That was quite an undertaking, I know that took a lot of time, thanks for sharing. I see you have a version of “ Truckin ” on disc three, is it correct that this was performed only a number of times acoustically, unless I missed it I don’t believe there has been an acoustic version released officially.
Mid-day listening: 10/20/74 Winterland. The big finale. The end of an era. The return of Mickey. So many things. The first set is Mickey-free and more typical 1974. Very nice China>Rider, and a little odd that none of it made it to the Movie Soundtrack. The second and third sets are excerpted on disc 5 of the Soundtrack. Mickey's reintroduction was effective in a few places, not surprisingly in TOO that was a callback to the psychedelic era. The bulk of the songs he joined in on were ones he'd never played with the GD before, or not in that form. For me, the big PITB and Eyes jams were less effective with two drummers. The jazzy grooves of 1973-74 turn thick and gloppy with Billy and Mickey trying to adjust. Things got better after the hiatus when they had some time to figure it out--and when the jams became less jazzy and more rock-oriented. Everybody was supposedly dosed to the max, but I don't hear any particular weirdness. Apart from having two drummers, it sounds like mid-grade 1974.
Thanks! I think that's right, the 09.18 and 09.20 acoustic Truckin's are the only SBDs known (?), and we have AUD tapes of 08.18, 08.19 (Fillmore West) and 09.17 (Fillmore East). I really wish we had a SBD of that 09.17 Fillmore East show with the debut and only acoustic version of "Box of Rain" - perhaps its definitive live appearance.
That would be incredibly sad if true! I wonder what the lineage is of the tape that Wolfgang's Vault used? It would be a real shame if they had better tapes in some cases than what is actually in the Vault.
Thanks for that, been wondering about that for awhile, I really love hearing an acoustic” Truckin “ and I’m glad you have it on your compilation. Well I guess that would be the cherry on top of your collection......the one and only acoustic recording of “Box of Rain”. I was not aware that there is only one known acoustic version so thanks for that as well, would love to hear that especially if the vocal was close to the studio version.
So, I just finished my "tour" of 1974 that started in February. It's interesting to take in a period of their history that way. My highest-level conclusion is that '74 wasn't as radical overall as '73 (which, to be fair, I haven't heard even nearly in its entirety). The second set core jam of choice was Truckin far more often than it was DS or TOO. I attribute that, in part, to the bigger scale of the WoS shows. The tour was nothing but stadiums and arenas because that's all they could play logistically. That setting may have contributed to a more driving second set that was less often off in the aether. However, the playing achieved a remarkable level of jazz-oriented sophistication in 1974. These guys could really do just about anything musically by '74. Having reached that pinnacle, I still think it's a shame that they walked away for a year and a half. Looking back at my posts, here are the peaks of that year for me--the shows I'm going to revisit again and again: 2/24 Winterland 5/14 Missoula 5/19 Portland 6/18 Louisville 6/26 Providence 7/19 Fresno 7/31 Hartford 8/4 Philadelphia 8/5 Philadelphia 8/6 Jersey City 9/11 London 9/18 Dijon 10/16 Winterland 10/19 Winterland Damn, that's a LOT of peaks. I'm peaking! Oh well, it was indeed a very good year. If I had to choose three shows, it'd be Fresno, 8/5 Philly, and 9/11 London, most likely. At least that's what I'd choose today... And even within the shows not listed above, there are many moments of transcendence I'll be revisiting: 5/17 Vancouver: PITB 5/21 Seattle: PITB 6/8 Oakland: Greatest Story, China>Rider, Truckin, PITB>Wharf>PITB 6/16 Des Moines: China>Rider, Truckin>Nobody's 6/20 Atlanta: Scarlet, Truckin, Eyes 6/22 Miami: Greatest Story, Sugaree, PITB 6/23 Miami: To Lay Me Down, DS>Spanish>US Blues 6/28 Boston: WRS>Jam (so good it almost singlehandedly elevates this show to the above category) 6/30 Springfield: PITB, Scarlet 7/21 Hollywood: China>Rider, PITB sequence 7/25 Chicago: Scarlet, DS Jam sequence 7/27 Roanoke: PITB, China>Rider 7/29 Landover: WRS 9/9 London: PITB, Truckin sequence 9/10 London: WRS, DS (this much goodness almost bumps this one up to the "favorite shows" category) 9/14 Munich: WRS, Truckin, Eyes 9/20 Paris: Friend of the Devil, China>Rider, Greatest Story 9/21 Paris: Peggy-O 10/17 Winterland: the stuff on the soundtrack 10/18 Winterland: the stuff on the soundtrack 10/20 Winterland: China>Rider, TOO
Today I listened to 2/9/73 (Roscoe Maples Pavilion). Terrific show. Highlights includes China > Rider, Sugaree, They Love Each Other, Black-Throated Wind, Mexicali Blues and Looks Like Rain. Some really solid jamming here. The first set is superb. Very conistent in quality. The second set's incredible and offers highlights in the form of Eyes Of The World, Sugar Magnolia, Uncle John's Band, Here Comes Sunshine as well as Playing In The Band. There is a certain eagerness to the playing found here. The band's testing out their new PA (according to what Bob says in the beginning) which might explain it. The playing's excellent throughout, though it would get better over the year. I really enjoy this show. It should not be missed. Earlier in the day I checked out 8/4/74 (Philadelphia Civic Center). Great show. Highlights inlcudes Jack Straw, Peggy-O, China > Rider, Truckin', Other One Jam and UJB. Very impressive show. The jamming during the second set blew me away One of the very best versions of Truckin' with an absolutely instrumental section. The first set's also excellent. I will revisit this one more for sure.
I think the Dead burnt themselves out on DS and TOO after alternating those songs at nearly every show in '72. You might think that in '74 they would have been playing more conservatively after taking the financial risk of having their own label and touring with the Wall of Sound, but as far as I know they did the opposite, adding Ned Lagin and going in more bizarre improv directions. However, I haven't heard a lot of complete '74 shows.
The Centrum November 4, 1985 El Paso West L.A. Fadeaway New Minglewood Blues This some greasy stuff.
I think 74 is their most far out year overall. They started out 73 consciously trying to be more succinct, though that basically went out the window by March. December 73 has some signature craziness, but for a lot of mid-73 they favored more structured jams as opposed to bonkers space noises, (relatively speaking of course.) 1974 was when even Truckin and Eyes of the World would breed the kind of meltdown that only used to be found in Dark Star, etc. Also, I don't have the book handy, but I'd be surprised if the Other One was not preceded by Truckin' at least 2/3 of the time in 72-73, 74 has a couple of implied Other Ones to go with at least one implied Dark Star. The ship has obviously sailed, but a massive box set of all the shows of 1974 would have been a good follow-up to the success of the e72 trunk.
After-dinner theater: 1/8/66, the Fillmore Acid Test After spending a couple months going through 1974 start to finish, I got a little burned out on an sea of basically similar first sets. To follow up, I've decided to take a different approach to the Archive--basically my own 30 Trips...but really 29 trips, since there aren't any '65 shows in the Archive. So, on to the Fillmore Acid Test... That is some wacky stuff, man, and I've read enough of the books now that I can almost picture the event. At this stage of their evolution and in that environment, this recording makes me think of the dada weirdness of the original Mothers of Invention. I literally wouldn't have known this was the GD if someone played it for me randomly. Jerry doesn't even sound like the same player. Here, he was a slashing bluesman, not a country-jazz sophisticate. The highlight for me, besides Babbs' and Kesey's tripped-out babble, is Pigpen's greasy growl. So much more aggressive and even threatening than he was by '69 in the extended Lovelights. He made 1966 Mick Jagger sound like a choirboy. Had I been an A&R man who stumbled onto to the scene by accident, I would have signed Pigpen and Jerry on the spot and probably left the rest of them behind. Good thing that wasn't the case!
Early evening listening. Playing random tunes from Long Strange Trip 6 Lp set. This is great sounding set on my rig. Wow , worth the price just for the unissued songs included and those songs that have never been out on vinyl. Easy Wind - Workingman’s Dead 1970 vintage Pig Candyman - American Beauty 1970 harmonies so good China/Rider Herouville France 6/21/71 not their best but a good one....love Jerry’s guitar as he is taking them out. Morning Dew London 5/26/72 another one that will grow on you. Dark Star 2/14/70 love this spacey period and especially Dark Stars... My dilemma what next?
The second set is great, but as a complete show it doesn't grab me the way others did. It may move higher on my list over time. I loved large parts of those shows (and almost listed Boston), but my listed favorites were so good end-to-end that I immediately wanted to listen to the whole thing again. Truth is, the two Paris shows are the only ones I wouldn't be enthusiastic about revisiting, once I've had a little time away from 1974 whole shows. Apart from that, they didn't really play any *bad* shows, and every single one has at least a few amazing moments. You have a lot more listening experience, so I'll defer to you and say that I need to listen to more '72-73 before I make such rash pronouncements. One thing I consistently loved in touring the '74 shows is how they were able to morph into and out of chaos seamlessly. There are transitions they played off the cuff that it would most folks days or weeks to work up.
I'm starting my second go-round of Pacific Northwest '73-'74: The Complete Recordings with 6/22/73 - P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver. The China-Rider on disc 2 is excellent.
Tonight's listening, what circulates of the only time The Dead played my hometown; Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, PA, 4/13/71.
