Grateful Dead

Seth, I'm stumped by your comments because they sound contrary to reality. You said: "I do think 10-12/71 is really good stuff. The Saloon Band period with confident Barrelhouse piano added as a second lead instrument; so fine!" Isn't one show from 11/17 another from 12/14 pretty much the same thing, with the same Barrelhouse piano player? The shows you're comparing as bad vs good are a month apart. I was also surprised by this statement, and I'll tell you why I'm surprised, as it was thought provoking: "He always says/writes that their are unique qualities to the show involved. I usually don't notice those... At this point in the game such statements on his part actually annoy me and sour my expectations." I thought back as far as I could go, and he's always been spot-on with the highlights of these shows: DaP 12 - Dave mentioned how unique and cool Stella Blue was, and sure enough, it's one of the best, with a very cool spacey intro. DaP 15 - he mentioned Wharf Rat was one of the best ever, and it is. Everyone was jazzed about the ending jam (and it gets a lot of recognition on Heady Version) DaP 17 - he mentioned the awesome and unusual sounding solo in Scarlet Begonias, and it truly is bitchin. May be the best Scarlet of '74. DaP 18 - he mentioned the 8 minute instrumental ending to Comes a Time as being totally face melting, and everyone does did it (lots of great feedback about it on the message boards). DaP 19 - he touted Mason's Children as being maybe the best ever. without a doubt, and a lot of people agreed here. and it's numero uno on heady version DaP 20 - he said nothing good about this show, and he was right DaP 22 - he said Smokestack Lightning was a contender for best ever, and there's no question about it. It's certainly my favorite, and it had to topple down the Three From The Vault version. Keith's piano addition is face melting. Those are just the ones I remember, and I'm outta time. You make it sound like he makes this shit up, but everyone agrees with him after they get their hands on the release. I don't know man, I guess I just don't see what's to dislike about Dave. He's an enthusiastic Dead Head. You don't realize how bad this release program could have been with someone at the helm who is not a fan. But why even watch the release videos if you dislike them so much?

Great point on this whole Who Doors comparison. I don't get it as they are not similar at all in their approach to rock music. The Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin. Now you are talking. I'd go with the mighty Led Zeppelin followed by the Kinks, The Stones and then the Who. Dirty old river, must you keep rolling, Flowing into the night, People so busy, makes me feel dizzy, Taxi light shines so bright... But I don’t need no friends, As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset, I am in paradise

With daverock comparing the who and the doors really doesn't make sense they were two essentially different bands outside of superficially silly reasons. NME's position on the 3 best in the world is a little suspect everyone being British. But the fact remains the shows of all 3 in 70/71 all kicked butt

Stonking good clip of The Who live in 1969. Strange that they are being compared to The Doors on here-apart from the fact that they were around at the same time, and each had 4 members, there isn't much that the two bands had in common, that I can hear. When I was a teenager, in the early 70s, the New Musical Express, which was the trend setter of the day, heralded three bands as being "the best in the world"-who they thought were head and shoulders above everyone else. They were The Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin. Of these, the only one I saw live at the time was The Stones in 1973-and probably because of this, they were the pick of the bunch for me. I thought The Who were better than Led Zeppelin. Actually, I would still rate them in that order today.

Okay, Fiddle About is not the song for you. Great, think you've covered that a few times. It's like 90 seconds of a 78 min album, and was put on there because the vulnerable hero of the story is, like many children, sexually abused. This happened to Pete Townshend, and it was too close to him, so he asked John Entwistle to write it and Cousin Kevin. I get it, you don't like the theme of it. So, my advice would be to not listen to it. But that one song does not sum up The Who, nor does it really have any bearing whatsoever to a conversation that goes a bit deeper than "ewww". The End has a Oedipal conclusion in which the killer walks on down the hall and announces he wants to kill his father and screw his mother, and is one of the quintessential Doors songs, but I guess because it's based in Greek tragedy, that deserves a pass? Bad things happen in life, artists tend to memorialize those bad things through their particular medium. This one obviously bothers you, but you may not want to lay the blame on The Who for that, it's not celebratory of pedophilia, it traumatizes Tommy even further. And again, it's a 90 second song out of 24 songs on an album that was released in 1969 on their 4th album, they did do subsequent things that don't deal with pedophilia...

He didn't say "which batch", but he did say he wasn't expecting this tape when it came. Knew it as a show that didn't circulate in good quality, and was glad to get it. If it's anywhere near the Q of 11/15/71 we're going to be very happy in 2 weeks!

is the best to me.

i've been listening to a lot of 71 lately (thanks Doc!) and even though April 71 is a different beast than nov/dec 71, my mind and mood are fully ready for this new release-thank you Dave! I didn't watch the video, but did Dave say how the masters for this show were returned?

I believe that when Dave sets out to find the primo shows that possess to the finest parts of the elegant music of the past, he blocks out things like giving a few different era's or years into the brew to mix it up. Some people like I,believe that focusing on the sets that just send shivers through you body when listening is the true way to go about it. Also the calm before the storm of waiting for the results is just as sweet. Peace everyone!!

By the way I absolutely love having this subscription where every 3 months I get a show in the mail. So very Grateful for that & it's a super great deal money wise. And I most definitely love Dave. But perhaps he is running out of things to say in each video. "It's really an exceptional show. Performance wise you've never heard anything like this". I'll take that as a little bit of hyperbole coupled with genuine excitement. Rather than saying come on, Dave, give me a break. (Hey, hey, hey, hey, one break coming up!)