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    A sealed, unlabeled box sat undisturbed for decades on a shelf in the Grateful Dead’s San Rafael tape vault on Front Street, its contents an enduring mystery, even to those few with access to the vault. All David Lemieux knew about that box when he became the Dead’s archivist was that it contained tapes belonging to Bear—Owsley Stanley, the Dead’s first soundman and architect of the Wall of Sound. Even in the Dead Heads’ Holy of Holies, the taped-up box was tantalizing. But this was Bear’s personal property, and so he didn’t touch the box out of an abiding respect for the elder luminary of sound. Bear’s archive of Sonic Journal recordings had been kept safe for him for years within the Grateful Dead’s vault—over 1,300 reels of tape stored in heavy-duty cartons like old banana boxes. At any time, David could have popped the tops and explored them to his archivist heart's content. But they were off-limits without the nod from Bear. - Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell, Owsley Stanley Foundation

     

    With a wink and a nod from Bear, we've peeled back those banana boxes to find some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including the double dose of shows that make up DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43. The two virtually complete performances from San Francisco 11/2/69, Live At Family Dog At The Great Highway, and from Dallas 12/26/69, McFarlin Auditorium, are complementary in their clarity and consistency thanks to Bear himself, and in their ability to foreshadow where the Dead were headed in the years to come. If the two killer 20-minute+ "Dark Stars" don't get ya, how about the Pigpen-centric sets featuring "Midnight Hour," "Next Time You See Me," "Big Boss Man," "Good Lovin'," and the once-lost-now-found complete rendition of "Dancing In The Streets," or the first full acoustic set ever performed? And we're certain you'll be fascinated to uncover the "Mystery Of Bear's Banana Boxes" as told by Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell in the liners.

     

    Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43 was recorded by Owlsey "Bear" Stanley and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.

     

    *2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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  • 1stshow70878
    Joined:
    Other Jewel

    Daverock, of course I too went straight to the Red Rocks shows upon first listen before hearing the rest of the box. After getting to all of them I was calling 7-3-78 St. Paul the hidden gem. That must have been a peak period for them. The energy is there. Almost swaggering I'd say, like they need a pack of cigarettes rolled into the sleeve of their t-shirt.
    Cheers

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Me too

    I also played Omaha 7/5/77 after reading Oroboros's post. The first set, last night-excellent - Jerry's guitar sounds as cool and clear as the driven snow. Own up time....for the last couple of years, when I have played shows from this 78 box, I have played the first one 7/1, missed out the next two and gone on to the two Red Rocks shows. I have no idea what put me off Omaha in the past - makes me wonder what other unidentified jewels I have here.

    Exile - I was unfairly dismissive of Black and Blue, too. It's a very entertaining album - I didn't like funk or disco in the 70's, but that's no excuse now. I wasn't keen at all when it came out-Spring 1976, I believe. With Mick Taylor gone, "Fool To Cry" issued as a single and punk waiting in the wings, The Stones, along with most of the great bands from 1965-1975 suddenly seemed a bit passe. I bought the first Ramones album in Summer 1976-that was the sound of the times for me. 40 odd years later... Black and Blue is still on my playlist, and I no longer even have that Ramones album.
    I saw The Stones at Knebworth in 76 - and I have the programme here-nothing to do with music, but it's curious how The Stones and their fans were presented. In the article on The Stones, it states, "Young boys eagerly flocked the Mary Quant make up department in Harrods trendy Way-In shop on Saturday afternoon.The disco pumped out "Hey Negrita" as the boys applied eye liner and lipstick to gaunt virginal faces." I don't think so. I was 19 then, and the article seemed to show how out of touch The Stones had become at that time, with my generation.
    They also apparently had a food stand where you could buy a portion of chicken curry for 0.55p. This in the middle of the hottest heat wave for decades.

  • JimInMD
    Joined:
    Omaha

    That Estimated > Eyes is outstanding. That Eyes of the World has always been a go to post hiatus Eyes.. it's outstanding. I've always been big on that box. 7/1 never circulated and is outstanding, the first Red Rocks shows did circulate and are well.. not to overuse the term but outstanding. A great moment in GD history perfectly preserved for us to enjoy. Aptly timed as we are entering a holiday weekend and the box centers around the Fourth of July.

    Outstanding

  • Charlie3
    Joined:
    Omaha

    Been looking at that July 1978 box when picking some dead to listen to lately, but keep getting sidetracked by a different choice, but Oroboros' post about the virtues of the July 5, 1978 Omaha show prompted me to give it a listen today. Currently on Wharf Rat. I always liked that show, and the recording is excellent. I imagine it was exponentially cooler to be there in person at the time. The artwork on that one is probably about my favorite from that box as well, and I liked all the art from that box, a lot.

  • Exile On Main St.
    Joined:
    Stones

    Hey guys, I lurk more than anything but I saw some Stones talk and I agree with Dave Rock. It's Only Rock 'n Roll is an underrated album. The thing with it in my opinion, is that the songs are either dynamite (like the opening song fictional drummer) or B side material. The other problem is a couple of the songs suffer from Led Zeppelin IV / Dark Side of the Moon syndrome, meaning they've been played on the radio so much that they've lost a little luster (title track and Ain't Too Proud to Beg). I think these songs are pretty high quality once you're sitting back giving them your full attention (In their order of appearance on the LP).

    If You Can't Rock Me
    Ain't Too Proud to Beg
    It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)
    Till the Next Goodbye
    Time Waits for No One

    Dance Little Sister

    The first 5 songs are all of side one and are solid. It's Only Rock 'n Roll has "Start Me Up" hit quality. Time Waits For No One makes us realize that Mick Taylor should have had at least one or two tracks on every album to stretch out like he does on this one and Can't You Hear Me Knockin' from Sticky Fingers. Missed opportunity. The thing with these songs is you may think of hearing Dance Little Sister on the radio and thought, meh, average song. Until you really listen to everything going on with the guitars. Keith Richards bass chops on If You Can't Rock Me are cool. Till the Next Time is on par in my mind with Wild Horses and Angie, but again, missed opportunity in that Taylor could have been used to play an electric solo or something, similar to Wild Horses. The remaining songs on the record don't do it for me. Luxury is borderline, but leans too far into funk. Fingerprint File is way too far into funk and not that great a song for me. If You Really Want to Be My Friend and Short and Curlies should have been put in the can for later. Between Goats Head Soup and It's Only Rock 'n Roll, I think there's a great album in there.

    Black and Blue had some great songs with Hand of Fate and Crazy Mama. I think Hand of Fate was as good as 70s rockers got, with very few exceptions.

    Not much to say that hasn't been said about Dave's 43. I would never complain for this type of release.

  • PT Barnum
    Joined:
    reading these posts

    you guys are so cool. Love this forum

  • Charlie3
    Joined:
    Or...

    ...It's like buying a book from the bookstore and then realizing the pages are all put together out of order, and there are pages from another book mixed in. And when you go back and say, hey, bookseller, they put the pages of the book in the wrong order, and there are pages from another book mixed in. And he says, don't worry, you can rip them all out and put the book back together in whatever order you want.

  • Crow Told Me
    Joined:
    It’s Like When Someone Says ‘Plate of Shrimp’

    The other day I ordered a burger with fries. Instead, they brought me fries with a burger. So I complained. But dude, the burger guy said, you can eat them in whatever order you want. Mmfff, I said, eating my fries and burger.

    Received my shipping notice today for the TTB’s “I am the Moon” vinyl set. Because today is the release date. What a concept! You release the record on the release date! Genius! I just want to note that, when you bought the 4-lp set, they promised to provide a digital download of each separate album as each of the four parts of this project was released. And then they actually did! On the actual release dates! And the files actually worked! Amazing! And now they shipped vinyl on the release date. It’s so weird.

    A lot of people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch of unconnected incidents and things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything. Like the other other day I’m eating a plate of shrimp and listening to Electric on the Eel for the first time in years. And so were you.

    Last five:

    JGB: Electric on the Eel (discs 1 and 6)
    Derek & the Dominos: Layla
    Bill Evans: The Hilversum Concert
    Christian McBride: At the Village Vanguard
    Stones: El Mocambo

  • Oroboros
    Joined:
    Greetings my brothers/others

    All is well in the middle of the country and I couldn't agree more with this esteemed group's statements on current and past musical topics.

    Phil and Friends has consistently displayed such exploratory and jamtasic shows which makes them a 'must see.' I recently attended another Wilco concert prior to that show and the inclusion of Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline in the friends in Chicago reflect excellent choices. Nels has sat in with P & F on multiple occasions and Wilco has covered the Dead on a variety of occasions including Bobby sitting in for Dark Star, Ripple, etc. I regretted that Phil got Covid and couldn't headline with String Cheese Incident's recent Red Rocks shows, but Billy Strings was a welcome replacement and we in the audience had a wonderful time. Still I long to see Phil play again and hope to have another chance soon. The SCI 'dead set' with Billy was a delight and I saw Billy rev up with the Cheese as they took on many of our favorite Dead tunes that evening. And I am quite relieved that Phil has fully recovered from the Covid and is back playing live.

    Besides attending the Wilco and SCI shows, I have also loved recent concerts with the Infamous Stringdusters, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, the Jayhawks, Railroad Earth, Yonder Mountain, Mollie Tuttle, Sierra Hull, and several years ago was quite taken by previously mentioned Larkin Poe (opened for Elvis Costello). Such terrific music touring again and I'm very grateful to be able to make the journey (pun intended).

    However, given this thread on DP 43, to get back on how this Dave's Pick is stellar and echo others sentiments how the primal Dead are such an unmitigated treat. This is a special release and deserving of frequent rotation.

    And should any of you be inspired by the break-neck speed and turn on a dime of the early Grateful Dead, please consider attending a Joe Russo's Almost Dead show. Yes, Oro (my brother from another mother) those two Vail JRAD shows, along with the JRAD show at Red Rocks were stellar. These guys have the stamina and pace of the early Grateful Dead but along with the Dead's entire song catalogue. Simply remarkable jamming, truly exploratory, and much more in the vein of P & F as opposed to the D & C. JRAD is energy personified and each band member is truly infused with amazing grasp of these wonderful songs along with a jazz mentality and interplay.

    To add to the dialogue regarding 'rain stories' from concerts (discussed earlier in this thread), I got one to share. I recall back in 1978 when the Grateful Dead played at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in July. The venue was about half full (4,000?) but everyone was chomping at the bit as we had not seen the Dead in Nebraska since early in the early 70's. I took my Nak 550 into the venue and there was no hassle getting in the deck in this time, but remember this was before the days of 'taper's sections.'

    Out in the hallway, the Hell's Angels wandered about sporting full colors and big grins. They may have been transporting 'party favors' and decided to take in a show, or perhaps road tripping with the band? Although I did not see them at the subsequent Red Rocks shows. Anyway, I headed down to the floor to set up my Nak in front of the sound board. When I was getting everything ready, I saw this guy with a great rig setting up. Luckily this kind stranger (I have since discovered he was famous taper Bob Wagner) let me patch out of the back of his Sony, which was terrific as he had a tall (8 ft?) stand to get will above the crowd noise. We were about 15 to 20 feet in FOB. So Garcia treats us to a blistering Sugaree opener, the kind that drove the crowd wild. His leads mounted into a wave that crests, recedes, regroups, and roars back with such power and delight that adds to the synergistic effect causing our frenzied response as his rolling/soaring guitar work lift and subside within the band.

    Then BIODTL, TLEO, and then Bob took the spotlight with a "Look's Like Rain." About half way through the son, I suddenly noticed something shimmering in the air between the band and me. I thought "what a fantastic light show! Or have I shifted into 5th gear just a little earlier than I scheduled?" I staggered towards that visual disturbance in front of me to investigate. The crowd was dancing madly in the middle of the floor as a waterfall played over them. The waterfall was about 25 feet in circumference. I put my hand into the water...hand out, no rain, hand in, pouring rain.. I jumped into the waterfall drenching us all in the middle of the Civic auditorium. Then stepped out and there was none. I shook my head and then dove back into the deluge and danced through LLR and next came Direworlf and a delightful All Over Now, with Keith and Donna simply killing it. Candyman, Lazy >Supplication and Bobby informed "we are going to take a short break" (ha, it was never a short break!)

    I staggered back to reload a new tape (remember cassettes?) and I looked for some validation of my experience. I asked my friends if I was not in fact 'soaking wet' as I patted my wet t-shirt? And they grinned knowingly and affirmed that , yes, in fact I was 'all wet."

    Then this unique show continued (nice indoor water feature, boys!) with a killer second set, complete with a transportive Estimated>Eyes>Wharf Rat>Truckin'>Iko Iko > Around and Around.

    As I left the auditorium I noticed the water standing on the ground outside, a summer storm? Hey was this just a case of a leaking roof? Or did the Dead actually conjure up the forces of nature as they were so prone to do?

    Next to travel to their/my maiden Red Rocks shows. Would Phil bombs create reverse gravity and make us float up into the air? What do they have up their collective sleeves for us next (ah-oooo, Werewolves of London, ah-ooo)?

    Those were the daze.....

    Zen saying "teachers open the door, you must enter by yourself."

  • That Mike
    Joined:
    Philco Are Only Rock & Roll (And We Like It)

    Jim - You bring up a good point that Phil is well into his 80s, yet is still bringing it with such new creations as Philco. I think he personifies that well worn axiom “Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”

    DaveRock - I personally always loved the subtle guitar work on “Fingerprint File” from IORR. Mick Taylor should never have left the Stones, they were a much better band with him (with due respect to Ronnie). Last week, I re-watched their “bootleg” release from the Marquee Club in 1971 - now THAT was THE best Stones lineup.

    Blues For Allah - what an excellent choice. Some really jazzy passages throughout that entire release.

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A sealed, unlabeled box sat undisturbed for decades on a shelf in the Grateful Dead’s San Rafael tape vault on Front Street, its contents an enduring mystery, even to those few with access to the vault. All David Lemieux knew about that box when he became the Dead’s archivist was that it contained tapes belonging to Bear—Owsley Stanley, the Dead’s first soundman and architect of the Wall of Sound. Even in the Dead Heads’ Holy of Holies, the taped-up box was tantalizing. But this was Bear’s personal property, and so he didn’t touch the box out of an abiding respect for the elder luminary of sound. Bear’s archive of Sonic Journal recordings had been kept safe for him for years within the Grateful Dead’s vault—over 1,300 reels of tape stored in heavy-duty cartons like old banana boxes. At any time, David could have popped the tops and explored them to his archivist heart's content. But they were off-limits without the nod from Bear. - Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell, Owsley Stanley Foundation

 

With a wink and a nod from Bear, we've peeled back those banana boxes to find some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including the double dose of shows that make up DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43. The two virtually complete performances from San Francisco 11/2/69, Live At Family Dog At The Great Highway, and from Dallas 12/26/69, McFarlin Auditorium, are complementary in their clarity and consistency thanks to Bear himself, and in their ability to foreshadow where the Dead were headed in the years to come. If the two killer 20-minute+ "Dark Stars" don't get ya, how about the Pigpen-centric sets featuring "Midnight Hour," "Next Time You See Me," "Big Boss Man," "Good Lovin'," and the once-lost-now-found complete rendition of "Dancing In The Streets," or the first full acoustic set ever performed? And we're certain you'll be fascinated to uncover the "Mystery Of Bear's Banana Boxes" as told by Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell in the liners.

 

Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43 was recorded by Owlsey "Bear" Stanley and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.

 

*2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

....prez follows through on a campaign promise and the hate still flies with certain people. "What about my mortgage?!" "MIdterm excuse for votes!"
Fascinating indeed brother. The current conservative trends are alarming to say the least. Go out and vote like your lives depend on it! Because it does.
My political rant for the month.
Back to tunes. And it ain't Kid Rock or Nugent.

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Glad you had that memory come back so clearly. I recently had a similar experience that brought me back to college beer parties, and sneaking off to smoke with buddies and get a few tunes in. Memory is a funny thing.

What a first show, 6/16/74. I did not realize that one was a three set show. One of my favorite 1974 releases. A buddy sent me the remainder from 6/16 and 6/18, but I rarely listen. That's about to change - you've inspired me.
For whatever reason Jerry is extra up-front in the mix, which is especially cool with when he's hitting chords - it's a very crunchy Wolf.

Just to see them in those early days. Thanks for the detailed account. It reminded me of some of my best concert experiences. I have no doubt I would have had a difficult time not following them outside of a hundred mile radius. The way I think of it, I was willing to see bands like Yes, Rush, and The Who 3 or 4 times a tour at multiple venues, and they all played basically the same set list from night to night. If that grabbed me, then getting a different set list every night would have had drawn me outside of the Philly / Jersey / New York market. That sounds like real freedom to me.

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Has anyone checked out the home page Veneta application, where you can isolate tracks? Highly recommend isolating Keith on Playing in the Band. During the jam part he plays, I guess 10+ minutes of perfectly seamless improv piano that sounds like a concerto. As much as I knew what a talent he was, listening to his isolated piano there made me realize I didn't know the half of it. The app can be a little bit quirky, and I could not get Bertha to work, but be patient and use a PC if it doesn't work on your phone.

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In reply to by KeithFan2112

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I cobbled together a complete 6/18 using the Full-Norman for the road trips and the best sounding board from the Archive. You two have inspired me to do the same for 6/16.. in fact for all the '74 chop job shows. Thankfully they started releasing full shows for the most part. .. at least to me, I know some prefer or are ok with partial shows, which is ok, but I do prefer complete shows being remastered unless in those rare occurrences there really was a train wreck mid show complete with explosions, body parts flailing and mortally wounded lying by the wreckage. ..but I digress, thanks for inspiring me, a nice little project when I get the time.

As for the Sunshine Daydream / Veneta app.. I looked but all I could find was that there is a Sunshine Daydream week strain. I think I am going to have to seek that one out.

Edit: I went to the local store and sure enough.. they had some Sunshine Daydream buds. The stuff is outstanding.. super trippy, yields a strong, transcendent buzz.. but beware of the side effects. I snapped out of a 5-hour stupor completely naked straddling the top of a telephone pole. This stuff should come with a warning label. I've got some nasty splinters in places that, well....

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far freaking out man. Unfortunately for me, I live in the south where you can still get busted for smoking an herb. It's 2022 for Christ's sake. When is this madness ever gonna end? For over 50 years I have been smoking weed and it has never hurt me, well, unless you want to count that time, we smoked all that black afghani hash and woke up with our faces in our shoes, it took hours for those shoe prints to wear off.
Top five bands for me:
#1 The God Damn Grateful Dead
#2 Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, Beatles, Vguy and I have similar likes, except fish, tried them, didn't take. Yes, number 5 is whatever I'm listening to right now.
Student loan forgiveness: Wow, thanks Prez Biden for that, and thanks to all you folks who think you got ripped off and didn't get anything ("what about...pay your bills...my, my me me mine) now we know who you are and remember that we vote in November again and that you will be remembered as the ones who complained about this. Stupid republicans shoot themselves in the foot again. Again, the words of Harry Truman ring true in my ears "if you want to live like a republican, you had better vote democrat." Political rant over, for now.

A large gap before we get to number two

2. Traffic
3. The Band
4. Pink Floyd

5. My most recent concert.

Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Beatles are all stepping stones to the other stuff.

Surprised nobody mentioned the Allmans.

Yea. Student loan forgiveness. How about grow up and pay your bills.

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I tend to like a few albums by a lot of bands/artists without any staying at the top or near the top of the pile. All those already mentioned plus Spirit, Dylan, Love, Talk Talk, The Fall, Van Morrison and on and on. For the last couple of years I've hardly played any GD. My interest will return I'm sure but I don't know when.

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I can't resist, I'm a list guy.

The Grateful Dead would be the only rock band that cracks my top 5, the rest being Jazz groups.

But for this, I'll stick to rock, and bands with more than just an album or two in their portfolio. Surely there are changes over time, but here's what I'd say currently based on the amount I listen to now and have listened to over the years:

1. Grateful Dead

2. Brian Setzer Orchestra

3. The Band

4. Little Feat

5. The Byrds/Flying Burrito Brothers/and associated solo projects

Impossible for me too.

Besides the GD and the Garcia Band(s).. Floyd, ABB, Hot Tuna, Steely Dan, The Band, Van Morrison, Beatles, Airplane, Burritos, Old and in the Way, Lots of bluegrass/folk/blues, goodness, we could be here all day. But to my ears and mind nothing tops the good old GD / Garcia Band.. I like many of Phil's line-ups, a lot. But hey.. I have it a go.

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Man, glad you guys are all so cool with paying my kids' student loans, pretty cool windfall for the two that are done with college already. And don't thank Biden, he's not paying for it, we all are, so thanks to us would be more appropriate. The loans didn't really disappear, they just don't have to be paid back by the borrower.

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1) Grateful Dead and anything acoustic or electric that Jerry Garcia played. ,2) Muddy Waters blues band, with Little Water, Otis Spann, & Jimmy Rodgers. from the early 1950s, 3) Paul Butterfield Blues Band with Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, San Lay & Jerome Arnold. Favorite musicians, B.B.King, T Bone Walker, Elmore James, Charlie Musslewhite, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and on & on & on .

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In reply to by JimInMD

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Maybe not...the band I have listened to most apart from The Dead is sadly The Stones. The band I have seen the most, between 40-50 times over 46 years is Hawkwind. So top 5 from 1972 to now might be
1. The Stones
2. Hawkwind
3. The Cramps
4. Gong
5. David Bowie - but only up to 1980.

But in the last 12 months, I have listened to more King Crimson, who I saw for the first time about 2017, and an assortment of 1950s rockers than any of the above - Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Duane Eddy to name 5. Many more though.

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Garcia's playing made every song better. But I never really cared for Quinn the Eskimo, Samba in the Rain, Picasso Moon, Just a Little Light, Satisfaction, Victim or the Crime, there's a few others. It would have been so much cooler if they would have pulled out Pride of Coucamonga, Mtns of the Moon, Sitting on top of the World, Attics of My Life( they did it, but not very often) and many others.

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Almost my exact same list of least favs.
Can't do a top 5 bands either, just too many but if I look ay my collection...
GD by a huge number
Allman Bros.
Eric Clapton
If I limit it to performers I've seen live, same list but I'd add
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Albert "The Ice Pick" Collins
Return To Forever
Weather Report
Eagles (first line-up)
But I digress, cheers

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In reply to by 1stshow70878

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>98% of my music listening is GD.
I collected tapes in the 90’s, then digitized the tapes, then downloaded all the SBD’s from archive before that was blocked (think that I got about 125 GB of shn), then got shn files on DVD-R from the snail mail vines, then starting doing torrents.
I probably have 3 TB of GD torrents that I haven’t even listened to yet.
And I buy the official releases.

Of the other ~2%, JG takes up about half, then Hendrix, Floyd, Who, ABB, Led Zep, Stones, Rush, Hard Working Americans, Ziggy Stardust (my preferred Bowie era) and others. Generally live recordings, very little studio albums, although I did listen to Quadrophenia earlier this week, and will listen to Hendrix and Floyd studio albums.

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....don't remind me. Even Vince's songs were better. Childhoods End? Trash. If The Shoe Fits? Trash.

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VGUY72!!!!

Wave to the Wind still horrifies me to think about. Other Phil songs are acceptable.

Vince's songs were overplayed, but they are alright to me.

The others anything after 1985 gets little play from me. I do have the occasional visit to that stretch, but _occasional_.

....is my mailmans middle name!
Edit. Dave's 43 glass shipping notice received!
Double edit. Larkin Poe is playing here tonight as part of the Big Blues Bender four day festival. So is Little Feat and Buddy Guy. Unfortunately, they don't offer individual day tix. It's a $500 wristband or nothing. Hard pass. Bummer in the summer.
I'll see you eventually ladies!! Until then, keep doing what you're doing because you kick ass!

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for info on the latest DP-volume. I have registered the tracking info in my Swedish Postal Service app but nothing so far. The wait is absolutely worst when a record has music from the late 60's or up to about 1974, because that's my main focus when it comes to listening to the band.

The past 25 years there is only ONE release I have listened to muliple times, or ONE track since I don't have the vinyl LP. That's Playing in the Band from 5-21-74, which I have in the box set Pacific Northwest '73–'74: The Complete Recordings. Okey, maybe I have listened a couple of times to the Complete 1969 Fillmore West as well. ;-)

About lists, I love lists but nowadays I usually only make lists of ten favorite artists or bands. In my dead.net profile I list my favorite bands as follows:

1. GRATEFUL DEAD
2. YELLO
3. CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
4. QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE
5. FRANK MARINO & MAHOGANY RUSH
6. ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND
7. JERRY GARCIA BAND(S)
8. REDBONE
9. LED ZEPPELIN
10. HAWKWIND

I listen to a lot more jazz though than any of the above bands, maybe excluding the Dead.

These are the different artists/bands I have most records (LP's, CD's, 45's, prerecorded tapes, etc), DVD's and (prerecorded) VHS's with:

Grateful Dead, 224 units +
Yello, 86 units
Jerry Wallace, 60 units (only 45's)
Bob Dylan, 58 units
David Bowie, 54 units
Hawkwind, 47 units
Miles Davis, 41 units
Allman Brothers Band, 40 units
Santana (not counting Carlos Santana solo stuff), 36 units
John Coltrane, 32 units +
(Jerry Garcia solo and bands, 32 units)
(Charles Mingus, 30 units)
(CCR, 27 units)
(Led Zeppelin, 26 units)
(Marshall Tucker Band, 26 units)

Best regards,
Micke Östlund,
Växjö, Sweden

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In reply to by frosted

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Frosted - of all the bands I haven't seen, the Brain Setzer Orchestra is the one I think I would most like to witness. Incredible live dvd of them playing live in Japan about 20 years ago. It was seeing The Stray Cats and The Cramps back in 1981 that first turned me on to rock n' roll. Jumping jehosophat!

Me too Dennis, probably my favorite Brentski tune.
Always liked Hey Pockey Way and Let the Good Times Roll, though I guess they all sang on that…

Perhaps the best thing about these “other” tunes was Garcia!
Picasso, Victim, Brent Tunes, Saint etc: try listening to just what JG is doing.
The guy is just so damn versatile. As good as he is “leading”, he’s perhaps even better accompanying or augmenting others!
The Maestro!

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In reply to by Oroborous

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For whatever reason I have always considered Dylan and Van Morrison to be solo artists rather than bands.

If I look at it that way, they displace most bands and are definitely in the top 6 (I need to make room). I would add Neil Young to that grouping as well.

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Nothing lasts. Including top 5 lists. On 8/26/22, at 8:15 am, my top 5 (not counting jazz) was:

GOGD
ABB
Zeppelin
Van Morrison
TTB

But then at 8:20, I realized, no way can I leave out the Beatles. They're the fucking Beatles! Oh yeah, and the Stones. So what if they haven't made a decent new record since the '70s, and I really can't bear to watch them on stage without Chollie, ya still gotta reckon with how impossibly awesome they were from '68-'72. And I spent the whole late '70s early '80s listening to punk, so there's got to be some of that in there somewhere. So at 8:10 am it changed to:

GOGD
Beatles
Stones
ABB
Clash

But then I was like, what about Dylan? Or Neil Young? I've definitely listened to them my whole damn life, a lot longer than I was into punk. Come to think of it, Los Lobos have been constant favorites since the punk rock days. And what about Hendrix, for fuck's sake?

So at 8:25 am, I just gave up.

Interesting, to me anyway, to consider why some artists fascinated me for a year or two or three, and others have stayed with me for decades. Some of it is just getting older. I'm not nearly as pissed off as I was as an 18 year old, so I don't listen to as much Black Flag or Fugazi. Some of it is just trends that come and go: I''ve had periods where I listened to prog a lot, others where all that stuff seemed horribly pretentious. I've had times when I couldn't listen to country, times when it was all I wanted to hear.

One constant has been the GOGD. They're like an ocean. There's a lot of it. It's always changing. You can float along the surface or dive deep down. There's always more to explore, and always something new to notice when I return to things I've heard over and over. I never get tired of 'em.

Love the Animal house like time stamps (like in the move when they all sync watches but all have different times; )

AND
That last paragraph has got to be one of the best descriptions of the GOGD I’ve ever read!
Sheer poetry, right up there with Ralph’s essay in the Christmas story! Teasing of course, but totally serious about your great description!

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In reply to by Oroborous

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....The Black Crowes! They're up there on my list too.
Which reminds me.....time to dust them off. BRB.
That's actually how I discovered TTB. Saw the Crowes live a year or so ago. Went home and started watching you toob Crowe videos. One was of Chris Robinson with TTB in a dressing room jamming. I had heard of the TTB, but never checked them out. That video blew my mind, and away I went down the rabbit hole. Thanks Mr. Robinson!

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Dennis - As an avid collector, please see Miles Davis website (store) for an offer on a new premium pressing of Kind Of Blue. You may have to tell the wife the charge was for “Miles Motors & Repair” for some nebulous “car repairs”, but I think this pressing will interest you greatly.

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VGuy - I’ve personally just been spending the week going down the Jayhawks rabbit hole, a band always on my periphery, but I never gave full attention to. I’ve been buying their back catalogue, including solo work. One cd I had delivered was a duo effort by the two principal songwriters, Mark Olson and Gary Louris, called “Ready For The Flood”.

The producer? Why none other than Black Crowe, Chris Robinson, hisself!

The knee bone is connected to the shin bone. The shin bone is connected…

Ah, the mails in Thing! (Creak). Why the brand new TTB album “I Am The Moon”!! Fire up the CD player, Lurch, and let’s play all 4 parts of this symphony in order, to get the overall story!

Not sure why, I’ve never really checked out her music, but perhaps like a as not yet “knowing” youngster might say, “ she gives me a funny feeling” lol
She’s what known as a Hot Mess!

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Yeah, the Brian Setzer Orchestra is great, especially if you like a little jazz and swing twist to your rocknroll. They play plenty of Stray Cats tunes too, so I'd really include both of those groups in my favorites. I've seen the Orchestra once, and it was a great show, with lots of horn players and really tight musicians. I have that live disc you mentioned, listen to it a lot, along with many others by them.

Setzer is vastly underappreciated IMO. An outstanding guitarist, and he knows his jazz chords and licks better than most rock guitarists. He sometimes gets pigeonholed with the rockabilly label. That's music I like, but some people treat it as an outdated fad. He has an excellent voice too. He sometimes rants and raves when doing rockabilly, but has a very good range, and a really nice voice on the old jazz standards and doo-wop type ballads.

I first saw the Stray Cats in the early 80s too. Hadn't heard much of them, and went in thinking I wouldn't like them much, because I didn't like the punk and new wave scene that I thought they were coming out of - seemed like too much anti-Dead to me. Boy was I wrong, it was the most fun show I ever saw. In a small gymnasium at my university, I was right near the stage. Setzer had blue streaks in his hair and his shirt off on a hot night - a skinny guy with too many tattoos, but what a musician and stage force he was. They rocked the whole time - had the energy of 5 bands, nonstop, just enjoying every minute and not at all nihilistic and cynical like the punks of that era.

To catch the Cats in their prime, I watch their live show on youtube at Montreaux from 1981 or so. They were really young and rebellious looking. The stand up drumming and double bass just look cool on stage while they're constantly on the move - and those 3 instruments put out a hell of a sound for a small combo. The song My One Desire in that show sort of epitomizes a great pure rock tune for me. When I want to get fired up with adrenaline, I'll occasionally go back to that show.

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In reply to by delhead

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this one is rubbing me right....

those mentioning Jayhawks, check out Golden Smog if you get a chance or haven't already.
I'm super familiar with their first two albums (some all timers on those).
I fell into them via Jayhawks/Wilco/Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt years ago as a peripheral rabbit hole and have been in wonderland ever since.

Be Well People!
Sixtus

Sixtus - I too am a huge fan of Wilco/Tweedy/Tupelo/Farrar/Son Volt, but aside from “Hollywood Town Hall”, I didn’t know the Jayhawks, but these guys are terrific. I’m just learning about this supergroup thing Golden Smog with Tweedy and Louris and others, gonna dig deeper, thanks for the heads up.

....shipped from Austin, TX weds. Arrives two days later. I'm looking 👀 at you rhino/dead.net. See? It's not that hard to get the people what they bought in a timely fashion.
Edit. Seems I should listen to these Jayhawks. I've never heard of them.
Edited again. CD carousel is loaded up with I Am The Moon. Slightly disappointed that they didn't come in a cardboard sleeve to hold all four volumes together, but first world problems. Time to pack a bowl.

Checked around,,, if it's the UHQR version it seems to be sold out EVERYWHERE!

Will keep eye out,,, thanks for the heads up.

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In reply to by Dennis

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First: I had no idea ST played guitar
2nd: I had no idea ST and DT were married (my wife said they were)
3rd: first few numbers were good
Then Derek started playing with Susan off the stage.
Pretty good. Pretty, pretty good. (A curb your enthusiasm/Larry David reference)

Bottom line: thumbs up. Well worth attending. The entire band was supreme. Good vibes.

Los Lobos was good, too. My wife and I saw them 2x before: in Fall 85 in Tacoma (when we were merely dating) and in 96 at further festival at Gorge (when she was pregs with our twins)

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In reply to by proudfoot

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I worked that show (half the tour actually), wonder if we met lol
The Gorge is sweet!

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10 years

In reply to by Dennis

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Hey Dennis - I double checked the email I received yesterday. It CAME from the Miles Davis site, but to purchase the UHQR Vinyl of Kind of Blue, it directs you to the following linq:
store(dot)acousticsounds (dot) com

My apologies for directing you to the Miles store.
I hope this helps! Bonne chance!

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10 years 2 months

In reply to by frosted

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Frosted - I was inspired by your post to watch The Stray Cays live in Cologne 7/16/81 show on dvd earlier today. A wild show - what a great guitar sound and style he has. Jazz inspired rock n'roll, as you say. I saw them with my brother when I went to visit him in March 81. I had little idea what to expect, and no real expectations. But they blew me away.

At that time, in England, rock n' roll had quite a cute image - although it was followed by murderous Teddy Boys who were a bit older than yer average rock fan. They took umbrage with punks and used to stage battles with them like the mods and rockers supposedly did in the 60s. I was still in full freak mode at the time - but I enjoyed fast hard rock in the 70s, so punk quite appealed to me at first. The gigs in 1976 - 1977 were a blast, but then it became a bit cliched so I stopped going. But The Stray Cats blew every punk band I had seen out of the water. They hung out with The Clash, and had a lot more bite than any rock n'roll band I had ever come across up to that point. I should say that I hadn't heard any of the great recordings of the 1950s at this point - but like The Stones and The Dead, listening to The Stray Cats opened a door into the past without being locked into it.

I can remember reading an interview with Brian Setzer, in which he said it would be too expensive to bring the full orchestra over to England. A real shame.
I don't see any contradiction in liking The Stray Cats and The Dead at all, incidentally. The week after I saw them, I saw The Dead for the first time. No need to choose between them at all. To me, the whole thing of listening to The Dead is to be open minded, and explore different styles of music. If it rocks.....it rocks!

....saw Phish there in '97 and '98. Beautiful venue and cool camping.
If you've been there, you know where the best spot is. In between the floor and the lawn is a strip of flat grass that circles the floor. At the '98 shows, I went with my wife (then girlfriend) and a buddy of mine and his girlfriend. I wanted to get in line early to snag a spot there. Wife/girlfriend wondered what the big deal was and didn't want to get in line so early. I said, "trust me. Its worth it." Mike Gordon drove by the line in a golf cart and said hello to everyone, which was very cool. Gates opened. My buddy and I scooby-doo'ed down the hill to get there. Ran so fast I lost a Birkenstock. Girlfriends behind picked it up and eventually found us on that flat strip. After we were all there, I asked my girlfriend/wife, "worth the wait?" She rubbed her toes in the grass, saw the view, caved and said, "You were correct Vinnie." We all proceeded to pop some caps and stems and Phish obliged by playing one of the most highly rated shows of that year. (And '98 is widely considered a banner year).
Wife doesn't indulge anymore, but I'm an old dog who likes his old tricks.
Shit. That was 24 years ago??
I need to get back there someday.
Footnote. We then drove south to catch them at Shoreline and Ventura. Pulled into a rest stop in No. Cal to sleep in our cars. I woke up to my girlfriend/wife laughing her ass off. Apparently, some fans that were driving the same route slept on the rest stop lawn and picnic tables in their sleeping bags and the sprinklers went off.
"Vinnie! It's so funny! They all jumped up in their bags and hopped around like Mexican jumping beans!" We sat there and watched the show, then went looking for a breakfast spot.
Good times.
Stray Cats are legit.

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In reply to by Vguy72

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Can’t believe you anniversary types haven’t mentioned the big one today: 50 years for Veneta!
SSDD on the big screen tonight!

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How often do you play those classic records that you were sick to death of back in the day? Harvest, Led Zep IV, DSOM, Sticky Fingers etc. I've really been enjoying them lately. I've completely fallen in love again with early 70s Neil Young, I'm 15 again and very happy about it.

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