Welcome back to the Tapers' Section, where this week we've got music covering 23 years of Grateful Dead music, including some of the oldest material we have in the vault.
Our first stop is on 7/30/66, when the Grateful Dead were playing in Vancouver, BC, at the PNE. The rather light applause between songs is more of a reflection on the size of the crowd than the audience's enthusiasm for the music, I think. From this show, we have Standing On The Corner, I Know You Rider, Next Time You See Me, Sitting On Top Of The World, You Don't Have To Ask, Big Boss Man, Stealin', Cardboard Cowboy, Baby Blue, Cream Puff War.
Next is the show-opening sequence from 15 years later, on 7/7/81 in Kansas City, featuring New Minglewood Blues>Bertha>Dancing In The Street, Big Railroad Blues>El Paso, To Lay Me Down. This is the first version of Dancing In The Street since December, 1979, and the last-ever version featuring the Disco Dancin' arrangement. When they started playing it again in 1984, they brought back the original Motown arrangement. This version, to be kind, is less-than-good. A bit of a mess, really.
Lastly this week is music from the last-ever Grateful Dead show at Alpine Valley on 7/19/89, featuring the start of the second set: Box Of Rain>Foolish Heart>Looks Like Rain>Terrapin Station. These three nights at Alpine were exceptional, some of the finest, most consistently great music of the excellent 1989-1990 period. Hot stuff for sure.
Be sure to join us here next week for more tunes from the vault. And as always, we encourage you to write to us at the email address below with questions, comments or suggestions.
David Lemieux
vault@dead.net
Welcome back to the Tapers' Section, where this week we've got music covering 23 years of Grateful Dead music, including some of the oldest material we have in the vault.