I still have my hissy 2nd set of this show on cassette, excellent description of how the Bobby McGee is pulled out of the Other One, my mind was blown the 1st time hearing this section of tape!
So thanks to the construction on the side street and how it affected my hoise I think I have a feeling for how The Phil Zone or "Drums" felt in person.
Ok, almost a year to the date of its initial release I have finally ordered the St. Louis Box. Listen to the River ... PS very excited for MSG too, but after my Europe 72 marathoin listening this spring, I realized 72 was a bit of an unexplored territory, so that was the main impulse for going for it.
IMO, their best box after the E'72 trunk. The long jam segment from 10/19/72 is decidedly top 5 all time for me. Other highlights include the 10/17/72 Playin', the 10/18/72 Playin' long jam, two great Eyes from '73 and the 10/30/73 Dark Star. Several very good China--> Riders as well.
29 September 2007- Phil Lesh & Friends, Red Rocks One of the finest. A special acoustic set on the Rocks with Phil playing double bass was sandwiched between two electric sets. The third set was off the proverbial chain. A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, Cryptical Envelopment> The Other One > Dark Star (v1)> Mountains of the Moon > Dark Star (v2) > China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, NFA
I love the variety of spanning three different years in the box (well less than 48 months, but you know what I mean). You get the rawer, saloon band sound (with a good chunk of Pigpen) in the December 1971 shows, showing them revving up towards the glorious E72 tour. Then the three excellent Fox shows from October 1972, which clearly show how much they had improved the jams from the woodshedding of playing Playing in the Band every night and either Dark Star or The Other One every other night during the entire year. Then the two Kiel shows from 1973 show how incredibly they had evolved to that point, even if they lost a bit of the raw rock n roll edge of their earlier era.
It will be interesting to hear the shows from the new boxset in sequence, too. I don't expect to hear as dramatic an evolution, but I'll be surprised if I don't hear any sort of musical differences from year to year when I listen to them back-to-back.
1983 is the beginning of one of my favorite 4 year periods, so I’m looking forward to those the most.
Yeah, it seems like 1983 (or perhaps Fall 1982) is when they started to move beyond the Go to Heaven sound. New songs (Esau, Throwing Stones, Day Job, Touch of Grey) and more grit in the vocals and playing. Less “plink” in Brent’s piano tone too.
Oh wow, I thought I was the only one. It's the Phil bombs right? Yeah, Jerry's tearing the solo up, but Phil is too...and then around the 6:00 minute mark he starts carpet bombing the place. 8/6 is hot, no doubt, but you really need a matrix or AUD to get the full effect of the audience freak-out after the solo.
Ladies & Gentlemen from the April Fillmore East run, discs 3 & 4 - all solid, and there's stuff there you you just don't want to miss. Don't let the shorter Dark Star discourage you - not a wasted note there - maybe not the longest DS, but certainly 14 outstanding minutes of music, followed by a smokin' St. Stephen (that's a perfect vinyl album side in the old days). New Minglewood Blues - I don't say "best ever" too much, but it's executed perfectly and one of only three pre-hiatus versions released. Morning Dew - possibly the day it started peaking. UJB, Ripple, Sugar Magnolia, King Bee, Midnight Hour: all top-shelf. The transition from GDTRFB => Cold Rain & Snow will make you wish you'd smoked first if you didn't. The last Alligator is one of the best renditions of "just the song" and is followed by a Jam that is one of a kind required listening. Heck, you even get Pigpen's "Refrigerator Repairman" and "Whatcha Want For a Dollar and a Quarter" skits. Disc 1 isn't the place to start with this set if '71 isn't normally your thing, but you'll want to swing back to the Bird Song, Dark Hollow, and Second That Emotion. It's a multi-track so the audio is solid, and it's a rare sampling of Jerry playing the Rick Turner Peanut.
Well I must say that Rosie's book is getting here to the UK a lot quicker than the Dave's Picks; dispatched 21st September, due this afternoon. The last Dave's took 23 days to get here. Coincidentally my replacement disc 2 also took exactly 23 days, arriving yesterday. So I've been giving Dave's 43 a good spin, as I've been holding off until that replacement was in my hands, and now very much looking forward to poring over Rosie's excellent photographs.
Listening to 10/15/76 (Shrine) first set getting ready for work today. Really digging this Loser, NM Blues, and funky Bertha - the drummers are just cookin'. This would make an excellent DaP.
The last reel of the SBD appears to be AWOL. It may be the best show of '76, the circulating source has the end of the show patched with a fine AUD recording.
10/15/76 with 10/14 filler is a no-brainer release. That missing last reel is definitely problematic.
Regarding 1976-which remains one of my favorite years -I think the Colt Park and Roosevelt Stadium August outdoor shows would make a nifty little 2 show release. I was at the Colt Park show and had a great time.
Colt Park does not appear to be in the vault, nor is there a circulating SBD. IMHO, 8/4/76 is a sluggish slog