Grateful Dead

That would be grand. mdboucher, The lawn mower is all gassed up and ready to go.. I left the keys in the ignition.. Meet you there. We have about six weeks until #26 starts to ship..

Larry Campbell, awesome..going to have to check out that stuff from last night with Bobby & Phil. His time with Dylan is some of the best Neverending Tour, probably my favorite version of it. Unfortunately before my time (think he played with him from 3/31/97 to 11/21/04) but man, some smokers. He can play anything with strings. He could really rip but also that was the hey day of their country sound, some of those '99/00 shows. Then his time with Levon, those two late model Levon albums are fantastic. Electric Dirt is where I first heard Tennessee Jed. Love the Jerry box...definitely getting on that. And I guess Dylan & The Dead RSD...so, yeah..big gulps huh..

....you know what i think would be cool? Remember those 3D pictures that were popular in the '90's where you had to slightly cross your eyes or look past the design to see the image? THAT, would be cool....

The themed covers resonate best with me. 5 and 12 being my favorites, followed by 9 and 11. Given that the release is from Albuquerque, maybe they could tie in a little Breaking Bad with some terrapins. A rendition of the infamous turtle scene would be cool. Just no hot air balloons or hatch chiles please.

Love Vguy's idea. Probably would work with any artwork. AngryJackStraw might need a Tums, but wouldn't mind a little green chile salsa on the side either. Nice commentary and repartee on the '80s Helps – thanks!

will be pulling the trigger for the 4 CD set. Hearing jerry doing "Katie Cruel" in this context should be worth price alone. Glad Round did not include the '64 Sleepy Hollow radio show set as i've enjoyed it for awhile now. I could only dream of this material getting official release in 1995. Put a bearded clam on the cover..... i will still gladly buy. Lols.

I'm down with a bearded hatch chili for the next Dave's.

Port Chester 1971………………..where to begin??? Well, first consider this. The February 1971 Port Chester shows shouldn’t have taken place. They were originally scheduled for December 1970, but those were cancelled and the run was rescheduled for February 1971. If they had taken placed as originally scheduled, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion. And if played in December 1970, the shows would have been nothing like what they played in February. Just one of many Grateful Dead “What If…………”s. In order to better understand and/or appreciate my thoughts about Port Chester 1971 (hereafter simply referred to as PC71), some of my background may be relevant. When I first got into tapes collecting and trading, it was widely rumored---and widely believed----that no surviving SBDs of PC71 existed. There were audience tapes, which ranged from “kinda sorta listenable” to “truly wretched”. But since I can’t really listen to and enjoy early audience tapes, I never explored them, even though I had the tapes. Since I already had many tapes----including many high quality 71s----this wasn’t such a big deal to me at the time. When the Betty boards came out, they included all the PC71s, beautiful pristine soundboards. I was grateful to get them but for a long time didn’t really check them out seriously. I thought, How can they seriously compare to April, and especially the April 71 Fillmore shows? So for maybe the first ten years that I had them, I never seriously listened to them. Finally, after all that time I decided I should really buckle down and check them out. Of course, by that time I was a much better “listener” than I was before. The result? BLOWN MIND!!!! But not in the way that you might think. OK, it didn’t have the massive mythic jams of 1968-1969, or the crazy-I-don’t-know-whats of 1970. But it had a weird special quality, almost as if somebody had a time machine, went back to Bakersfield in 1958, scooped up some rockers and brought them to the future, dropping acid on the way, and then plopped them down in Port Chester on February 18, 1971 just for laughs, like it was part of their mixed cosmic experiment and inside joke. I realized that the Bakersfield era of Dead, best exemplified by these shows, was the sound for me. Sometimes mellow, sometimes rocking, healthy dose of Pigpen, healthy dose of Weir’s cowboy/country & western songs, occasional big jams. And all so well played, pouring their hearts into every song, even so-called “throwaways” like My & My Uncle, El Paso, Next Time You See Me, Mama Tired, and Big Boss Man. Although my listening patterns still vary a bit, I still listen to PC71 a lot. Even more than my beloved 4/28/71……………….. But one man’s passion doesn’t make for a doable box set. So, personal preferences aside, let’s really examine PC71………………. 1) First, we have to remember that 2 71 shows were released in 2017, and two more are scheduled to be released this year. Four shows (the equivalent of a box set, actually) in two years, for a year that isn’t particularly popular, that’s pretty unusual. Probably has more to do with the “returned tapes mentality” than anything else. But whatever the reason, it means that the odds of a PC71 box set, or ANY 1971 box set (and I could imagine 2 or 3 different ones) being put out any time in the near future are very low. [As an aside: the boxes I could envision might be Manhattan Center, or Boston Music Hall April & December, or the two Harding Theater shows. April is too big for a “small box”, and not popular enough for a “big box” (although I would LOVE that!!!! LOL). ] 2) Second, and maybe most importantly, one PC71 has been released already. Regardless of what you think of 2/19 (and I think VERY highly of it), there it is like some big white elephant. What to do with it? Include it in the box, or not? I think most would say, for the sake of completeness it needs to be included. But then that means it has to be remastered---again. Which means more time, work, and expense to put it out with a PC71 box. 3) Third. What some (NOT me) consider to be the single most important piece of music from the PC71 run----the so-called “beautiful jam” from 2/18----has already been released (So Many Roads, Disc 2). So, here’s how one train of thought in TPTB might run: You had 4 complete 1971 shows released recently, a very good-to-great representative show from the run has been released already, and the best single piece of music from the run has been released already, so no box set for you!!!! 4) Now let’s consider this----how does PC71 fit into the current “box set business model”? Actually, probably not too well. If we put the really big boxes aside for now, most box sets have either been 4 shows (like FW69, July 78, May 77) with or without a single show from the box also available for purchase, or two shows (DC 89). And we need to keep in mind that even at that “modest” level, DC 89 and July 78 still haven’t sold out, and the music only version of the last May 77 hasn’t sold out either. If PC71 is to be complete, that means 6 complete shows, 50% larger than the current “4 show box set” model. Means 50% more time and work to get it together. If a current box sells for about $125, would people pay 50% more for PC71---say around $175??? Some folks, like myself and others, probably would, but I think many people would pass. And the Dead don’t want to put out something that won’t sell well. If may make more financial sense for TPTB to release the PC shows one at a time. Especially if you include them as a DaP-----the people who subscribe buy it automatically before they even know it’s a DaP. LOL…………….. 5) Seriously, exactly how “historic” is PC71? I think this is a pretty valid question…….. Is it Historic, with a capital H, or historic, lower case h? Is it at the level of historic things Dead, like Monterey Pop, Woodstock, Watkins Glen, the closing shows at FE/FW 1971, the 74 retirement shows, Egypt, or the closing of Winterland? I think not. To me, it’s almost as if PC71 is “accidentally historic”. Lower case h for sure. Remember my initial comment. The Dead were supposed to play PC in late 1970, but it got cancelled and rescheduled. So almost by definition, PC71 was a fluke. Then there’s the “ESP shows” aspect. LMAO. How very early 70s, very trendy. Hooey then, hooey now. But really a poorly designed “experiment” that today probably wouldn’t pass peer review muster. If it had truly demonstrated human psychic abilities, the world would have heard about it. I’m not saying that the guy was a fraud, but he didn’t exactly set the world of psychology on fire either. All the whole thing really proved was that even tricksters can get tricked. Then there’s the “Mickey’s last show until October 74 angle”. OK, historic, by default. They may have known that Mickey was on shaky ground, but it’s not like they specifically planned that this would be the last one for a while. I just don’t see that they could have foreseen the specific circumstance. Now, here is the historic Part. On 2/18 they debuted 5 new songs, and two more the next night. Those were songs that would stay in the repertoire for a long time. But it’s probably only historic on the level of say, 10/19/71 being historic. Prior to PC71, they had worked up those new songs, but really it wasn’t like they broke them out specifically for PC71. Whatever those first shows had been around the February-March time frame, that’s when they would have come out. So again I think we’re sticking to the lower case h…………… Maybe the most important but least understood/appreciated historic aspect of PC71 is that it probably represented the culmination and end point of a transition that had actually started back in mid 1969, when the Dead started morphing from a big time jam band that occasionally played short songs into a band that played mostly short songs but occasionally broke out big jams. It was the peak of that “Bakersfield era” Dead, the best played and best recorded example of that sound. Of course, there would more transitions to come, but the basic format of the Dead was pretty much established at that time. So overall, historically important run for the Dead. But one man’s history is another man’s nap…… 6) Exactly how much demand is there really for a PC71 box set? Is it enough to justify the work and cost involved? The clamor for a PC71 box set comes & goes, waxes and wanes. It’s funny----and weird----but people like me have maybe insured that a PC71 box won’t come out any time soon. Sonically excellent recordings of PC71 have been out there for years, and people like myself have spread it far and wide. So pretty much everybody who wants has it already. Which means, oddly enough, that the group that has the highest interest in 1971 Dead probably has the lowest interest in a PC71 box set. LMAO and SMH at the same time. Ooops, my bad, shot myself in the foot……….shouldn’t have shared so much!!!!!! Let’s not be naïve. The GD PTB are well aware of what years sell best. Everybody does. 1972, 1973, 1977, 1989-1990. Every time they step outside that zone, it’s a risky proposition……. 7) Anywho, we see that perhaps there are “business reasons” not to release a PC71 box set. But what about the music itself? Is it “release worthy”? I think fans of 71 would say yes, but not everybody is a big 71 fan. Most people prefer right before or right after 1971. The criticisms about PC---and 1971 shows in general----tend to fall into the following categories: A) “There aren’t enough big jams”. B) “I like the new material, but it’s too primitive and not well enough developed yet, so I don’t like it”. C) “There’s too much repetition”. Actually, if we look at it with an open mind, these criticisms---or what I would prefer to call “observations”----have more than a kernel of truth to them. That doesn’t mean PC71 is “bad”, just that maybe it should realistically reclassified as “wonderful, with flaws”. Let’s examine: A) “There aren’t enough big jams”. This is a pretty legit observation. But stylistically the Dead were moving away from the “all big jams all the time” model to the “tightly played short songs with some big jams thrown in” model. Are we going to fault the Dead for that? If you’re going to disregard shows that don’t have big jams, you’ll be missing out on a lot of really really fine Dead music. Here are the “big jams” from the run: 2/18 Dark Star (first set, excellent) 2/19 Other One (second set, excellent) 2/20 Other One (first set, “average”) 2/23 Other One (second set, crushing) Although there weren’t tons of big jams, there was lots of jamming---you just have to look around for it. It often appeared in things like Easy Wind, Hard To Handle, or Good Lovin’. B) “I like the new material, but it’s too primitive and not well enough developed yet, so I don’t like it”. I get it. People like the “jammier” versions of things like Playing In The Band and Bird Song. By definition all the new material started out “primitive” or “not fully developed”---what did people expect, that PITB would instantly sound like the crazy creamy versions of 1972, or that BS would sound like it would in early to mid 73? That’s not realistic. Many songs---especially ones that turns into “jam vehicles”----take time to evolve. In fact, I like a lot of those early primitive Bird Songs. Very heartfelt, powerful in their own way. And the events that prompted the creation of the song were still fresh in people’s minds. It meant something back then, it was important enough to the band to play it and occasionally put their hearts and souls into it……………. Years later, many of the younger heads had no idea what Bird Song was all about…… C) “There’s too much repetition”. Objective analysis reveals this to be true. Is this a deal-breaker? For some people, it is……….. Honestly, the Dead had a habit of overplaying new material (best/worst example: Estimated Prophet. I think I checked Deadbase once, after it came out they played it something like 45 shows in a row. LOL!) and that’s certainly true of the new material first played at PC71. Of the songs that debuted on 2/18, 4 of the 5 ( Bertha, Greatest Story, Loser, Playing In The Band) were played at every PC show. Wharf Rat was played at every show except 2/24. That includes the super rare stand-alone version of 2/21. Bird Song and Deal debuted 2/19. Bird Song was played at the following four shows. They gave Deal a break, they skipped it on 2/20, 21, and 23, and brought it back the one time on 2/24. The repetition wasn’t limited to the new material either. Several songs already in the repertoire was frequently played. Truckin’, Casey Jones, Johnny B Goode, and Sugar Magnolia were played at all 6 shows. Me & My Uncle (the most frequently played song by the Dead of all time) was played at 5 of 6 shows. NFA and Good Lovin’ were played at 4 of 6 shows. So yes, there were repeats, but Lord if there had to be repeats, let it be like this!! 8) As long as we’re on the subject, I might as well give you my opinion of each show, lol… 2/18: The Dead don’t sound rusty at all. Ned Lagin sits in and adds nice touches throughout. Some ferocious playing by Weir during Truckin’. Super nice Hard To Handle, with some massive licks from Garcia. Wonderful first set Dark Star. Second set doesn’t cohere as nicely as first set. Not the classic it’s made out to be, but a very very solid show. 2/19: Wasn’t too happy when this was released (I preferred/hoped for 2/20) but after numerous open-minded listens came to love it. Really may be the best show of the run. Cool Smokestack. Sublime China/Rider to close Set 1----I love it in that position! Solid second set. One of the last Easy Winds-----played perfectly and jammed!! Excellent Other One! Highly recommended. 2/20: Probably my favorite show of the run. Big Boss Man says it all-----worth the price of admission by itself, seems like a throw-away but they go way deep into it. Staggering proficiency on many of the shorter songs, especially Me & My Uncle, Hard To Handle, Big Boss Man, Truckin’, and especially Next Time You See Me (best version of 1971). Superb, ethereal playing by Bob Weir. OK the first set Other One maybe doesn’t deliver, but the rest of this ranks with the best of 1971. 2/21: The Dead continue in the same vein they were mining on 2/20. On paper, this show doesn’t look like much and has no big jam BUT it rocks and is super solid. As on 2/20, they put tremendous energy and musicianship into some of the shorter songs, like Easy Wind and the killer set two opening combo of China/Rider-Bird Song-Cumberland, played to perfection. This show gets absolutely no attention or affection, but if I was stranded on a desert island and had only this show to listen to, I could survive quite nicely and thank you very much! 2/23: After a day off, the Dead come out with a very different kind of show. First set is a little ragged, especially the Uncle John’s opener and the unexpected Morning Dew. Second set is smokin’ powerful, relentless, occasionally pulverizing one’s mind, especially the classic Other One. Highly recommended. 2/24: The end is in sight. Are the Dead tired? Did they just go through the motions? Or was it natural, after 2/20, 21 and 23, to come down a notch or two. The playing is relaxed, almost leisurely. This show actually has the most Pigpen songs of any of the PC71 shows----5. OK maybe an average show, but hey an “average” 71 show is still very very good!!!!! SO, IN CONCLUSION…………………… Well, with TPTB releasing things like they do, we never know what might come out next. The music of PC71 merits eventual release, but I’m guessing that for “business reasons” it won’t be in the form of a box set……………………………. Rock on! Doc Back to lurker mode

Thanks Doc

I prefer ether, but I realize your subjects aren't actually choosing their poison....

71 can still pull you out of the shadows.

Doc is actually stumping for the Summer '73 box! Doc's got a few good points but, like Owsley, there's nothing wrong with him that a few billion fewer brain cells wouldn't cure. By your logic, Doc, the PTB would never release a shit ton of 77-78 tapes as they have, in boxes, just because they're sitting on quite a stack of returned tapes from those years. In fact, I'm concerned that they are putting out more returned tapes and we'll soon know if they're stuck in ABCD Enterprises Land. The good news is that I cannot see more forthcoming, at least immediately, from 77-78. The bad news is that they probably have a ton of '76 to unload. I'll continue to dream of '73 and '71 until my dreams are dashed on the jagged rocks of reality.

I noticed that the Grateful Dead's performance of 'Cold Rain and Snow' is included in the new Monterey Pop 67 RSD compilation. I think this is the first time anything from the Dead's Monterey performance has been released, though I could be mistaken .

But reckon we will see a Summer 73 or Back from Hiatus Small Theater 76 Box first. S'all good every which way they come though!

Right on Doc! I see what you're doing, the old reverse pathology. Long live the PC '71!

Could you be referencing Brookvale Records vinyl release of Dicks Picks 8? They added Cold Rain and Snow which was not on the CD release of this show..

Yo rockers!!! Yes, I've fallen and hit my head, shook loose some flashbacks........... I would actually prefer NOT to have a 71 box set right now. Would much prefer a box set of the November 1972 Texas shows. Next choice--the stadium shows of May/June 73 (5/13, 20,26 and 6/9 and 10). Would actually prefer 11/17/71. Oh yeah, right, next month, or was that just a fever dream???? The outer rings of Saturn are calling me home.............. Doc The cosmos is about the smallest hole that a man can hide his head in...........

And thanks for the detailed layout. Still want me a PC71 box set sooner rather than later though - 5 shows, omitting the 2/19 Vault release. Package it just like the May 1977 box set - that was a gem. Will go stir crazy if having to wait for it as a series of DaPs over what - 10-15 years? Arggh.

And there'll NEVER EVER be an ARK BOX! That's the ticket!

Heres the link http://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/10191 . The tracklist includes 'Cold Rain and Snow' and I believe this is the first time anything from the Grateful Deads Monterey performance has been officially released, though again I may be wrong about that.

I hadn't heard that either.. but knew they added Cold Rain and Snow to the Harpur College LP. So we get two new vintage Cold Rain and Snow's released on vinyl the same day. What fun. I just finished reading Doc's Portchester release manifesto. Very nice read, thanks Doc.

I don't know why, maybe I'm a nut for those slightly-off-the rails '78 and other year shows, but count me in as one who really enjoys the Egypt release. Maybe i'm hung up on the mystical possibilities of the locale, or the mellow, unique, weird but still rockin' vibe. I don't know. (I also really enjoyed picking up a used copy at a record store near me for like $15 and finding a surprise bonus disc inside! . . . Happened once with an ebay order of that 12/28/79 Road Trips too! Lots of gratitude in those two moments!) Also, forgot to comment on my lack of ability to discern the specific jams in The E72 Other ones I enjoy most. Not being a musician or a critic, most of my opinions are based on good old subjective views of how the music makes me feel. Nothing more. (Pretty much same thing with my big jazz faves). Thanks David D for the link re: DaP's. Got some listenin' to do. Thanks Doc for the '71 info and your passion and generosity, always noted and appreciated.

Before The Dead From the way I'm reading the description of what the package contains it appears that the vinyl set gets the 132 page book so I guess I have to preorder BOTH the LP & CD set or maybe I'll just buy both and save the vinyl for posterity either way this is one cool release. I'm leaning toward the complete run of shows from the Palladium Theater in April-May 1977.

That essay was a fine read and entertaining. I would only make the point, regarding finance, that the Dead's income is largely derived from officially licensed merchandise sales, live performance, and royalties. Licensing to iHeart radio, etc. Whatever points go from these Rhino releases back to the band members and Garcia's estate are just gravy. Bill said in his book Rhino sends all the guys a copy of each release. How nice. The people around Rhino, from Dave to Norman to the suits at WEA are the ones who stand to gain the most, proportionately, from the success of these releases. Their bonuses and creative control depend on it. Me, I want one of everything but something next from 1973 to 1976 the most. Egypt has a cool if unfocused vibe. They were blasted on bedouin hash and wine the whole time. Bill's arm was hurt. Check out the closer, "Around and Around." It's an ass-kicking rave-up, as if they were saving it for the end. Kudos to y'all for figuring out the Rick Turner link to Jer's "peanut" SG. Lindsey Buckingham has been playing a beautiful Rick Turner now for decades ever since he retired the Les Paul. Same body shape. Kind of like McCartney's violin-like Hofner. \m/

You can still feel the deep energy in residence when you chug past the PC theatre on the train tracks out front. PC71 is my most hallowed ground. The SBDs I have are pristine. Beautiful Jam. Indeed. Had the chance to spin this Dave's Pick again on a long road trip today. Lovely show, and that disc 3 carried me home. I can really feel the Persian.

....I'm going to go out on a limb and settle on '69. Fingers crossed. Because Garcia and McKernan came to me in a dream and winked. You can't ignore winks.

....Bobby & Phil exhumed a certain prehistoric reptilian creature tonight at The Wang. Toothy grin and all....someone needs to upload that event posthaste.

....March 8th, 1973, Pigpen left us. 45 years later wink, wink. Bobby & Phil were all over it. Time to spin 2.24.68.

.... Alligator -> China Cat Sunflower -> The Eleven -> Alligator -> Caution -> Feedback. Cures most ills. Curing mine as we speak. Cheers!

is sacrosanct. Know that. Here's the thing. Everybody had excellent quality copies of the all the GSTL shows before they were released. It sold out anyway. No different for the Cap. The more removed from the actual shows, the more the mystique grows. Despite any arguments for or against a release. It will sell out. And all those folks at Rhino know it. But, by releasing it, they relinquish one of the dwindling trump cards. Finally, if your career and income as an executive were tied to your choice of releases, how do you justify that BS known as DaP20?

For better or worse, I wanted the vinyl too but convinced myself to just stick with CD's this time. Book will be provided as a digital copy but I'm an old-fashioned buy and a physical book is always best. Oh well, I convinced myself to pass on this vinyl...and I'm already regretting it. Pre-Dead folky-bluegrass Jerry on vinyl...what the hell was I thinking!!...maybe in a moment of weakness tonight after some libations I'll give in!

Not sure how Bobby and Phil played it, but if you use an acoustic guitar on Alligator, it's kinda like a children's song, that sing-song-y jug band feel. Finesse the big chords by going acoustic. Works here in endless Sativa land... Okay, I'm on the forensicdoc logic: The PTB will never EVER release the Summer '73 material. No WAY they go to spring '71 (okay, Doc, you're over-marinated in '71 now, and ... the rest of us have to suffer?) Etc. I'm totally down with Doc's choice of fall '72, if they include my first show. And Dave said explicitly that "that'll happen." BUT, what's left of '72 (a dozen or more shows?) is an ace up Dave's sleeve and other years (71, 73 even 74) have not gotten as much attention. 68-70 we know the tapes are limited and thus also aces up the sleeve. Though an Ark 69 or other 69 run might surprise. Dave has an eye on sales, sure, but he's also taking to heart the GD legacy and releasing what he thinks should be out there, performance-wise, sound-wise date-wise, city-wise, band configuration-wise, while picking carefully among the sonic challenges of the '80s and largely skipping the '90s due to band preferences. That puts me back in the 71, 73, 74 or 76 box 'camp,' at least in my addled mind. (Okay, spreading my bets now..) Maybe Bolo's video was a clue (bacon, grease, Pigpen; i.e., 69 or 71) or he has yet to drop the 'official tease' prior to an announcement.

Great dialogue regarding Pig, Portchester and FW69 lately.. Lots to digest, and the Portchester 71 Manifesto is icing on the cake especially as I am mid-way through my first complete listen to the run in a very long time. Great insights from forensic doc into a terrific growth and transitional period in the early annals of GD history. With the 46th anniversary of E72 less than a month away, I expect enjoyable dialogue to continue until we get our twofer '71 extravaganza in about three weeks (DaP 26). I have this tingling feeling they are putting the finishing touches on whatever this years box set is.. and Dave is healing up for his log-rolling, predatory sea animal evading roll-out video adventures. I feel confident we are going to a late '68 compendium along with the re-release of Anthem on our about July 18th. Anytime Alligator, Caution and the like come up multiple times in the same discussion gets my mojo workin' and puts a little Pig-jig in my stride.

http://dozin.com/esp/thedream.html

I gave my thoughts about this run a few days/weeks ago. It never ceases to amaze me the differing opinions about all things GD. 2/20 is Doc's fav. I find it weakest. DaP20 is skewered as crap. I find it acceptable, and even kind of good. D&C rocks. D&C...why bother. picky Deadheads, one and all. It HAS been a long time since I heard 2/21/71...gotta give that a listen.

Ego and predispositions can drive the narrative at times.. if only there was something that magically removed these barriers? I had to look up IHeart Radio.. never heard of it. They appear to have about $40M in annual revenue. So many weird, streaming alternatives. I wonder when they will begin to consolidate?

I need a cigarette after that read, Doc. Best post ever. At work, I tend to refer to any exhaustive analysis as "forensic" - now I know why. I particularly was struck by the comment "Sonically excellent recordings of PC71 have been out there for years, so pretty much everybody who wants has it already. Which means, oddly enough, that the group that has the highest interest in 1971 Dead probably has the lowest interest in a PC71 box set." Agreed. Me? I have 'em all in hi-q and it's not my favorite time-period by a long shot. I'd probably buy it for the 24 track re-master, but I could think of 10 other boxes I'd rather see before PC '71.

Excellent article by doc on PC 71. I would agree that these shows mark a high point in terms of the bands re-interpretation of country and blues styles. As stated , this period in the bands music seemed to start mid 1969-but their attempts at shorter, rootsier based material didn't sound all that convincing in that year. Similarly in 1970. The band seemed far more at home during the long, powerful jams in both years. The shorter songs seemed a bit awkward in comparison. During 1971, they appeared to shelve the jams in favour of focussing on the short songs. Which they then started playing and singing really well. I half remember a quote from Jerry about how the album Skull and Roses represented the group as a bar band-and that's how they come across during these first few months of 1971. The spacier side is temporarily discarded, for the most part. And then....having mastered the art of playing concise traditional style material, they returned to the most sophisticated jamming of their career, during 1972-`1974. With the added bonus that they could now play convincing versions of what became first set numbers as well. I do like 1971, but for me, the best of both worlds wasn't realised until 1972, after Keith had joined.

My final bets are Summer '73 (wish list) or returned tapes '76 (not wish list). I've spoken the magic words, the lamp shuddered and a puff of smoke arose and, when the smoke cleared, there it was: a box set pre-order for 19__. Enough speculation for me (obviously). I await news.

Driving along the PCH through Malibu after a few drinks with friends, caught up in the jam between The Wheel and Wharf Rat from 5/7/77, amazed by how music that's so familiar can suddenly sound like you're hearing it for the very first time...

So DaP26 arrives at our doors in the beginning of May. Anthem 50th anniversary is in July (first released 7/18/68)? If and when we get another box set when do you think it'll be released? I need to know so that I can choose which internal organ part to sell.

Really hoping for a box set release in the 1965-1995 range, they had some pretty good shows during those years!

Seems like pretty much everybody in the tape trading circles I used to trade with had this run of shows. I would trade boxes of Maxells for boxes of Maxells with the mentors who where higher up on the tape generational food chain (usually with one or two generations, occasionally higher), and recieved decent quality copies of some of them. I've also seen most of this run of shows selling as unofficial releases back in the 90's on any number of "bootleg" labels. I've always been under the impression that these were popularly traded shows, so would believe there would be enough interest in them to see released, even as a box. I seem to recall that these were originally intended to be the material that was to be culled for the "Skull Fuck" album, but scrapped in favor of the April dates at some point. i don't know if that is accurate, but could explain why they multi-tracked this run. I could see a box of this material, or in addition to the other shows recorded for potential release from '71. Probably not as high a priority on my personal wish list, but could dig it. Still kind of hoping for a Greek box, or a Red Rocks box, Alpine box, Cal Expo box, Autzen stadium box, Laguna Seca box, New Years run boxes...and lesser explored regions of '82 - '88 and '91.

I hop in my truck to run an errand during lunch, turn on Satellite Radio and what's the noon concert? You guessed it.. 2/19/71, Capitol Theatre, Portchester NY. These freaks are stalking us.. and have been for 52 years! On a related note.. we haven't seen our favorite group mind conspiracy theorist, GFar in a while.. hope all is good and you are in good health and spirits. Have a great weekend folks.. play some GDead, and in the spirit of what's been going on here, some Good Old Grateful Dead preferably something from the Capitol Theatre.. your mind will thank you.

I dig '71. The shows all have a raw, rugged bar-band/saloon sound. Makes me think of the photo on "Working Man's Dead" whenever I listen to setenta y uno. In fact, I was just groovin' to Austin 11/15/71 at the gym this morning.

NME-otherwise known as the New Musical Express has finally expired as a printed edition. This was the primary source of information on music when I was a teenager-well, throughout the 1970s, really. It was the first place I read about the Dead, in an article written by one of its best writers-Nick Kent. It was published sometime in 1974, and was entitled "Whatever Happened to the Cosmic Dream?" It wasn't a flattering portrait. Kent was into the New York scene-American bands who were morphing from punk to glam, like Iggy Pop and The New York Dolls. Speed/heroin as opposed to acid. But his article on the Dead, although damning, was great. It was one of the things that made me want to find out more about them and their music. A classic example of how opposing something can make it more interesting.

Capitol Theater...1970!!! March, June, November 1970 have amaaaaaazing shows at Port Chester. Oh for soundboards of those, or at least really clean audiences. 3/21 6/24 each November show

Yo! Rockers!!! I don't feel like working the rest of the afternoon. Listening to 11/17/71. Scrumdiddlyyumcious!!! No official recordings of the June and November Port Chester shows. Audience recordings, yes, but not official release-worthy............... So what should my next act of creative writing focus on? Suggestions welcome! But keep it clean.............. Doc

I feel that Pigpen's last, full-power tours took place in February to August 1971. Exempting the Feb. Capitol run and the late April FE run, would you comment on, say, the half-dozen creme-de-la-creme overall GD shows in March-August, with a bias towards Pigpen content and performance? Not an empty exercise. I need guidance to navigate the shows in that period that some nutty professor laid on to me.