Grateful Dead

I have several liberated bootlegs of The Who in Summer '72, of course not clean SBDs like we have with the Dead stuff, but most are quite listenable. (A variable term for sure, depends on one's experience listening to hissy audience tapes, but there are definitely decent ones to be found.) And I like collecting them to get those sort of tunes that they played with Moon for very brief periods. Who boots will vary from awful to great, you just gotta poke around.

If I had a Mt Rushmore of Dead shows, 6/23/74 just about makes it on mine. Maybe not the best show from the Wall of Sound era, but to my ears, it is by far the best sounding tape of that era. Jerry's picks are all a little odder than usual, but all are perfectly chosen. The Ship of Fools (and it's intro Jam) is a fantastic way to get back from the weirdness of Seastones. And that Dark Star> Spanish Jam> US Blues is just magnificent.

And to the post about the actual Mt Rushmore and FDR over Teddy: we wouldn't have had any sort of President like FDR without TR. We'd likely still be a smallish country with no great impact on the world without Teddy. Similarly, one could say the same of Cornell or Veneta or 2/14/70, because for a lot of people the tapes of legendary shows introduced them to the wonderful music and led to the discovery of the bounties awaiting the collector of more tapes. Those shows may not endure as favorites, but they are still signposts to a new space, to steal a title from a Jerry interview/book. And if I were to switch out a face on Mt Rushmore, it would def be Jefferson for Madison. (In keeping with ones who had served by the end of construction.)

If I have to choose 4:
11/8/70 (so wish there was a SBD of this one)
5/7/72 (just bc Dark Star & The Other One)
6/23/74
5/8/77 (my George Washington, where it started for me)

Yo! Rockers!!

“We’re tuning up a little bit for you folks, make it sound better cuz nothing’s too good for you………”

12/2/71, it's a bit of an oddity. One of only two 71 shows with both Brokedown Palace and Black Peter. The only 71 show with both a Smokestack Lightning and a Lovelight. And unusual for 71 in that it didn't have a Truckin', Good Lovin', The Other One, or Dark Star........

Back in the very early years of my crazy tape trading daze this was one of the first “local Dead show recordings” I had, so it has a special place in my Grateful Dead heart of hearts. It never seemed like the greatest Dead show ever, yet I still treasured it then---AND now.

Think I'll listen to it on my way to work.......

Rock on, my friends!

Doc
Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order......

....you know. The one with the best segue from Dark Star into US Blues I have ever heard.
Majestic....
I learned to duck

Gratefulgerd - I looked up the set list for your 8/11/72 Who show. That must have been incredible - I would love to hear Relay and Long Live Rock with the gang in their live prime. Those two songs were freshly written at the time, and then quickly dropped from the set list. I doubt any relreasable tapes exist of the '72 tour you saw, but I found a decent YouTube show from later in the month with the same set list. Good stuff.

Proudfoot - I checked out your 12/2/71 recommendation. Some hot spots in there. I like those late '71 Smokestack Lightnings with Keith in the mix. The piano suits that song. Brokedown Palace is nice - they nail the vocals at the end, which is always the icing on the cake. Also like this UJB. Solid version and Phil really nails the backing vocal on the "crow told me" verse. He used to sing some cool parts in those early days.

Also checking out other December 1971 shows after Doc's 12/14 recommendation. Currently listening to DaP 22 at the Felt 12/7. After Tennessee Jed someone in the crowd hollers out "St. Fucking Stephen!" and Jerry impatiently responds with "Aw, Fuck your own St. Stephen!" So glad they leave the stage banter in these releases. These guys sounded like they had a LOT of fun at work. What a way to spend your life.

:)))

Keithfan - yes, thanks, I'll bear your comments in mind next time I listen. I will try the two El Paso's, and look out for the contrast.
I should say that my immersion in Dicks 36-9/21/72 - has been stimulated by its release on vinyl, and that's the version I listen to now. It sounds amazing to my battle worn ears-but I haven't compared it to the cd version. Price it cost, I'm a bit scared to!

Hi Daverock. Yeah, that was a tough choice, DP 23 over DP 36. They have very similar set lists. If I had to choose between one or the other to bring as the only Dead CD to the desert island with the coconut rum and bikini women, I would go with DP 36, based on the Dark Star, Wharf Rat, and Morning Dew. I'm not sure which Bird Song I prefer; maybe I'll put that to the test later. But anyway,
I like the performances and the recording of DP 23 more. Jerry is consistently loud throughout DP 23. On DP 36 he's certainly not low, but he tends to get washed out a bit when the whole band is playing and he's not swinging away at chords. You can hear what I mean for example with El Paso. If you compare the first minute of DP 23 to DP 36, you can hear Jerry loud and clear on 23 when he's doing all of that cool picking; meanwhile he gets buried by the band on 36. I also hear more flashes of brilliant playing from Jerry on 23. Another thing about DP 23 is the backing vocals sound better to me in a lot of places, like they're "blended" together more evenly. And then there's the monster 40 minute Other One - lots of great jamming here, and they almost jam out The Eleven at one point (Jerry starts it but nobody hops onboard).

anybody home?

5 day sale sign is still on web after a week?

no box set announcement? No dave's picks announcement?

is anyone there?

Did it, done it, occasionally revisit for nostalgia. I worked at the movie theater when Heavy Metal came out. Never watched the whole thing thru but saw all of the scenes in pieces. I have the Movie recorded on my DVR. Maybe today will be the day I revisit it. May try to watch twice before I erase it. If memory serves there were some other rock bands I uncertainly wouldn't call heavy metal. Let's see, Journey and Donald Fagan and others on there should never been associated with heavy metal.

So I started thinking about it. I had written the first paragraph about 5 hours ago. Thinking about metal and some concerts I saw, when I started thinking about Judas Priest. I remember wow it was 1981 when I first saw them. Then it hit me that it was in summer July or August. I have the ticket but chose not to go digging through stuff. I check and 40 years ago right now, this music freak was preparing to go see Judas Priest, with Whitesnake opening and then Iron Maiden, at the Fox theater in Atlanta. Drove into town and heard the concert announcement on the rock radio station the night before. During afternoon next day went down the Fox Box Office and scored tics. Went back to room to chill out. Headed down to the show. All three of the bands were completely known to us. I had copies of British Steele and Point of Entry by Priest. I also had Iron Maiden Killers, and this was on the Killers tour, as well as their first album. Hard to believe 40 years went by like that. It was a true heavy metal concert. Well Whitesnake at this point was a heavier blues unit in the Zep and Purple line of hard rock. But damn did both Maiden and Priest drive that place hard. BTW, Maiden was the original maiden before Dickinson and the second drummer.

Any way within 12 months I was clearly leaving metal behind and casting my gaze elsewhere.

saw them in Frankfurt, August 11, 1972.
Wow, the loudest band I've ever heard in concert, indoor Festhalle Frankfurt.
I mean extreme loud!!!!
My biggest mistake in '72: I could've seen the Dead in April, 26, Jahrhunderthalle.
But I didn't. Why?
Too young and to far away from what was really going on in the international music scene.
Simply said, I didn't know GD.
On May 2nd in 1972 I saw John Mayall, at the same location, Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt.
Great show, wouldn't mind to trade it for a show a week earlier.
Life happens