• 8,064 replies
    marye
    Joined:
    Bolo24 says: An Idea, Perhaps? Since we're all going to have a fair amount of spare time on our hands for the foreseeable future, what about starting another thread where we all listen to the same show/release on a given day and then share impressions afterward? Folks can submit suggestions and one person (not me) picks what we'll all listen to - call it Deadnet Picks or something. Anyway, if this idea is deemed to have merit, I'd suggest one of the loyal regular posters take the lead and do the picking - y'all can decide who. Might be fun. If it does go forward, I nominate Dick's Picks 18 for the first listen. Been talked about here lately, and, had it been a single show rather than a compilation, we'd probably be talking about it in the same conversation as Cornell, Veneta, etc. Or perhaps even Gainesville?? Stay safe and healthy, friends - this planet needs as many Deadheads as possible.

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  • The Good Ole G…
    Joined:
    the impossibility of sainthood

    I think you nailed it Jimi.

    It's funny, having spent a lifetime hearing this song and loving it, I'm not sure I ever stopped to think about what it meant. I just always loved the way Rick Danko would sing the Crazy Chester verse. It always gives me chills (even as I write this) how much emotion he's able to deliver in that line and the way he sings it.

    The songs always been a favorite. Since it came out in '68, I've been hearing it randomly here and there my whole life. I remember hearing the NRPS version from 5/2/70 with Bob & Jerry singing in around '88 (on the GD Hour I believe) and just losing my shit. The Grateful Dead are playing the Weight?!?!

    Then as luck would have it, having not seen the Dead since Alpine '88, I happened to catch a show in Frankfurt Germany in '90 and they closed the show with the song. I was so stoked, it felt like they were playing it just for me. And maybe they were that night. I had no idea they'd been playing it for awhile. Back then, if you were overseas, it felt like it :)

    Ah... Good Stuff.

    Thanks Jim, I enjoyed the trip.

  • JimInMD
    Joined:
    Re: The Weight

    For me, this simply means taking on additional burdens that were not of your making and how this impacts your life and can bring you down emotionally. How someone else's irresponsibility forces one to take the right action or do right in order to avoid a greater catastrophe or additional harm to others.

    Before I wrote this I decided I should revisit SongMeanings.com as it's been perhaps 20 years since I did this.. and there was a quote from Robertson I had not seen before that shed light on the songwriting process for this song. There is mention that specifics were purposefully left general so the song could take on a special meaning to the listener, which is certainly true for me. It also went on to add that Luis Buñuel was a major influence to the lyrics, so I had to check him out and watched one of his more popular films on YouTube, "Los Olvidados" or The Young and the Damned (with English subtitles). A pretty good little flick with a deep plot similar to the meaning of the song.. in this movie a young troubled kid gets out of kiddie jail only to continue his life of crime and destruction including theft and ultimately murder ultimately bringing everyone around him, even the most innocent down with him by mere association. Not the meaning I took from the song but just barely one step removed.

    To me, it still carries a deep, personal meaning.. like I said I was never meant to be the responsible one yet I have carried a whole bunch of people throughout my life including now.. professionally and personally. It's not very much fun, often depressing and exhausting. But we all make decisions in life that have consequences both to us and those around us. I am a severely flawed human but I do try to grasp and understand each situation and try to do right or at least the best I can. My own brand of pragmatism I guess and I really try hard not to burden others with my own stupidity or lessor actions.

    To tie this back to the Grateful Dead, I quote Phil Lesh from the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on 1985-06-27.. when two people were swinging dangerously from the balcony just before Stagger Lee Bobby stopped the show pleading that they stop hanging from the balcony to which Phil added, "Do what yourself what you want man, we just don't want you falling on somebody else." How many times have we all been that person that the guy hanging on the balcony fell on?

  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    Fades, non-seamless transitions

    Fade ins and outs between CD’s is really annoying.
    Charlie Miller has been making seamless transitions for years, not sure why Norman has never figured out the concept.
    I fix all releases that need it with editing software before loading onto HD’s and music players.

    12-9-81
    Stella struck me as quite good last night. Don’t know if I never noticed it before, or noticed it before but then forgot.

  • The Good Ole G…
    Joined:
    On Tour

    DV - Yeah, Bob T twisted my arm and got me to go out on this December '73 tour, even though he ditched me in Cincinnati, we hooked back up in Cleveland. Sick Dark Star > Eyes bro!!!
    The Durham show was good, but 12/6 was probably the best so far and the stuff in Boston on 11/30 & 12/2.

    Just a few more to go.

    LMK if you're gonna try and make the show and have trouble gettin' tickets, we might know of an extra.

    Keep on Truckin'

    Best,
    GOGD

  • DeadVikes
    Joined:
    GOGD

    I hear you man, there are better 81 shows. Would be interesting to pick DL brain on this pick. Anyway, it comes off the shelve a couple times a year.

    Are you thinking 12/10/73 for today??

    I still don't have this from the download series.

    Stay well out there.

  • The Good Ole G…
    Joined:
    The 4 Principles of Quan-fa

    Master Strider

    You have summed up what I wanted to say in one line when it took me many.

    I still have much to learn.

  • Strider 808808
    Joined:
    12/9/81 Bob Weir

    Stand up comedy

  • The Good Ole G…
    Joined:
    in Concert '81

    Big fan of '81 Dead.
    But... for some reason the 12/9 show hasn't really grabbed me up by the ears.

    Let me clarify, I'm not bitching or trying to sound un-Grateful.
    I'm happy to have this show to listen to and think about and with this release I know I don't need another version of this show so we're all good there.
    But this is just me as a picky geeked out Dead Head discussing music with my homies during the ninth month of a global pandemic.
    That all being said...
    I think I have the same reaction each time I hear this show.
    Which is: surprise.
    Surprised this got released.

    That's not to say I don't like it, I just find myself drifting off thinkin' there are some real smokers in December '81 and I'm not sure this is one.
    First set is train wrecky, some pretty big audience patches needed, Bob being weird throughout.
    That all being said, each time I look at the cover I think, what am I missing about this show, and so I give it a go.
    I just haven't heard it yet. And yeah, didn't really hear it yesterday.
    Personally, I think 12/3 smokes this show, but nobody really axed me that.

    Now I'm listening to this China > Rider while I type and this is freaking good stuff.
    But yeah.. this show hasn't reached December '81 go to status for me, but hey, that's ok!

    And since we're talking.
    Have we discussed Fade Out Tracks?
    Since we're gonna be doing this CD medium for however long with Dead Releases, I'd love to propose something.
    There's this cool trick I saw some bootleggers do when we were trading CDs BITD.
    They'd add a separate Fade Out & Fade In track at the break point that way if you're not listening to the show on CD, say you were listening on a music playing device like a phone or what have you. You can just delete the Fade Out & Fade In track and the whole thing will be seamless again. So in this case, it'd look like:
    Disc 1 Track Listing -
    10. Looks Like Rain >
    11. Fade Out

    Disc 2 Track Listing -
    1. Fade In
    2. China Cat Sunflower >

    So what I'm proposing is Cut those tracks so that Disc 1 Track 10 lines up with Disc 2 Track 2 and viola! Delete Fade In & Out tracks and you have Seamless Dead for all of us heads that are not listening to CDs and love seamless GD.

    I sound bitchy. (read this whole post in the most non-bitchy way!! Just friends talking music here.)

    Alright, Break time ladies and Gentleman.
    But We'll Be Back Real Quick.
    (insert big Jerry guitar fan)
    See you in a minute or two.

    Now, the total opposite side of this DaP V20 (which had a decent SBD in circulation for years) is an Unreleased SBD that doesn't circulate like...
    December 10, 1973
    Now this.. this here folks is a Go To!
    Cause, it's all there is, there ain't no more (in circulation)
    Supposedly there's what 4-5 songs that got excised due to "sub-par sonics".
    (can't find any liner notes, anybody got the official explanation handy?)
    From the one set list I found looks like Jack Straw, Jed, El Paso, BEW got nixed from Set 1 and a MAMU from Set 2.
    But the rest is here in seamless glory for us to grok. And grok I must.
    As the wonderful strains of 1973 Playing In The Band begin.
    This sounds delightful..
    I'm so Grateful for all you archival music releasing people, you are special, Great Work!!

    Cast no stones

    PS - JiminMD after your suggestion, I did read up on the meaning of the Weight, which I had never done. It was pretty fascinating the speculation out there. Now, what do you think it's about?

  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    Jumping in mid-game

    I don’t listen to music at work, so it’s at night at home and in the car.

    12-9-81 going now, but jumped to Bird Song, then Candyman, Cassidy, ChinaRider.
    Now on Scarlet.
    Yeah, not quite the same as 12-7-68, but I’m glad to have stuff from every year.

  • DeadVikes
    Joined:
    12/9/81

    Oh yes, this is the show were the Jack Straw falls apart.

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17 years 3 months
Bolo24 says: An Idea, Perhaps? Since we're all going to have a fair amount of spare time on our hands for the foreseeable future, what about starting another thread where we all listen to the same show/release on a given day and then share impressions afterward? Folks can submit suggestions and one person (not me) picks what we'll all listen to - call it Deadnet Picks or something. Anyway, if this idea is deemed to have merit, I'd suggest one of the loyal regular posters take the lead and do the picking - y'all can decide who. Might be fun. If it does go forward, I nominate Dick's Picks 18 for the first listen. Been talked about here lately, and, had it been a single show rather than a compilation, we'd probably be talking about it in the same conversation as Cornell, Veneta, etc. Or perhaps even Gainesville?? Stay safe and healthy, friends - this planet needs as many Deadheads as possible.
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In reply to by The Good Ole G…

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....yes Dave. One of the more interesting ones I've come across.
"Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley formed the band as a couple in 1984. They chose the name "Yo La Tengo" (Spanish for "I have it," referring to a female-gender object or person). The name came from a baseball anecdote that occurred during the 1962 season, when New York Mets center fielder Richie Ashburn and shortstop Elio Chacón found themselves colliding in the outfield. When Ashburn went for a catch, he would scream, "I got it! I got it!" only to run into Chacón, a Venezuelan who spoke only Spanish. Ashburn learned to yell, "¡Yo la tengo! ¡Yo la tengo!" instead. In a later game, Ashburn happily saw Chacón backing off. He relaxed, positioned himself to catch the ball, and was instead run over by left fielder Frank Thomas, who understood no Spanish and had missed a team meeting that proposed using the words "¡Yo la tengo!" as a way to avoid outfield collisions.[5] After getting up, Thomas asked Ashburn, "What the hell is a Yellow Tango?""
Hilarious. Don't miss those team meetings Frank!!

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In reply to by Vguy72

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pretty good

all together now..."it's not Europe 72, but..."

it's still pretty good

PS I got my work done that day, my friends...luckily, I didn't have to answer to my dad, since he is in Salem Oregon

update on 12/3/79...there's one of those weird patches where all of a sudden we go from soundboard to the hallway and then back to the soundboard.

Onward into Friday. I will do my best to stay focused on my ish.

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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Perhaps my favorite '77 show, add in the bonus tracks and you have a really special release.

Thanks for carrying the torch folks and keeping this alive. Been a bit busy the last few weeks and struggling just to hang on here. Gotta admit, I missed a few of these shows. Trying to manage getting stuff done with the best winter we have had here in more than a decade. Winter is fun, GD is fun, winter and GD is more fun. Add 2/26 to the mix, sublime.

Blink or relax for just a moment and when you snap out of it.. you're old. I cannot play as hard as I used to.

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In reply to by proudfoot

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some slowness in there

2/26/77: Jerry sparkling and spry

2/17/79: still plenty bouncy

12/3/79: ssaayyyyy whhhhaaaa...? Terrapin and Wharf Rat....

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry.

It must have been horrifying for the rest of the band to see such a rapid decline.

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I think I might do a first course of Uptown 81, followed by a Swing 77 dessert!

Happy Friday, DeadLand! Keep the good vibes rolling!

Of, for those of you who like a good Matrix, here is 2/26/81: https://archive.org/details/gd1981-02-26.mtx.chappell.sb02a.28383.sbefa…

Like most shows, give it a minute to "settle down easy" :)

Peace

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Def. not a top-tier pick for me, which is a shame because Fall/Winter 79 is one of my favorite periods of GD. Kind of puzzled why this was chosen, TBH. However, if memory serves, the "Truckin'" is massive if listened to in the proper state of mind and at the proper volume (LOUD!) I do love the artwork on this one...

Overall though, many better shows from this era.

Peace

I think we all know what the top picks are and what constitutes as filler.

If we all had a crystal ball of truth.. it would reveal what we know. Each year until this comes to a screeching halt.. we are going to get a mix of what is deemed releasable shows. The great and the truly good.

That's how it's gonna play out my friends. No need to hope each and every show is a top ten. I will add, I want to see all the releasable shows get a Full Norman. What we are listening to each day and night is history and these shows need to get released.. here's my twenty five bucks, bring it, even 12/3/79, which is not the worst Dave's Picks..

On a separate note, all the remaining Dave's Picks need to have a Cumberland or they will have a revolution on their hands. Who's with me?

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16 years 10 months
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I am happy with what we get.. I was thinking how some releases are wow for the quality or reputation... Others like the July 78 box were more of whoa we have soundboard releases that never existed to us... Would I be happy if we got a Dane County from Feb 15, 1973 oh yes, but a Feb 24, 1973 University of Iowa show would fall into that July 78 box set release type of emotion.. That type of release is what I wish we would get a little more often, but I wonder what the potential amount of releases would even fall into that category . be good everyone. bob t

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I am there, DARK STAR

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In reply to by unkle sam

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I'm there with BTK, UNKLESAM, ICECRMCNKD & everyone else who loves these shows.

52 years ago, 4 of the greatest shows ever started at the Fillmore West and holy shit they're amazing.

The Dark Star the band played on 2/27 is beyond.... description.

Big props to Betty Cantor for picking this one out of the bunch and putting it on the first live Grateful Dead release for all of us to freak out over.
Crazy, she did that before I was even born.
Bow to the Queen.

My little memory on the importance of the Fillmore West Complete Box Set release. (which I've told before)
I saw on the internet that the Grateful Dead was going to release all of Europe '72, I hadn't been collecting the Dead in years as I was booking local rock shows at a club and was into a completely different local music scene that had been eating my brain so in many ways I felt that I'd moved on from the Dead.

But seeing that the WHOLE Europe '72 tour was going to be released just stopped me in my tracks.
When I followed the rabbit down the hole..
one of the first things I saw, they'd already released the COMPLETE Fillmore West '69 run!
The Bus came by that day, and I got back on.

WALSTIB indeed.

This Dark Star rules.

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In reply to by unkle sam

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...be a Debbie downer. I just don’t like when EVERYDAY is a “anniversary” pick, or more to the point, perhaps SOMETIMES we do an anniversary from different years that never get any love.
But who can the weather (or the music) command.
Onward!

EDIT: I’ve been blissfully wallowing in Dave’s Picks 33, 35, 36, and 37. Still have that 72 stuff to get to, but some 69 is always fine, yuck, yuck..

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8 years 8 months

In reply to by Oroborous

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Haha

This is not "this Day in Dead History" you all ;)

I'm just playing...

“[To poop] originally meant ‘to produce a short blast of sound,’”

Maybe OB just wanted us to hear a short blast of sound?

OB, you know I'm just taking the mickey out of you cause you haven't listened to 10/18/72 yet?
I dig all your input mang.

On a more musical note.. Get it?!?!

I don't think I noticed that patch in The Eleven on 2/27 before 7:54-8:49..
I wonder if that had something to do with them using the 1/26/69 version on Live Dead.
hmmm

You guys are funny.

The Fillmore West box is sorta of a white whale for me. On the fence with release announcement and when I finally went to pull the trigger it had sold out in previous 24 hrs. Not the last time I was slow on the draw but that was a tough one and years later when i started checking resellers it was a bit pricey. Do have the compilation. Someday.

So I'm going with Live Dead today and the Dark Star sounds glorious right now.

Onward!

I know y’all giving me shit, which is nice!
I think my suggestions are not being seen in the right light. Not trying to be negative...Think of it this way;
There’s over 2300 shows, I’d like to hear as many as possible, even if just once, vs listening to say, only the same 200 shows repeatedly. So more shows equals a positive, no? Especially looking for those weird little chestnuts that only a super squirrel finds 🐿
Also, it’s a fragile eco system. Been listening for over forty years already, hope to be able to do so for many more.
Variety is the spice of life!
Ok,enough of all that,
ONWARD!

EDIT: as your senator from the great deadnet state of altered consciousness I hereby propose an amendment to the cosmos hear-by declaring that henceforth the Elevan, should, and must be played on, well....11!

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In reply to by bluecrow

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I also missed out on FW and the steamer trunk, although I did get the 72 AME.

Have FW 27 and 28 on vinyl. Both say Plangent Process. I don’t believe that the FW69 Box says Plangent, but I don’t have a physical copy to look at.
Can some check their Box to see if it says Plangent?
If it doesn’t then that suggests that FW69 has been remastered - Plangentized, Normanized, and vinylized.
27 and 28 sound really nice.
The question is, when will they release the 24/192 hi-def copies?
They could put it on BluRay audio like Led Zep did for Song Remains The Same.

No offense meant Oro, I don’t actually keep up with the picks every day, mostly just on weekends since I don’t listen to music at work. Sometimes do partial shows at night.

Well, it’s around 50 here, the snow is gone, and there’s 2 months of dog poop in the yard....
That's going to take like 45 minutes to clean up.

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In reply to by Oroborous

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Conekid, no Plagent was not used on the Filmore box. The first box they worked on was Winterland 73.

Oroborous, yes, we are still not This Day in Grateful History. Shoot, we are coming up on the one year anniversary of The Pick of the Day. Let's keep it rolling!

Do you all remember what the first pick was?

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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I've got the POTD list ;)

Might've missed a day or two here and there when there wasn't a pick or it wasn't clear what the pick was.
But usually would jot down a notation.
For the most part it's complete.

VGuy... I wrote down 2/27/69 for today.

It's too epic not to give it the nod.

But.. that leaves room for more goodness, might have to do 2/27/81 later.

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17 years 3 months

In reply to by proudfoot

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None taken!
This ones for you and the job ahead
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mLNAkPsjAEk

EDIT: lol I thought we were doing 69 today? or am I a day late and a dollar short again!
Dbl Edit: yeah, nice work GOGD...we oughta call him scribe, or Radar O’reily

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In reply to by Oroborous

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Plangent or not, still sounds pretty good!
Haven’t heard these since some awesome person turned me on to copies s couple years ago...so good call, ...was due!

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8 years 8 months

In reply to by Oroborous

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A man walks down the street
He says, "Why am I soft in the middle, now?

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8 years 8 months

In reply to by proudfoot

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And Betty when you call me,
You can call me Al.

Yeah... listening to the Dead all day can make you a little soft in the middle.
But what a way to go.

Don't want to end up a cartoon
In a cartoon graveyard
Bonedigger, Bonedigger

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7 years 10 months

In reply to by billy the kid

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God I love DeadHeads, I just wish there were more in my neighbor.

FW Box was a Multi Track release.

....tbh Proudfoot, I dabbled. Started with him circa 1980, then moved forward and backward. Got distracted with another band. Circling back.
Like most nuts, pistachios are healthy and good food.
Avocados are up there too.

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11 years 10 months
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God, I must be getting old. A good hit on Friday night at work, up all night, cloudy all Saturday, passed out early, up now.

Anyway,,, coming home from work Friday night fairly electric. Got billboard hits of 1973 playing and the Temps come on with Papa Was a Rolling Stone. (the 12 minute version) My Buick has a ok sound system so I cranked it up. What a great recording. Wonderful separation of sounds, the relentless cymbal. If you haven't heard in a while, pop that bad boy on,,, good headphones sound great,,, and crank it.

I always say Motown is like coke,,,,,, everybody likes coke,,,,,, and sara lee.

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In reply to by Vguy72

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The Zappaverse is vast. I like some of it, dislike some of it, ignore much of it.

If it didnt take, thats cool. His stuff is definitely not for everyone.

If you decide to try it again, i recommend WOIIFTMoney

Also, I happened upon a youtube video called Zappa 60s guitar solos yesterday. That stuff rocks

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4 years 1 month

In reply to by proudfoot

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Uhhhhhh....

I am on a "no GD for now" diet. So, I got nothing for POTD.

I was surprised yesterday by several facts. Biggest, Temps not the original band,,,, Undisputed Truth (yes, Smilin Faces), put out the first cut and when I scanned my collection I was shocked at the number of covers. And yes, there were maybe 3 from Mickey's band :-)

Another one of those songs the Dead should have done,,,,,, right after Ghost Riders in the Sky!

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17 years 2 months

In reply to by Dennis

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....is Mickey Harts Mystery Box CD. Or the last show from Anchorage.
Choose wisely.