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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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  • #1151
    DeadVikes
    Joined:
    Plangent

    First time used was the Winterland 73 Box.

    FW was a multi track release.

  • #1152
    That Mike
    Joined:
    MoFi/RVG

    I also have some of the RVG jazz releases in my collection, and I have always found the sound first rate, and you raise a good point Charlie - Van Gelder both engineered the original recording, as well as the RVG remastering.

    I have only limited MoFi (Mobile Fidelity) in my CD collection, as I don’t collect vinyl, such as a Burrito album or two, and some non-music releases from The Firesign Theatre, so I can’t say definitively they sound “better”, and if the vinyl is vastly superior, but based on this disclosure of digital copying by the company, I’d have to say they have somewhat “exaggerated” the fidelity quality. I noticed yesterday they were re-releasing some Eagles albums under the MoFi label on CD, at an extremely premium price, ie - two and half times the regular price of the “regular” CD. Will it sound two and half times “better”? Hmmm.

    Buyer beware. And with vinyl, I would be extremely wary.

  • #1153
    icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    Analog and Digital

    Just so happens that last night I listened for the first time to Little Feat 9-19-74 Electrif Lycanthrope vinyl, with the signal running out the turntable’s USB cable, into a Mac, and then digitally recorded by Audacity. The signal then went out a USB port and into a Cambridge Audio DAC Magic 100 (digital to analog converter) and then to a Cambridge Audio AXR100 receiver.
    So, went vinyl>analog>digital>analog and it sounded great.
    I digitize all my vinyl as I listen to it and wil eventually (when I learn how to use the software) process the files and export as 24/96 FLAC for use on music players. My vinyl will thus be ‘portable’.

    I only started buying vinyl when 2-27-69 was released (now have 2/28 and 3/1 too). These all say Plangent Process on them whereas the FW69 Box does not (I don’t have the physical CD’s but was told that the Box does not say Plangent) which would imply that the reels were re-digitized using Plangent (assuming that a tape player device like shown on the Plangent website was used, rather than just taking the digital files from 2005 and processing them in some way).

    Some vinyl, like 5-8-77, just sound like the CD was copied to vinyl.
    But 11-10-67 sounds better on vinyl than CD to me.
    I didn’t buy the Lyceum vinyl box but often try to get the RSD releases. Vinyl takes up a lot of space and I’m rethinking whether I should keep buying vinyl. But, I’m already contemplating getting Waiting For Columbus on vinyl, since I’m going to get the CD Box.

    I’ve been upgrading my stereo system to Cambridge Audio as my Onkyo stuff stops working. Two years ago my Onkyo receiver died and I replaced it with an AXR100. The sound quality improvement was instantly noticeable.
    Over the last several months my Onkyo 6-disc CD changer has been having dropouts, but when I rewind and play the same part there wouldn’t be a dropout, so the CD wasn’t defective. Bought a laser cleaner but that didn’t fix the problem, so I started looking at a new player.

    Decided to get the DAC Magic 100 first since I put all my CD’s in ALAC format and onto microSDXC cards for use on portable music players. One of my players that I use with the stereo, iBasso DX120, has a port and cable for connection to a DAC where the DX120 acts as a transport (reads the digital file and transports the 1’s and 0’s to the DAC). The sound quality improvement with the DAC was instantly noticeable, so totally worth the investment.

    My Onkyo 6-disc changer has 2 digital out ports, so I was able to simultaneously connect it directly to the AXR100 receiver, and connect it to the DAC which then connects to the AXR100 with analog stereo cables. By switching the source buttons on the AXR100 I could hear the CD that was playing through 2 different pathways and the DAC Magic source definitely sounded better.

    The AXR100 has gone up $200 since I bought mine 2 years ago, so started thinking that if I wait until my Onkyo 6-disc changer dies, I might pay more for a replacement CD player than if I buy one now. So I bought a Cambridge Audio AXC35 CD player and, again, there was a noticeable improvement in sound quality (worth it to give up the convenience of a 6-disc changer). I run the CD player directly to the receiver with analog stereo cables but it is also possible to run a digital connection to the DAC. Both ways sound excellent.

    So, equipment does matter. I’m very pleased with Cambridge Audio and the slightly higher price over brands like Onkyo, Sony, etc is worth it.
    I’ve heard and read that early CD’s often sounded worse than cassettes because the record companies would half-ass the digital mastering. So digital got a bad reputation. Also, DAC’s matter and cheap CD players probably have a cheap DAC. Phones have cheap DAC’s too.
    The Normanized CD’s that we are getting now sound spectacular, and yet they sound even better with my new stereo set up.

  • #1154
    Charlie3
    Joined:
    RVG

    Interesting post on the analog v digital sound debate. I have a few of the Rudy Van Gelder Edition jazz releases and the sound is consistently excellent. Since he is responsible for both the initial recording and the digital remastering, the sound quality of the recording is pretty much entirely attributable to his skill at both stages of the process, so pretty interesting to see his take on the debate. When I am browsing for new jazz to pick up, it always makes me take notice if I see that something is an RVG Edition.

  • #1155
    That Mike
    Joined:
    Analog vs Digital/Vinyl vs CD

    I’m no longer a vinyl buyer for various reasons, but I know a number of posters here are. An interesting article in the Washington Post entitled “How a Phoenix record store owner set the audiophile world on fire/ MoFi Records claimed its expensive reissues were purely analog reproductions. It had been deceiving its customer base for years.” some may find interesting, how basically a label that prides itself as issuing direct from Masters (at a premium price) have actually been using Digital mastering. Deceptive. I personally have thought the new wave of vinyl is an overpriced racket, and this plays into that.

    As I’m by no means an expert I’ll let the jazz engineer giant Rudy Van Gelder speak to it: “From 1999, he remastered the analog Blue Note recordings he made several decades earlier into 24-bit digital recordings in its RVG Edition series.[15] He was positive about the switch from analog to digital technology. He told Audio magazine in 1995:
    The biggest distorter is the LP itself. I've made thousands of LP masters. I used to make 17 a day, with two lathes going simultaneously, and I'm glad to see the LP go. As far as I'm concerned, good riddance. It was a constant battle to try to make that music sound the way it should. It was never any good. And if people don't like what they hear in digital, they should blame the engineer who did it. Blame the mastering house. Blame the mixing engineer. That's why some digital recordings sound terrible, and I'm not denying that they do, but don't blame the medium.”

  • #1156
    proudfoot
    Joined:
    Rotund Americans

    We eat a loooooot of high fat, refined food.

    Yesterdays dinner: takeout fried chicken tenders with mac and cheese on the side.

    I have lost about 17 pounds over the past year, but still eat a lot of chunk fare.

    Look at pix of people in the 1930s and 40s, 50s, even 60s. Slender.

    Then came the 70s and the weight was piling on.

    Oh yes, lots of sedentary time in front of screens, too.

    It beats starvation, I will say that.

    I think I'll go for a walk

  • #1157
    daverock
    Joined:
    Its not just him

    I was surprised at how rotund most Americans were when I went. I believe they watch a lot of telly. Or whatever's taken the place of telly.

  • #1158
    simonrob
    Joined:
    Feat!

    Just finished listening to the last disc of the "Waiting for Columbus" 8 CD box. The original album is well burned into the brain of every Feat fan, but the 3 live shows (Manchester UK, The Rainbow, London and Lisner Auditorium, Washington) that are added to this release are all really good and varied enough to warrant release. I can highly recommend this to any fence-sitters. There is so much energy in the performances and the band are really tight. They played 4 nights at The Rainbow and I was fortunate enough to have been present at one of them. I don't remember which one, but it wasn't the show where Mick Taylor put in an appearance and it wasn't the below par show where Lowell George and Paul Barrère were suffering hangovers so there is a 50% chance that it was the show in this box that I witnessed. That show will always be right up there amongst the best shows I ever saw. I was surprised at how rotund Lowell George was at that time, but he could still tear it up.

  • #1159
    carlo13
    Joined:
    Ferret face

    Frank burns was such a great, and annoying character. Hot lips told burns she would tell Donald about burns including his butt along with hers, and ferret face mocks loudly "I'll tell Donald, I'll tell Donald."

  • #1160
    Vguy72
    Joined:
    Dammit!....

    ....still. I could see Hawkeye saying that.
    Animal House is also great.
    "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"
    One of my favorite M.A.S.H scenes is when Trapper and Hawkeye dig a huge hole outside the Swamp when Burns is still sleeping then fill it with water and sound an air raid siren.
    I hope I don't need to tell you what happens next.
    Edit. I just got a notification from Netflix that The Sandman is up and running. A great DC/Vertigo comic series born by Neil Gaiman that I never thought would be translated to the screen. I have 14 comic book long boxes from my comic book collecting daze. To quote Flounder, "This is gonna be great!" I hope you're right Flounder.

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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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Submitted by KeithFan2112 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 04:25

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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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Submitted by KeithFan2112 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 04:41

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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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Submitted by JimInMD on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 04:57

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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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Submitted by PT Barnum on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 06:07

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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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Submitted by Nick1234 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 11:50

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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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Submitted by frosted on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 12:05

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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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Submitted by Charlie3 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 13:25

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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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Submitted by billy the kiddd on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 14:23

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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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Submitted by daverock on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 14:27

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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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Submitted by billy the kiddd on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 14:58

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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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Submitted by 1stshow70878 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 15:33

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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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Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 16:32

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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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Submitted by Vguy72 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 17:11

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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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Submitted by proudfoot on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 18:19

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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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Submitted by deadmike on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 23:10

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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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Submitted by daverock on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 02:29

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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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12 years 1 month

Submitted by Angry Jack Straw on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 08:03

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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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Submitted by Crow Told Me on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 08:04

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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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Submitted by Vguy72 on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 09:38

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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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Submitted by That Mike on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 09:57

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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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Submitted by That Mike on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 10:42

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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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Submitted by frosted on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 11:37

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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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Submitted by Sixtus_ on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 12:32

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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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Submitted by proudfoot on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 08:15

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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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Submitted by Oroborous on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 10:07

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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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Submitted by That Mike on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 10:12

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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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Submitted by daverock on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 10:59

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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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Submitted by Oroborous on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 11:30

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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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Submitted by Nick1234 on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 12:04

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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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