Anyone who has ever seen the Dead can testify that one of its shows will add quite a bit of color to the environment here at Stanford. Anyone who has not seen one of these spectacles should have the opportunity to do so. The Grateful Dead are an important part of the Bay Area's cultural history. Those of us who saw them last week can testify that the Dead are alive and well. The Concert Network would be hard-pressed to find an act which would bring Frost Amphitheatre to life as the Dead would. - The Stanford Daily
As you know by now, we'd certainly have voted aye on this motion, so much so, that we've loaded up DAVE'S PICKS 49 with not one, but two complete Grateful Dead shows from the Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 4/27/85 and 4/28/85. The first shows from '85 in the series, these back-to-back hometown performances couldn't be more different while delivering the same level of passion and precision, five hours of it, in fact.
In 1985, the band were celebrating "20 Years So Far," a feat that found them on these particular nights confident with invention in terms of both setlists and playing. There are old songs renewed, rare covers revived, undeniably nuanced Jerry moments, and a few surprises from Brent Mydland too. While it's impossible to select highlights, we can say with certainty that the overall clarity of these shows is unparalleled, courtesy of Dan Healy's recordings.
Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 49: FROST AMPHITHEATRE, STANFORD U, PALO ALTO, CA 4/27/85 & 4/28/85 has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering.
So TOOL....
....mind blown.
That was extremely impressive and satisfying.
And not a phone in sight. Kudos.
Could have been louder though lol.
Artificial longevity
HF - great phrase. Sounds like a description of what I'm enjoying these days !
The music the Dead played in the 60's has an eternal feel about it to me. But that might have nothing to do with their current popularity or the release program.
The Primal Drum, last five jazz
OK, Rhino can do this, produce two box sets in one year. I had a lot more content but the hey now has blocked it all... and after about ten tries, thats all for now.
The Elephant Sleeps... Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell
All The Things You Are, Metheny, Burton, Heath Brothers
Enfants Terribles Live at the Blue Note, Lee Konitz and friends
Crescent John Coltrane
The Oracle, Hank Jones
Box of Guests?
Speaking for me, I hope that's not the year's box. As primarily a Jerry head, I resent anything or anybody that reduces Jerry guitar time!
Still hoping for June '76 Part Deux, or '69.
Hard to believe Listen To the River has not sold out yet, does not bode well for earlier era releases.
Price Is Key For Me
10-15 CD boxes I can afford.
20+ CD boxes I can't.
Even if I like the era.
I settle for the breakout release.
Got to save a little for vinyl.
Cheers
Edit: Agreed with Cousins. Guests seldom spin my wheel. Usually everyone being too polite and no one gets a decent solo. They are fun though.
Guest Box
Put me down as not too interested unless it includes 2-11-70, and the rest of Duane's guest spot from 4-26-71. I could only see them filling out the 17cds if it includes highlights from the non-guest portions, or it includes David Crosby on 9-10-72 Dark Star and 12-10-69 Thelma with Stephen Stills, Etta James from Dec 81, all of Santana's sit ins, Pete Townshend in Germany in 81, Fogerty, Steve Miller, Clarence Clemons, and a whole lotta Branford. Oh, and, who could forget The Bangles?!
Edited to add: Did that recently unearthed Sept 69 show at the Family Dog include sit ins with Airplane members? Or am I misremembering?
Also, if Branford is mentioning it, I'd bet on it being true, as they'd have to have contacted him or his management to clear stuff with him/his record company. Very different idea, but probably not my cup of meat.
Guest box
I wouldn't be too keen either. Especially not if it focussed on the 90's. There were already too many people on stage then, without adding even more. I would get 2/11/70 for sure - but would prefer it in a box featuring other shows from the Feb 1970 run rather in one featuring random shows where guests were involved.
primal, boxes, jazz
I can't post today, ridiculous hay now blocking, so I will attempt to paste in short pieces, collage, etc. Nope, it won't let me post the most basic stuff... ridiculous. Please release a primal box in basic format, nine discs, no frills, plenty grease, under a hundred clams. Recent conversation with mandolin master Matt Flinner had me pulling out the hard to find stuff. Elephant Sleeps is complete on utube, pulled Enfants Terribles off apple download. Frisell is in Northampton and Burlington soon.
TimP
or is it Tempe?
Thanks for post on 2/14/68. I had never put together that that was the show Jerry shoved Phil down the stairs. Seems from memory it wasn't but maybe 3 or 4 stairs. Still Jer striving for perfection. Perfection being keep playing even if it gets weird or especially if it gets weird. Love it, and great show. Listened to it last week. Two words...Extremely Satisfying.
Here’s an idea
2-14-68 Plangentized/Normanized and pressed to 180 g vinyl.
Bring it on Dave/Rhino for BFRSD this year.
68 box?
I'd sign up for that in a mickey heartbeat.
Thanks for the get well thoughts. Apparently even thank you postings are not immune to the heynow gestapo and retyping with one arm isn't much fun. I've been trying to send something here for days.
Now where we, oh yes.. set the controls for 1968. I don't recommend tossing Phil down the stairs, especially at his age.. but if we could get another release as good as 2 14 68, someone can toss me down the stairs if that's what it's gonna take to please the gods.
This year’s box
Still hoping for the Ark box set. Not sure if all the tapes are good enough though. From the other end of the spectrum, a spring 93 would be interesting. For me that was the last great tour and we haven’t had much from there.
*RE/ Listening to New Release
…Owlsey Stanley Foundation Presents Bear’s Sonic Journals: Sing Out! Live at the Berkeley
Community Theater, 4/25/1981
Sing Out! features a stellar line-up of acoustic performances by Bay Area folk heroes, including Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, Country Joe McDonald, Kate Wolf, Rosalie Sorrels, and a percussion set by the the Rhythm Devils. The event was described by Wavy Gravy as a “mini-Woodstock,” and it is the last major show to be mixed and recorded by Bear. It is also the final live recording he made of any members of the Grateful Dead.
Jerry Garcia & Bob Weir with Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and John Kahn
1. Introduction and Tuning
2. Deep Elem Blues
3. Dark Hollow
4. Jack-A-Roe
5. Monkey And The Engineer
6. Friend Of The Devil
7. El Paso
8. Oh, Babe, It Ain’t No Lie
9. On The Road Again
10. Oh Boy!
Then there's the Mars Hotel 50th...
Question is: do they have a one-disc add-on in mind? Cuz the '74 shows tended to be 3 discs in length.
Hey JimInMD! Was just thinking we hadn't heard from you. Hope I clear the robot hurdle.
HF
The Freak Speaks!
HF that is lol
Well amigo, that’s the thing about 74: it’s got more holes in it than Swiss cheese! There’s so much chopped up carnage it looks like Beavers hit it.
Which means he’ll have no problemo finding us a nice (hopefully) second set, or what fits. I’d gotten used to getting a full show with the bonus, as let’s face it, that’s the draw, but obviously I am not a corporate executive, so what do I know…
ugly rumors...
...from roses --> thru to --> ship from 1974-07-25 SOUNDS like 74 mins of some COOL filler, of course, only speculating, from the Mars Hotel.
PEACE ALL!
uncle_tripel
Mars Hotel 50th
It’s pretty clear cut what the live material will be. It will be remainder of 2/22/74 that was not included on the bonus disc from the 2/23/74 release.
Mars Hotel (vacancies?)
********Corection********* Mars Hotel from Rhino web site {this was indeed an older release, 2006?} Well, here's hoping for a fabulous 50th for Mars Hotel with some great bonus tracks!!!!! .....I was browsing on the Rhino web site and ..blah, blah, yadda yadda, and mis~read some shit dead wrong!
I think you were looking at…
I think you were looking at the prior remastered Mars Hotel. The 50th Anniversary version has not been announced yet.
So many ‘74 chop jobs
Some of the remaining fragments could be included with Mars Hotel 50th so that we could start piecing things back together.
On the 2/22/74 bonus disc,…
On the 2/22/74 bonus disc, it includes all of the Mars Hotel songs that were played at that show. I think that was done deliberately, so there will be no duplication of songs if the rest of 2/22 is included as the live disc.
Oro, you corporate executive you..........
Well, I figure (meaningless phrase, like clearing the throat) that Mars 50 will drop before the box. Maybe summer by the time Dave starts hyping this year's box?
chop jobs, bonus discs, releases
08/06/74 should have been released as a full show.
the Dave's picks releases do have a taper's mentality (trying to complete or fill in holes of the collections), ie, bonus disc being best of the day before/after the show being released, or to complete something that already was released. I appreciate this, but feel the bonus disc should be something special and a great way to put out a 30-60 minute selection from 1968, 1970, etc.
Did Dicks Picks do better on skipping around years than Dave's? I think so but haven't sat down and figured it out. The more skipping around the better. I was not thrilled that #50 was from spring 1977. It was very Dead-Like in that they never do what we think they should do! The variety of the band and this music and our opinion is rich.
8/6/74
Funny, with chop job posts and Mars Bonus talk, I was thinking that Sugar Mag sequence would be great, but no Mars tracks, and might be just over run time limits, definitely would be with Loose Lucy and Ship of Fools added. I'd love if they released one of the Unbroken Chains from '95, maybe Charlotte on the disc itself, since there's plenty of room.
I'll take any 1970. Any....
....chopped or not.
Dicks Picks 1 vinyl in the house.
I remember this one vividly.
Guess what? Holds up. Just as great as the first time I listened to it.
Skipping around
Road Trips were quite expansive in terms of years covered. Especially from what now seems quite brief series. From 2/68 to 5/93.
Finally
49 is out for delivery.
Customer service was prompt once I let them know it never tracked past Fontana at day 23 of waiting. Two of my friends in Crested Butte also had theirs stolen and all three of ours went out the same day through that UPS hub in CA. I wonder if Rhino knows exactly how many they are losing to the hub scam five finger discount?
Cheers
Righto HF!
Since 50 drops around May day, and Mars was released end of June, so guessing similar drop date, you’d think they’d probably push the box into summer, but hopefully before DaP 51 around first of august?
But as I write that, could see em waiting until after 51, The Horror! Lol
Interesting ALVAR. Chever way they go it would be sweet if they added an Unbroken Chain, I mean it is a BONUS disc, no?
ISTSHOW, thank goodness!
What It’ll be? There’s really not many good second set sequences left that aren’t apart of a whole show? I thought about that DIW but hoped not.
And uncle T, do we really want the last DS show chopped?
Well, gives us interesting stuff to speculate!
1st
I have only had small issues with delays. But all things depend on the workers. UPS/USPS all seem to work pretty good here. But like many, I think I will pay the premium shipping this year to get it faster and more secure delivery. Don't even remember if they offered it this past year, but would image they did. Hope yours finally makes it way home after a long and adventurous tour. Think you will enjoy, it is a sweet release. Sweet Release sounds like a metal or country song waiting to happen.
Out on the town tonight
Hey! I'm going to downtown Portland tonight to see Lucas Nelson and the Promise of the Real! Saw them two years ago at Hardly Strictly and they rocked it.
Guest shows box
I would not be too excited with a guest show box. Too many people on stage most of the time, songs they don't know too well, sloppy playing.
Nitecat
Saw Lukas at the Showbox in Seattle last night. Excellent show, but their equipment truck got stolen before the show! Was hoping for an acoustic set but they rented some equipment and performed with some borrowed instruments. Also, if ever in Seattle, The Showbox IS the best venue in town
Guest show box
If they included 9/20/70, with David Grissman as a guest, that would certainly help to get my attention.
1st Show....
....well? We're waiting.
Gonna segue into a different conversation.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Remember that box of records my wife salvaged from a sidewalk on garbage day a few years ago? The one with the box set of The Glenn Miller Orchestra?
Well, I delved into that box of records tonight the found a Dirt, Silver & Gold compilation released by United Artists in 1976. Triple gatefold with a pristine poster in it. Very nice.
Funny though. Side 1 and side 4 are on the same record. Side 2 and side 5 are on the same record. And side 3 and side 6 are on the same record.
Doesn't effect the flow, but, why?
Good band by the way.
One man's trash....
From their Wiki.
"The band continued to gain publicity, mainly as a novelty act, making an appearance in the 1968 film For Singles Only and a cameo appearance in the 1969 musical western film Paint Your Wagon,[2] performing "Hand Me Down That Can o' Beans". The band also played Carnegie Hall as an opening act for Bill Cosby and played in a jam session with Dizzy Gillespie."
Novelty act? Sign me up for more of that.
I'm on side 5 now. Which is on the 2nd record.
Don't ask me. It's like sports playoffs brackets.
Apologies for the Bill Cosby.
VGUY
NGDB album.
If you had an old fashioned stackable record player you could place the three discs so that sides 1, 2 and 3 would play in order. You then lift the three discs off the deck flip them over and load them individually onto the auto changer to play 4, 5 and 6.
It would have been more efficient to have the three discs as 1,6 then 2,5 and 3,4 then you could have simply flipped the stack and reloaded them together but nobody is perfect.
I realized the stacking spindles reason....
.....shortly afterwards.
My grandmother had one.
All her records were scratched.
Vguy
My suggestion would be not to play old, dirty records on your new turntable. You’ll make your new stylus dirty faster.
On the other hand, the sooner you wear out that stylus the sooner you can upgrade it.
I originally bought some used vinyl but they were dirty and scratched and didn’t sound that good. Ran them through a Spin-Clean record washer but that didn’t help.
I won’t play them now that I upgraded my headshell/cartridge.
UNCHAIN/LIBERATE/RELEASE...
...that LAST 1974 DARK STAR...GREAT point ORO. this VERSION is downright CHILL and never FAILS to provide me with good resting heart rate :) so whichever form of release TPTB decide, I'm all in... and maybe, just maybe, they'll want a STRONG bonus/2nd disc to propel sales of 'From The Mars Hotel' 50th anniv. release? again, would be a cruel blow to the faithful to hold-out for 5+yrs. or 10+ yrs before this ONE is UNVAULTED
ROCK ON!
uncle_tripel
21642/25000
In the house. Sorry to keep you waiting for the review but the mail comes late here and I just got it out of the box this AM. Love the big fold out stage pic. McIntosh amps and a Colorado "ALIEN" bumper sticker behind Phil on a speaker. Mickey's kit is enormous! Will edit in a review as it rolls.
Cheers
1st Show
I’m glad the Eagle has landed your way, 1st Show, it’s a stellar release, as you shall see.
We must have switched postal services, because normally mine takes six weeks post-Covid, but 49 arrived door to door in less than ten days, which is remarkable. Enjoy.
Oro - Did yours arrive, too?
Liner Notes
Mention Danny Scher as an employee of Bill Graham (For 24 years I found out) and a guy who started promoting at 16 years of age bringing Thelonius Monk to his high school? He was a Stanford grad. Can't seem to find if he is related to John Scher, famous N.J. promoter and Dead exclusive booking agent (east of the Rockies?) who also started his booking career young with his high school prom (The Chiffons, who didn't show. His only no show he says).
By the way, the sound on this release is AMAZING! Great tight performance so far. Starting 2nd set of 4-27 now.
Edit: A spectacular show that just has no weak spots. No mind blowers in 2nd set but the transitions were seamless and the 1st set really had some energy! Think I'll save the 4-28 show for tomorrow.
Cheers
50th anniversary for these, too
Looking at my old Dead albums this afternoon, I realised both "Tales of the Great Rum Runners" and "Compliments of Garcia were released in 1974 too.I played the Robert Hunter one and really enjoyed it. The vinyl is as thin as ancient parchment - no 180g deluxe bobbins here. But it sounds great.