If you’re reading this blog post in mid-July, chances are I am sunning myself on one of Kauai’s white-sand beaches, or gazing at a humuhumunukunukuapua’a through my snorkel mask, or sipping a mai tai under graceful swaying palm trees. Then again, maybe it’s pouring rain on the North Shore and we’re stuck playing Uno in the house. Anyway, it’s vacation time for the Jackson family—our first exotic one in several years—and I’m taking a breather from writing and really kicking back for a couple of weeks. The trip also coincides with my 30th wedding anniversary. If only my wife had gotten to come along! (Just kiddin’. Got the whole family with us.)
I spent part of the week before the trip loading up my teeny iPod Nano with a bunch of Hawaiian and Grateful Dead music, and it got me thinking: If I was stranded on a desert island (I’ll take a tropical island, please) and I could only bring 12 Dead CDs/shows (sorry, no iPods in this fantasy—we’re making it hard!) to last me for a couple of months until I was rescued, what would I choose?
Question: Do giant box sets count as one, or the number of discs in the box? Well, fortunately the Europe ’72 megabox isn’t out yet, so that’s off the table for this discussion. Here’s my completely heartless and arbitrary ruling: No box sets containing more than six discs—so no ’73 or ’77 Winterland or Fillmore West ’69 or giant GD studio album box sets are allowed. But, yes, a four- or even six-CD Dick’s Picks would count as one. Hey, nobody said life was “fair,” so quit your whinin’! You’re lucky you’re getting a CD player and headphones!
Now, I suppose there are many of you who could be blissfully happy spinning nothing but shows from ’72-’74 during your time on the island. That’s cool. It’s your choice. However, I’d like to have a much wider span of the Dead’s history represented in my Desert Isle Collection, as I like all eras of GD music and would want to have a greater variety of different songs and styles at my disposal. And so, my 12 picks (in chronological order):
1. Road Trips Vol 2. No 2: Carousel 2/14/68. One of the best ’68 shows, with primo versions of Anthem material, plus other bonus tracks from the Northwest tour (and another bonus disc besides).
2. Fillmore West 1969 (the 3-CD Set). Tough to pick between Live Dead, which I’ve loved forever, or this one, culled from the same shows but including much more material, all of it great. I’ve heard Live Dead so much I can always replay it in my head.
3. Dicks Picks Vol. 4: 2/13-14/70. Besides the deservedly admired “Dark Star,” this has a killer “Dancing in the Street” and a super-charged “NFA” > “Mason’s Children” > “Caution.”
4. American Beauty. Taking a studio album? Yes! Simply because it is beautiful and moving beyond compare.
5. Rotterdam 5/11/72. I could get more Europe ’72 music by bringing the excellent Stepping Out 4-CD set, but this is possibly the best show of the tour (and the longest) with my favorite of the 11 (!) Europe versions of “Dark Star” and everything else that’s important.
6. The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack. There are better individual shows and sets from ’73 and ’74, but this has so much good stuff, I’m happy to have it representing that era.
7. Dicks Picks Vol. 33: 10/9-10/76. Some folks don’t care for ’76. I love it. If this only had Disc Two, with “St. Stephen” > “NFA” > “St. Stephen” > “Help on the Way,” etc., it would be worth having, but all four discs are strong.
8. Cornell 5/8/77. We can all pretend that there are better ’77 shows and this has been overhyped, but why accept less than the best? (It is not, however, the best show of all time.)
9. Frost 10/10/82. This show is juiced from top to bottom, and includes one of the best pre-“drums” segments I ever saw. A classic!
10. Santa Fe 9/11/83. One of my favorite versions of “Help on the Way,” a rare second-set “Let It Grow” and “Morning Dew” are among the highlights. It helps that I was there and it’s still fresh in my mind.
11. Grateful Dead Download Series Vol. 5: Hampton 3/27/88. I never get tired of this; the late ’80s at their most exciting.
12. So Many Roads: (1965-1995). Lots of rarities and oddities; not a “Best of” by any means, but the five CDs are packed with enough great and strange stuff from all eras that it’s worth having around, and I can always ignore the stuff I don’t care for.
Well, that was hard and frustrating, and no doubt a whole bunch of “essentials” will come to mind over the next days and weeks. But enough about me. What 12 Grateful Dead CDs/shows would you bring to this remote and beautiful island? They better be good, in case we’re shipwrecked together!
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I agree with Dick's Pick's
I agree with Dick's Pick's 33. I would also add Dick's Pick's 8, Harpur College, the Viola Lee Blues alone is worth taking.I would also take American Beauty, but I would add Workingman's Dead, and Europe 72.
Finally, I would take 4/18/78 because it was my first show, and 4-21-71 because I love the era and because of the novelty of the Beach Boys.
If I could take a DVD, I would take the closing of the Winterland.
That's only eight, but the other four would be Jerry stuff including Old & in the Way and Keystone stuff.
"Sometimes the songs that we hear are just songs of our own."
OK, I'll bite
In no particular order:
1) Live Dead. Part of my DNA from the moment I first heard it.
2) Dick's Picks 18 - That "Scarlet/Fire" is 30 minutes of pure bliss. Also "The Music Never Stopped" has to be the premier first-set-ender of all time!
3) American Beauty - I agree, Blair: incomparable. Plus, I used to rock my boys to sleep every night, usually with "Ripple" into "Brokedown Palace" wafting gently through the room. The oldest is now 30 - sigh.....
4) Live at the Cow Palace - Great NYE show with a "Morning Dew" that goes straight to your soul, + the sweet bonus disc.
5) One from the Vault - Help/Slipknot/Franklin's on steroids and a sweeeet "Eyes". I also love Bill Graham's classic intro.
6) Winterland '77 Bonus Disc - I'd take it even if "Comes A Time" was the only track. Garcia's guitar absolutely drips with emotion, and he sings it like he's living it.
7) Ace - Though billed as a Weir "solo" project, I still think it's one of the their best studio efforts. I could listen to "Playing in the Band" nonstop for weeks. That transitional phrase out of Garcia's solo is one of the most beautiful passages of music I've ever heard.
8) Reckoning - gotta have me some acoustic on the island, mon!
9) Garcia - Well, you didn't exclude solo albums, so I'm throwing this in there. "Eep Hour" through "The Wheel" is just plain lovely, especially the pedal steel parts.
10) Jerry Garcia Band - The live one from The Warfield (1990). Garcia shows why he has no peer, particularly on "Deal" and "Tangled Up In Blue."
11) The Grateful Dead - Their first album opened my eyes and especially my ears to a whole new world, as I had just traveled "The Golden Road" from Houston, Texas to the Bay Area at age 12 in 1967. Talk about culture shock! Thanks for transferring, Dad!
12) Dick's Picks 36 - Over 4 1/2 hours of fun: 37 minute "Dark Star", 29 minute "The Other One." Great jams from a great year - 1972.
By the way, since I won't be needing too many clothes for the island, I will instead be bringing a trunk that happens to contain 73 discs of European ear nectar! Just in case....
So far...
Almost every disc mentioned is one that I considered, esp. Cow Palace (plus awesome bonus disc) and DP 36.
However.... I met with the judges out at the beach this morning and they say, "Sorry. No solo albums allowed in this particular fantasy..." They're tough....
Thats tough... (i added a bonus disc hah)
I would choose...
1) Dick's Picks 4 - Haven't listened to it enough, but the Dark Star is great and ya gotta have some primal dead!
2) Dick's Picks 5 - While I'm not crazy for this DP, the first set is just SOO well played its ridiculous, and not mention the encore with Around and Around > Johnny B. Goode.
3) Dick's Picks 8 - Surprised Blair didn't have this one. Best Other One ever? its quite textbook and reaches the far depths of the cosmos. And yes the Viola is amazing. Great DP
4) Dick's Picks 10 - Theres nothing bad you can say. Everything is perfectly played, return of China > Rider, and its a unique one. Amazing eyes, JBG, sugar mag, LLR, playin, EVERYTHING
5) Dick's Picks 15 - Have you heard this NFA!?!! yowsa. Everything else is great. Not to mention a version of Half Step that I have found nothing even comparable. Epic show.
6) Dick's Picks 16 - I love it! Disc 2 and 3 are mindblowing. Some of the best exploratory jamming I've ever heard. I can't get enough.
7) Dick's Picks 18 - A long time favorite (and my Wisconsin bias need not show). Best Music Never Stopped ever. And thats the one song I have no problem saying there is a best ever. Its perfect. Other one!!! Scarlet Fire!!! Wharf Rat, whole first disc! 18 is forever in my heart
8) Dick's Picks 23 - While this DP as a whole is not my favorite, the Other One is out of this world. I would take the other one by itself. The playin' and me and my uncle are also legendary versions. And who doesn't obsess over Sept. 72!?
9) Dick's Picks 36 - Dark Star > Morning Dew. Other One. Playin. Sept. 72. nuff said.
10) 1984-03-31 - the most underrated show ever? The first set is DP 5-esque... meaning every song is perfectly played. Favorite LLR ever. The scarlet fire and hes gone are also excellent. 2nd half of 2nd set leaves you searching for better, but this one is close to my heart. Would take the 1st set alone.
11) 1989-07-(17-19) - Don't know if it's fair, but Alpine 89. Must i list all of the songs? Everything is epic
12) 1972-10-18 - I have to have the Playin>dark star>dew>playin. I just couldn't leave without it
13) (can we include a bonus disc? :) ) Mine would consist of my favorite Morning Dews, 1994-03-27, 1992-03-23, 1987-09-18, 1985-11-02, 1974-10-18, 1972-12-31 and.......
One track for an entire 2 week Beach Vacation
Suggestion:
1. Take "So Many Roads"
2. Put in Disk 2, Song 2 --Beautiful Jam - from Port Chester 2-19-71
3. Put on Repeat and see how many times you can listen to it in row. By the 3rd time you should have a tear in your eye. That JAM can bring me to another plane of being anytime I listen to it.
I could probably make a 2 week Beach Vacation on this track alone.
Most of those choices are a given blairj -
I agree with....
1. Dicks Picks Vol. 4: 2/13-14/70
2. Dicks Picks Vol. 33: 10/9-10/76
3. Rotterdam 5/11/72 (from the soon-to-be-released E72 box)
4. Grateful Dead Download Series Vol. 5: Hampton 3/27/88
but I would add these
5. Road Trips: Vol 4, Number 1: Big Rock Pow Wow 69 (I'd substitute this for Live Dead for the same reasons and the Fillmore box which I missed the boat)
6. Dicks Picks Vol. 29: 5/19-21/77 (I prefer these over Cornell)
7. Grateful Dead Download Series Vol. 9: Pittsburg 4/2 & 3/89
8. View From The Vault III Shoreline 6/16/90
9. Dozin' At The Knick
10. Terrapin Station (Limited 3CD Collector's Edition)
11. Formerly The Warlocks box
12. Nightfall Of Diamonds
Now if I were trapped somewhere in Hawaii, I'd tweak the list a little to substitute a few of the above for these albums.....
Led Zeppelin - How The West Was Won
Yes - Yessongs
The Allman Brothers - Fillmore East
Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
Govt Mule - Dose
Soft Machine - Bundles
Steve Vai - Passion And Warfare
Mike Keneally - Bakin' At The Potato
If I were stranded...
that would mean something weird had happened, so I think I would just try to go with the flow and listen to whatever it was I had along before the weirdness occurred.
However, that would not be the Grateful Dead movie soundtrack. Whoever made the decision to truncate certain songs to match the movie versions made a bad choice. I've been able to listen to the soundtrack exactly once before putting it back on the shelf in the "nice try, but wrong" category.
My Twelve
My list has 9 official, 1 sort-of-official, and 2 supplementary shows
1. Road Trips 2.2 (Carousel Ballroom 2/14/68)
2. Fillmore West 1969
3. Dick's Picks 8 (Harpur College 5/2/70)
4. Europe '72
5. Steppin' Out With the Grateful Dead (England '72)
6. Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack (Winterland Arena Oct' 74)
7. Formerly the Warlocks... (Hampton Coliseum '89)
8. Without a Net... (Fall '89 and Spring '90 tours compiled)
9. Dozin' At the Knick (Knickerbocker Arena '90)
10. Downhill From Here (a DVD-only release, but I have an audio rip of the soundtrack)
11. Oregon County Fairgrounds, Veneta OR 8/27/72
12. Barton Hall, Cornell University 5/8/77
One small correction
The Veneta '72 show was actually at the Old Renaissance Faire Grounds.... the '82 show that was at the Oregon Country Fairgrounds (not county... which makes sense, seeing as how Oregon is a state, not a county.) Apologies for the error.
Top 12
1 Rhythm Devils Play River Music2 Garcia Wheel
3 Seastones/B Weir Ace
4 Carousel Road Trips vol 2 #2
5 D Picks 22 Lake Tahoe
6 Live/Dead
7 Three from the Vault
8 100 Year Hall
9 D Picks14 Boston Music Hall
10 One from the Vault
11 For the Faithful
12 View from Vault 4
Be Here Now East Coast Dead Headcount
July 24 Further PNC (use lawn to walk across during soundcheck)
Aug 11 Stone Pony 7 Walkers
Aug 14 Bob Dylan Convention Hall
Sep 4 John K Band Stone Band
I
Sep 4 John K Band Stone
Sep 4 John K Band Stone Pony Asbury Park NJ
3-1-692-13-70 - best dark
3-1-69
2-13-70 - best dark star
8-27-72 (for all of the europe 72 crap that has been released, re-released and re-re released, you still have forgotten the best show of 72)
2-9-73 best/first eyes
6-19-75 sweet show, especially H>S>F, ll rain, let it grow, cosmic C
4-16-78 best peggy o, great show
12-26-79
6-28-85 (if i grab anything from june of 85 i am golden)
4-2-89
10-16-89 - i was there
7-14-90 here too, amazing eyes.
but this is a trick question, because i would need some jgb too.
i meant 6-19-76, also am
i meant 6-19-76, also am changing 3-1-69 for 8-13-75
and i forgot 6-18-74, so
and i forgot 6-18-74, so 4-2-89 has to go.
tropical island picks
1. Dick's Picks 18 - I know the levels are a little hot, but so is the show. This has one of my favorite Scarlet Fires, an epic Estimated Eyes with one of my favorite angelic Jerry segues, a spacey Playin for '78, great 1st set songs including a rare Duprees, and a blistering Deal Music closer (nice job Dick!)
2. Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack - this is a great summation of all the highlights of the last 5 in '74 and it definitely makes up for Steal Your Face.
3. Ladies and Gentlemen: The Grateful Dead. This is a compilation of a few nights in April 71 at the Fillmore East. This has the best Hard To Handle I have ever heard, 4/29/71. The Alligator > Drums > Jam > GDTRFB > Cold Rain is one of a kind. morning dew. King Bee, RIpple, Dark Hollow, The Rub, a rare '71 Dark Star > St. Stephen with TC. I'm not a big fan of '71 but this is awesome!
4. Veneta '72 - this is burned into my brain from so many repeat listens. Esp. Bird Song, Playin, Jack Straw, Dark Star > El Paso, Sing Me back Home, so many great songs. The stage announcements also make this show unique.
5. 5/7/72 - Dark Star > Drums > Other One > Sing Me Back Home is classic. The Lovelight > GDTRFB > NFA is great and has one of my favorite Lovelight jams.
6. 4/8/72 - Dark Star > Sugar Mag > Caution!! This is the version on Steppin Out with the GD.
7. 4/29/72 - FREAKY Dark Star plus another Caution after Sugar Mag. 1st set opens with Playin.
8. Paris '72 - 5/3-4/72 - if the entire Europe '72 tour weren't being released, this would make a great 3 or 4 disc release. 5/3 is very together and it has the China > Rider from Europe '72. 5/4 strikes me as a slower more tired show (maybe up the night before tripping?) but the Dark Star gets WAY out there.
9. 2/9/73 Stanford - I know there are a bunch of good shows from the next 2 months of touring, but I think this show has a great vibe. There are 7 songs that are first played. Weir introduces Sugar Mag as their new single, and it broke big as hell in Pittsburgh. :D
10. Dick's Picks 12 - Highlights from the Providence and Boston shows 6/26, 28/74. One of my favorite China Riders ever. SOLID.
11. 5/8/77 - Another one that's burned into my brain. Best Dancin I have ever heard. By miles. I still turn it up and jam when I hear it on the GD channel. I don't think it's overrated or gets a bunch of good reviews because "everyone" has it. It's just that good.
12. 4/1/84 - ok this is subjective. It's one of the first tapes I got that sounded really good. But check it out on archive! The Help Slip Franklins glides, the Terrapin is great, Dew out of Space, nice Bob vocals on Good Lovin, 1st set has a nice FOTD, Big RR and Esau. I have good memories of listening to this show.
My 12
1) Dick's Pick's Vol. 15 - Supremely underrated show in front of 150,000 8 miles from my current house. All time favorite Eyes of The World2) The Closing of Winterland - Historic of corse and the DVD has made me fond of it. But also a great snapshot of 1978 and '79
3) Boston Garden 5/7/77 - everything seems perfect (see: Terrapin>Sampson and Delilah)
4) Dozin' At The Knick - My all time favorite Row Jimmy and Brokedown Palace, and disk two is to die for.
5) Downhill From Here (audio rip) - Feel Like A Stranger, Built To Last, Standing On The Moon
6) Reckoning - acoustic is important
7) Dick's Picks 29 - trust me
8) Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 2 - some more 80s material, plus i love Throwing Stones
9) Europe '72
10) Dick's Picks Vol. 18 - Always loved the Cold Rain and Snow and a really interesting Scarlet>Fire
11) Without A Net - All time favorite Bird Song
12) So Many Roads - even if only for that beautiful So Many Roads
out of order
8-24-68 (for Cryptical thru Lovelight)2-27-69 (whacha think?)
2-14-70 (Alligator thru AWBYG!!!)
5-2-70 ( fun vibe all the way)
9-19-70 (amazingly subtle Dark Star...shhh or you'll miss something)
9-20-70 (for the acoustic set)
8-6-71 ( you are there!)
11-7-71 ( makes you howl like a hippie)
5-13-72 (Excellent Truckin thru The Other One)
5-20-73 ( Truckin thru Stella Blue)
5-25-77 (superb 2nd set)
12-29-77 (I was there!)
My yardstick was what shows do I listen to repeatedly and never get tired of. Plenty of "better" shows no doubt, but these would get me through, although I can't set them in any particular order. What I like about this question is seeing other peoples choices of shows I'm unfamiliar with. Thanks. Checkin' 'em out.
Can o' worms
You really opened it up this time bj!!!And I appreciate it and am laughing
if i had the time...
...i'd grab these:DP 15
DP 18
April Fool's RT
DP 28
7-8-78
Ladies and Gentleman
DP 4
8-27-72
10-3-87
GD Movie Soundtrack
Reckoning
2-28-69
Without a Net =
All time favorite Althea.
"It's got no signs or dividing line and very few rules to guide"
no particular order
3 from the vault
what a long strange trip its been
in the dark
DP 4
DP 8
DP 16
DP 28
DP 29
Dozin at the Knick
4/29/71
5/8/77 & 8/27/72
I'm Surprised Nobody Has Mentioned
The Closing Of Winterland 12/31/78
This show has always been up there near the top of manys favorites lists right along with Veneta '72, Fillmore East 2/70, Cornell 5/77, Harper College 5/2/70, Oakland 10/9-10/76, NYE '87, Hampton 10/8-9/89, Meadowlands 10/16/89, Nassau 3/29/90 ect.
Desert Island
I would need far more variety than just GOGD. So in no particular order, and with no unreleased concerts and only one compilation (Sonny Boy Williamson was not an "album" artist), here is a baker's dozen:
Live/Dead
John Coltrane: A Love Supreme
Miles Davis: Kind Of Blue, Sketches of Spain, Bitches Brew
BB King: Live @ Regal
James Brown: Apollo I & III
Love: Forever Changes
Allman Bros: Fillmore
Sonny Boy Williamson II: Essential
GD: Harpur 70 (whatever D's Ps that may be, this was my first unreleased tape in my collection, got it on cassette Fall '71 with no date or venue, just "Electric Dead")
Muddy Waters; Newport
Break out the boogie boards
in no particular order...Binghamton NY 4-12- 83
Greek 6-14-85
Merriweather Post 6-27-84
Autzen Stadium 8-22-93
Hampton 10-9-89
Nassau Coliseum- Halloween 1979
Manor Downs 7-31-82
Dijon, France 9-18-74
Pauley Pavilion 11-17-73
Avalon Ballroom (10-12-68 or 10-13-68)
Portland Memorial Coliseum 5-19-74
MIT Kresge Plaza 5-6-70
Soldier Field
I can not believe NO one would take the last show, 8/9/95! If nothing else, you take it as historically correct recording of what was going down right at the end. It may not be as beautiful, but it is important. Thats all I have to say about that.
wow. lemme try...
6/10/7312/31/76
L&G
8/27/72
6/3/76
Steppin' Out
5/11/72
5/4/77
7/18/76
11/11/73
We DO get rescued eventually, right?
I'll sneak the Stooges' Funhouse along somewhere. and NY's Live Rust. and Funkadelic's Maggot Brain. and some Zep (Mothership).
But those are the DIDs that came to mind most immediately.
Mr. Know-it-all sez...
it was 7/9/95 (the last show).
excellent point.
one last thing
the other day someone was talking to me and they said they saw the GD before "Jesse" died.
uh...
Lovely ...
I'm stuck on making lists since way back when ... :-D
The twelve albums or shows I should bring are these:
1. Live/Dead (What can I say? Maybe I have been listening to this album many many times in the past 32+ years as well and could possibly replicate the album in my head as well, but still ... I got to have it - also because of the artwork, since I really enjoy looking at album covers. This is the album I want to be played at my future funeral - it's the main soundtrack of my life. I can't live without it, and I crave a copy in my coffin when I'm dead and gone ... in case I wake up in a heavenly future ... *s*)
2. One From The Vault (I used to have the bootleg Makebelieve Ballroom on really bad vinyl, so this show was my first choice when I had my first tapetraders ad published in The Golden Road issue 5. Eyes of the World ---> Stronger Than Dirt are two of the three Grateful Dead tunes I have on my cellphone, a Sony W595 btw),
3. American Beauty (is the most obvious studio choice)
4. Terrapin Station (is the second most obvious studio choice but I need the remastered version of course since I really love the live Dancing in the Streets)
5. Skull 'n' Roses (a record which means a lot to me and because of the artwork as well as reminder of the Dead Heads unite "ad")
6. Europe '72 (a good compilation of the classic tour)
7. 2-11 and 2-13-70 (I have the 2-11 Dark Star jam on bootleg and I love it. I have the last set from 2-13-70 on mini disc, because it is essential. I would make my own CD-R's compilation with this music since I'm not equally interested in 2-14-70)
8. Dick's Picks Vol. 29 (Atlanta 5-19-77 was probably my first 1977 show on tape and since I'm a 1977 buff in Grateful Dead years speaking, at least I got to have this one)
9. The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack (but I would surely miss the Steal Your Face cover)
10. 8-27-72 (I have the DVD ...)
11. The Closing of Winterland (I used to have it on tape and I have fond memories of it)
12. 3-23-75 (I have it downloaded from Wolfgang's Vault but used to have it on not so good tape copy, Since I like Miles Davis of the 70's, this short performance is the closest the Dead got to Miles' music.)
If I could take a bonus record, I would make my own CD-R compilation of live and studio tracks from 1966-69. And of course I don't dislike the 1980's in GD music but I'm not sure what I would choose from that era.
Micke Östlund,
Växjö, Sweden
------------------------------
My record collection:
jazzmicke
About others ...
I'm not sure btw what records with non-GD artists/bands I would bring because there are so many ... but the following would be greatly missed if I couldn't bring them ...
1. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Box Set (2001) (Of course I would miss some of the bonus tracks from the latest remastered versions but this box set contains everything else CCR have made since their days as The Blue Velvets, and on six CD's only ...)
2. Colosseum - Morituri Te Salutant (a 4-CD compilation)
3. Allman Brothers Band - Archive No.4: Nassau Coliseum 5-1-73
4. Santana - Lotus (1974)
5. Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush - Real Live! (2001)
6. Quicksilver Messenger Service - Happy Trails (1969)
7. Jefferson Airplane - Bless It's Pointed Little Head (1969)
8. Quicksilver Messenger Service - Quicksilver (1971) (or a CD-R with the best songs from Just For Love, What About Me, Quicksilver and Comin' Thru')
9. Parliament - Live/P-Funk Earth Tour (1977)
10. Yello - Yello By Yello: The Anthology
11. Allman Brothers Band - The Fillmore Concerts
12. Redbone - The Witch Queen of New Orleans (European issue of Message from a Drum but with a different cover).
I would surely miss many really nice non-Dead albums ... Bob Marley - Live (1975), Colosseum - Live (1971), a nice CD-R compilation of Led Zeppelin, several jazz records and others ... :-O
Micke Östlund,
Växjö, Sweden
------------------------------
My record collection:
jazzmicke
Top 10
1:1969-11-08 (Dicks Picks 16)2: 1970-06-24 Capitol Theater (Jerry yplays all 4 sets ending with DS>Attics>DS>Smags>China Rider>UJB!
3: 1972-04-14 Live at Tivoli (my favorite Darkstar)
4: 1972-08-27 Veneta
5: 1973-11-11 Pauley Pavilion, Playing>UJB>Dew>UJB>Playing, not to mention the rest of the show
6:1975-08-13 Great Am. Music Hall (One from the Vault)
7: 1976-07-18 The Orpheum Theatre (LL>Supplication>Let it Grow>Drums>Let it grow>Wharf Rat>TOO>St. Stephen>NFA>St. Stephen>Wheel>TOO>Stella Bue>Smag) EXCUSE ME?! who hates 76?
8: 1977-04-23 (I would take the Cornell Scarlet-Fire over this one, but the rest of the show is better [yes])
9: 1977-05-22 (not just DP3 but the whole show)
10: 1977-12-27 (The best Peggy-O)
I'm sure there are some things missing, Maybe a Papa Jerry 80's style Dew....but there's my ten....plenty of jams to sit under the ocean stars and contemplate how the hell to get off that island.
Well, I know a little something you won't never know...
Some good picks, some pans.
I'll start with some missed eras1. 6/23/74 - Jai Alia Froton, Miami, Fl. The only Let It Rock and a Dark Star beyond . . .
2. 6/23/76 - Tower Theatre, Upper Darby - St Stephen, Dancing in the Streets and a Cosmic Charlie . . One of the best second sets ever.
3. Veneta 72 or 5/11/72. Take your pick both are beyond.
4. Live Dead - Can't live without it. Alternate 2/11/69 Fillmore East
5. Reckoning - or any of those shows from which this was culled in 81 - Acoustic Dead - Hell Yeah!!
6. Formerly the Warlocks - Nightfall of Diamonds as a alternate. 10/9/89 Second set is one for all time.
7. 3/24/93 - Great show. Very underrated in the last good year for the Dead.
8. 5/19 - 5/21/77 - Released as a Dicks Picks. It's awesome.
9. 2/19-24, 1971 Capital Theatre - Port Chester, NY - Some really great shows at a transition period.
10 - Go to Nassau - Great Early Brent Dead
Crippled but free,
I was blind all the time,
I was learning to see
Desert Island Dozen
Well, I just found out that all the posters are going to be made castaways on the same island and we are allotted a ration of choice Grateful Dead shows to mollify our stay.
11/11/67 It's going to be a very cosmic island. This will be listened to upon arrival as we prepare our living quarters.
6/19/68 This one will be accompanied by the organic materials that fellow musical travelers found just outside camp.
12/30/69 After being deprived of tuneage for two weeks because all our bateries died from the extreme heat, we are blessed with a crateload of Duracells dropped from a plane with Stealies on it.
9/18/70 This show will be partnered with the other two from the run that a FMT brought accompanied by party favors included in the crate of batteries.
12/05/71 Road trip. We pack up our stuff and head across the island to the lagoon with the waterfall - there we find coolers filled to the brim with each of our favorite beverages.
5/26/72 We listen to this and celibrate the midpoint of our time together roughing it on this gosh-forsaken island which is turning out to be a pretty cool place after all.
2/15/73 All of us gather as we start the second half of our stay and wait for the moment - that crucial brilliantly placed chord that chimes in the eternal Eyes of the World. Oh, yeah.
6/18/74 We all rejoice when we start this one up because it's one our all-time faves. It's air-guitar night so huge smiles come on our faces as we play along with Jerry's quote from "My Old Kentucky Home".
8/13/75 We're all in shock as we discover deadmike has smuggled in his killer bootleg copy called "Makebelieve Ballroom". After this celebration it turns out our island host, Blair Jackson, must have several of the castaways helicoptered to the mainland.
8/04/76 Tonight we go to the most dreaded place on the island - a makeshift hell that has been specially created to reproduce the conditions experienced 35 years ago. Somehow everyone comes out of the Other One in one piece as we live to make it just one more day.
5/19/77 The pentultimate night of our stay finds us in good cheer as all know that it's just a matter of hours 'til we go home. This night of ecstacy begins like no other because we've all just heard the best Sugaree ever played. (at least since we've been on the island.)
12/31/78 Everyone is numb and tired, but there's still a glint of reserve to tap into. Bill Graham has returned from the grave to do up the island and all the acts that performed that night have miraculously returned to rock our collective backsides into oblivion!!! As we head off the island, Uncle Bobo shouts, "You were the perfect audience!" Amen.
" Steal Your Jazz "
I'd turn Bear Grylls into a Deadhead
with these picks:
DP 34 - my first show!
2/26/77 - open with first ever Terrapin, excellent Eyes into Dancin
2/27/77 - great closer of Terrapin -> Dew -> Sugar Mag
5/9/77 - the one after Cornell
4/16/84 - awesome space into an outrageous Other One
Europe 72 - first turned me on the the Dead
American Beauty
9/26/81 - hot show from start to finish
7/29/82 - I was there and just love the Crazy Fingers / Miracle
9/10/91 - Great show from MSG with Bruce and Brantford sitting in for the entire show
Happy Anniversary Blair! Enjoy the break and hopefully when you get back we'll have a football season!!!!!!
Ten for the Desert Island
Thank you, Blair Jackson. Blair combined CDs/official releases with unreleased shows. I separate them into two lists.
If we’re talking shows (in chron order):
1. 5-26-72 London
2. 8-27-72 Veneta
3. 5-26-73 Kezar Stadium
4. 11-11-73 Winterland
5. 5-19-74 Portland O
6. 6-26-74 Providence
7. 6-28-74 Boston
8. 6-14-76 Beacon Theater
9. 5-8-77 Barton Hall
10. 9-3-77 Englishtown NJ
If we’re talking CDs/Official Releases (again in chron order):
1. Live Dead
2. Ace
3. Winterland 73 Box Set
4. DP12 (6-26-74, 6-28-74)
5. Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack
6. DP33 (10-9-76, 10-10-76)
7. DP29 (5-19-77, 5-21-77)
8. DP15 (9-3-77)
9. DP10 (12-29-77, 12-30-77)
10. DP18 (2-3-78, 2-5-78)
Hey, I'm old school.
I won't even try to list Honorable Mentions (i.e., the shows or disks I'd seriously consider taking), or I'd do nothing else today. But it would include the shows on CNJ77's list that aren't on my lists, as well as 5-11-72 Rotterdam and 12-31-76 Cow Palace.
baker's dozen
*Fillmore West 3-01-69 (from Fillmore box) ~ "One man gathers what another man spills....except in California") *Dick's 26 ~ 4- 26 & 27 -69 ~ ok, Time Machine, drop me right here.
*Dick's 4 ~ 2- 13 &14- 70 ~ Alligator -> Uncle -> Not Fade -> Mason's -> Caution...gotta have it.
*Rockin' the Rhein 4-24-72 (do Dark Stars get more epic ~ scary, exhilerating ~ than this?)
*Dick's 28 ~ 2- 26 & 28 -73 ~ arguably my favorite Dick's, esp. disc 4
*Winterland 11-11-73 (from Winterland box ~ ok, if Blair gets all of So Many Roads, I'm also taking set 1 from first night 11-09)
*Kezar Stadium 3-23-75 (just a half hour, doesn't count as a full choice, right? the Dead at their most stunningly experimental)
*Dick's 33 ~ Day On the Green 10- 9 & 10 -76 ~ Jerry knew Pete was in the house, and goes toe to toe (that Franklin's jam.....ahh)
*Road Trips 2 ~ Oct 77 (of course, Dick's 29 has twice as many discs....)
*Dick's 21 ~ 11-01-85 ~ a very special night....know every note. My favorite Brown-Eyed Woman ever. Can still see Bob throwing up his hands, "Wait a minute!"
*Capital Center 9-12-87 ~ this would make a great two-discer release, hint-hint (first & favorite Dew I saw, and one of my favorites ever...."feel good music/ in your soul")
*Download 5 ~ Hampton 3-27-88 (2nd row standing, will never forget Jerry's smiling "can't touch this" bravado during Fire)
*View From the Vault 6-14-91 (the last classic I saw, pre-drums set 2!)
desert island Dead
Ok, I'll play.My fiancee/soon-to-be wife and I are headed to the Big Island ourselves to work on a farm for the entire month of October, so I better get my picks together too! It's tough though. In no particular order:
4/21/71 - best Hard to Handle, great Good Lovin' - Pigpen-fix filler for sure
2/28/69 - the best show of this run in my humble opine. Love this Eleven.
5/8/77 - You said it, Blair - justifies the hype.
10/31/91 - already a great show, even before Kesey stepped on stage. From there it becomes a classic.
Dozin' at the Knick - the Playin' and the return of the Mind Left Body jam. Chillsies.
12/02/73 (DP 14) - one of my favorite first tapes, I was ecstatic when it upgraded to a DP. Utter meltdown from Playin', followed by gorgeousness.
Grateful Dead Movie Box Set - big ol' batch of favorite stuff.
DP 4 (2/13-14/70) - Truly, an evening with the Grateful Dead. I hate to ever say things like "best Dark Star", but ... Best Dark Star?
DP 8 (Harpur 70) - another magical night with.
One from the Vault (8/13/75) - some of my favorite Phil moments ever. Killer, shining and bouncing performances.
American Beauty - for all of it's beauty... and American-ness.
Road Trips 1.4 - the From Egypt with Love shows of '78 outshone Egypt itself. Possibly my favorite Estimated ever. Whew.
I'm already thinking of 12 more that could've been here, but we'll leave it right there. Haven't read the rest of this thread yet, looking forward to checking everyone else's picks!
10 titles to take to Tropical Island
1. So Many Roads2. Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack
3. Greyfolded (Dark Star remix)
4. Warlocks box
5. 10/31/87 JGAB off Broadway
6. Legion Of Mary
7. Evening Moods
8. Reckoning
9. Diga
10. Merl Saunders And Friends
The Sky Was Yellow And The Sun Was Blue
People Stopping Strangers Just To Shake Their Hand.
What first comes to mind....
I'm gonna travel light and just say what comes to mind first....
Released: DP 12 - choice versions of China>Rider, Truckin', Scarlet, Eyes, MMU>Big River, Row Jimmy, and WRS>Mind Left Body Jam (I can really name every song on this set....)
For the full island effect I can also listen to the great disc ending song of Ship of Fools, and if I fully lose my mind waiting for someone to pick me up I can listen to Seastones over and over and over....
Unreleased: I'll go to Long Island and listen to Nassua 1973.... admittedly I have only heard the second half, but its my favorite of all time (please, please release this one!)
I went to see the captain, strangest I could find...
oh and while we're on the subject...
this springs to mind:
http://www.wdirewolff.com/dnp001.htm#Top
Top Top
I'd go with, in no order except for #1.
1) JGB Live Album- If you're on a desert island you a truly Waiting for a Miracle.
2) Ladies and Gentlemen: 4/29/71 Hard to Handle, epic
3) 2-13-70 Dark Star
4) 6-18-74 Louisville, The jazzy Eyes. Perfect
5) 12-31-81, New Year's GDTR> Morning Dew ends 2nd set. Dark Star opens 3rd. Best New Year's ever.
6) Any '77 (Cornell, Colgate, Binghamton, Englishtown, DeKalb, Toronto) Coin flip or ALL please
7) 6-29-76, 1st show, feel asleep, so good though
8) 9-17-87 MSG great show that represents that time La Bamba and All Along the Watchtower
9) Wake of the Flood
10) Richmond '85- Comes a Time and She Belongs to Me
11) Worcester 4-7-87 Hand Jive and Dew
12) Reckoning- Was at many Radio City shows.
This is fun. Now my list
Enjoying reading everyone's list. Here is mine in no particular order:
1.) One from The Vault - Classic show. had this one on 8 track that I taped from the radio, probably WNEW.FM in NY. Love the classic intro by Bill G.
2.) DP 15 - Another classic show, excellent versions of Mississipi, Eyes... Had this one on 8 track again taped from WNEW 102.7
3.) Reckoning - Acoustic Dead. Saw two shows at Radio City. I would give this CD to anyone who I want to break into the band slowly.
4.) GD Movie Soundtrack - Just love this period. Remember seeing this movie at the Mini Cinema in Uniondale.
5.) Without a Net - Steller versions from one of the last great tours. Was at the Nassau Branford show.
6.) Go To Nassau - Some reason really like this set. Was at all three of the Nassau 80 shows. Really good early Brent.
7.) DP 10 -12-77 - Great energy set from 12-29. Sure there might be better 77 shows, but sticking to format, I am picking official releases.
8.) DP 2 - 10/31/71 Something about the jam in Dark Star that I could play over and over. like the beautiful jam on So Many Roads
9.) DP 4 - 2/13-14/70. Two words - Dark Star
10.) Europe 72 - First live LP purchased. New songs not on any studio album. Was like buying a new studio LP for me. Still love the Jackstraw and China/Rider versions.
11.) Studio Album Bonus - Go To Heaven. My first Dead studio LP. The bus came by and I got on.......
I'm a bit confused about the
I'm a bit confused about the rules here. Blair counts "So Many Roads" - 5 Cd's as one "set"- ok, that makes sense. Also, "unofficial" CD's are apparently allowed-(Cornell, Frost, Rotterdam, and Santa Fe). Up to six 6 CD's allowed per "set". Why couldn't I lose 4 CD's from The Golden Road" box - put a rubber band around the other 6 and call it a "set". Why couldn't I burn compilation discs- put a rubber band around 6, give it a name, and call it a "set". I hope I'm not bending the rules here. In light of that, I'd pick a few official representative releases and the rest would be compilation "sets". So my picks:(1) DP22- Lake Tahoe 2/23-24/68
(2)RT 2/14/68
(3)FW 69 ("3 disc best of")
(3)DP4 2/13-14/70
(4) Steppin out with the GD(4/8/72)
(5)DP14 (11/30/73 and 12/2/73)
(6)DP 5/22/77 (agree with an earlier post- better than 5/8/77- always trust Latvala!)
(7)View from Vault 2 (6/14/91)
(8)Abbreviated "rubber band Golden Road"set: Anthem of the Sun, Aoxomoxoa, Live Dead, American Beauty, Workingman's Dead, Europe 72.
(9)rubber band set "dupree": 6CD's back to back Dark Stars. I'm not too picky as long as they're all 68-74.
(10)rubber band set "soft machine": 6Cd's back to back Other Ones, again 68-74.
(11)rubber band set "reno": 6CD's back to back Playin in the band, 68-74.
(12)rubber band set "charlie": 6 CD's back to back "space"- preferably from the early 80's but I like em all.
The "space" compilation is something I've dreamed about for a long time. Imagine, like 7 hours, no songs, no singing, just the purest Dead improvisation... Again, I hope I'm not bending rules here. Don't mean to be a smartass- but the heart wants what it wants. Of course, I'd also try to smuggle the complete Europe 72 set onto the island- you know, some Deadheads have a bit of an anti-authoritarian streak...
blair, i read the blog every
blair, i read the blog every week and love it. i've often meant to chime in before with my two cents, but up until now have not; that is if you all would be willing to listen to the two cents of a "post-jerry" head...so, desert island shows, huh...
6/10/73 - is it the best show of "73? probably not, but it has a perfect dose of everything the band has to offer. the third set with a handful of allmans is incredible
Fillmore West 1969 3 disc set - i'd had 2/28/69 for a long time, and always loved it, but it never sounded like this. the third disc's "that's it for the other one," and "alligator," are explosive psychedelic madness...garcia is so note perfect that these shows should be evidence enough to any casual classic rock fan that he stands up to clapton, page, and even hendrix as the top guitar player of the sixties (in my opinion he even overshadows them all, as evidenced on these discs).
5/15/70 - 2 sets acoustic, 2 sets electric, and jerry sitting in with nrps taboot...the spring of 1970's "an evening with the grateful dead" tour contains wonderful music, and this show sums up the tour and the power of the band at the time in spades...i believe this is now out as a mostly complete show in the road trips serie; i haven't bought it yet, but want to in hopes it fixes the nasty cut in st. stephen my copy has.
6/6/70 - for nothing else then the jam that ensues out of alligator in the 2nd set, as it is 15 minutes of screaming primal grateful dead. if you've never heard this, please go find it...best jam ever? possibly...
4/29/71 - final night of a week's run to close the fillmore east, and once again while the whole show is fantastic, it's the post "alligator" segment that makes me love this show. The ecstatic bliss of the jam itself leads to a string of tunes weaving and flowing in and out of each other as the band brings it all home.
9/21/72 - my personal favorite grateful dead show ever. i consider this show to be so special that i only listen to it every so often when everything is just exactly perfect for it; thereby making it essential desert island listening. again, just another show that has everything, and is perfectly played. dark star, dark star, dark star...a 39 minute dark star, whose first twenty-so-odd minutes are a relaxing swim through grateful dead consciousness, which then sucks you into the dephts of auditory space for five minutes or so, only to be spun out into the final nine or ten minutes that contain a breakout of psychedelic cowboy sunshine love music. This show is wonderful...i think it's a dick' picks too
5/11/72 - if europe '72 is arguably the band's best tour, then to me, this is arguably the best show from that tour. starting with a deep "playin' in the band," the band spends the night searching for the outer reaches...once again, dark star, dark star, dark star...this fifty minute monster will take you there and back again, and it just might make you hallucianate; is it the best grateful dead jam ever? Possibly, no seriously, possibly. In fact, listening to this show, almost 40 years after it was performed, i imagine that the walls of the club that night were sweating liquid acid...
12/31/72 - the final night in my favorite year of the band's career, and what a show to end the year. as with most '72 shows, the first set is full of great songs, energy, and spot on playing by the band...of course closing the set with a screeching "playin' in the band," one that does stand apart of the many first set closing "playin's" from '72-'74. as with so many shows, this one really takes off in the second set, most notably with the 60 minute truckin'->the other one->morning dew (david crosby sits in i believe), that is something to behold.
5/8/77 - cliched or not, this show stands up to its accolades. i'm only taking one show from '77 with me, a decision i may regret once on the island, but for now i'm only taking one. 6/9/77 almost wins out, but in the long run i think i need cornell's "morning dew" possibly more then i'd need anything else in the band's catalog because it just seems to make time and space stop.
12/28/79 - this show is incredible, nothing more, nothing less, just incredible.
9/6/80 - as early 70's centric as this list has been, i must admit that i think i like '79-'81 better then '76-'78, and that being said, i LOVE 1976-1978; there's just something special about the early brent years, and this show is a great example of what makes them special. Long, well played first set with great songs...longer, exploratory, well played second set weaving in and out of many tunes. you can feel the band having fun onstage, and you can still feel the combined energy of the bliss of the crowd on that field in a late summer day in maine all these years later. I'm sure some could clue me onto other shows from this era that are better, but for my desert island, this show will do nicely...
10/26/89 - passing many years, and many great shows, i have to (as this list must be concluding shortly) pass on the magic of the spring of '81, the great shows of '82, and '83 (october hartford run anybody??? - those shows worked for trey), the great energy of the audience tapes from '85, and all the great shows from '88 and '89, and settle on this little nugget from 1989. all i can think to say of this show is "hi, we're the grateful dead and we've come to experiment on your brain...hold still now."
3/24/90 - apologies, but i have to round my list up to a baker's dozen folks. the spring of '90 is another great tour, and while i could've (understanably) chosen the branford marsalis show from 3/29 at the coliseum, i have to go with this show. This show contains my favorite first set of brent's time with the band. The "help->slip->frank's" is smoking to start the show, and then bobby lays down a great "walkin' blues"(it shows up on "dozin' at the knick"). What inexplicably does not show up on "dozin' at the knick " comes next, and that is a version of "loser" where something happens, it gets taken to the next level out of no where as the energy combines between the band and the crowd, followed by my favorite version of the band's take on "desolation row." Brent's keyboard fills and backing vocals are perfect, and bobby just nails it - "but right now i can't read so well, so don't send me no more letters no; not unelss you send them from desolation row." The entire second set show up on discs 2 & 3 of "dozin' at the knick" (forever in my heart as one of my first live pick ups from the band), and is extraordianary...best playin'->ujb->terrapin->mlb jam segment of the era? possibly...the "stella blue" is breathtaking, another song that may find itself in the category of best version ever...no two ways around it, this show is wonderful
there you have it, my desert island list, and why. hope it wasn't too long, and i hope you all can understand why i'd take these shows...check 'em out if you haven't already, and i'll do the same to ones up here i am unfamiliar with.
Final parting thought...how i hope i never have to narrow down my collection of grateful dead music, for every show i have, know, and love all have their time and place, and ability to induce that oh-so-unique and oh-so-necessary grateful dead bliss...
thanks for your time folks...
forever grateful,
alex
Dozin' at the Knick 3/24/90
I never understood the omission of LTGTR>Help>Slip>Franklin's, Loser, Desolation Row and Tennesee Jed>One More Saturday Night from this release.
Granted, One More Saturday Night is on Without a Net and Desolation Row is on Postcards of a Hanging, plus The songs from the other 2 shows are nice, but 3/24/90 on a whole is great from start to finish. The Loser is one of the best versions ever played.
OK, I'll play
Fun reading everyone's choices, though I do request that those who list Dicks Picks include the dates as well as the number (not a problem the last couple of pages but it was near the start of this- I can have a hard time remembering which shows go with which picks)...
Fillmore West 69 3 disc set (if I can't take the full box set!)- certainly among the highest moments of the psychedelic era...
DP 8 (5/2/70)- amazing from start to end, and will be nice to have the acoustic set...
Steppin' Out in England- of course need some Europe 72- might go with 5/7, 5/23 or 5/26, but this is a fine-sounding compilation and the 4/8/72 Star seals the deal...
2/15/73- somewhat surprised not to see this on other lists. The Here Comes Sunshine is one of my favs, but the Jerry/Phil duet between Dark Star and Eyes is one of my all time favorite musical moments, and then that Eyes>China Doll is perfection!!!
DP 14 (11/30 & 12/2/73) Fall tour 73 was one of the very best- tempted to take 11/11/73 but this fine pick might have a slight edge...
6/18/74 Love 74 as much as 73 and this is the epitome of what made 74 so special with long unique jams like the one following the Weather Report Suite. Not to mention the great Eyes>China Doll, stellar Stella and Dew encore. And a birthday show for me to boot!
6/3/76 Yes, I love One from the Vault (8/13/75) but this first show back from the hiatus is special and has many of the same songs more fully realized- love the sweet sweet Crazy Fingers and the long exploratory Slipknot. The one thing 8/13/75 has over this is that very trippy Blues For Allah- so I'll try to sneak that on as filler...
7/18/76 One of my first tapes (recorded off of KSAN in 76), one of the shows I have listened to the most and one I will never tire of- just a perfect sweet jazzy jammy groove throughout the magical second set (the most incredible Lazy Lightnin'/Supplication), absolute perfection (other than Donna's premature vocal entrance in St. Stephen, but that is amusing rather than disturbing)...
5/4/77 Yes, 5/8/77 is wonderful, but I like this one even more. I guess I'm just a sucker for an amazing multidimensional Playin' that takes me a million different places and that Comes A Time- for me the 5/8/77 is like a very speedy cruise down a wide-open highway, which can be most exhilarating, but I prefer a more varied ride with lots of twists and turns...
10/10/82 In full agreement with Blair here, just an amazing show, esp. the pre-drums part of set 2, deep magic on a sunny afternoon- you can just feel the energy of that day shining through...
5/14/83 Haven't seen anyone else mention this one- lots of great shows in the early 80's but have to choose one from 83 and this stands out because it is a showcase for Bobby's unique playing style- he is really prominent in the mix, and it is a great example of how he would stay and do this solo thing over the start of drums in that era. Could also go with 6/18/83 or 9/6/83 as fine examples of this era...
11/1/85 Need to choose something from 85 and this show is a special one, with the little meltdown at the end of CAT esp. noteworthy; also good to have a She Belongs to Me. Could also consider 6/14/85 and 9/7/85...
If I could make it a Baker's dozen (and I should be able to, since my last name is Baker), would choose amongst 3/16/88 (one of my favorite shows attended, very powerful- lots of great stuff in 88), 3/29/90 for the fun of hearing Branford add his magic and Jerry obviously loving it, or 10/22/90 Frankfurt, an underrated very special show. Would make a 4 disc compilation of the highlights of those, but if pressed for just one would choose 3/29 so there can be some sax for variety's sake...