Grateful Dead

yes yes YES

And, this is my NameDay show.
Therefore, it must be released.
There, I said it.

.....Dave???

- Sixtus

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How sad. I've just had a look in "Midnight Riders", and the quote I referred to isn't sourced, so it could have been made at any time under any circumstances. It occurs during a consideration of the Fillmore East album, 1971, which suggests the comment was contemporaneous-but there is no evidence that it is.

The other thing is - we all say ill considered things at times. If someone had recorded all the stupid things I have said in my life, and written them down at a later date you would have a book as thick as the Bible.

There are a few old bands and musicians I see who can still kick out the jams. Jeff Beck is better than ever, and King Crimson were incredible last year when I saw them. Though to be fair, it was also the first time I had seen them. I will be there at the Flamin' Groovies gig next week, followed by Steve Hillage the day after. I am, it is fair to say, a man of my times.

Yes, yes, yes to every one of them…If I remember correctly it was the only song played at every E72 show with 'Black Throated Wind' next at 20…not played at Bremen 4/21 & Paris 5/4.

I think 'Mr. Charlie' along with Sly Stone's 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)' are 2 great examples of proto-funk or Pig-Funk in the GD's case (imho).

Jim - you got me looking at powwowville. When you listen, do you listen in the disc order of the set or show order. The section you referenced is from one show (on the 2nd disc), the dew is from the 3rd disc, different night. I have them stored in show order. How the dew work in that location?

Shultzy - I think I agree about ABB and done with them. Not so much them per se, but some acts. I can hear the screw you's already, but I always feel that way about the who. It's like the catalog of live playing isn't thick enough or different enough to warrant drooling. Tom Petty hit me that way, saw him 3 times with years between each and felt I saw the same show :-) (hey tom, 30 fucking years can't you throw an extra note or two in Refugee! :-) There are just groups you feel you've gone to a performance of their greatest hits, versus a performance of great live dynamic musicianship.

Exception for me - Pink Floyd, shows from that catalog are always incredible sounding, you only need to see 1 show per tour since they are virtually the same every time. But damn, they always sound good!

Since Trucks shot himself in the head in front of his wife, I think it safe to assume mental illness/dementia/Alzheimer's played at least a small part in his suicide. Several news articles of the time cite mounting financial debt ($800,000) as a possible motive. Trucks had to sell his condo in Florida and was being hounded by the IRS.

The 'trash' talk regarding GD in general and BK & MH in particular could also have been the result of mental incapacitation.

....thx Jeff for the reminder and also keeping me honest in this monumental task of cataloging The Other Ones from the E'72 trunk. Invoking said honesty, I am behind - but not for a lack of trying.

I've made it up to the May 16th/Luxembourg show, but have only been taking 'mental notes'. I can say with fairly definitive certainty that the April 11th/Newcastle Other One is my favorite so far - it gets into a bit of a feelin' groovy jam in there too - but beyond that I have little to offer otherwise, at this exact moment.

I will say, and I've mentioned it before (as have many others), the consistency of the playing here is what is remarkable, however the fact it is still '72 means the song selection can only go so far and of course each show is fairly similar in this regard save for swapping songs in differing slots. Nonetheless, each time I listen to a show there are things that pop out at me enough to make mental note that "this is a pretty damn fine show".
I still really like each and every Mister Charlie - it's a fun, punchy tune with loads of personality. Too bad it all but disappeared following this tour....with Pig on the decline, you can't win 'em all.

Oh...I also enjoyed the history on the mountain jam whoever started that discussion. Pretty cool about the origins of the ABB's take on this (at least as described here). I love the reference Jer makes in the 2/14/68 Alligator to it and I find inspiration in the fact the ABB saw the same. But in the end, I gotta agree with Stoltzie, ABB can't hold a candle to the good ole GD.

Sixtus

I was at a Wisconsin KMart, 1979, 15 years old, buying an album of my own...deciding between Enlightened Rogues by ABB and Journey. Yes, Journey. One look at the back cover photo, and...

I chose ABB. later bought Fillmore East, Eat a Peach.

Three years and one move to California later, I found the GD.

ABB were ok after that, but nowhere near the GD in my rabidity.

the ABB camp dissing the GD camp...laaaaaaaaaaaaame. Like a scooter critiquing the space shuttle.

Like many artists, I'm sure they envied the GD's...loyal fan base.

I do like ABB guesting on 7/16/72, 7/28/73, and 2/11/70.

but ABB overall...I'm done with them.

Hey Sixtus. We're all pretty spoiled, but I have to ask: Now that the anniversary has passed, any chance of a "Sixtus Over-, Under-, Around-, and Re-view of Other Ones from Europe '72"? You and Keithfan and others started down the path in early April, but there've been lots of distractions since then. I still pull up your Europe '72 Dark Star review regularly. Just wondering. . . ;-)

The E72 anniversary project came to a screeching halt at the Lyceum run. Tough to keep up with 4 shows in a row, which is the most they did the entire tour. I've gotten most of 5/23 in (excellent set list, blistering Promised Land - wait, I think I said this last week). Anyway, up to 5/24, but the '69 / '70 bug grabbed me.

Jimbo, the Big Rock play list is hot. I didn't recall how well-recorded this show was. I also didn't realize until I got into it that these songs are one contiguous piece of music. When I saw it on paper, I knew China Cat & The Eleven were connected, but not the rest; it makes all the difference in the world. Let me first say - extraordinary transitions throughout the entire set. Smooth, smooth, smooth. Excellent Doin' That Rag - I can't say I recall a better version. My new favorite of the era: He Was a Friend of Mine. After hearing the 3/31/69 version of Stoltzie's, and now this one, I'm scratching my head on how they didn't play this song more often. It was always kind of a novelty item for me on the Thelma release, paired with that trippy UJB. Can't wait to queue up the 3rd and final "official" version from the FW Bonus Disc soon. The China Cat transition into The Eleven struck me as "particularly good", as my recollection from the '68 versions is that they go into it with more of a bang than a sneak, after a few measures of Jerry playing the lead intro, followed by the group pounce into The Eleven; but here in the only 1969 China Cat / Eleven that I can think of, Jerry begins the transition with the Eleven lead intro (par for the course so far), but the rest of the band kind of lingers on the China Cat jam a bit longer, before joining in one at a time; then we get the big Eleven pounce. The subtlety here makes for one of those seamless transitions where you don't quite recall how you went from one song to the next (which is precisely why this version stood out for me - one minute I was driving along admiring a good looking lady in a jeep, the next I realized the Eleven had started without me - REWIND). Death Don't Have No Mercy doesn't come up on my play lists too often, mostly I guess, because they didn't play it that much. Every time I hear it though, I think, wow, this is right up there with Zeppelin doing Since I've Been Loving You, and the blues wasn't even Garcia's forte (or T.C.'s for that matter, and he lays down some nice organ chords and fills). Not that I would ever compare the Dead with Zeppelin for sustained Blues prowess LedDed - just saying they sound like they know what they're doing up there ;-) Anyone who's enjoying the new Dave's Picks and wants more of the Magnificent Seven, Jim's unearthed a perfect medley from Disc 2 of Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 1 / Big Rock Pow-Wow '69. And it's only 35 minutes....unless you add the Morning Dew "for good measure" which I advise. The pre-song banter will give you a chuckle.

With regard to the Butch Trucks / two drummer comment - I think he expressed the limitation for improv that I felt had hit the band after Mickey rejoined in '75. I would be interested to hear if he made the remark before or after Mickey's departure (I assume before, since this is when the two bands were most closely affiliated). There was a spontaneity to the music from '71-'74 that I really enjoy. Even on the shorter numbers, anybody in the band could swing this way or that to change things up a bit. Probably the reason Playing in the Band evolved as it did. Prior to Mickey's leaving, however, his presence made for some powerfully live concert moments (The Eleven I was just talking about not least of all); without him on the early stuff, Primal Dead would not quite have been so primal. We're lucky enough to get the best of both worlds with the archival releases.