Yes, eleven Dark Stars from E'72. I'm guessing your favorite is 4/8/72. Mine is 4/24/72 (with 4/8 being a fairly close 2nd). Feel free to keep us in suspense, but at least you won't claim Veneta. Very much so. Early '71 versions are more like '70 and late '71 versions plant the seeds for '72 and beyond. IMO, '72 is the year of Dark Star, with no fewer than five of my top ten (3/23, 4/8, 4/24, 5/11 and 9/21) and these are really light-years ahead of most of the '71 versions (to the point where one can't really even use the word exceptional to refer to a great '72 Dark Star). But the 10/31/71 version is exceptional for '71. The instrumental version from 12/5/71 (which is an Uncle sandwich) is also very worthy of note.
This might be a good time to cite the Most Lengthy Dark Star Corollary: Any Dark Star that is split only by "drums" shall be considered to be a contiguous Dark Star. Any other clear diversion into another track shall deem said Dark Star to be "not contiguous." Therefore, the 12/6/73 steaming Cleveland Dark Star at 43:33 (although one could argue that it's really more close to 42:00) is not the most lengthy Dark Star. Rather, the version from Rotterdam, 5/11/72, at 48:08 (despite it being DS(13:46)-->Drums(3:48)--> DS(30:34)) is. I speak for the masses who have taken this matter under consideration for a considerable period of time and arrived at something of a consensus.
Your honor, I object to the use of the words "consideration", "considerable" and "consensus" in the same sentence!!!
Catching up a bit.... Infrared Roses is fascinating but ultimately isn't really my favorite sort of Dead music. Dick's Picks, Volume 1 is a solid 1973 performance (or excerpts thereof). For me, the "Here Comes Sunshine" and "Playing In The Band" performances are exceptional and represent the highlights of the release. I'm actually not bothered by some of the early DPs being curated as opposed to complete shows. Most of my favorite live albums are either assembled from multiple shows or represent only portions of what was played on the night(s). Live albums are fundamentally different listening experiences than concerts, and I'm not often in the mood to hear a complete show exactly as it was performed on a single night. Dick's Picks, Volume 2 has always stood out by being the only single-disc edition in the series. I remember that when these early volumes were released, they were only available by mail order, although it wasn't too long before copies began showing up in record stores, at least in Madison (where I was living at the time) and Chicago. The "Dark Star" and "St. Stephen" on DP2 stand out to me as the highlights, although everything here is very good. The first two DPs are enjoyable, solid releases but the lesser sound quality in comparison to the two "From the Vault" releases detracts somewhat from my ability to enjoy them at the same level. I never did any Dead tape trading and I'm sure these were big sonic improvements over what most 'heads were used to at the time. For me, however, they were a clear step down from most of the live albums I had heard to that point, and certainly from the "Betty Boards" we would start getting on later official releases. I don't have Grayfolded and haven't heard it, so I'll sit this next one out.
Dick's Picks 2 is one of my most heavily played single discs of Grateful Dead. I don't think I bought it immediately, but certainly within the first year or two of release. I remember first hearing it in the parking lot at the St. Louis shows in summer of '95. One of my all time favorite Dark Stars, right up there with 2/27/69, 2/13/70, and 4/8/72. I love the Tighten Up or Soulful Strut jam, but really love everything about this one. It would be great to have Keith a bit higher in the mix, but I do really like the stripped down sound of '71 in general, and this features great group mind playing throughout. I really like these hard rocking early versions of Sugar Magnolia and this is a top version of the era. Nifty transition out of Dark Star in it, and Keith does get quite audible toward the end of the rave up jam. I love this one. St. Stephen is always nice to hear. This is a solid version, but a bit restrained in some sections, and just average for the era. But that's okay, it's certainly not a bad version by any means. NFA>GDTRFB>NFA is an outstanding version, probably my favorite of this melody or maybe tied with Austin 11/15/71 (Road Trips Vol. 3, No. 2, which I guess we'll get to eventually on this thread). Garcia is endlessly creative throughout this one, and the whole band is locked in. Anyway, this was exciting when it came out because I don't think it circulated, it was a terrific set of music from an era which generally didn't have a lot of tapes available (compared to pre-Keith '71), and it's all killer no filler. I won't always give ratings, but won't hesitate to say 5/5 for this one.
Fun to see the differing opinions on this release. The Dark Star is fabulous, NFA>GDTRFB>NFA is sublime. I often turn to this DP when I know I have limited time and it scratches the itch just fine. I may heard Crispy Rob playing it in St. Louis in 1995 in the parking lot too.
Don't know if this is the wrong thread to share this, but I've been listening to the 2/2/70 gig from Dave's Picks 6 a whole lot lately. A very economic and primal-tempo'ed Dark Star on there that is a nice palate cleanser after listening to 2/13/70 and 2/27/69 continuously for the past 20 years! The boys are playing with a '68 Primal energy, albeit with that early '70 Jerry strat tone. How do you all feel about this gig? I can't seem to find too much in the way of reviews...
Just discovered this thread. DiP 2 is great. Nice single disc distillation of the best parts of the band in 1971. The Dark Star is the highlight in my eyes. I think the 1st set would have been worthy of release - it's a well played set and good example of what the band was doing. Though if it had been released now, the entire show would fit on 2 discs so there would be a bonus 3rd. I found the Ohio shows from the days before to rather ho-hum so I'd be curious as to what TPTB would have done here. Dick definitely picked the gem of Oct. 1971 to release.
Thread guide List of releases By Release Date One from the Vault (1975-08-13 San Francisco, released 1991-04-15) Infrared Roses (1989-1990, released 1991-11-01) Two from the Vault (1968-08-24 San Francisco, released May 1992) Dick’s Picks Volume 1 (1973-12-19 Tampa, released 1991-10-31) Dick’s Picks Volume 2 (1971-10-31 Columbus, released March 1995) By Concert Date 1968-08-24 San Francisco (Two from the Vault, released May 1992) 1971-10-31 Columbus (Dick’s Picks Volume 2, released March 1995) 1973-12-19 Tampa (Dick’s Picks Volume 1, released 1991-10-31) 1975-08-13 San Francisco (One from the Vault, released 1991-04-15) 1989-1990 (Infrared Roses, released 1991-11-01)
Grayfolded Recording dates: 1968-1993 Release dates: It’s been hard to pin down exact release dates. The first disc of Grayfolded, titled Transitive Axis, was released in 1994, and the second disc, Mirror Ashes, was released in 1995. Disc 1 – Transitive Axis "Novature (Formless Nights Fall)" – 1:19 "Pouring Velvet" – 2:58 "In Revolving Ash Light" – 17:00 "Clouds Cast" – 7:13 "Through" – 8:52 "Fault Forces" – 6:19 "The Phil Zone" – 4:45 "La Estrella Oscura" – 9:33 "Recedes (While We Can)" – 1:56 Disc 2 – Mirror Ashes "Fold" – 2:10 (hidden track) "Transilience" – 0:07 "73rd Star Bridge Sonata" – 13:41 "Cease Tone Beam" – 12:45 "The Speed of Space" – 8:49 "Dark Matter Problem/Every Leaf Is Turning" – 6:42 "Foldback Time" – 1:33 Not so much a Grateful Dead album as a compilation of various Dark Star segments, Grayfolded is hard to describe. It's put together by John Oswald, by folding various performances from 1968 to 1993 into a single, coherent whole. Snatches of Dark Star and its assorted jams appear and disappear, sometimes layered over each other. He called the process “plunderphonics.” The release is broken up into two extended suites, each originally released independently. Transitive Axis is the first, and it's the longer one. Experienced listeners will be able to pick out specific eras (and occasionally specific performances), and a lengthy Spanish jam is included. Even the well-known lyrics are shattered into different components, leaving nothing to anchor the listener. A jam that’s obviously from late 1989 or early 1990 fades into something from 1968, often with further performances layered underneath. It can be quite challenging and disorienting at times. At a high level, it follows the format of the song, with an introduction, altered lyrics, and a breakdown. The second suite, Mirror Axis, features more manipulation and layering but feels like a more consistent whole. It includes a lengthy space section, a segment of The Other One jamming, and a Feedback conclusion. At times it nearly devolves into chaos, but somehow maintains some semblance of structure. I find that the two discs work better together than by themselves. For this listener, it's more of a curiosity than a must-have, as the jams lose some of their power when removed from their contexts. It’s something I’ll occasionally throw on if I want to close my eyes and totally zone out. It’s certainly worth a listen, and those who love deep jams may find much here to enjoy. My copy has notably different timings for the second disc than shown here, always longer but not by a consistent percentage. It seems to me that there are probably multiple versions of that disc available. According to Wikipedia, Grayfolded is one of only three Grateful Dead albums that features the participation of every musician who was ever in the group, the others being the box sets So Many Roads (1965–1995) and 30 Trips Around the Sun in either its four-disc format or its full-show format.
I streamed Grayfolded over yesterday and today. Never heard it before. I love remixes, and especially when an outsider artist takes something familiar and morphs it into the unfamiliar. Zoning out is a good description for this one. At times it seems like you are in the middle of "Space", but somehow they are refusing to transition to the post-Space part of the set. The ending is hilarious, I won't spoil it, but it's a perfect 4th wall penetration for the listener. Also, I challenge the hardcores to name the sources for all these Dark Stars. Mind boggling.
Grayfolded is one of my favorite things ever. The “folding” and mixing of sources that Oswald does may irk some, but I love it. Listening to this album is quite a trip.
Love the time maps. I can’t find complete ones online in high resolution, but they look like this....
Forgot to mention that this one is available on vinyl from Important Records. One nice thing about the vinyl version is that the record was re-edited by Oswald specifically for vinyl - that is to say, the album side flips aren’t simply fade ups and fade downs of the CD version. It’s a beautiful package as well. The bad news is that the pressing I have (red vinyl) is mediocre, with lots of surface noise about. I bought mine directly from Important, and when it got banged up in shipping and the jacket was damaged, they wouldn’t replace it. Ugh.
Yup... I love that he made the effort to communicate what shows he was drawing from, and when - down to the minute, approximately. There’s moments where he’s using a dozen or more shows at once for just a few seconds.
We need to do that at the end on the Every Dark Star thread/blog...I've never heard it, save some snippets (and most of the source material, of course)
For those who can’t keep up with the listening on that awesome thread, this 2-CD set is the cheaters version.