Grateful Dead

Let me show Traffic some love -- I love 'em! I was on my way to Giants Stadium in the Summer 0f 94 and the new and improved Traffic was opening so I took the bus from N.Y.C.s' Port Authority Bus Terminal -- an armpit -- and was determined to see Traffic opening the show. And, no joke, a traffic accident in N.J. delayed the bus and I missed their set. Later in the early 2000s when they toured as The Dead with Steve Winwood opening. . .. Winwood and Co. were great and joined in with The Dead for an exquisite musical tapestry. Joan Osbourne and jimmy Herring were a very nice addition too. Winwood and Co. with Osbourne-Herring really made The Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows an exotic and outstanding experience on a hot Summer evening. In those days you could buy the officially pressed cds of those shows from roving guys who took your info and issued a ticket so I bought all off those shows that I attended and glad that I did.

Also the Clapton-Winwood tour was fantastic. "So Glad I made It!"

Just put all 18 tracks in a playlist and they're spinning now. A fresh mix every now and then really hits the spot. Thanks Ledded (just bank my 100 points). On this St. Patrick's Day Eve, will be hoisting/firing one up for Pink Floyd along with the newly birthdayed Phil and his band. Onward.

Maybe not the greatest, and maybe not even rock , but Nirvana's "The Story of Simon Simopath" subtitled "A Science Fiction Pantomime", from 1967, might be the first. A great example of what I call chocolate box psych.

Another corker is "S. F. Sorrow" by The Pretty Things. If you get the cd you will have two of the best psychedelic singles and B sides ever made added on as bonus tracks.

There was a brief time, in December 1971, when I had only one album - "Electric Warrior" by T.Rex. I must have played it continuously until I got my second, "Fireball"...then "Deep Purple In Rock"....then I just kept going.

Few people of my generation will forget the impact of the first Doctor Who, with William Hartnell as the Doctor. That amazing theme, and the weird grinding noise of the tardis. Strange and frightening.

Could not agree more.

From the first notes of Zeppelin's Good times Bad Times in middle school, I was hooked.

Same goes for S>F 5/8/77. To this day I still haven't listened to the first set. No need.

Both were seminal moments in my musical journey.

My musical progression was:

Zeppelin>Floyd>Traffic>GD

I never understood, and still don't understand, why Traffic doesn't get more love on this board or anywhere else.

Sad news regarding Jim Gordon. A troubled soul for sure.

Good luck to Colgate and UVM. Both very good teams that got terrible draws and will likely make an early exit.

I'll go with Dave and Nick, first takes usually stay the longest. Among Doctor Who fans they say your first Doctor is always your favorite. (I have the tee shirt,,, "you always remember your first doctor") Sometimes I think we know our teen albums the most simply because we had less albums back them so we listened to them more. I think we all circle back to what we like more than new horizons. New horizons can be hard.

First rule of music---- Good music is what I like.

I'll go with Vguy and buck the flow,,,, I think the Wall is the greatest pinkie ever did. Certainly the GREATEST rock opera ever. Quadrophenia, blah. Tommy, fuck off. Maybe Jesus Christ Superstar is a close second. I saw the wall live 14th row center,,,,,, life changing. (and I'm not a heroin addict :-) )

Okay, maybe Dark Side is up there :-)

I'm always amazed at the jam in Time. Only about 1.5 minutes, but when it comes back to the lyrics "And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking", encapsulates the feeling of having tripped balls and the jam was a LOT longer!

I agree with Nicks 1234's point that the music we first hear by a band - in this case Pink Floyd, but it applies to all bands - is most often the music that sticks with us the longest. Double that with the age we were when we first hear it - mid teens being the sweet spot for me So, in my case, at 15, I first heard "Relics" and " Meddle". The first was a doorway back into the 60's, which already, in 1972, seemed antediluvian, and the second was of a piece with the space rock bands already mentioned from Germany and England. I heard them as psychedelic and experimental, and when they moved away from this area, I tended to lose interest in them a bit, and listen to more of the other bands exploring the same areas.

It was also unusual in the 70's, from my experience, to be a fan of an actual band, come what may. I used to like albums by specific bands, but if they changed direction into any area I wasn't as fond of, I simply stopped listening to them. Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Sabbath, Deep Purple...so many. In fact...all of them, when come to think of it. I usually moved on to other bands when this happened. I don't think there was an equivalent to Deadhead culture in England, where people followed one particular band. The nearest equivalent seemed to be people following specific football teams, and travelling around to see them.

One of the coolest tunes the Dead never played.

....I'm also 54. 🍻 Ledded.
We were 12 when Back In Black came out. Just exactly perfect.

Jesus, is this a Dead thread or a Floyd forum? I love it. Lot of you cats are really up on your Floyd minutae...

I'm seeing Dark Side of the Mule from Row 25 at Red Rocks this summer and also Sean Lennon and Les Claypool doing their Animals tribute at the Mission Ballroom. Seems every time I turn on classic rock radio, Young Lust, Mother, or Hey You is on.

I dig them more and more as I get older - I'm 54. When The Wall came out, I had just turned 11. I was still buying 45 rpm singles and discovering B-sides, but when The Wall was released I went to Musicland at the London Square Mall in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and dropped down like $19.98 or whatever it was for a double album (on cassette) and that album became the soundtrack to my life for a couple of years.

Not that I was depressed, weird or didn't have friends - but it initiated me into the adult world of art and emotion. When I brought it up to the counter to make my purchase, the dudes working all made jokes about "this little kid" buying The Wall. I was like, whatever, douchebag, I'm cooler than you right now and certainly will be when I'm older.

This is a playlist I've burned and sent around to enthusiastic reaction. 100 bonus points to anyone who can name the album all these are off or even knows them all:

"Obscured by Floyd"

Childhood's End
Biding my Time
When You're In
A Spanish Piece
Paintbox
Empty Spaces
Party Sequence
What Do You Want From Me
The Gold It's In The...
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
Free Four
More Blues
Astronomy Domine
Keep Talking
Obscured by Clouds
Ibiza Bar
Any Colour You Like
Careful With That Axe, Eugene

Dave is the only other guitarist with any touch of Jeff Beck in him at all, to my ears. It's the delicate ferocity of their fingers. Beck was the better technician, an aural magician, but David plays smoother blues and is a great singer and not half bad composer. His tone, taste and phrasing are second to none.

I love Pink Floyd, a band that will only grow in stature. Sad how angry, insecure and pathetic Roger has become.

Thanks to you all for your thoughts and remembrances of Pink Floyd. There will never be another.

\m/

....and he's still out there dropping bombs.
Happy Birthday Mr. Lesh.
And I'm going to buck the trend here. I love The Wall. I spin it every few months.