Grateful Dead

Already commented on the high energy renditions of Touch of Grey and an all time great Minglewood from 7/12/89. Here's my song by song take.... Missippi Half-Step - continuation of the high energy from Touch and Minglewood. The band is clearly on and feeling good. Inspired performance. Brent's embellishments are spot on perfect. Tom Thumb Blues - fairly stndard, but well played. Phil was definitely "on" this night, as was everybody. Far From Me - Brent proving himself to be an integral part of the Dead. He was channeling some dark emotions, but keeping it real at the same time. Life isn't always unicorns ands rainbows, and sometimes the most inspired performances come from "real life" emotions. As much as love, happiness and joy evoke inspired music, some of the most effective songs are born out of pain. It doesn't get much more real than that. Mad respect for Brent. Cassidy - Energy level has only increased by this point into this high energy show. Anyone catch the song Weir quotes at the beginning of the main solo section....nah...hah/nah/nah/nah...nah/nah/nah nah...nah-nah-nah...nah-nah-nah...? Cool stuff. A solid performace. The version from Without a Net (12/9/89 Forum) is the definitive electric released performance. FOTD - Despite Bob coming in a little early on the chorus, it's evident that the Dead are performing every song to near perfection. They were like a well oiled machine by '89. You have to go back to May '77 and '72 to find this level of consistency. I like Brent's choice of sound that begins with his solo. Usually he would implement a violin sound. Here he uses a saxophone patch. Cool stuff right there. Jerry's solo shines as well. Also of note, Jerry is in near perfect voice. Promised Land - This song had been such a standard in their setlists, that they usually performed it well, even in their off years. This version is a typically nice capper to what feels like too short of a first set. They were playing so well at this point in their career, that the songs breeze by. So far, I've found nothing to make me feel like they were dragging, or in "dirge" mode. High energy. Onto the second set... Sugaree - Back in the day, I used to say, "Oh no, there's that darn accordian again". I attended the Buckeye Lake show the previous summer in '88, so got to see the first Horsby accordian sit in. Now-a-days, I think the accordian actually added a nice different texture. Suprised Bruce didn't bust it out on Bob's cowboy/polka numbers more often. The '88 Buckeye Lake version still had that brand new accordian smell to it, where this version is executed as if it were pre-recorded, they are so tight. I loved seeing this song live, and this version makes me miss Jerry (and Brent) all that much more. Women Are Smarter - Hearing Bruce on the keys with Brent on the organ together, makes me imagine if Brent had survived, and Bruce were added as a second keyboardist, the two of them together pushed this so far over-the-top, that this becomes definitive by proxy. For this moment in their history, this two-keyboards approach is a true few minutes of magic may be the best "two-keyboardist" bit of music from the Dead's entire 30 year touring career. You'll never find a Pigpen/Constantan, Pigpen/Keith or Vince/Bruce moment that comes remotely close to how awesome this is. I only wish this track would have been mixed with the Key's in the right channel and organ in left channel. If you're not listening in headphones, like I am now, this doesn't matter much. Just my opinion of course. Ship of Fools - For some reason, the dead really seemed to dig deep into this song during the '89 Summer tour. This version is no different. played with precision and emotion. Estimated - Every version performed in '89 was stellar, and this one is no different. Eyes - Much like Estimated, another great version. I think my favorite estimated > Eyes combo from summer '89 might be 6/21/89 Shoreline. Watched the original "pay per view" broadcast, but these are also awesome. Like others, I welcomed the funky versions that began with Knickerbocker 3/25/90, and of course, that all time version with Branford. The uptempo ones from '89 will still quite epic. Another reminder of how much I miss Summer tours with Jerry. Nice little jam at the end of this 7/12 version. Drums - One thing I really liked about the '89 drums segments are how Bill and Mickey would switch up their approaches from show to show. Some shows they would approach with a more traditional drum solo with their trap kits. Other shows would be heavy sonic exploartions with the MIDI trigger pads, while other times they would expore a variet of hand drums that originate from ancient, and even prehisoric cultures. Of course the Beam comes in and we get a "Holy fucking shit!" from Bill. Nice. I remember that from the Meet-up showing. Space - One thing I wish would have translated onto tape were the surround sound effects from the '80s. I remember vididly how sound would bounce around between the front of house p.a. speakers and the repeater towers of speakers further back around the crowd. Dan Healy would control this with joysticks where he could mover any sound around an arena. I saw Pink Floyd do this at the one concert of theirs I caught in '94 (which happened to be the first complete Dark Side of the Moon performance since '76 or '77). I caught the Dead in Spring '89 for what would be among the final pre-MIDI Space segments, then caught them (first on the 6/21 PPV broadcast) at Alpine. '89 through '90 saw some major evolution/changes for the Dead. It was a great time to go to shows (except for Brent dying of course). Miracle - Nice solid version. Short, well played. Average. I really dig the 3/14/90 Cap Center version. Jerry treally digs in deep on that one. Mr. Fantasy - Awesome version. Jerry fully jumps right in on his solos and kills them. Another song that soared in '89, and this one follows suit. Another track that alone makes this set worth the price of admission. Black Peter - I always welcome this song in any setlist. Amazing how well the bands dynamics on this aren't hindered by the fact that it was performed in a massive sports stadium. The subtleties are impeccable. Lovelight - Coming out of Black Peter, it's always nice when a show ends on a bluesy/R&B note. Sure, it's not like the monsters from '70, that could strech for over a half hour, but it still captures some essence from that. Like Goof Lovin', there was ony one Pigpen to sing it. Of course every version that came after would never be the same without him.It's cool that they would still pay a tribute to him by performing these all the way up until the end. Black Muddy River - One of the last of the truly great Garcia/Hunter ballads (along with Standing on the Moon and Days Between), and this one delivers. Overall, the first show is a winner. Sounds awesome. Well performed. Inspired. More of these please! Now onto 7/13/89...

....can't argue with that. Perfect mix. Liking the MIDI "clap" effects that Billy/Mickey throw out there during Eyes. Fun indeed. I recall those MIDI "claps" very well live. Who is this band and why do they keep following me, even now?....1989 was my most attended year. I will wait patiently for a Cal Expo box. Grate run worthy of release....

agreed - Man Smart is a fun ride. Always good for a jam, and this one rocks. Anyone else notice how the pace on Sugaree in the last verse and chorus is inconsistent, with factions trying unsuccessfully to pull it in different directions? It definitely wobbles, but it works - adds character. Raking leaves with RFK rockin' the headphones. So far I like it a lot - Reminds me of the impressive RT '88 shows (3/30 and 4/1/88) in terms of that late '80's "full-band sound", consistent execution - but in '89 they're a little more polished - especially Jerry. The mix is so uncluttered, and they're playing so well that you can HEAR them responding to each other from moment to moment. Fun listening.

....big man come and asks him why? This set has a Man Smart, Women Are Smarter for the ages. Never thought I would say that, but yet, here I am, saying it. Dueling keyboards anyone?....

Why no video with this box? Beats the hell out of me.

That "Formerly the Warlocks" box sounds really bad to me. They let someone other than Jeff Norman mix it, and why? If you ever wonder why digital sound gets a bad rap, listen to that. I can't even. Why no video on this new box?

Everybody polka!!! Hey there rockers, rollers, lovers, and others……….. The first of the wonderful three Fall 1971 Texas shows: https://archive.org/details/gd71-11-12.sbd.clugston.4759.sbeok.shnf Or, if you prefer the Millerized version of Set 2: https://archive.org/details/gd1971-11-12.sbd-set2.miller.14916.sbeok.sh… In either case, the Live/Dead groupmindmusicmelt running like a well oiled machine, fantastic recovery from the Atlanta fiasco. If 11/11 was a bad acid trip, 11/12 is the mellow mushroom rebound. Some new things, some oldies, cowboy tunes, rockers, Black Peter (love me those 71 Black Peters!), and a mammoth Other One. What’s not to like about this fine fine show? Looking forward to my possible upcoming sabbatical, perhaps more later……………….. Rock around the clock, Doc Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death. If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life belongs to those who live in the present……….

I had the 89 show at Philly with 3 CDs and DVD. That was a great show. They did a lot of videos in 89,What I don't get is why the Dead were not really even in the ballpark of popularity compared with like the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin. I mean they did very well with their fanbase, They had a large set of material, They had 1 hit song, but musically they were more talented and played very well together, but it seems without Jerry Garcia, they dropped down a lot. Jerry was something special, even playing on a lot of opiates. I mean they didn't even consider going on without him. The group now sounds really pretty good, and they look like they are enjoying it ,I don't think I would enjoy a show now. But at least we have access to tons of their past shows. I would love to see them release the RFK stadium weekend from 73. I went to Saturday where the Dead played the afternoon and the Allman Brothers at night . It was a grate day!

You don't love the smell of the fresh booklets and new CD packages? It's like the xerox copies from high school. No, not at all a failure, quite the opposite. Will sell out eventually, and I believe a little more than 2/3 sold already has got to be enough to turn a profit.

Did you get the sweepstakes winning, soaked in Kush Oil, linter notes made from Owsley blotter paper special edition? Mine smelled.. like a CD. I think this is a fine release. Honestly I have not finished a full listen, but the Lay Me Down Let it Grow is enough to at the very least not call this a failure. ...and really, hat's off to the care that went in to making it sound as good as it possibly could. This is really important.. they seem to not get a second chance on re-mastering.. once it's done, it's done, so do a great job on the first try, which they did here. If there's something to learn from this release it's that Senor Norman can do a fine job if only we don't give him 30 shows to master in like 31 1/2 days or something. Plus.. it keeps the price tag a shy under $700. These two, three, four and five show mini boxes are the way to go. A big plus for allowing them to fit on our CD shelves. Easy on the wallet, closet space and they just seem to sound better then monster efforts.. how about two or three mini box sets a year instead of a cardiac inducing monster box every year? Those with significant others would greatly appreciate it.