band.

    *with David Nelson on mandolin.
    **with John Dawson on vocals and David Nelson on mandolin.


    — — —

    Fillmore East, New York City, NY, 18/09/70:

    The night Jimi Hendrix died. The Dead (sort of) pay a tribute the following night, with a mind-blowing 2nd set.

    Apparently due to monitor problems, Jerry stops after two songs and abruptly exclaims, “Hold it. This is insane, man. I’m sorry, but it’s just horrible up here, really awful,” before departing the stage and letting the NRPS play their set.

    The Dead did return for their 2nd set, which was a mega-jammy delight.

    It’s fun to hear an early Sugar Magnolia with the “doo-doo-doo” backing vocal harmonies; then there’s no let up, as a pulverising TOO absolutely beats the s h i t out of you, pounding you into submission and stealing off with your face; before a stunningly slow and beautiful Brokedown Palace sees to your wounds, gently rockin’ your soul back to health; the final performance of Pig’s bluesy It’s A Man’s World features a smokin’ hot solo; then there’s the debut of Till The Morning Comes; also, a rare Operator, which are two sweet treats; a super-groovy, deep-jamming Dancing On The Street will get you dancing like no one’s watching; and the insanely brilliant, stonkin’, mega-heady St. Stephen > Not Fade Away > Good Lovin’ > Drums > Good Lovin’ sequence features some epic full-throttle, face and mind-stealing jamming that teeters right on the brink. Hold on tight. Oh my giddy aunt! Mental.

    I (Acoustic): Truckin’, Black Peter*.

    II (Electric): Casey Jones, Sugar Magnolia, Candyman, Cryptical Envelopment > Drums > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment > Brokedown Palace, It’s A Man’s World, Till The Morning Comes, Me And My Uncle, Operator, Dancing In The Street, St. Stephen > Not Fade Away > Good Lovin’ > Drums > Good Lovin’.

    E: And We Bid You Goodnight.

    *with David Nelson on mandolin.

    — — —

    Fillmore East, New York City, NY, 19/09/70:

    The 1st set offers up the final Dead performances of Silver Threads And Golden Needles, Cold Jordan, and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. But the 2nd set … whoa. Dark Star > on, is available in all of its magnificent technicolour glory thanks to a SBD source.

    “Wait a minute, wait a minute … why don’t you guys go home and f u c k somebody?”

    A totally ridiculous 2nd set with an epic, bone-rattling Morning Dew with Phil-bombs so deep they’ll cause cardiac arrhythmia and Jerry’s piercing solo, so fierce it’ll penetrate your soul and literally skull f u c k you into oblivion. Jesus wept; Pig’s final Good Mornin’ Little School Girl; a booming Cold Rain And Snow; a ferocious Easy Wind with a white-hot jam; and a quite staggering, jaw-dropping, monumentally spectacular Dark Star > St. Stephen > Not Fade Away > Turn On Your Love Light sequence that has a Darkness Jam and a China Cat Jam, and everything else you could wish for and more as it whips up into a frenzied climax. Holy sheeeeeeeee-it … that was obscene! Sheer exhilarating madness. Dumbstruck and dumbfounded. Phew! Gimme a sec … I’m not entirely sure how, or if it even can, get any better than that?! As a mere mortal this is almost indescribable. Otherworldly. Celestial. It is the sound of the Gods making love.

    “Pigpen, did you say f u c k? ... I said f u c k!”

    Outrageous. F u c k ! Indeed.

    I (Acoustic): Don’t Ease Me In, Candyman, Silver Threads And Golden Needles, Friend Of The Devil, Deep Elem Blues*, Ain’t It Crazy (The Rub), Rosalie McFall*, Cumberland Blues, New Speedway Boogie, To Lay Me Down, Cold Jordan** > Swing Low, Sweet Chariot**.

    II (Electric): Morning Dew, Me And My Uncle, Good Mornin’ Little School Girl, Cold Rain And Snow, Easy Wind, Sugar Magnolia, Dark Star > St. Stephen > Drums > Not Fade Away > Darkness Jam > China Cat Jam > Not Fade Away > Turn On Your Love Light.

    *with David Nelson on mandolin.
    **with John Dawson on vocals and David Nelson on mandolin.


    — — —

    Fillmore East, New York City, NY, 20/09/70:

    This is the morning after the wild night before. The comedown. There’s no walk of shame, here. You wake in the warm embrace of the girl (or guy) Pig demanded you to go home with last night. This is a safe and comfortable space. You’re happy. Smitten. Relax … Pour yourself a coffee. Light a smoke. Chill for a bit. Spend some quality time together. There’ll be plenty of time for more craziness later … “What I want to know, will you come with me?”

    “Ok … good evening, please welcome the Acoustic Dead” . . .

    Another magnificent show, with a particularly incredible 1st set chockablock full of mesmerising acoustic magic. It’s the best-sounding full-show of the run, too, thanks to the SBD recording. This would be one of the last all-acoustic 1st sets of the year, before dropping the format for almost a decade. There’s beautiful singing and gorgeous harmonies throughout, which all adds up to one delightfully delicious, flawless set.

    It’s Jerry-centric. Sweet, sweet Jer. Check out acoustic Big Railroad Blues, it just has to be heard—what a hoot! Ripple and To Lay Me Down (with Jerry on piano) back-to-back mid-set? My goodness … hang on, I’ve got something in my eye. Then, a Brokedown Palace to close? Christ. It also features the last performance of Truckin’ in this acoustic arrangement.

    All of it is really outstanding, with highlight after highlight. As close to perfection as it gets, this is so astonishingly beautiful, so warm and intimate, and in such breathtaking clarity, it’ll bring a tear to the eye. Goddamn it.

    Whilst the 2nd set doesn’t quite top that acoustic set, it’s well worthy of a listen—there’s an aggressive energy to this explosively raucous China > Rider; a couple of rarities follow—the rare-ish Sittin’ On Top Of The World, and a cool-groovin’ Big Boy Pete (one of only five the Dead played, and I think the only one I’ve ever heard. What’s that played afterwards, the little tune-up—it’s beautiful); a swirling psychedelic MAMU; bettering the night before—a flat-out insane, relentlessly bluesy, face-melting Easy Wind crackles with electrifying creativity; a wah-wah heavy Sugar Magnolia; a drop-dead gorgeous Attics highlights the harmonious side of the Dead perfectly; a quite unique and interestingly arranged, monolithic NFA swings and grooves, building in intensity, before opening a portal to the underworld and surrendering to; Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks) > Feedback, a blisteringly powerful demented demon, that is so sick and perverted, there is no escape from its rage—you’re helpless as it pins you to the spot and forces you to watch in abject horror whilst it goes on a murderous rampage destroying your whole family and demolishing all you hold dear before slowly turning its sights on you—the screeching, oh the screeching … then nothing. Calm. You wake in a cold sweat … sickened, heart palpitating, head pounding—finally the nightmare is over. The girl, she’s still there, lying beside you … in the distance you hear the soothing strains of a gentle lullaby—you allow it to slowly wash over you, it is reassuring … it’s letting you know that everything’s gonna be alright***; an exquisitely graceful full-length And We Bid You Goodnight finale caps it all off … comin’, comin’, comin’ around you realise it was all a dream you dreamed one afternoon long ago.

    “One way or another this darkness got to give” . . .

    I (Acoustic): Uncle John’s Band, Deep Elem Blues, Friend Of The Devil*, Big Railroad Blues**, Dark Hollow**, Ripple**, To Lay Me Down, Truckin’, Rosalie McFall**, Cumberland Blues, New Speedway Boogie, Brokedown Palace.

    II (Electric): Casey Jones, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Candyman, Sittin’ On Top Of The World, Big Boy Pete, Me And My Uncle, Easy Wind, Sugar Magnolia, Attics Of My Life, Mama Tried, Not Fade Away > Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks) > Feedback > And We Bid You Goodnight.

    *with David Grisman on mandolin.
    **with David Grisman and David Nelson on mandolin.


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    ***Warning: I think I’m delirious, and may have actually lost my mind at this point.

    — — —

    What a long strange trip it’s been. Truly, a quite magnificent run.

    That was intense. A fever dream. I’m rendered speechless. Brain fried. Mind melted. Face stolen. Body bruised. I feel dizzy and need to lie down, my dear brothers.

    I can’t … I just can’t. I’m done.

    “And I bid you goodnight, goodnight, good-night” . . .
     
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  3. uzn007

    uzn007 Watcher of the Skis

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    Great show, underrated IMO. Although I agree it's not the best of the year, it has some very high points (and the best "Other One" of the year, one of the best of the 80s).

    Also, it's "UIC" (University of Illinois at Chicago), not "UIL".
     
  4. uzn007

    uzn007 Watcher of the Skis

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    There's nothing I'd call "low energy" in the first set of 3-24-90 -- maybe "Desolation Row," but I find this version engaging for its entire length -- and I don't think I ever saw a second set that opened with "Playin" that I'd describe as "low energy." They were cooking right out of the gate on this set and didn't let up.
     
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  5. uzn007

    uzn007 Watcher of the Skis

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    I thought you said it wasn't about comparing different versions of the same song. If you want to talk about how the energy flows in this set, you can't beat it. Also, the "Mind Left Body" jam from 3-24 was way more interesting than the post-Terrapin jam on 3-15, and one of the highlights of the year.
     
  6. uzn007

    uzn007 Watcher of the Skis

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    Michael Stipe said that he used to see young couples in the late 80s holding hands and singing along in the front row to "The One I Love."
     
  7. I get the idea that a lot of listeners don't really pay much attention to the lyric of a song, as far as it actually telling a story or conveying content; their entire takeaway is the title, or the catchiest line in the chorus. The rest of it is too much to bother with.
     
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  8. johnnypaddock

    johnnypaddock Senior Member

    Location:
    Merrimack Valley
    7.31.73, Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ

    Really solid show front to back... Mostly shorter more straightforward songs, but everything is well played with tons of energy. PITB is the clear highlight, an unstoppable force. Seriously, this is the goods. China > Rider is more of the same, fantastic pace. Promised Land > Bertha > GSET is a smoking hot sequence. Hell of a Loose Lucy... Truckin' > Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad is a great way to take things out.

    [​IMG]

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  9. uzn007

    uzn007 Watcher of the Skis

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    True. I've certainly been guilty of that myself... I don't usually tune into lyrics much. I'll also agree with others who said that "Every Breath You Take" is too subtle for its own good (but then again, I generally find that most Police songs are too clever by half).
     
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  10. track11

    track11 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan
    'Better Man' by Pearl Jam results in mass romance at concerts, and meets both your requirements (title and 'Can't find a better man' line), hilariously incorrectly.
     
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  11. uzn007

    uzn007 Watcher of the Skis

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    If the gig was a festival, it was probably big money, and Paris was probably also one of the biggest shows on the continent for them. You've got to go where the money is, all the more so on a foreign tour where the overhead (financial and administrative) involves more than buying plane tickets and booking hotels.

    Can't play more shows if nobody wants to book you. The 18th was a Sunday -- who knows how they would draw? -- and they probably weren't going to get too many big-money offers on a Tuesday or Wednesday in Spain. I'd guess that they probably had non-refundable tickets to fly everyone home after Barcelona, too.

    For perspective, the Dead drove over 900 miles between Pembroke Pines and Richmond in May of 1977, although that wasn't overnight. ISTR that they had a big gap in their schedule and booked the FLA shows to try to make some extra cash and failed miserably, so it's not always as easy as "just book some more shows."

    And while the distances aren't as extreme for the following shows, ending the tour by driving all the way back up the coast to Connecticut (when they'd already covered the Northeast quite heavily at the beginning of the tour) seems bizarre if you think of it in terms of the "ideal" tour itinerary. But all it really means is that they weren't yet the finely-tuned booking-and-touring machine they would become by the mid-80s, and I'm sure that was all the more true in Europe ca. 1981.
     
  12. birdstrike

    birdstrike Flyin’ High

    I don't disagree with that. Those two are/were the best at it, for sure.
     
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  13. uzn007

    uzn007 Watcher of the Skis

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    This got mentioned over on the now-fully-mutated Dave's Picks 2021 thread, but I don't think I've seen it here:

    https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/grateful-dead/fillmore-west-san-francisco-ca-3-1-1969

    The Fillmore '69 vinyl releases are finally restarted for this November's Black Friday RSD event, but this triple-album set from March 1 is only appearing in the UK for now, not on the US list. If this show finally comes out on vinyl and it's only available in the UK, I'm going to be one unhappy pappy.
     
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  14. SwamiGD80s

    SwamiGD80s Antagonist

    Location:
    Florida
    Yes sir, hot show for sure, and good catch. I realized my error but was too lazy to edit.
     
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  15. SwamiGD80s

    SwamiGD80s Antagonist

    Location:
    Florida
    I think it's the opposite. "MLB Jam" is a simple, descending chord progression. 3/15 was much more about an entire mysterious soundscape using MIDI and other effects. It takes you into a magical alternate world, which is I guess what 3/24 does for you guys, but I just don't feel it as much in that show. 3/24 Terrapin is nice, but the preceding Playin Uncle John's are run of the mill to my ears. The 3/15 show has much more of a pep in its step.

    So yes, about energy flow I don't hear the high energy in the Dozin' (aptly named) recording, but I'm sure it was fun being at the shows at the time. As for my comment about the songs, I was describing a category of show in which the setlist is very appealing, yet the performance low or medium energy. That doesn't contradict anything I've previously said.
     
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  16. SwamiGD80s

    SwamiGD80s Antagonist

    Location:
    Florida
    Let me not be totally Debbie Downer about 3/24. First of all, the Charlie Miller SBD at archive sounds great, much better than the Dozin' CD. I just listened to the MLB jam, which is an ethereal chord progression played above a "disco" Billy K drum beat. It was certainly a nice transitional jam before Drumz, and Brent threw in some great keyboard splashes. I'm trying to figure out what the big fuss is about. The Help Slip Frank is only 16 minutes, but it's the 1st Set so that's fine. Some feel that the Loser is the best version ever. I'll check that out in headphones and see if I connect more, and a few other parts of the show. Jerry definitely had a nice guitar tone for the solo, but there are definitely other versions of Loser that I prefer. Desolation is a great song, and then Jed Saturday night is what it is. I do like the post-Space sequence, and I actually recall that being my favourite part of the show. For now, I'll end my comments with another compliment, which is that Phil was nice and active on bass throughout.
     
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  17. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    ^^ The Miller SBD of 3/24/90 has Phil's bass mixed louder than any other tape I remember from this era. Good document if you want to study his early 90's bass playing.
     
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  18. profusion

    profusion Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    The lyrics actually work pretty well that way. I was never much into the marching powder, but I had other instances as a young man where the effects of "recreational ingestion" went on longer than I wanted. The lyrics are mostly abstract, but they capture that harsh feeling pretty well.

    Or, it could just be Boomer sentimentality about becoming middle-aged...
     
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  19. uzn007

    uzn007 Watcher of the Skis

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    A lot of the Dead's music is based around extremely simple chord progressions. This version of the MLB jam is a perfect example of a classic "theme and variations" sort of musical development, improvised in real time. I always found the 3/15 jam to be kind of disjointed but I'll give it another listen.
     
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  20. uzn007

    uzn007 Watcher of the Skis

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    Apropos of nothing, I finally scored a copy of the "Summer '71" Road Trip with the bonus disc, at a less-than-extortionate price. Another "Why didn't I buy this when it came out?" item (like DP 35 from summer of '71). It was the Skull & Roses anniversary edition that inspired me to finally pick these up.
     
  21. bzfgt

    bzfgt The Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler

    True but you don't necessarily have to misunderstand to do that....well not Every Breath You Take, which after all does express a kind of love very strongly. Maybe not The One I Love, because s/he's only a prop to occupy his time....that one is hard to justify...
     
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  22. bzfgt

    bzfgt The Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler

    I see it as the thoughts you have about your life when in that condition/situation, and you don't necessarily have to be in that condition/situation to have them
     
  23. jomo48

    jomo48 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Davis CA, USA
    Essential releases. It's a shame these tapes trickled in and were dribbled out. They could have formed the core of an outstanding Summer '71 box.
     
  24. Oscillation

    Oscillation Maybe it was the doses?

    Ahh found you guys. So my Feb. 28 1069 Fillmore albums came. Now I just need to find 3 hours to listen to it all the way through. Unfortunately I think that this might be a bridge to far. More likely I will be reporting back side by side. But I'm going to give it my all to make it happen first! I got a good deal I think, I paid like 65 bucks for it, and got 4 dollar shipping to Switzerland form the U.S....OK lying listening to my FLAC now on my headphones in anticipation. Morning Dew Opener freaking beautiful.
     
  25. Oscillation

    Oscillation Maybe it was the doses?

    Oh man, I am so gonna crank this tomorrow. Ask me again why I love Jerry.
     

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