Grateful Dead - Listen to the River Live in St Louis 71-73 Box Set

I'm finally having a moment to delve into these discs. It's interesting how the recordists' approaches were different. Bear, especially. They all sound great on my McIntosh/Vandersteen system.

The big treat for me as a bass player is that these are all Alembic modified Guild shows! Glorious bass.

 

Serious delving

 

I dont know if I said thanks to all whom expressed it but she passed Wednesday night. Thankfully I was able to witness her final breath. Yes, she was an incredible person. Had been pretty sick since 2008 so blessed I was able to spend the time with her but like Mickey said “at least I dont have to wait for the call anymore”

nothin left to do but smile….

 

10/29/1973


Second Listen

 

I hope your memories of her life can bring you some comfort in the days ahead. My condolences.

 

I will say, that I agree that on their own, neither the PlayingITB, Dark Star or Morning Dew are all-time great versions. For example, I feel that the previous night’s Playing in the Band is more impressive and there are certainly better Dark Stars in 1972.

That being said, as a 64-minute continuous flow of music, it is very rewarding. Two highlights for me are Phil’s extended bass solo in Dark Star and the nearly seamless re-entry to Playing from Morning Dew.

One more thought about 10/18/72: they seem to be playing with an almost aggressive edge on the first set songs, or perhaps that is just because Bobby’s awesome sounding Gibson is so prominent in the mix. Either way, I love it and it is a nice antidote to the more languid sound of ‘73.

 

Ripping rhe 1973 shows today, my birth year. Still absorbing it all. What a trip.

also I never heard the Pavement album Wowee Zowee in full so i am checking that out too.

 

Blessings to you and your family. And to your Mother on her new adventure.

 

Interesting, I have the spacious explorations of 1973 as an antidote to the cocaine + dentist drill energy of 1972.

 

I did 10/29 CD1 today. Keith's solo on "The Race is On" is ripping -- I love how you just find treasure everywhere with this band.

 

My disk 20 has spots and scratches, they don’t wipe off. Diksk 9 is scratched as well. Waiting to hear back from dr rhino

 

Holy Moley, the "Around & Around" from 10-19-72, someone gets completely lost during the guitar solo and nobody's playing the same chords for a little bit. Not a trainwreck but definitely a yard sale. Nice recovery, tho.

 

Upon closer inspection several of my discs are marked up. Say what you want about sticky spindles they don't tend to scuff as much. Of course my VDGG box is flawless and it’s basically the same packaging.

 

My disc 6 has a major scratch and won’t play at all. Awaiting a response as to replacement for that and 3 other damaged for a few days now. They just can’t seem to get their act together. Frustrating

 

Ridiculous

 

are they in good shape? get any tracking or they just showed up?

no lie i keep getting bounced around despite filling out that form

 

As a staunch supporter of 1972, I have to state unequivocally (to me, of course) that the 1973 shows are really the highlight of this set.

It's Bobby who's flat and you can hear him tune up wisely (and properly using appropriate notes for where they are at) from 0:30-0:45.

 

Now you're talking!

 

Well we’re lucky that it’s The Fox-Kiel Box, rather than just The Fox Box, I suppose.

 

I'm glad we got the Fox Box as a bonus to the Kiel Box.

 

No tracking or any indication they had been sent. Yes they were in good shape. Perfect.

 

hoping i get something then by the start of november

 

Let me ask you two simple questions:

1. If you bought 20 Japanese inner sleeves to protect new discs (as I did for this set), would you be happy if your discs arrived badly scuffed and had to insert said scuffed discs into the very entitities that cannot protect them from what they've already been through, would you consider said proactive actions to be worth anything?
2. Can you state unequivocally that scratched discs do not degrade more rapidly over time than those that are not scratched?

If I pay a premium for a product, I don't expect perfection, but I do expect reasonably high-quality products. It's really no more complicated than that. I'm not too precious, thank you very much. What a condescending remark.

 

Let me ask you two simple questions:

1. If you bought 20 Japanese inner sleeves to protect new discs (as I did for this set), would you be happy if your discs arrived badly scuffed and had to insert said scuffed discs into the very entitities that cannot protect them from what they've already been through, would you consider said proactive actions to be worth anything?
2. Can you state unequivocally that scratched discs do not degrade more rapidly over time than those that are not scratched?

If I pay a premium for a product, I don't expect perfection, but I do expect reasonably high-quality products. It's really no more complicated than that. I'm not too precious, thank you very much. What a condescending remark.[/QUOTE]
$200 bones and they can’t even get this right. Unreal.

 

Yesterday evening started and today continued with 10/29/73.

Love everything from the very start, it doesn't drop a bit. Some unexpected surprises include a hot Mexicali Blues (I can't imagine it being better than this version right here) and very hot Tennessee Jed.

Keith doesn't let it up. Pure joy.

And what a wild Eyes jam! Very aggressive playing by Jerry. Wow.

Start of the second set is only slightly marred by Phil's out of tune lower E string, otherwise all performances are stellar.
For now (this week?) I feel like I like this show more than 10/30, but in the future I believe it'll probably be a tossup.

Saving the big 10/29 jam for tonight.

EDIT: Again a gloriously sounding show. I only dislike Bill's snare, it's a bit too thin.