Grateful Dead

Thanks for the reminder. 37 years ago today, I was at the Greek Theatre for a great show with the Dead. Dark Star encore. Hopefully this show will see the light of day as a release, maybe we'll get a Greek Box this year. I hope they include the 1981 shows at the Greek, if we do get a Greek Box, those were my favorite shows at the Greek.

Robert Fripp, esoteric English guitarist, ex-King Crimson, Fripp & (Brian) Eno, Bowie collaborator, etc, once produced a disc by Daryl Hall (yea, that Daryl Hall, of Hall & Oates)?

A lot to be said for keeping an open mind…

Hey Dennis, that was Jim Stafford that sang Spiders and Snakes. Jo Stafford is a female singer, sort of pop/jazz as I recall.
I bought 2 "Rice Krispies Treats" on the parking lot for a Dec. 28, 1997 Phish show. The seller recommended I try 1/2 of one first. Well, because I am one of those "if 1/2 is good 1 1/2 is better" kind of guys, that's what I did. It's still the only time in my life I woke up the next morning, and was STILL stoned!! I don't remember a whole lot of the show, but was able to get a nice aud and it was a fine show.
Music is the Best!!(and green Rice Krispies treats :)

I didn't know that about the Darryl Hall album, but I bet Mr. Fripp would be quite shocked to find out he's been thrown out of his own band right before he tours the US again with Tony Levin. King Crimson is on the loose as of July 24, hope to see them in Boston.

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My fumble. I had Mr Fripp as an Ex King, when he is still quite current. My apologies. Thanks!

FYI.. I just got a text from Dennis' wife asking what the fluck a $345 charge was doing on their card from Rhino for the new Jim Stafford limited edition box set.

The Fripp/Crimson stuff often amazes me. Big fan and saw them a bunch in my youth.. hope to catch this tour if possible.

The GD still amazes me also.

Decided to stream Billy and the Kids at Red Rocks tonight.. so glad I did. Amazing. Jerry might be dead but the Grateful Dead lives on and some the folks yielding their own custom axes.. are right up there with him. Tom Hamilton and Billy Strings are amazing.. add in Carlos Santana who sat in on Billy's 75's in Hawaii and.. perhaps I made my point.

This music is 'almost' as strong as ever and it's still growing and picking up new musicians, new fans and seemingly accelerating.

Hoping/wishing HendrixFreak is alive and well and freaking feely in the crowd.

Shoutout to AJS.. our favorite sports (and GD) enthusiast.

Heard a snippet of "I Know You Rider" going out of the top of the 7th.

If Joe Buck wasn't so enamored with the sound of his own voice, I might have been able to pinpoint the show, or at least the era. Sounded pretty hot.

Oh, now out of the bottom of the 7th, Althea. I'll have to go back and listen if they did this every inning!

I haven't heard much of Robert Fripps pre King Crimson recordings. It must have been a hell of a thing, though, to see them support The Stones at Hyde Park in 1969. Sympathy For The Devil was one thing-but this was of a different order entirely.

I didn't see them in the 1970s, although I caught them twice in recent years-and they are stunning live-three drummers at the front of the stage and a set list to die for.

These Crimson box sets are pretty impressive too. My favourite is "Starless". But for sheer value for money and wealth of improvised music the "Heaven and Earth" box set takes some beating. I have had it a few years, and I have no where near got my head round it all. Whole shows improvised from beginning to end, under the title of Projekct recordings. Many of these are on the blu ray discs included. Late 90s -2000 or so they were recorded.

The equivalent in Dead terms to these Prokekct recordings would be if the band had played whole shows which consisted of nothing but drums and space.

Yo!! Rockers!!!

Believe it or not, I have a huge amount of KC recordings, coming in third behind Grateful Dead and Miles Davis. Regardless of era, the Crims have never been less than interesting and are often much more..........

My only gripe about Fripp (who is an ace guitar player) is that he has occasionally released suboptimal audience recordings, probably because sometimes those were the only recordings available............

Rock on,

Doc
What's another word for Thesaurus?

Jim, you didn't give her my address I hope. Yikes!!
Doc, I was interested to see Miles is your #2 in collection size. He's mine also, so MUCH breadth and depth, his music alone could take you through so many different styles and changes. While Bill Frisell would be my 3rd largest collection of one artist, King Crimson is definitely 4th.
Saw them first in 1980, two days in a row, DC/Baltimore. Holy moley how powerful!! I've seen them through the years since then, but probably only 6-8 more times. I am hoping to make this 'farewell' tour. Fripp is great, but can be a little arrogant at times(He once claimed that Jimi Hendrix didn't even know how to hold a guitar pick "correctly").
There's not much better in my world than sharing a love of music with like minded others, and for that, I am grateful to everyone here.

JimInMD, I didn't catch the Billy/Billie show at the Rocks last night, but instead hit my usual open mic night at a local bar, meeting up with women friends I haven't seen in more than a year. Mmmm... hugs and kisses.

Red Rocks poses a couple challenges: one is, are you ready to be in the middle of 10,000 partiers with the Delta variant raging through the younger demographic? Also, for bands that charge in the $75 range for gen'l admish, the resellers jack that up, ridiculously. I don't know if last night woulda been easier to get in, but Tedeschi Trucks' $75 gen'l admish tics for July 30 now run for north of $200. Lastly, I don't casually attend shows at the Rocks, never have. Mostly focus on one band, one or two nights, per year. Finally/lastly, blasphemy: I skip all the Dead offshoot bands, from Weir to Billy K to DSO. Hooked on the tapes as never before, just not spending on offshoots as I seek to retire. So it's money and crowd tolerance issues at my end.

As such, I'm clearly no longer the raving rave-ster of yore. Like when we ate Purple Dragon the afternoon of July 7, 1978 and looned about the Rocks, scaring young women and getting crazy long before showtime. I mean, that was only 43 years ago, but what a difference a nearly half-century makes in one's approach.

I'm not quite dead yet, but maintaining a slightly calmer public demeanor. Although we did yuk it up at the bar last night. All is well.

That is all.

As far as I can remember I only got to see King Crimson live on two occasions, namely at Weeley Festival near Clacton in August 1971 and Bournemouth Winter Gardens in October 1971. Both occasions were notable for very different reasons. The Weeley Festival was where I got busted for the first time so my memories of that event are somewhat tainted by that unfortunate event. At the Winter Gardens me, my brother and his friend arrived in the afternoon, far too early for the evening show, but the band were already present so we passed the time having a football kick-about in the venue's car park with Mr. Fripp and other members of the band.

So many many moons ago when it first came out, I purchased the box set "The Great Deceiver" by King Crimson, having heard NOTHING by them. For those who don't know, it's live material from 1973-74. I just could not get into it, despite having just become a Deadhead/Phishhead.

I've put it on here and there in the intervening 29 years, but just can't get excited about it.

Is this what one should listen to, to get into King Crimson? Is there something else I should be listening to? Should I make a point of seeing them live?

It's difficult to recommend a particular album, or even era of this band. Every time the line-up changed, so did the music. The only consistent thing of the 69-75 version was that every line-up would perform Improvisations, and those could go anywhere. For the song oriented material, I guess I would recommend albums Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Red, and possibly Starless And Bible Black.
For the 80-2021 version(s), the improvs were still there, less so in the 80's-early 90's. Again many different line-ups after Belew/Bruford left. I really like Discipline and Thrak as starters for later era Crimson. But, ask 6 other people, you'll get 6 differing opinions.

Music is the Beast!! And The Best!!

Miles would take my 2nd slot as well. Bill Frisell is a guitar god, check him out people. Heard that the John Prine estate is getting ready to unleash a ton of material, can't wait for that!

Odds are no box this year (I'm guessing), but shouldn't we know what the next DaP should be by now?

Deadhead brewer - as Mr Ones says, they changed appreciably over the years. The albums he suggested are very much to my taste too - but The Great Deceiver was recorded on the "Red" tour of the USA, I think, so if you aren't so keen on that, maybe the three albums Mr Ones suggested wouldn't change your opinion.
The one that is usually held up as their all time classic is the first - "In The Court of the Crimson King" - and that is the one I would recommend. Some beautiful songs as well as the timeless 21st Century Schizoid Man. Maybe they just aren't for you, though.

Doc - I believe the box of "Larks Tongues.." is full of substandard recordings-in fact I haven't bought it for that reason. But some of the individual shows I have heard from that line up are phenomenal..so maybe I will get that one too.

Simon Rob - in terms of memories from the golden era, playing football with Robert Fripp must be right at the very top!

I have been listening to the In The Silent Ways box by Miles Davis over the last few nights. And very hypnotic it is, too.

Dead holds #1, Bob Dylan 2nd, Frisell 3rd*, Miles Davis 4th, Allmans/Byrds/Band/Young related 5th.

*While I have 25 or so solo/band items from Frisell, I seek out artist albums he has played on - Michael White, Ron Miles, Carrie Rodriguez, Marét & Collin (one of THE BEST), Viktor Krauss, Mary Halvorsen, Hank Roberts, and on and on and on. I’m trying to find his collaboration with Ginger Baker. The only stuff of his I’m so so on is John Zorn. He is an underrated Master that looks like the guy who does your taxes.

I appreciate the King Crimson thoughts--please keep them coming!

Without walking into the CD room and counting, I would say that the easy #2 artist, in terms of CDs on the rack, is a tie between Miles, Dylan, and Beethoven.

Sometimes I hear Frisell and want to follow him around the country; sometimes I hear him and think, "Meh. Pastichey . . . " Fascinating artist, and I have a ton of his discs.

....check out the start of China Cat in this show. I have never heard them make sounds like that! I would post a linq to the show, however...........

i like it. sounds like Frampton's voice box thingee, but on Jerry's Guitar? Or something?

Sixtus

I think that's Brent. But, it still might be sui generis. Or, at least I've never heard one like it. MSG '81, nice couple of shows. I think there's an Uncle John's or Wheel tease in one of the shows, too. Might be 3/9.

Check out Brent on Deep Elem.
I’ve previously called for that show to be a DaP release. Good sound quality for an early 80’s recording. Probably why it hasn’t been released yet, being saved for a Box Set.

Boxed Set??
Does Rhino still make GD Box Sets?

Commercial GD CD’s are >10x everything else combined.

Jerry 2nd
Pink Floyd 3rd
Hendrix 4th
5th - Who, LedZep, ABB, Stones, Eric Burdon, Doors….

Torrents:
Again GD way out in front.
I also get everything I can (SBD recordings) of the usual suspects mentioned above along with others.
I did decide to get as much Miles Davis as I could and will explore him in the future.
Also found a DVD from the 90’s (maybe late 80’s) with Miles playing with Prince.

Deadheadbrewer your summation of Bill Frisell describes exactly the way I feel about him. Well said! Don't forget to catch him on Lucinda Williams' West and The Ghosts of Highway 20.

Most collected - Grateful Dead->Little Feat->Dylan->Miles->Coltrane->North Mississippi Allstars->Gov't Mule->Stones->Pretenders-> all the usual suspects and quite a few Bill Frisell

Those collaborations of Frisell and Ginger Baker sound very interesting. Baker has a good jazz sense - check out his album WHY?

Take care...

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and

Earphones while grocery shopping today listening to Court of the Crimson King

Edible enhanced

That was fun

So, with John Lennon & Miles Davis being deceased, this leaves Bill Frisell as my favorite living musician. He’s the ONLY guy I try to see EVERY TIME he is anywhere close to me. So, I am very biased towards him. The only thing I’ll say in his defense(because I don’t get the meh comment), is that you know it’s him within the first 3 seconds you hear. Talk about having a ‘tone’ or ‘sound’.
I have 2 Ginger Baker cds w/Frisell in the band. As Dennis has found out, I’m not competent on digital anything, but I’d be happy to send 2 cd burn copies to a volunteer, who could distribute them digitally. Also, I would insist on including a copy of one of me favorite Frisell finds. A cd by Cuong Vu(played with Metheny)
Which has Frisell all over it. It’s a Japanese cd i feel lucky to have found.
Also, check YouTube!! There’s a killer live bit(maybe 45 minutes??) of the Baker/Frisell band live, and it is HOT!!
If I were to guess, I’d say I have 60-70 Frisell discs, either as leader or band member, or guest. He’s done literally hundreds!!
I am almost dumbfounded to see how many of us share similar likes and loves. Great minds think(and listen) alike. Keep it coming!!
Oh yeah, and Dave’s 39 is getting REAL CLOSE!!

Music is (still) the best!!

Perhaps there wont be a box this year. Or they will make us wait until November.

To paraphrase Glengarry Glen Ross

"We're out here ready to GIVE YOU our money!"

....can get expensive. I know. I did last night.
Salty sweet snacks call my naaaaame!
That 3.9.81 show is release worthy. Gonna check out the previous show tomorrow. I found a recipe for shakshuka the other day. Making it now.. I would post the recipe, but......
It's a proven fact Mediterranean dishes are good for you.
Edit. I have 6 coworkers out with covid. All unvaccinated. "Its just the flu!" they said.
One came back to work today and apologized. "Its not just the flu."
No shit Sherlock. Have fun not being able to taste or smell anything until who knows when. Dudes still gasping for breath, and he's 32.
On a side note, my 5G signal is better than ever lol!! Dumbasses.
I hate political viruses.

There will be a box this year....

And it might be a big one.

Hendrixfreak, keep the faith!

Before we leave the subject, if we haven't already, I should also say that the recent King Crimson live albums may be worth your looking into. The ones I have are "Vienna 12/1/2016", Chicago 6/28/2016, Meltdown Live in Mexico-2017. All feature material from all eras, and the band - starring the three drummers is knockout.
I haven't got "Auto Diary 2014-2018" but it looks great, and is a 5 cd set with live material from each of the years covering each one of the 5 cds.

Looks like I should check Bill Frisell out-the only one I have with him on is "Going Back Home" credited to Ginger Baker, which I don't think I've played for about 10 years!

Just read your post on that Jimbo. The timing is coincidental, because I just listened to the 2nd to last Dave's Picks from April '78, and noticed he was using it on Playing in the Band for a change. I don't recall hearing him using it on that one before. Interesting how they make they effect work. That's one of the reasons why we live in a special time for rock music IMHO. Not only did the music evolve enormously, but also the way it was created and recorded. Artists played a big role in developing new sounds in Production.

I still have the entire Garcia library ahead of me pretty much. Uncle Gary sent his original copy of the box set to me a few years ago (the one where the CD bookends make a picture of Garcia's face when they'relined up in order in the case). I pull that one out once in a while so it stays fresh and magical. Thanks UG, hope you're reading. S&R should arrive tomorrow. Check your email for tracking. Maybe it will show up today; I went priority mail and you ain't that far!

Mr Ones - You are absolutely right, amazing how many of us here share the same tastes in sound, the great Bill Frizell among them. One of the gems I have in my Frizell collection is a DVD entitled “A Portrait”, which was done by I believe an Australian filmmaker, Emma Franz (I think I got it from her website). Excellent, lots of interviews with people he has worked with. I was able to get a used copy of his trio with Ginger Baker & Charlie Haden, should be good (Think about the universal forces that bring these three guys together???)

I’ve always been Grateful to the Dead for being one of the groups that pushed me in the direction of jazz (oddly, I owe the same nod to Steely Dan) way back when, which opened up an amazing whole different world of music.

Yet an hour later, I could play the Louvin Brothers, or the lovely Emmylou Harris, and love it.
Music is the best, Mr Ones! Yes, indeed!

You got me to purchase A Portrait.. I'm all in.

I hear from reliable sources that Dennis just pulled the trigger on the $1,750 Bill Frisell, every note ever recorded box set, CD and BluRay edition. (don't tell his wife).

Special shout out to all of you here that keep things moving.. it's really interesting to check in and see what's happening.. interesting and I always learn something and broaden my horizons a bit. Many, many thanks.

P.S. don't tell my wife about the BluRay purchase. I'd hate to lose the relationship capital I spent all summer building up with the big box set announcement looming.... It's the little things that trip us up and put us in the dog house.. Yes.. I too have am a bit of a completist, I am running out of space to put all this stuff..

Dave, thanks, and perhaps start with "Gone, Just Like a Train," from Frisell. I've likely told this story here before, but when I lived in Colorado I took piano lessons from a woman who often lived in Seattle, and when there she would hang out and jam with Frisell and Gary Larson of The Far Side fame.

Jazz fans, please order a copy of "Data Lords" from Maria Schneider. The music and the packaging are phenomenal! It's not streaming anywhere, as Maria is a staunch advocate for musicians actually getting paid what they're worth. So buying it is a great way to get some of your stimulus money into the hands it maybe should have gone into in the first place.

And I just got a note from our local jazz radio station (we're so lucky, radio-wise, here in The Cities), 88.5 KBEM (stream them--they have a show called Bluegrass Saturday Morning that's really fun); sounds like saxophonist Dave McMurray has put out a GD-themed CD.

Made it through a lot of D1 of the King Crimson box set during yesterday's work-out. I'm warming to it, trying to let it be in a space occupied by the collision of Jethro Tull, Genesis, and Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Yes, yes, yes!! I pre-ordered that dvd/blu ray months before it came out, and waited, waited, waited, just like waiting for the next Dave's Pick. But jumpin' jehosefat, was it worth it!! It also helped me track down a double cd of duets/Improvs with the great(and late) Jim Hall. Drummer Joey Baron tells a great little remembrance of those sessions, and made me really NEED to find those recordings. Completest? Why, no your honor. Obsessive?? Who Me?? Have a problem?? Why no honey, what are you talking about??

Music is the Best!!

Well, now you have gone and done it. I just spent a cool $40+ for the Data Lords cd. I'm quite sure I will enjoy it, but could I give my wife your phone number so that you can explain to her why this was a necessary Purchase?? I would very much appreciate it.

That was Proudfoot wondering if a box would materialize this year. I'm sure it will. Though I do wonder about the (seemingly delayed) timing of an announcement and whether that means there's a production hitch.

I'm still chanting (alone, at home, and virtually here) for fall '72. Not because that's my absolute top choice (I'm a Grease-head, after all) but because it seems that the past 4-5 boxes point in that direction.

As for DP 39, on another forum someone posted that the third release over the past three years has been a Brent show. So we'll see what's up with that in the next two weeks. Personally, I expect DP 40 to come from tapes in the 1969-1971 era.

Who knows? I've never been wrong before.....

You (and ANY of you) can certainly give your wives my phone number! ;) Now, how to keep Mrs. Brewer in the dark . . . ?

p.s. I finally purchased "Home Before Daylight," by Steve Parish. Finished it last night. It was a fun and thoughtful read. I think all of the books by the band and those around them form a circle, and in the middle of that circle is the "truth" about the band and their times, but one has to do some triangulation to get to that truth.

....1-800-Blame-me.

Mr Ones, you are definitely the #1 FrissHead! I’m glad you liked the DVD, I thought it was well done (JimInMD - you’ll love it!). Bill Frisell plays with so many different kinds of musicians, like a Shape Shifter! I ordered a copy of him backing up the ramblings of Alan Ginsberg earlier (Gary - take note), and there is one where he provides music for William Burroughs reading his prose, but I’m not big on Burroughs junkie writing, so I’ll pass on that one. As FrissHeads, we wear worn polo shirts with comfortable slacks!! Music absolutely is the best!!

Oro - Where art thou?

Got a new CD player recently. Had to. Apparently, the laser mechanisms in those things wear out after a certain period of time, and seems like nobody makes replacement parts anymore. I tried to get my old Rega fixed, but the guy couldn't do anything for me, so I just went and bought me a new Marantz CD6007. On the downside, I’m out a fairly large lump of cash. On the plus side: this is the best sounding CD player I’ve ever owned, my discs don’t skip anymore. And it can play FLAC files (if you put ‘em on a USB thumb drive). So I thought I should try that out by downloading the FLAC version of S&R.

I hadn’t bought the 50th anniversary thing yet, because I’ve already got S&R on perfectly cromulent ‘70s vinyl, and on the previously issued CD (which, btw, has a couple bonus tracks that are not on the new reissue). So I thought, why not try the FLAC? I’ve been surprised to find out that FLAC downloads often cost more than the physical product, in this case $5 more. True, you don’t have to pay shipping, but that still seems weird. But I went for it anyway, and I gotta tell you: sounds really good! This is one of those albums I played so many times in my wayward youth that I know every freekin drum fill by heart, but this version is like going from black and white to technicolor. Not sure how much is the remastering and how much is the FLAC, but man, it sounds great.

Random thoughts on various posts:

King Crimson might be my favorite if they just played instrumentals. Don’t usually like their lyrics or vocals, but every incarnation of that band could play its collective ass off. I actually really, really like their live stuff from recent years, and I love the three drummer lineup. It’s so wonderfully over the top in a “this goes to 11” kind of way. “Oh, your band has two drummers? Well, we have THREE!”

I listen to a lot of jazz, including a lot of contemporary stuff. Of course I love Miles and Monk and Trane and the classic guys, but I’m actually more interested in music the pushes the envelope right NOW. Donny McCaslin is a favorite: he’s done a lot with fusing indie rock, EDM, and jazz. You might check out Beyond Now and Casting for Gravity, if you’re curious. You probably know about Kamasi Washington, but if not definitely check out The Epic. I’ve been listening a lot lately to John McLaughlin, both the old Mahavishnu stuff but also the more recent Five Peace Band that he did with Chick Correa—amazing stuff! Vijay Iyer, Chris Potter, I could go on, but this post is already too long. Bye!

The longest 5 day 4th of July sale ever!!! Let’s do this!!! Peace and Love!

Thats the quacking duck from 5 17 77

Nyuk nyuk

Dropped a fat wad of cash on the two pets this mo'nin'. Maintenance....the critters are angels, though, so wtf.

And I get to pay a phuqwad of a deductible to fix body damage to my sexy babe magnet 2005 Prius.

You had your chance, GDM. Now I can't fork over a penny to you. Hmph.

I am not a big fan of guest artists with the GD, and I avoided this show for a long time because of that.
But
I listened today. It has some very unique stuff on it

Had to check out that Dark Star.. very nice indeed PF. You are on a roll.

I plan to hit the rest of this show later this weekend.

I'm going to speculate that the "canceled" (delayed?) box set from the latter half of 2020, and the lack of an announcement of a box set so far this year is due to Covid. So many items are missing from shelves, or are in short supply that I'll bet The Powers That Be decided to hold off on trying to produce a box at a time when there are no clear time-tables, as far as material availability. Why announce a box set, only to have to declare its unavailability two months later, when it becomes apparent that the included book cannot be secured from the printers, or when it becomes apparent that the plastic cases for the discs can't be secured from the plant?

All good things in all good time . . . :) I haven't even finished DaP38 yet!

....has passed - to the day - since my inaugural Grateful Dead show, today.
Just realized that, now. Needed to put that shit up here; it's a delight to be a part of this community.

July 16th 1990. CSNY opened; 90k Deadheads.
What an experience and introduction.

Love Live The Grateful Dead.
And Deadheads Everywhere.

Sixtus

....because that big rig is the shit!