Grateful Dead

Agreeing with the agreement of Jim and all those that are agreeable vis a vis 2/24/74, great show, wish it had been part of a box, but an all timer Dave's Pick instead as numero 13. The Dark Star> Dew goes without saying as a highlight, but I especially love the Weather Report Suite> Row Jimmy, and the Bertha. Phil has a great bomb in that Bertha, just once, but well placed, and I rewind it back at least twice every time. Really good China Rider, too. Really good sound once the issues are fixed, which if memory serves, is after Mexicali. Hard to believe this was the first Pick of the year 5 whole years ago. I'm sure those who were there can't believe that was 46 years ago today...

Also, that Dijon show from 30 Trips does sound amazing. Not my favorite setlist, but when it starts with that Uncle John's, it's like butter, and pretty soon, who cares what they played, the sound on the tape is one of the absolute best captures of a Wall of Sound show to my ears, and what they do play, they play well. And worth noting both shows have a nice Ship of Fools.

Count me in as a huge fan of 2/24/74 and probably the first in the echo chamber wishing they had saved it for a full box treatment including all three shows. I was listening to Dijon '74 last night, another very well recorded 74 show..

What a great year.. so many good shows.

Edit: I finished Dijon on a bike ride today.. Has anyone else noticed that just before Phil breaks into his 11 bass riff Bobby starts a Mind Left Body sequence and they both play off each other for a minute and a half to two minutes before The Eleven dominates the direction. Incredible little ditty.. just a couple minutes but it really fubbs with your mind (in a the best possible way). What an interesting little jam.

Turned it on right when Riot In Cell Block #9 came on.... also heard Help me Rhonda and then Okie from Muskogee... Haven't listened to this show in years. Riot in Cell Block #9 was a tad painful with the synthesizer! bob t

A neighbor went to see these guys the other night in Austin I believe. I don't think I ever heard of them. He raved about them. Much to my chagrin, I don't have any! Anyone out there have a bunch you wish to share?

DAVEROCK, I think you are my brother from another British mother. Besides being close in age, our tastes are similar and quite broad. I was heartened that you could enjoy a little GFR at this late stage of the game(well, not THAT late:)
And yes, Mel Schacher is a monster on the bass, but also, that SOUND. That deep, fuzzy, distorted sound. I've always loved it, but also, his bass lines are very close to a lead line, and quite inventive.
To whoever mentioned MMW's Radiolarians 1 in their last 5, brilliant. All 3 Radiolarians cds are super fun and spontaneously creative. If you read up on the history of that series, it's intriguing, and makes you want to give 'em a listen. Happy Monday.

...that was me, with the MMW references last week...

You're welcome? You Y-axis inverting freak.

Sixtus

check pm's

It's 2/24/74 day. In the immortal words of Bill Graham, "A peaceful Sunday night with the Grateful Dead". Possibly my favorite single show from 1974. A+ performance and setlist. Also one of the best sounding shows from 1974. Nuff said. Except that I added Here Comes Sunshine, Truckin' The Other One and Eyes of the World from the night before's soundboard. The audio quality on that board is so good, how could I not right?

Agree with RogueDeadGuy's statement that Exile on Main St. is one of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time. All the better because it was the last record in the Stones' library that I grew to like. I mean, it took me forever to understand what the fuss was about with that album. Then I had some wisdom teeth extracted and some pain killers and it all made sense. Not advocating anything, just saying what happened.

And let's face it, there is hardly a better rock and roll story than the one that accompanies the recording of that record.

Most rock fans who are into the Stones know the title refers to their move to France to avoid the high tax laws in England. But the greatest thing about that album in my mind is the environment and manner in which it was recorded. Keith Richards rented a mansion in the south of France and they recorded it there on, I think Ronnie Lane's Mobile recording studio, which was basically a big truck. So I imagine this thing sitting out front with zillions of wires running down into the basement for a couple of months. Tons of people in the Stones' orbit hung out at this place and just partied and recorded the record - in fact they eventually had to ask Gram Parsons to leave. The dragon can take anyone down I suppose - but man I can't think of any other LP I'd rather go back in time and hang out with the band as they recorded it. Only Keith lived there the rest of them where nearby, probably within an hour's Drive. Batiste was a vampire those days and just recorded whenever he was awake, which was sometimes for days on end. You ended up with Producer Jimmy Miller playing drums on a couple of tracks, Mick Taylor and Keith Richards playing bass on half the tracks, Etc. If memory serves the song Happy was laid down by Mick Taylor Keith Richards and Jimmy Miller only, and then Mick Jagger laid down some support vocals later on in Los Angeles where the album was mixed and finished.

Just to give you an idea of what this place was the Keith rent it out, is described on Wiki like this:

"Nellcôte (often referred to as Villa Nellcôte) is a 16-room mansion built during the Belle Époque on a headland above the sea at Villefranche-sur-Mer on the Côte d'Azur in southern France."

There's a documentary called The Stones in Exile that is worthy of viewership to any rock and roll fan. You appreciate the album all the much more for seeing the documentary, and if you don't know the album you always be tempted to look it up on YouTube.

I've always done these from least to most recent -- "peaking" at No. 1 which is often what I'm listening to as I'm typing. Not this time tho.

5) The Complete Ric & Ron Recordings Vol. 1 & 2. (Technically two albums worth but I'm counting as one). Vintage New Orleans R&B to get in the Mardi Gras spirit. Livened up a boring ass Friday afternoon entering a bunch of tasks into the backlog list for work. (Not actually doing any of the tasks . . . just entering them . . . because that's what *someone* wanted)

4) Dylan - Slow Train Coming.
There was a slow train running through my head Saturday morning. It mighta been The Devil, mighta been The Lord, it mighta been too much Mardi Gras spirit, I dunno but this album seemed to fit the mood nicely.

3) Chuck Berry "In London". This was a Record store Day release from last year that I bough on impulse. I thought it would be a live set (its not) and not all of it was recorded in London, but that doesn't matter. Its a parade of one great Chuck Berry tune after another. The man was simply incapable of writing a bad tune. The sound is terrific on the LP too. If someone is looking to freshen up their Chuck Berry stash, highly recommended.

2) Rolling Stones "Exile On Main Street". One of the all time great albums in rock history. Nuff said. There's a really nice new vinyl reissue out there, if you're into that sort of thing. It was right below the Chuck Berry In London at the bookstore that day, so I HAD to get it too :)

1) GOGD 02-02-70 from St Louis, aka the first half of Dave's 6.

I've been doing my own personal deep dive into 1970 this year, in anticipation of the American Beauty / Workingman's drop. Last weekend I listened to all 3 of the New Orleans Busted On Bourbon Street shows, so I picked up where that left off. This has an interesting Dark Star . . . its not an intense mind-melter, but more like a pleasant, afternoon matinee type of Dark Star. Coming out of that St Stephen is a little wobbly, but he finds his footing at the end heading into a scorching Mason's Children. It concludes with a replacement level Lovelight - Not Fade Away sandwich which pales in comparison to the epic from the night before.

2-6-70 from the good ole Fillmore West is gonna be my next foray into 1970. I might not get to every last 70 show out there but Ima try to hit at least one from each run over the course of the year.

LOL Vguy -- "Mrs Vguy hates MMW now." I feel your pain, my man :)

Happy Lundi Gras everyone. Laissez les bon Temps Roulez.

Yes, its the most recent on down for me, too.
Mr Ones...I think you are right that for a lot of bands you had to have been there a the time to really get it. It also seems to me that part of this is the age we are when we first hear things. There are a lot of bands I liked in the 70s that I would hesitate to recommend now. They fit me like glove when I was a teenager...but the likelihood of some of my opera loving friends, who are in their 60s appreciating a first listen to something like "What a Bunch of Sweeties" by the Pink Fairies now is slight indeed. Having said that, I only heard Grand Funk for the first time last year - their first 6 albums, and I like them. A proper band. Curiously, I don't like heavy rock bands that recorded after about 1975, though.
Last 5? Of course.....
Live in Paris 3/22/74 King Crimson
Freddy King Sings Freddy King
Live Wire Blues Power Albert King
Feelin' Good Jessie Mae Hemphill
Survival Grand Funk Railroad

Next stop....Cactus.