Grateful Dead

These shows have a heck of a lot of charm. Each with plenty of inspired nuggets tucked away... waiting for a close listen... those “A Ha!” moments that cue a listener in as to why they were selected for release.

A few thoughts:

Packaging: High quality material. Absolutely splendid artwork. Really pops to life once you have it in hand (internet photos don’t do it justice). One nice touch is that when the top is off, the sleeves can be repositioned in a number of different ways for the illustrations to create collage-type triptychs. Not unlike panels found in graphic novels. Go figure! Size is also perfect for bookshelving.

Sound: Beefy, as I was expecting from having a copy of the July 8 Red Rock show back in the 90’s. A warmer, lower ended projection than the ‘77 boards, but still with all the crystalline clarity in the highs. One minor critique would be that Drums sounds a bit more distant than I was hoping, but which I assume is because they didn’t have as many mic placements back at that time. Probably a good approximation of what it sounded like live, though.

Playing: A transition period and I would actually recommend the box to 80s fans more so than those of 70s (?). I’m not sure this will make sense to anyone other than myself, but Jerry tucks his solos in-and-about the melodies more. Rather than those long reaching, gracefully soaring lines that extend the music beyond the framework, as he did in the 70's, he keeps it more rhythmic, abstracts it on the inward with a tighter, kinetic, even slightly manic, energy. A for better or worse style held to thereon out, and the band following in kind.

I will say though I found the first set of Omaha a bit rough. Band sounds out of sync at times, like watching your favorite basketball team fall over on itself. The spirit is there, just not the final execution to score the buckets. Perhaps it was from an overfill of beans and bratwurst at the July 4th picnic or improper chilling of the Heineken? Or maybe just my ears? Who knows. I'll give it another shot of course and see if I feel differently then. Could be because I gave a first listen while watching Michigan State University go through a February slump. (Don't we all?) But whatever it was, they got it taken care of over the break because the second set is back on track.

With all said, glad I picked this beauty up. Thanks GD! Thanks Betty! Thanks Dave! Thanks faithful! And go MSU!

You're going to love this box. It is one to play loudly. To me, the sound is much more consistently better than the PacNor box. Plenty of low end and nuance, and the vocals don't ever drop out. Chime in with your thoughts when you get to listening.

P.S. Buses and bikes, dammit!

I think you’ll be happy with your purchase.
Toss the CDs in the player, crack open an M-43, kick back, and enjoy.

Yeah I’m late to the party here, but my order is finally in. I wish it was sooner buy hey, such is life.

As to some of those naysayer comments over the past few months, I always assumed Bobby’s ‘just exactly perfect’ was said with a degree of irony. I prefer believability over perfection. Are they making me feel what they feel? Is something monstrously new coming to life through the music? With a fire at play deep in the bestial belly? The details around the edges don’t contribute much to that domain.

One aspect that played into my decision, which I don’t think has been mentioned here, is the placement of the run between 70’s GD and 80’s GD. A lot of changes occurred in one year’s time and from what I can tell, this is a good testament for the directions soon to be ventured. The early Drums-Space incarnations in particular. And I figure a Normanized Betty Board for those isn't something to miss out on. While not quite the quality as the multi-trak recordings for Spring ’90, probably as good as you’ll get up until that time.

Hopefully this excellent will sell out before early July 2019.

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