Grateful Dead Dave's Picks 2020 Subscriptions

Very nicely put.

 

Some great 1st sets in 1977.

 

My take on the Seventies:

1 Tie 72-73
3 1974
4 1976
5 1975
6 1977
7 1970
8 1979
9 1978
10 1971

 

The sound of the Dead in 75 was so good...how I wish there were more shows...

 

I have not yet entered the dimension where ‘78 and “79 are better than ‘77.

 

I believe that his point was that you posted about a 2019 shipping notice in the 2020 DaP subscription thread, not the 2019 DaP subscription thread.

Agreed for the most part, including the first paragraph that I didn't quote, because I want to focus on what I did quote.

For what it's worth, I'm primarily a '72-'74 (throw in '75 if you feel like it) guy. And the '70-'71 period has plenty to offer. But there are some fine moments (extended moments, not just my usual 73 seconds) in '76-'79; you just have to look a bit more carefully to find them:

• 7/17/76 - DaP 18. The Comes a Time--> Drums--> TOO--> Space--> Eyes--> Jam--> TOO--> GDTRFB--> OMSN is something you need if'n y'don't have it.
• I've already mentioned some '77 highlights in my post from last night
• 1/22/78 - DaP 23 is over the top
• 4/22/78 - DaP 15 has some strong performances
• 5/14/78 from the porch sagger has an epic Let it Grow and perhaps the best Sugar Mag they ever did (except see next bullet)
• 12/1/79 - second set. This needs to be released in its entirety. The second set contains all-time versions of China--> Rider, He's Gone and a Gloria Jam that comes out of nowhere and goes everywhere. Then we get a NFA--> Black Peter--> Sugar Mag that looks very pedestrian but is anything but. The Sugar Mag rivals 5/14/78 for top honors. The ending is absolutely unique and Jerry is on top of his game through the whole second set.

As for the '80s, yes it's sporadic. Early-mid '80s is my live show wheelhouse. No set is better than the second set from SPAC, 6/18/83. The tapes suck. Too bad. Trust me, every hair on my body stands on end when I hear that Morning Dew).

 

This ranking makes sense to me as far as rankings go.

 

March '77 is the next logical choice for that year.

 

Subscribed again, albeit tentatively after the shipping problems for the last pick. Hopefully Vol. 32 will be better!

I have to say I've been generally happy with the picks. Not a fan of the 80's shows, but the last 79 show made me want to hear more from a year I wasn't familiar with. I didn't 'love' it, but it intrigued me enough. That's what I like so far, the series has encouraged me to listen to shows that I haven't heard before or explore years that I wouldn't have usually.

 

I love 5/14/78. One of the best shows in the big box and a top three 78 show overall for me to be sure. But they don’t play “Sugar Magnolia” at that show (which you call one of their best “sugar mags”) and now you have me wondering which “Sugar Magnolia” you mean or you were thinking of, as I really want to hear it! Especially as I agree on that “Let It Grow”. Thoroughly unique and huge.

 

A fav of mine as well.....

Talk From The Rock Room: Grateful Dead - May 14, 1978 Providence, RI - 'Listen to the Thunder Shout'

 

Haven't missed a subscription yet. Won't miss this one.

Now that I think about it, don't think I've missed out on any offering since Dicks Picks started. Damn, I'm lucky.

At the early bird price, it's really a no-brainer.

Zafu

 

Ordered! This is my first time subscribing, though I've ordered a few a la carte and a few off eBay. I don't have any CD's from Fall 1977 so I'll be excited to have DeKalb (previewed on Archive and it sounds great). Hoping it's a good year!

 

I've apparently contracted a particularly virulent strain of bzfgt syndrome. I meant 4/22/78 (the show just before 5/14/78 in my player), which is DaP 15. The NFA--> Dock Rodent--> Sugar Mag is great, with Jerry and the whole band really ripping things up on SM.

 

I’m like Pavlov’s Dog. You give a shout out to Englishtown, you get a Like. Simple as that. WaterLemon’s Law of Thermodynamics.

 

I'm more of an entropy type, but I get ya.

 

Like US Blues with the "farewell" Winterland shows and me with anything after 1978, on principle.

 

I'm very fond of '77 Dead (though I like almost all their seventies performances) for two reasons. First, they were at their slickest, and it's fascinating to hear the sometimes shambolic Dead firing on all cylinders and acting like a well-oiled machine with precision Swiss components. Sure, the wildness present in most other years is largely absent, but you can't have everything, and in its own way the syncopated, funky near-20-minute jams on "Dancing In The Street" are as impressive as the wildest "Dark Star", whilst being completely dissimilar. Secondly, the band was writing great material at the time, so there was fantastic new stuff joining their set lists (notably "Estimated Prophet" and "Terrapin Station") and crowding out older, overrated warhorses like "El Paso", "Me And My Uncle" and "Sing Me Back Home".

The reverse, of course, happened in the eighties when bad songs started to crowd out good in the band's set lists. I's not simply that I don't like Brent Mydland's writing, singing and playing; Garcia and Weir were becoming less sure-footed as songwriters. To my ears, Go To Heaven contains one great song ("Althea"); its worst moments were execrable ("Feel Like A Stranger", "Far From Me") and its mediocre moments (notably "Sailor>Saint") became staples of their live sets. The band seemed to rediscover its songwriting mojo for In The Dark, but Built To Last saw them back in the doldrums – you know something's wrong when Mydland is the most prolific composer on a Dead album and when a Weir song is the best thing on the LP.

 

Songs in 89-90 that were better than in the 70s

Loser
Cassidy
Deal
Jack Straw

I’m sure there’s more if I think about it.

I can find something to love in every era. I’m in Europe 72 with my regularly scheduled listening (at the gym, when hiking/running), but have the Giants box in the car for the 35-minute commute. Both are absolute fire. Let’s remember, apples and oranges are both delicious tree fruit that are important sources of vitamins.

 

I’m not sure that Sing Me Back Home was played enough to be a warhorse (although it was fairly frequent in its brief heyday) but I certainly wouldn’t consider it overrated! Sure wish that one had stuck around longer.

 

"Feel Like a Stranger" feels like the prototype for all the bad second generation jam bands that exploded in the wake of Jerry's passing-- Widespread Panic, Umphrey's McGee, Keller Williams, String Cheese Incident, etc, i.e. jammed-out, lyrically inane, stiff, middle-aged white man "funk." For years, despite their clear cultural connection, I struggled to detect a genuine musical Dead influence in those bands, and then I heard Without a Net...

 

disagree 100%

 

Yes I subscribed again. I always get two subscriptions. Sell one set to pay for the other and usually have some cash left to spend as well. That way I get free GD music on CD. It is a no brainer!!!

 

you’ll probably love that I’ve added Jack Straw to my list.

 

People are very quick on the trigger to dismiss anything post 77( and complain about Donna while doing so) but imho there is quite a bit to be gleaned from the latter eras

I’ll throw some Jerry ballads into that list

Stella blue( 94 was best for this tune)
Wharf rat
Black peter
Brokedown palace
Morning dew(gasp!!)