Grateful Dead

(spoiler alert - just in case you haven't heard this one yet) I rarely state I have a favorite version of any performance but I may have found my favorite version of the Cryptical Envelopment Suite or That's it it the Other One or better put as Cryptical Envelopment > Drums > *****JAM****** > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment (> Dire Wolf) This whole thing was so beautiful & intense & oddly locked in. Normally when the band is perfectly in sync it because everyone is perfectly out of sync, but this was a (once again) unique Grateful Dead...and they were on fire. It was hard to type all of this with my face melting down on the keyboard. And what an absolutely perfect segue way into Dire Wolf to put an extra little icing on the cake.

Greetings Fellow Deadheads, First, my best wishes to Phil. I am thankful that Phil and the others had the vision and the energy to see through a lifetime trip that impacted so many in a positive way. I don't know what life would be like without knowing or feeling their influence in life. Braveheart...my support goes your way. Reflections after a week... Disclaimer: I've been an avid listener for about 30 years, and really enjoy listening to shows in succession through a run, month, season, year. I love following the progression of the Dead through their arc. They morphed so often in fractal way. Few bands have this trajectory. The Beatles morphed so much between every album, and they put out 2 a year for a while! Its amazing. Miles Davis also morphed (evolved, changed...) frequently. That's what makes listening to those bands so interesting to me. The Dead were of that same cloth, and documented much more. They changed so frequently in amazing ways, each direction pushing into an unknown but bravely pursued. I've listened to a lot of Grateful Dead, and the following impressions are mine and not likely to belong to others but possibly might be shared. We all listen to things differently. I've listened to the shows from 1966-1970 in the Big Box, several times. I gave some reviews on 1966-68 shows, and here is 69-70 and a 66-70 synopsis. Mind you, I find almost every show worthy of listening if not for anything other than interest and connecting dots across other shows (especially the 60's). 1969 show - This is a great show. I love the set list, the quality of the sound, and the energy. This show was a week before the Gold Standard Fillmore West shows, so similar level of tightness and energy. I really enjoy the quirky tunes from this show - the semi-acoustic opening and Doing That Rag (for some reason, I love this song a lot). This show has a lot of peaks and valleys musically, and the Dead know it and ride it. This show is exquisite in sound quality, so you can really enjoy it. I like the variation in the typical progression from this period - the Dark Star->Cryptical is fantastic for example, and really compliments the FW shows. The second set (CD) is truly a masterpiece. The St. Stephen-> 11 is exceptional. There's not an 'Eleven' that I can't say I dislike, but I can't think of one I like better than this. It has a lot interesting lead play with dynamics, and some really funky rhythms. The dual drumming for this show is also exceptional, as it was for 1969 in general. I love the Big Rock Pow Wow shows and the FW shows, and this show measures up. This is a great 1969 show. 1970 show - I love the Dead during this period (first half of 1970). The Morph continues. Country and Western are feeding into their sound now. Some legendary shows from this period (Feb/May FE and Family Dog shows), and it continues with this show. Overall sound and mix quality are very good. Guitars come through very well. Drums sounds great. Phil's bass has a nice bottom end to it. While there were technical on-stage glitches, the band and crowd energy are high. Lots of Bob screaming to pump up the already pumped up crowd. I enjoy the band interplay from these early shows, and with the glitches being worked out plenty of opportunity for mic time for the band. Great China/Rider. They weave the newer Workingman's tunes in very efficiently here. I love the early Candyman, and a very powerful Man's World. Second set is stellar, and they miraculously drop in Dire Wolf between Cryptical and Dancing. The Dancing is full of hot improvisational material. The Lovelight/NFA/Lovelight is excellent...overall a great 70 show that I think ranks up there with the rest of the best from this period. Rank Em: 1966-1970 Hard to do, as they all sound good and capture the band at different stages of morphing through an incredible period of their career. I find almost all shows from this period as typically very good to great, with some being interesting because of circumstance of the band (i.e., Woodstock is a curiosity). So, here's my current order: 1967 & 1969 (tied for first) 1970 1966 1968 I'll report on 71-76 later. Ciao, Tim

I didn't order one, I'm still stuck in the antiquated CD system, but I have a "hunch" that the bolt just may ship out sometime in the week of October 26th, a Monday. It probably won't sell out before the mass shipping date, whenever that will be.One of the advantages of the USB will be the playing order of 11/14/73 San Diego Sports Arena show, the time restrictions of the CD will not be in place, so one can enjoy the whole show in correct playing order.

Here's a poster for Donovan at the Fillmore on 11/23/67 and Winterland on 11/24. http://www.classicposters.com/Donovan/poster/Bill_Graham/94 According to setlist.net it appears that the Dead played no shows on those nights.

Where's my Lightning Bolt? Where's my $700 Lightning Bolt? Where's ANYONE's $700 Lightning Bolt? My patience is growing thin and my mood is rapidly souring. Where's my Lightning Bolt?!?!?

I agree with MaryE and Mr.Dc that Donovan probably never played with the Dead. As to whether the Dead ever saw Donovan play, that is another matter, but it seems unlikely that they saw him before his release of "There is a mountain" in July '67. The Dead's first visit to England was in May '70 when they played the Hollywood Festival. Mr.Dc asserts that Donovan visited California in early '66. That may well be so, but I was not aware of that. However, he does mention Jefferson Airplane in his song "The Fat Angel" so it is quite possible that he saw the Airplane in early '66. What I do know is that he recorded in LA in late '66 and early '67 but if he and the Dead met or saw each other play at that time I do not know. The Dead and Donovan (a stalwart of the '70s festival scene in England) both played the Bickershaw Festival (Europe '72) but Donovan played on the Saturday and the Dead played on the Sunday. Whether either braved the mud and cold to watch the other perform is also an unknown. I was lucky enough to see 'em both.

Fortunately, you did not make a mistake and you did well included the show of 5/4/72 in your list. Otherwise I would have been furious and I would have cursed at least you until the release of the next Dave's Picks!

Your word, travesty, is exactly correct. One of the great aspects of a Grateful Dead concert is the coherent movement of the music, it doesn't matter 1970, 1980, 1990, that is always present. Garcia was strongly aware of rhythmic movement, clear if you listen to some of his late interviews. Going from Dark Star to Cryptical, when the Dead actually went to St. Stephen is a distortion. After the intro bridge, St. Stephen has a forward impulse, a triumphant musical gesture. Cryptical is the opposite, it moves back in time, with sustained tension, only releasing with the percussion bridge. A Grateful Dead concert, at its best, was like a symphony. They challenge the listener. Changing the song order is wrong, even if there are technical flaws in the recording. I remember being frustrated about a year after the Fillmore show, 2/18/71, many new songs, material moved around, but I also remember at the very end when the lights came on the feeling that I had just experienced a dramatic creative energy, and a forward movement in musical thinking. In my opinion the problem is the focus on individual songs (like, wow that was the best Shakedown ever!), rather than on the whole that each concert provides, warts and all. Sometimes the Dead put on a fully coherent concert, like a symphony, and sometimes they couldn't pull the whole thing together. But that determination must vary with the listener, and their concerts should always be released in toto, without edits. Let the listener decide, not some after the fact producer who thinks he/she knows better. In my not-so-humble opinion, and why I am so much looking forward to my USB 30 Trips, I suppose sometime in November.

Whats really impressive in all of this is that.. he was almost 50 years old when the GD formed.. and yet some years later he played soundboard and audience tapes on his radio program in NYC? Think about that for a minute.. my parents (younger and hipper) were not nearly so young nor hip. In my opinion, pretty bold for the times.

One of the reasons I am a full show guy. The word travesty comes to mind.. but perhaps its a bit overused on this forum. Still, I cannot think of a better word. I would buy the complete shows in a NY minute. I wholeheartedly agree. Edit: Love the info on WNEW. I did not know that..