I'm not wild about that one. I came to some of the songs in their original arrangements and couldn't get by that. I'm just about done listening to every show from 87 and into September of 94, and I feel like the high points of 94 are higher than the high points of 87. 87 is much more consistent, but its kind of like AM radio Dead. Garcia doesn't ever play 'bad' in 87, (at least not for long,) but there are definitely moments (as in songs or series of songs) in 94 where it sounds like he is just going through the motions, or worse, can't do what he intends. 91 on the other hand is my favorite year of 1980-95, pretty much hands down.
"Word Jazz' creator Ken Nordine passed away this morning - here's the opening track from the album he released on Grateful Dead Records, Devout Catalyst "I love a groove" Garcia/Grisman as the backing band
^^ First time I heard Nordine was when this was on the Dead Hour. Later moved to Chicago and heard him on NPR.
I bet it was probably the same for me. I think they also played it and some of Devout Catalyst on Morning Dew on WBAI, but I can't remember which was first.
Devout Catalyst blew minds when that CD hit the scene. Appreciated the signposts to important art and culture provided by Jerry and the band. I bought a cassette of "Kind of Blue" immediately after hearing about the Dead's stab at "So What" at Hampton in '88 after all. R.I.P. Mr. Nordine
I thought I read somewhere that the Dead opened on 10/9, but after their performance that day Pete suggested they switch it up for day two. But I’d think it would’ve make more sense for The Who to close a stadium show in 1976, even in Oakland.
Just found out that on 4/15/88 the boys opened the show with Scar>Fire and Bucket instead opened set 2 WHAT?!?!?
Does anyone else always hit "skip" when Knockin' On Heaven's Door is the encore? I'm sorry, but G'n'R ruined the song for me and if I never hear it again it'll be too soon. Definitely one of my all-time least favorite Dylan tunes....
Garcia readily assented to it, saying of the Who: "Those guys are more exciting than we are." The plain truth, both in terms of power-trio energy of the songs, and the stage show. The Dead never had anyone who played 30-foot toss and catch games with the microphone like Roger Daltrey, or drummed with the wild abandon of crazy Keith Moon. On the other hand, the Who repeated their entire set on the second day, song for song. Right down to the song order, and the scripted spoken word introductions of the tunes. The Who didn't repeat the show note for note, they were never that rote. But they obviously had things preplanned, right down to the stage blocking. That probably influenced my impression that the second day didn't quite possess the anthemic majesty of the the first day- which I felt was an outstanding performance. It was also my first time catching the Who's live act, and they lived up to their reputation. Still, there was a highlight in the Who's performance on the second day- they did an encore, a three-song medley- "Shakin' All Over">>"Spoonful">>Johnny B. Goode." Encores were practically unknown by the Who at that stage of the game; Pete Townshend later said that Bill Graham had persuaded the band by offering them all a complete set of original Fillmore posters. They brought the energy to that encore, matching the intensity of their first day's performance. As for the Dead, their sets were completely different from one day to the next, as usual. And if you listen to those shows, you may notice some obvious Who-style power chord jams during the uptempo parts of the open-ended improvisations of the Dead's set. Something I found particularly noticeable on the second day. I think Weir was doing most of the slamming riffs, but Garcia may have put his hand to that task as well.
A belated anniversary listen to Road Trips 2.2 (2/14/68 Carousel Ballroom plus various early ‘68 bonus tracks). A very good use of time. I just finished disc one - during the “It Hurts Me Too” bonus track (1/23/68) my wife, from across the room, said “Is that Pigpen? He’s really got soul.” He sure does. On to disc two...
Not sure I've ever listened to a Dead encore version. Although I have heard a few of those extremely...extremely...slow versions JGB did in the mid 70's.
Maybe, I didn't notice but was listening late at night and multi-tasking a bit with a few drinks into me after the end of a loooong day and week at work, so very conceivable I missed it.
truth? the only version of "Heaven's Door" that I like enough to put on a recording of it is Dylan's original. Dylan does a solidly expressive job of singing the tune. And at least he takes the song at a tempo that sounds like he's walking an exhausted horse toward that expectation of a last roundup that's evoked by the lyrics, rather than crawling toward it. I think Garcia's version with the JGB is good, and he sings it well, but it's so mournful the way he does it. If you feel that you have to play a Dylan song at that dirge tempo, I much prefer, say, "Going, Going, Gone." Never thought that the Dead did "Knockin'" all that well. Same dirge tempo as the Jerry band version, done with less commitment. And I don't view it as a song that is served well when sung with group harmony vocals. Having a harmony chorus in the background doing chorus stuff is different, that can work. But to me, "Knockin'" is meant for a solo vocal. And not for group harmonies, much less a crowd singalong. I don't even want to sing along with that tune at a wake. Subjectively, it doesn't feel right to me.
It was probably overdone but I always liked it. To me it fit well at the end of a memorable show, although It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue was a better choice for that. I also like the 12/31/87 version on Ticket to New Year’s with the Neville Brothers and others, which admittedly has influenced my overall appreciation for the Dead’s version. It made an impression on me at the time.
Weir plays the Weather Report opening at 0:42-0:45 of the bottom bun of the TOO/Uncle/TOO sandwich on 8/6/71. But he may have done it on more than one occasion.
Been a while, but I remember liking the Pittsburgh 7/6/87 version with the Nevilles as well. I like the Dylan version and the song in general, so I didn't mind hearing it when the Dead did it, but also wasn't as excited about it as most other encores.
That would’ve been a great IWT for 17-year-old me but I as luck would have it I was grounded. So instead Alpine Valley ‘88 became my first shows. I had some friends there though. It was their first run so they didn’t fully understand the context... the crowd reaction blew them away; they weren’t sure exactly what was happening. I still remember them talking about that afterwards.
I'm with you on this. So repetitive. "Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door..." a thousand times...ugh.
