Grateful Dead album by album thread

I assume the name Diga is sort of a reference to the Diggers, the group the Dead associated with early on?

This should be a natural for me, since I've been on such an Infrared Roses kick recently.

The discussion of all those drumming time signatures reminds me very much of "The Mantras and the Chakras," a bonus track on the CD of Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him by Firesign Theatre.

 

Wait, wait wait WAIT! How the blazes do you have .5 or .25 beats?

 

That's a very good legit question, and fortunately it does have a legit answer...which is basically that you have the other couple guys doing their 3 or 5 or 4 or 8 to a bar, but this one guy is so focused that he's overlaying his beats and only hitting the "one" and only meeting with the others every 4th bar. So at the beginning of the 2nd or 3rd bar for example, when the others are hitting their "one" beat, he's actually between beats by a half or a quarter. On the Diga album, it's very fast precision drumming, but in cases like this you hear it pulse over the course of several bars.
These guys are also capable of "shaving" a micro-beat here or there. You've probably heard the GD do it on particularly nasty versions of Samson And Delilah. They break their beats into 16, then 32, then 64, and halve those again to 128 very fast beats. The "one" should start again at the 129th beat, but they'll shave one and start early by a microbeat, then do another 128 in the space of the previous 127, then shave again a bar or so later. The guys were good.

 

JGB ’live 76 w/Keith & Donna –“Don’t Let Go”

As much as I’d LOVE to get straight to the return of the touring Grateful Dead, there’s ONE MORE important solo project/cd to mention. After the late ’75 Nicky Hopkins version of the Jerry Garcia Band folded, in very early ’76 (after briefly trying out funky pianist/vocalist James Booker in rehearsals) Jerry asked Dead members Keith and Donna Godchaux onboard to tour and help promote his Reflections album. Keith was in very fine intuitively melodic form in those days on the ivories, and a listen to Donna harmonizing with Jerry on “Mission In The Rain” shows how sweet that combination could be IMHO. There was a very thick R&B and gospel roots flavor to JGB in this early incarnation of this line-up, which indicates to me the collaborative influences of these Dead members. I can imagine that it would have also been quite helpful to the impending return of the touring Grateful Dead to have almost half that band’s members already interacting and touring together.

Those that may have seen these early ’76 JGB gigs would undoubtedly remember them for their super slow-motion arrangements of several tunes including “Who Was John”, “Don’t Let Go” and “Knocking On Heaven’s Door”. The GD had noted several years earlier that it took a bit more effort to play songs slowly, but some of these tunes which were slow-paced to begin with, particularly “Heaven’s Door” and “Who Was John”, were altered like playing a 78rpm record at 16rpm. The title tune, Jesse Stone/Roy Hamilton’s “Don’t Let Go” (which they may have picked up from touring with Commander Cody 18 months earlier) is so slow and sensual that it conjures up that old Delaney Bramlett line about “drinkin’ that wine, and then lovin’ in slow motion”. It wasn’t just a “Jerry on drugs” thing; it was clear they were “trying something” quite unlike anything I’d ever heard a rock band do; your mind could almost “hear” the dozens of silent micro-rhythms and milliseconds hissing away in the huge spaces between beats and notes.

Sometimes Maria Muldaur would sing too (as she would on and off for the next couple years in JGB). I remember an amusing visual at one of these slo-mo gigs at the Santa Monica Civic; John Kahn would slowly over several minutes mosey over to Donna’s position, then Muldaur would slowly inch over and tug him back across the stage to his bass position, and the whole situation repeated itself over and over in the course of the gig. (The other visual I have of this gig is a pretty girl in a dress saying something to me about the show, then throwing her leg over the stair rail and sliding out of sight down the banister! Gotta love those Dead shows.)

Anyway, anything to say about this cd or JGB tour before we finally get to the Return Of The Dead tours?

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From deaddisc.com;

Don't Let Go
Jerry Garcia Band

Initial release : January 2001
Grateful Dead Records

Double CD release of the complete Jerry Garcia Band show from the Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco on May 21, 1976.

Tracks

Disc 1
• Sugaree
• They Love Each Other
• That's What Love Will Make You Do
• Knockin' On Heaven's Door
• Sitting In Limbo
• Mission In The Rain
• Don't Let Go

Disc 2
• After Midnight
• Strange Man
• Tore Up Over You
• I'll Take A Melody
• The Way You Do The Things You Do
• My Sisters And Brothers
• Lonesome And A Long Way From Home
• Mighty High (Bonus Track)

Musicians
• Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals
• John Kahn - bass
• Keith Godchaux - keyboards
• Donna Godchaux - vocals
• Ron Tutt - drums
Credits
• Recorded live at the Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco, May 21, 1976
• Mighty High recorded live at the Keystone, Berkeley, September 11, 1976

 

GD return to touring; Live June-Dec ’76

After only 4 unannounced GD “hit-and-run” gigs in 1975, the Grateful Dead as a unit finally hit the road again in June ’76. The newsletter declared “vacationing is too exhausting” (looking at the solo recordings and touring during the “vacation”, they probably weren’t kidding), and Lesh was even more succinct; “We’re horny to play!”

Many Dead “eras” are quite distinctive by their sound and setlists, and the 30-something gigs between June and October are among their most recognizable IMHO with a very light breezy sound and imaginative medleys. (There is no strict line drawn, but New Year’s ’76 at the Cow Palace has a rich sound, songlist and playing-style much more like shows in 1977 in many fan’s opinions.) From my fan’s perspective I think the reasons were primarily; new dynamics of the PA (or lack of) and focus on playing very small halls, re-integration of Mickey Hart as dual drummer (which changed the overall vibe from swing to percussion based), and Phil Lesh’s throat problems retiring him from singing (tunes like “Cumberland Blues”, “Jack Straw”, and particularly “Truckin’” disappeared). McNally also claims that an expressed aim was to initially play simpler songs masterfully and hold off on more complex tunes, though “Help On The Way” doesn’t seem to fit that bill.

The retirement of the giant Wall Of Sound “everybody-on-their-own-hi-fi-system” meant the loss of that “whole-stadium-hanging-on-the-touch-of-pinky-to-fret” clarity and dynamics. I’ve always been under the impression that the new ’76 PA sound (and subsequent tapes) were a product of some kind of limiter on the sound/mixing board. All instruments seemed to have a very consistent sound level from the beginning of the show to the end, and Phil’s super-duper bass seemed to have some imposed frequency limitations. In small halls they used a very dinky PA; louder than a cocktail band but not as loud as many rock bands, with the combined drummers mixed about the volume that Kreutzmann had previously enjoyed. At the Oakland Stadium shows they seemed very much quieter than The Who. Songs with extreme use of dynamics or complexity like “Dark Star”, “ChinaCat”, “Uncle John’s Band” and “Morning Dew” were retired despite all having been played at one time or another by both Hart and Godchaux (the latter two returned on New Year’s Eve). The “Weather Report Prelude” was also deleted.

While some of these core tunes were temporarily missing (and there wasn’t the slightest hint of Pigpen’s legacy in the ones that stayed), there were some unexpected treats;

From Anthem/Aoxomoxoa era there was a very refined and restrained “St Stephen” with beautiful Donna/Jerry harmonies on the “lady finger” middle, and most surprisingly a very poignant “Cosmic Charlie” again featuring Donna/Jerry harmonies and laid-back slide. I’ve seen listed that “New Potato Caboose” was also attempted in rehearsal, but alas I’ve never heard that tape.

From Garcia’s 1st solo lp there was a first-time breakout of “The Wheel”.

“Comes A Time” returned after several years and “Friend Of The Devil” was much slowed-down (attributed to a Kenny Loggins version that Jerry’d heard).

New tunes included “Mission In The Rain” and “Might As Well” from Reflections, and “Lazy Lightning/Supplication” from Kingfish.

New cover tunes included Weir’s contribution of Rev Gary Davis’ bible story “Samson And Delilah” (which I found very boring in it’s early years), and a very odd jazz/disco re-tooling of “Dancing In The Streets”.

Jerry’s really at a peak of his game during this era. His countless hours of noodling with exotic guitar chord books is really evident if you follow his leads closely. I remember reading a show review at the time in Audio Review (or something) where the critic explained musically what Jer was in just part of a medley, and the critic was floored by the myriad of thought-provoking avenues Jer was opening up doing moment-by-moment in the jams bridging the tunes. The song selections in the medleys reflected a confidence and quick-thinking freedom of choices of tunes, and no obligation to end the set with a big blunt number (the jazz/disco “Dancin’” with wacky instrumental segment closed several ’76 shows). Look at disc 4 of DP20; “Playin' In The Band>The Wheel>Samson And Delilah>Jam>Comes A Time>Drums>Eyes Of The World>Orange Tango Jam>Dancing In The Streets>Playin' In The Band”, or look at disc 2 of DP33; “St. Stephen >Not Fade Away >St. Stephen >Help On The Way >Slipknot! >Drums >Samson and Delilah >Slipknot! >Franklin's Tower >One More Saturday Night”. Pretty crazy stuff. Can you recall seeing setlists like that in years prior or later? There was one gorgeous King Biscuit Flower Hour broadcast from San Francisco Orpheum Theater which many consider the most beautiful of the year which went; “Lazy Lightning> Supplication> Let It Grow> Drums> Let It Grow(some more)> Wharf Rat> Drums(yes, TWO drum solos in the middle of a 2nd set!)> Other One> St. Stephen> NFA> St. Stephen> Wheel> Other One> Stella Blue”. The mix had nice crisp cymbal sounds and the audience sounds were mixed in and out of Wharf Rat to sound like seagulls. (Rhino/GDM, this one’s conspicuous by it’s absence IMHO.)

Lastly, like the slo-mo experiments I’ve mentioned in the ’76 JGB shows, there were funny things happening on these GD tours too. The most notable were how the band would suddenly elongate a section or phrase of a tune and play it for minutes. They might reach the 5th line of the chorus of “Might As Well” and play it over and over with different inflections (“mighty swell mighty swell mighty swell mighty swell”, a dozen or so times), or they’d be play the “Deal” chorus for minutes on end slowly rising then slowly quiet then loud again then quiet again, etc). There was also a very unique thing we watched them do one night at the LA Shrine that I’ve never seen elsewhere. Bob, Jer and Phil spent the whole evening standing only on one foot or the other while they jammed, but I don’t think they’d all spent the day at Disneyland with ill-fitting shoes. I truly believe they were doing some kind of experiment/exercise with rhythm and balance, and I recall all three guitar necks quivering and wobbling as they did so, looking from a distance like three anglers with fish on the line. Weird, huh?

Again, lots of these are only my opinions, so any other perspectives are truly welcome to widen our scope. Does anyone have thoughts on this batch of ’76 live releases?

 

Live ’76 - DL4, DP20, DP33, Cow Palace New Year’s

From deaddisc.com;

Grateful Dead Download Series Volume 4 - 6/18/1976

Initial release : August 2005
Grateful Dead Records

The fourth in a series of shows made available by downloading from the official Grateful Dead site. Music from the June 18, 1976 show at the Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ. Also includes bonus tracks from other shows in late June 1976. The downloads are available in both 128 & 256 MP3 and high quality lossless FLAC formats..

Tracks

Disc 1
• The Music Never Stopped
• Sugaree
• Mama Tried
• Crazy Fingers
• Big River
• Brown-Eyed Woman
• Looks Like Rain
• Row Jimmy
• Cassidy
• Mission In The Rain
• Promised Land

Disc 2
• Samson and Delilah
• St. Stephen >
• Not Fade Away >
• St. Stephen >
• Eyes Of The World >
• Drums >
• The Wheel >
• Sugar Magnolia
• U.S. Blues

Disc 3 (Bonus tracks)
6/21/76 Tower Theatre, Philadelphia
• Scarlet Begonias
• Lazy Lightning >
• Supplication
• Candyman

6/22/76 Tower Theatre, Philadelphia
• Playing In The Band >
• Drums >
• The Wheel >
• Playing In The Band

6/28/76 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• High Time

Musicians
• Jerry Garcia - lead guitar, vocals
• Donna Jean Godchaux - vocals
• Keith Godchaux - keyboards
• Mickey Hart - drums
• Bill Kreutzmann - drums
• Phil Lesh - electric bass
• Bob Weir - rhythm guitar, vocals

Credits
• Recording - Betty Cantor-Jackson
• Mastering - Jeffrey Norman

Notes
One song, Tennessee Jed, is missing from the 6/18/76 show due to technical problems on the master tapes

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Dick's Picks, Volume Twenty

Initial release : January 2001
Grateful Dead Records GDCD-4040

Four CD set of nearly two complete shows - the September 25, 1976 show at the Capital Centre, Landover and the September 28, 1976 show at the Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse.

Tracks

Disc 1
• Bertha (Garcia/Hunter)
• New Minglewood Blues (Trad. Arr. by Bob Weir)
• Ramble On Rose (Garcia/Hunter)
• Cassidy (Weir / Barlow)
• Brown-Eyed Woman (Garcia/Hunter)
• Mama Tried (Haggard)
• Peggy-O (Trad. Arr. by Grateful Dead)
• Loser (Garcia/Hunter)
• Let It Grow (Weir / Barlow)
• Sugaree (Garcia/Hunter)
• Lazy Lightnin' (Weir / Barlow)
• Supplication (Weir / Barlow)

Disc 2
• Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo (Garcia/Hunter)
• Dancing In The Streets (Stevenson, Gaye, I. Hunter)
• Cosmic Charlie (Garcia/Hunter)
• Scarlet Begonias (Garcia/Hunter)
• St. Stephen (Garcia/Lesh/Hunter)
• Not Fade Away (Petty/Hardin)
• Drums (Hart/Kreutzmann)
• Jam (Grateful Dead)
• St. Stephen (Garcia/Lesh/Hunter)
• Sugar Magnolia (Weir/Hunter)

Disc 3
• Cold Rain and Snow (Grateful Dead)
• Big River (Cash)
• Cassidy (Weir / Barlow)
• Tennessee Jed (Garcia / Hunter)
• New Minglewood Blues (Trad. Arr. by Bob Weir)
• Candyman (Garcia/Hunter)
• It's All Over Now (B. & S. Womack)
• Friend Of The Devil (Garcia/Dawson /Hunter)
• Let It Grow (Weir / Barlow)
• Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad (Trad. Arr. by Grateful Dead)

Disc 4
• Playin' In The Band (Weir/Hart/Hunter)
• The Wheel (Garcia/Kreutzmann/Hunter)
• Samson and Delilah (Trad. Arr. by Bob Weir)
• Jam (Grateful Dead)
• Comes A Time (Garcia/Hunter)
• Drums (Hart/Kreutzmann)
• Eyes Of The World (Garcia/Hunter)
• Orange Tango Jam (Grateful Dead)
• Dancing In The Streets (Stevenson, Gaye, I. Hunter)
• Playin' In The Band (Weir/Hart/Hunter)
• Johnny B. Goode (Berry)

Credits
• Live Recording - Dan Healy
• CD Mastering - Jeffrey Norman
• Tape Archivists - Dick Latvala, David Lemieux
• Archival Research - Eileen Law/Grateful Dead Archives
• Photography - Ed Perlstein
• Cover art and design - Tina Carpenter
• Cover photos - David DeNoma
• Special Thanks - Bob Minkin
• Discs 1 and 2 recorded on September 25, 1976 at the Capital Centre, Landover
• Discs 3 and 4 recorded on September 28, 1976 at the Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse

Notes

The rear cover of Dick's Picks, Vol. 20 carries the following warning;
CAVEAT EMPTOR
Dick's Picks Volume 20 was mastered from the original stereo 1/4" reel-to-reel tapes, running at 7.5 ips, from the PA mix. Through optimal sonic manipulation of these master tapes we have aimed to create as good a replication of the live concert experience as possible. Enjoy.

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Spirit of '76

Initial release: 2006
Rhino

A bonus CD of live music from 1976. This CD was distributed with copies of the Live At Cow Palace: New Years Eve 1976 release pre-ordered from the online Grateful Dead store.

Tracks
• The Music Never Stopped
• Crazy Fingers
• Let It Grow >
• Might As Well
• Playing In The Band >
• Supplication >
• Playing In The Band
• Scarlet Begonias

Notes

The tracks on this bonus CD are from the following Grateful Dead shows;
• The Music Never Stopped and Crazy Fingers - June 9, 1976, Boston
• Let It Grow > Might As Well - October 2, 1976, Cincinnati
• Playing In The Band > Supplication > Playing In The Band - September 24, 1976, Williamsburg
• Scarlet Begonias - September 30, 1976, Columbus

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Dick's Picks, Volume Thirty Three

Initial release : November 2004
Grateful Dead Records

Four CD set of music taken from the Day On The Green shows on October 9 and 10 1976 at Oakland Stadium in Oakland.

Tracks

Disc 1 (10/9/76)
• Promised Land (Berry)
• Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo (Garcia / Hunter)
• Cassidy (Weir / Barlow)
• Tennessee Jed (Garcia / Hunter)
• Looks Like Rain (Weir / Barlow)
• They Love Each Other (Garcia / Hunter)
• New Minglewood Blues (Traditional)
• Scarlet Begonias (Garcia / Hunter)
• Lazy Lightnin' > (Weir / Barlow)
• Supplication (Weir / Barlow)
• Sugaree (Garcia / Hunter)

Disc 2 (10/9/76)
• St. Stephen > (Garcia / Lesh / Hunter)
• Not Fade Away > (Holly / Petty)
• St. Stephen > (Garcia / Lesh / Hunter)
• Help On The Way > (Garcia / Hunter)
• Slipknot! > (Garcia / Godchaux / Lesh / Weir)
• Drums > (Hart / Kreutzmann)
• Samson and Delilah > (Traditional)
• Slipknot! > (Garcia / Godchaux / Lesh / Weir)
• Franklin's Tower > (Garcia / Kreutzmann / Hunter)
• One More Saturday Night (Weir)
• U.S. Blues (Garcia / Hunter)

Disc 3 (10/10/76)
• Might As Well (Garcia / Hunter)
• Mama Tried (Haggard)
• Ramble On Rose (Garcia / Hunter)
• Cassidy (Weir / Barlow)
• Deal (Garcia / Hunter)
• El Paso (Robbins)
• Loser (Garcia / Hunter)
• Promised Land (Berry)
• Friend of the Devil (Garcia / Hunter / Dawson)
• Dancing In The Streets > (Stevenson / Gaye / Hunter)
• Wharf Rat > (Garcia / Hunter)
• Dancing In The Streets (Stevenson / Gaye / Hunter)

Disc 4 (10/10/76)
• Samson and Delilah (Traditional)
• Brown-Eyed Women (Garcia / Hunter)
• Playing In The Band > (Weir / Hunter)
• Drums > (Hart / Kreutzmann)
• The Wheel > (Garcia / Kreutzmann / Hunter)
• Space > (Grateful Dead)
• The Other One > (Weir)
• Stella Blue > (Garcia / Hunter)
• Playing In The Band > (Weir / Hunter)
• Sugar Magnolia (Weir / Hunter)
• Johnny B. Goode (Berry)

Credits
• Recording - Betty Cantor-Jackson
• Tape archivist - David Lemieux
• CD mastering - Jeffrey Norman
• Archival research - Eileen Law / Grateful Dead Archives
• Photography - Richard McCaffrey, Ed Perlstein, Steve Schneider
• Package design and layout - Robert Minkin
• Special thanks - Joe Gastwirt, Ryan P Fuller, Vickie Holbrook
• Recorded live on October 9 and 10, 1976 at Oakland Stadium, Oakland, CA

Notes
The rear cover of Dick's Picks, Vol. 33 carries the following warning;
Caveat Emptor
This space is usually reserved to warn you of sound quality anomalies on these two-track recordings. Disregard that for this Dick's Pick. There aren't any. It sounds great. Enjoy.

Related releases
Dick's Picks 33 was made available as a digital download from Grateful Dead Productions in November, 2005

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Live at the Cow Palace: New Year's Eve 1976

Initial release: 2006
Rhino

A 3 CD set of the Grateful Dead show at the Cow Palace, San Francisco on December 31, 1976. A bonus CD, Spirit of '76, was distributed with copies of Live at the Cow Palace pre-ordered from the online Grateful Dead store.

Tracks

Disc 1;
• The Promised Land (Berry)
• Bertha (Garcia / Hunter)
• Mama Tried (Haggard)
• They Love Each Other (Garcia / Hunter)
• Looks Like Rain (Weir / Barlow)
• Deal (Garcia / Hunter)
• Playing In The Band (Weir / Hart / Hunter)

Disc 2;
• Sugar Magnolia > (Weir / Hunter)
• Eyes Of The World > (Garcia / Hunter)
• Wharf Rat > (Garcia / Hunter)
• Good Lovin' > (Resnick / Clark)
• Samson and Delilah (Traditional arr Weir)
• Scarlet Begonias (Garcia / Hunter)

Disc 3;
• Around and Around (Berry)
• Help On The Way > (Garcia / Hunter)
• Slipknot! > (Garcia / Godchaux / Kreutzmann / Lesh / Weir))
• Drums > (Hart / Kreutzmann)
• Not Fade Away > (Petty / Hardin)
• Morning Dew (Dobson)
• One More Saturday Night (Weir)
• Uncle John's Band > (Garcia / Hunter)
• And We Bid You Goodnight (Traditional arr Grateful Dead)

Credits
• Recorded live at the Cow Palace, Daly City, CA, December 31, 1976
• Recording - Bob Matthews, Betty Cantor-Jackson
• Mixing - Jeffrey Norman
• Assistant engineer, digital editing - Robert Gatley
• Original 16-track master speed and time base correction - Jamie Howarth at Plangent Processes
• Produced for release by - David Lemieux, James Austin
• Executive producer - Jimmy Edwards, Gregg Goldman, Peter McQuaid
• Cover art - Timothy Truman
• Art supervision - Scott Webber
• Booklet essays - Glenn Lambert
• Booklet introduction - David Lemieuxt
• Under disc photos - Ed Perlstein
• Booklet photos - Ed Perlstein, Steve Schneider
• Additional booklet photo courtesy of Cow Palace
• Package design, cover typography - Steve Vance
• Editorial supervision - Dorothy Stefanski
• Project assistance - Reggie Collins, Karen LeBlanc, James O'Toole
• Special thanks - Brian Connors, Arnie Grager, Mary, Rocky & Randal at the Plant Studios, Sausalito

 

I have LOVED Cow Palace since the day it was released. The first thing to blow me away was the sound. Just incredibly rich and clear. The second thing to blow me away was the very cool arrangements of some of the songs. The Scarlet is bright and bouncy and the Eyes is absolutely gorgeous. Eyes also segues into my favorite Wharf Rat of all time. I have never heard them better the "I know that this life I've been living's no good..." part. Gave me goosebumps the first time. The Playing is ridiculously psychedelic in a slow laid back way. My only very minor let down was hearing Help > Slipknot with no Franklin's. Not only that but the Slipknot is almost Space. Still, fantastic!

I also just recently acquired DP 33. Really killer sets with a great Sugaree and Scarlet. Scarlet especially has some very nice noodling going on. But really it's the St. Stephen and everything that follows that is the killer. Simply stunning material that grows on me more and more. Although I agree that the sound is perfect, the vocals and harmonizing are way off. Pretty hard to get through Dancin' which is otherwise a great funky version.

 

although i did continue to see the band regularly after they came back, it didn't quite seem the same. maybe it was their ages, maybe it was me. i did enjoy many shows from 76-81 but after that i started losing interest. this isn't thread crap, just my own feelings. the shows seemed to follow a basic formula and, at least for me, seemed to hit a stride less and less than in previous years. these days when i listen to them, it's almost always up to the early 70's. i'm sure my take on a show could be quite different than others. the radio city music hall run was a good example. of the 3 shows i saw, i thought they were good but not more. i remember walking out of a show speechless. that just wasn't happening for me anymore.

any other thoughts on this?

 

Not from me. My last shows were in '88. Taper's tix and everything. I recognized the slide even then. Many of us were able to put the band's condition into context through the use of cassettes of previous shows. The selection and quality of available shows back then was pitiful compared to today's standards, but prized nonetheless. Granted, those audience tapes were the only way many of us could remember the shows we actually went to (ahem ), so there wasn't much of an argument over newbies vs. old-timers (but you had to be there!!) when making that judgment call over show quality as the years progressed.

 

my first 'official' show was 11/6/70 in port chester. i don't count expo 67 since i had no idea what i was seeing. we were on a family vacation and the airplane and the dead were doing a freebie at the world's fair. my brother still has a photo somewhere. it was a different animal when i first started going on a regular basis.

 

I came to the Dead's music pretty late ('93) and only saw them once (their last show 7/9/95) so I was exposed to about 30 years of shows in a relatively short period of time.

It's impossible not to notice a sharp decline starting in the mid-80's. However, I find there are plenty of shows to like from all years, though it's best to listen to them on their own terms. Trying to compare a show from 1991 or 1994 to what came earlier will more than likely lead to disappointment.

That said, I still say the Scarlet>Fire from 10/14/94 is one of the greatest performances they ever gave, from any era.


And you knew this was coming, but I enjoy the latter years much more by listening to well-recorded AUD tapes. The SBD's are sooooo lifeless for the most part. Plus the AUD's are good at covering up sins, of which there were many in those days.

 

"came to the Dead's music pretty late ('93) and only saw them once (their last show 7/9/95) so I was exposed to about 30 years of shows in a relatively short period of time."

Amazing, you were at the last show.

 

Back to the topic at hand (1976) - Dick's Picks 33 is one of their greatest releases. I was a huge fan of 10/9/76 since way back when David Gans aired it on the Grateful Dead Hour in 1995. I remember playing it for my friends as we drove to Chicago to see the band. No one had heard it before and everyone was just amazed, especially the long jam in set 2.

That show has my favorite stand-alone "Scarlet Begonias" - the closing jam is a wonderful, kinetic musical conversation, one of their best. My favorite "Sugaree" is from this show too - it's not one of those 20-minute marathons from 1977 but it's a wonderfully emotional performance - Jerry sings and plays like he just lost his best friend.

They sure were on fire for those two shows.

 

I had just met a group of Deadheads a couple months before then who convinced me to buy a ticket for Chicago. 7/8 was sold out but I was able to get one for 7/9. I remember after the show about 10 of us piled into a taxi that took us to the Lenox in downtown Chicago. When I woke up the next morning there were about 17 other people sleeping in the room. Good times!

Jerry's dying put an end to it all and I lost touch with the other Heads shortly thereafter. Still - 1995 was a very fun year for me (from what I can recall)

 

thanks. i didn't mean to hijack the thread. it was more of just an observation of change.

and now back to our regularly scheduled program...

 

I'd like to post one picture and then I'll stay out of the threads path. Jerry and the Dead meant so much to me. I remember exactly to the second when I heard of his passing in the Summer of 1995.

I have never worn this shirt. Just can't bring myself to do it.

 

Fine by me... Grateful Dead threads are supposed to have twists and turns and meander about.

 

that year i attended shows at the beacon, boston music hall, tower theater, capitol in nj and later, some outdoors venues as usual. seeing them in smaller places was something i was used to having started in the pre-coliseum days. the great american music hall in 75 was the smallest place i ever saw them of course.

 

yes, great little place. i also saw garcia/saunders and hot tuna there, both in summer of 74. on that same trip we saw garcia/saunders along with the rowan brothers and taj mahal at berkeley community theater for a benefit concert. i remember outside some folks were grumbling because they thought the allmans brothers were playing.
who are these rowan brothers anyway?!

 

DP 20, Sept. 25, 1976, Cap Centre -- ta da! my 2nd Grateful Dead Show. I remember it much better than the 1st (1972) show. For some reason I remember being knocked out by the long, funky "Dancing in the Streets" jam. Well, I hadn't seen the dead much, and I didn't have taper/boot connections. It's funny, but I don't listen to this show much now. Maybe my perception of a downturn?

I started seeing the Dead a bunch more in the 80s due to friends who had tickets. In a way, that was as much about a cultural scene as about the music -- part pure nostalgia, part a re-branding of a segment of the counter-culture.

My not having much access to tapes/boots affected the way I thought about the dead then. The Dead changed for me a lot when I started listening to archival stuff in the 90s. But In the Dark was important, as was some solo Jerry material.