Grateful Dead Archival Live Release Thread

Don't know how I missed it. It's fantastic.

 

The unaccompanied Jerry interludes in the second set were fairly common in May 1977. I'm not sure if they carried over to the rest of the year.

 

5/22/77 is perhaps my favorite Spring 77 show. What's on DP 3 is great, but this is a show that should have been released in full. This is missing one of my favorite Peggy-Os and a great FOTD along other tunes.

A great release that could have been better if released under today's current philosophy.

 

As a reminder, tomorrow we'll cover the classic Dick's Picks 4.

 

Huh, interesting -- need to brush up on my '77, maybe...it's not something I can remember hearing coming out of Eyes very often, but, as always, I could be wrong

 

Are you talking about the spacy interludes after "Eyes", e.g. 10-29-77 or 12-30-77? I haven't listened to DP3 in a while (although it's a fave) so I can't recall offhand how that one plays out.

 

I just got DP 3 a few months ago so my first listen was from the perspective of a '77 veteran.

Damn, it's still hot stuff! I've heard the venue was a total dump with impossible traffic but that didn't stop the fireworks that night! The Dancin' further defines the term "squeefy" after the disco madness in Ithica earlier in the month.

I bet this one just straight melted faces when it hit the streets.

 

Checking the first half of '77, these are the similar interludes what I found, but it only happened twice out of "Eyes." Some are basically Jerry solos while other band members participate in a few.

3/20/77 - between "The Other One" and "Stella Blue"
5/3/77 - between "Eyes" and "Wharf Rat"
5/11/77 - between "Uncle John's Band" and "Wharf Rat"
5/13/77 - between verses of "The Other One"
5/18/77 - between "The Other One" and "Stella Blue"
5/21/77 - between "The Other One" and "Comes A Time"
5/22/77 - between "Eyes" and "Wharf Rat"
5/25/77 - between "The Other One" and "Wharf Rat"
5/28/77 - between "Not Fade Away" and "Wharf Rat"
6/4/77 - unusual placement between "Franklin's Tower" and "China Doll"
6/8/77 - between "The Other One" and "Wharf Rat"

 

Amazing! 5/3 isn't a show I've ever heard. There are actually a few on here I've never heard. In any case, the breakdown on 5/22 stuck out for me because he's all by himself and it's also quite pretty, as opposed to just spacey.

 

I hadn't either, until today. There is no SBD of the second set on the Archive - fortunately, Barry Glassberg and Jerry Moore were both present so there are excellent AUD recordings.

 

Thanks for listing those. I've always enjoyed those in those Spring shows. 5/11 St. Paul was one I heard early on courtesy of David Gans and a Grateful Dead Hour broadcast, and after that started noticing them more and more.

 

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)
• Grayfolded (1968-1993, released 1994 and 1995)
• Hundred Year Hall (1972-04-26, released 1995-09-26)
• Dick’s Picks Volume 3 (1977-05-22 Pembroke Pines, released 1995-11-07)

By Concert Date

• Various (released 1994 and 1995 on Grayfolded)
• 1968-08-24 Los Angeles (released 1992-05 on Two from the Vault)
• 1971-10-31 Columbus (released 1995-03 on Dick's Picks 2)
• 1972-04-26 Frankfurt (released 1995-09-26 on Hundred Year Hall)
• 1973-12-19 Tampa (released 1993-10-31 on Dick's Picks 1)
• 1975-08-13 San Francisco (released 1991-04-15 on One from the Vault)
• 1977-05-22 Pembroke Pines (released 1995-11-07 on Dick's Picks 3)
• 1989, 1990 (released 1991-11-01 on Infrared Roses)

This week: 1970-02-13, 14 New York (released 1996-02-23 on Dick's Picks 4)

Next week: 1979-12-26 Oakland (released 1996-05-30 on Dick's Picks 5)

 

Recording date: February 13–14, 1970
Recording location: Fillmore East, New York, NY
Release date: February 23, 1996
Recorded by: Owsley Stanley

Disc 1

1. "Introduction" (Zacherle) – 1:51
2. "Casey Jones" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:29
3. "Dancing in the Street" (Stevenson, Gaye, I. Hunter) – 9:30
4. "China Cat Sunflower" -> (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:09
5. "I Know You Rider" -> (traditional) – 5:04
6. "High Time" (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:51
7. "Dire Wolf" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:23
8. "Dark Star" -> (Garcia, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, McKernan, Weir, Hunter) – 29:41

Disc 2

1. "That's It for the Other One" -> (Grateful Dead) – 30:07
2. "Turn On Your Love Light" (Malone, Scott) – 30:27

Disc 3

1. "Alligator" -> (Lesh, McKernan, Hunter) – 3:55
2. "Drums" -> (Hart, Kreutzmann) – 12:31
3. "Me and My Uncle" -> (Phillips) – 3:14
4. "Not Fade Away" -> (Hardin, Petty) – 13:56
5. "Mason's Children" -> (Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Hunter) – 3:53
6. "Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)" -> (Grateful Dead) – 14:25
7. "Feedback" -> (Grateful Dead) – 8:40
8. "We Bid You Goodnight" (traditional) – 2:00

"Dark Star", "That's It for the Other One", and "Turn On Your Lovelight" recorded on February 13, 1970.
All other tracks recorded on February 14, 1970.

The fourth installment in the Dick’s Picks series was the first three-disc release. Instead of relatively unknown music, it’s a selection of highlights from a legendary run of shows. Even back in 1996 these Fillmore East performances were highly regarded, and getting this straight off the master reels was a dream come true for many Deadheads. Of course, ever since this release there have been calls to release the complete run in a box set.

It’s the first Dick’s Pick with more than a simple insert. Bear wrote the liner notes, a short essay that’s mostly a detailed explanation of his microphone and board usage; a couple of good black-and-white photos complete the insert.

The release starts with several shorter songs from the 14th. We get the first real jams in a strong version of Dancing in the Street. China>Rider is fun but still hadn’t quite found its pace. High Time and Dire Wolf provide a quiet interlude.

The core of the release is the 90-minute Dark Star>Other One>Lovelight sequence from the February 13 late show, spread over two discs. Dark Star starts elegantly, before rising to an early crescendo which sounds like it should lead to the first verse. But instead the band drops back into several more minutes of fairly melodic exploration. After the first verse we get the quiet and somewhat atonal section that’s typical of this era. The music swells into a jam that maintains a relationship to the Dark Star theme, then veers off elsewhere through an organic series of jams, before landing briefly into the second verse.

Cryptical Envelopment arises out of the ashes. Drums almost becomes Not Fade Away, but the drummers turn away into a long, playful duet. Finally, The Other One explodes. It’s a dynamic, exciting version, and while it hadn’t yet become the free-form jam vehicle into which it would morph by the fall of 1971, this version is very satisfying.

An extended Cryptical outro leads to a 30-minute Lovelight. While I’m sure Pigpen was a great frontman, his raps don’t translate well to the living room for this listener, and this isn’t a highlight of the release for me. I’m certain that plenty of people will disagree, and it is fun to hear how the crowd is worked into a frenzy by the end.

The third disc contains the heart of the Valentine’s Day late show. It’s a little over an hour of music without a break. A brief Alligator leads to a long drum duet, and unusually, to Me and My Uncle. An extended take on Not Fade Away veers far away from the song, at times reminding this listener of the Allman Brothers Band (who opened the show). Mason’s Children is interesting, and an expansive version of Caution follows. An unusually attractive Feedback follows (almost pretty at times), and We Bid You Goodnight sends us home, back on planet Earth.

Sound quality is generally good, although it’s a little thin in the low end with Phil’s bass hard to hear at times. Most purchasers would never have heard these shows in anything resembling this quality, so this was a very welcome upgrade.

In the end, this is one of the cornerstones of a live Grateful Dead collection, and no collection is complete without it.

 

As I recall, DP3 was selected and planed before Jerry died, and DP4 was the first release to be completely planned and released after his death. They ran some kind of poll to determine what should be released and these shows won. I'm sure some people would have wanted the complete shows but IIRC the early shows were not in circulation at that point (I don't know if they were in the vault). And of course licensing issues would have made the 2-11 show a bit complicated to release.

In any case, great release, classic shows, yadda yadda yadda, but I would have listened to this a lot more if they had sequenced it with "Dark Star" and "The Other One" on one disc. I'm not always in the mood for a 30-minute "Lovelight" but I'm pretty much always in the mood for 60 minutes of "Dark Star" and "The Other One."

 

At the time they couldn't include the songs that had been on Bear's Choice. I don't think the early shows were in Deadbase, and Bear denied that there were two shows those nights. I'm not sure what the twists in the story were after that but I think Dick mentioned the 2/14 early show with another "Dark Star" shortly before he passed.

 

yup - I normally listen to this in the car where I have the shows on my SD card, so all one long show. I went back earlier this week to listen to this show in prep for the thread, and I pulled the CDs. Had forgotten DS and TOO being split. Makes the CD experience 31% worse.

Anyway, two comments: 1) I'd hold this Casey Jones up there as an all-timer candidate. I also love the jammy 10/2/77 one but since they haven't released it, I'll save that for the other thread and 2) I try to always listen to my Allman Brothers Bear's Sonic journal CD from the same dates when I pull out DP4. What an amazing day of music

 

Yeah Owsley insisted they never played early shows there. He professed absolute certainty. Last I checked though I think the scholarly consensus is that they probably did?

 

Great release, of course, but the whole run deserves a box set of every recorded note.

 

These were a couple of the best-sounding and most-played tapes from this period that I had back in the day, so I was pretty stoked to have the best parts of these classic shows on CD, even though the music itself wasn't new to me. Also an interesting approach from Dick this time around -- DiP 3 pulled from an almost completely unknown show, the next pick draws from two of the most famous shows. Some notes and highlights:

• There's a reason these two shows are so well known -- the boys were obviously feeling frisky but were also tight in all the right ways. Bob is especially great on this release -- I love his tone during this era, he sits exactly where I like him in the mix and his playing is terrific. Jerry is obviously ripping and everyone is clearly listening to each other and having a blast.
  
• The Dancin' is solid and cool to hear this approach in contrast with the disco version from DiP 3. Nice jam in the middle. The Dancin' from Harpur will always be my favorite from this era, but this is a good one too.
• Hot transition jam in China > Rider, even if the pairing is still a little wobbly.
• The Dark Star from 2/13 is justifiably famous and certainly among the best they ever played, in my book. Never gets too hairy or dissonant, as Dark Stars can. Things start getting interesting around 15 minutes in, with a cool improvisational section that turns into the (definitive?) Feelin' Groovy jam. Another different idea from 22:40 or so, then back into the main theme with a good buildup to the closing verse. And into...
• The Other One, also surely one of the best of this era. This one doesn't get as out there as Hundred Year Hall, but that's ok, I'm not really looking for that in 1970. It's still an incredibly dynamic version that ebbs and flows beautifully, with everyone on the same page (except for when Bob tries to sneak in what sounds like a Spanish Jam between 20 and 21 minutes in and doesn't find any takers). Also a beautiful and very dynamic Cryptical to close it out.
• This Lovelight is not my favorite, I never needed the extended rap, and especially not one that's over 20 minutes long. Skip.
• The 2/14 part of this release is also a classic set. I wish they'd done the old primal Alligator jam instead of over 11 minutes of drums, though. That would have really sent this set through the roof.
• Awesome jam out of NFA that turns into a quasi-GDTRFB jam before swerving into Mason's Children, which is cool, even if that song isn't my favorite. Still, always rad to hear them do something unexpected.
• Filthy Caution jam with rapping mercifully kept to a minimum, into a nice not-too-dissonant Feedback, which even turns a little melodic before the perfect Goodnight comedown encore.

An essential recording -- big hole in the collection without this one.

 

Disc one of this compilation is one of my favorite individual discs in the entire DP run (I'll have to consider what the other 9 would be in a hypothetical top 10). Love the sound and separation and the feel throughout. Casey Jones is unskippable, China-Rider is good for the year, and Dancing is great Dark Star is my favorite from any year that isn't 1972 or 1973. Disc 2 gets less play for me; I love the Cryptical suite, but this Lovelight doesn't do much for me (there are ones from 69 and 72 that I like much more, even if they probably have just as many total minutes of Pigpen raps). And disc 3 is fun, with a superfun Not Fade Away and swing into Mason's Children.

(But, damn, listening to it again just makes me wish that the Harpur College show was recorded in this quality).

 

2/13/70 is perhaps my favorite Dead show ever, and in particular the 90 minutes of Dark Star>That's It For The Other One>Turn On Your Lovelight. The disc break isn't great, but obviously necessary. Don't get the disdain for the Lovelight, it's one of my favorite versions and is pretty much fire the entire duration.

The 2/14 selection is fantastic as well. The last disc is an absolutely great jam with elements of more primal Dead.

As a selection, the only flaw of Dick's Picks Volume 4 is that it isn't the entire shows. Both are epic and build up to the moments highlighted in this volume. But that's a small quibble in the grand scheme of things and this is one of the best ever archival releases by the band.

 

Warning: This post may be prone to hyperbole.

Previously posted in The Grateful Thread—

I’m listening to that 90-minute set from Dick’s Picks #4 — Fillmore East, New York City, NY, 13/02/70. I’ll get to the rest of the Pick tomorrow.

Everyone knows this Pick, and if you don’t, shame on you!

Holy ****ing schiit. This 90-minutes is one of the greatest sequences of music, I think, ever recorded — encapsulating the very essence of the Grateful Dead. It’ll hit you like a lightning bolt. Jaw-dropping. Face-stealing. Mind-blowing. Breathtaking in its scope and execution.

My brain actually can’t comprehend the utter genius here. It’s unfathomable how human beings could have created something as astonishing as this. Pure jamming heaven. No more talk. Just listen.

• Dark Star > That’s It For The Other One > Turn On Your Love Light.

All-timers, the three of ‘em. I love the NFA teases at the beginning of TOO.

Essential Dead.

— — —

“I want to wish you all a happy Valentine’s Day — well, well, this glorious Sunday morning, the Grateful goddamn Dead!” . . .

The remaining material from Dick’s Picks #4 — Fillmore East, New York City, NY, 14/02/70.

This one includes the super-charged, ferociously energetic late show-opener, Casey Jones and the whole of the electric 3rd set.

The 3rd set kicks-off with a real grooving Dancing In The Street; and again, this set features some exceptionally heavenly jamming, especially throughout China > Rider, NFA, and Caution, that is pure unbridled joy; it’s exhilarating. The NFA, here, is a heavy and raw psych-blues monster; an all-timer, with its exquisite Bid You Goodnight jamming within. There’s also sweet, crisp classic takes on High Time and Dire Wolf, too. Oh, and I love the raw and primal MAMU coming out of Drums.

These February 1970 shows at the Fillmore East are absolutely stellar. I’d love to see a box set featuring the whole run and the Allman Brothers set. Wishful thinking?

 

Did you get the 3-CD Deluxe set of the Allman Brothers recordings, put out by the Owsley Foundation a few years ago? The first disc is the compilation, originally issued by Grateful Dead Records in 1997; the other two discs have the complete recordings from Feb 11 and 13-14.

I'm not the greatest Allman Bros fan. I can take about a half-hour before I get bored of the blues rock jamming, but right now I'm pre-gaming with the single-disc comp of their performance, for context. As long as I take a break at halftime, I should be OK.

 

I picked up the old GDR version when it came out many moons ago (and loved it), but for some reason never picked up the expanded version (probably the cost for a few extra songs). And I'm a huge Allman Brothers Band fan - they're my most-seen band.

 

The single-disc reissue is good, and a nice stereo recording. I'm at the start of the "Mountain Jam" now, and didn't even need a break.

Looks like you can get the Deluxe 3-CD set for $25.98 at Amazon; some Marketplace sellers have the vinyl set for around $60.