Grateful Dead

This whole show is top notch (performance wise)...even Help On the Way...does a few minor vocal flubs really turn you off of such a powerful performance? And "no cohesion at all" ...really? none at all? Really? None at all...wow. At the very least, I'll consider myself grateful for not hearing what some of you are hearing...but I still wouldn't want to be in a band with any of you.

I usually try to avoid reading too many of the "review" comments here on the board before I get one of these Picks, because the over-the-top praise is usually just not realistic at all. That leads me to be disappointed almost every time. Let's face it, almost none of the shows released in the series is on a level with the Europe '72 tour or Fillmore '69 - in recording quality (2-track) or performance. However, for you, it might be good, because at least it enables you to keep your expectations low. I really did have high hopes for this Pick, as I saw my first show in '82 and most of my shows were during the '80s. I had just watched the New Year's Eve '83 show on YouTube recently, and it didn't seem to me to be as bad as this show. It was a real letdown. The patches, Jerry's voice, his playing...just about everything. Well, the cover art is cool anyway. As a means to keep my own expectations low, I starved myself of listening to the Dead for a good week or more before my copy arrived. I figured that way, I'd be hungry for my dose of Jerry and boys, and wouldn't so much mind some sub-par performances or recording issues. But once I got past the first track, I was dismayed many times throughout. I guess a few people dig it, but for me, it goes to the bottom of the list...even below that '81 Pick, which I got rid of almost immediately after it arrived.

I can't wait for this to make it across the pond and hear it for myself. What people have said here about it are pretty much the most diametrically opposed sets of views ever to grace these boards. On the one hand there are the known 80's fanatics (nothing wrong with that) and a few others who are spurting out verbal orgasms of praise on both the sound and performance aspects of this release. Their comments are so over-the-top as to be hardly credible as subjective reviews. On the other hand we have the people whose favorite period was probably not this period, together with some who saw all their shows in the 80's who largely seem to pan both the mix/sound quality and the performance. Can it really all be that bad? Is there nothing to redeem it? We all (should) know that a PA mix is never going to sound like a Betty Board, so there is a maybe a hint about about the quality of the mix. Typically a reel-to-reel recording will have better sound than a cassette simply due to tape track width and speed considerations so that is maybe another hint. I suspect the reality lies somewhere in between the views of the opposing camps, but just where it lies is something I will have to decide for myself when I finally get my copy which shipped a week ago so, with luck, should arrive in a weeks time.

Best screen name ever. Agree with everything you said. I was looking forward to this release, as the Dead shows I saw were almost all in the 80s. But it's a debacle almost from start to finish. You know you're in trouble when Wang Dang Doodle is the highlight. Let's face it, many of us have a shitload of versions of these tunes. I have over 1,200 folders on an external hard drive, each of which has a live show in it. That's about half of the Dead's live career. So why do we need so many shows? It's because they never played a song the same way twice, right? Well, for me, a big part of it - the main part - is Jerry. And why do I love to hear Jerry solo so much? Because he could play a nice, unique, tasteful solo in any given tune. But even Jerry couldn't do it on this show, as evidenced especially by Throwin' Stones. I could not believe it, but I actually heard him play a solo that sounded like it was a solo for some other song. I winced throughout it. By that point, I couldn't wait for my "test listen" to the discs to be over. This is the first time I have ever played a Dead show all the way through and was anxious for it to be over. By the way, I have those Frost '82 shows, and yes, my mp3 files of that show sound better than this release. I love much of what's in those performances. Contrast the Throwin' Stones from this show to the ones from Frost, and you'll see what I meant above. I wish they would put one of those in the series. Who cares if they're not in the vault? Pull the SBD files off the archive, rip discs, and they'd be light years ahead of Vol. 27. Performance-wise, this show is just mediocre at best, terrible at worst. It's more embarrassing than the Dick's Picks '83 release. At least that thing had an interesting Scarlet>Fire. This release...one and done for sure.

Jeff, thanks so much for the high res cover art. I will be upgrading several of my digital files this evening. I appreciate you sharing with us.

-----glad you like it. Why do you have to slam on Donna? Just being a dick I guess.....IMHO

Glad to get such a good release for DP#27, and of course to get back into the 1980s(about time). This show is really good, there is a total energy throughout the show...even on the few sleeper songs. You can really tell Jerry was into it on this night, not just mailing it in or "tired" ;) as he was at some points in 1983-1986. This is a great start to get the ball rolling for this series in the 1980s, I know DL mentioned that DP#28 "probably" would not be a 1980s show- who knows? I think the obvious year for #28 will be 1979(maybe 1981-82). I think we will see a hot show from 1979 for the DP#28 release, most think 11/25/79 or 12/1/79 are the two go to shows for the next release…..I think a better & more obvious choice will be 9/5/79: GREAT show, GREAT setlist, & GREAT venue. If not 1979, I believe he will venture into the 1990s with a show from 1991. The obvious choice there would be: 6/7/91, 9/4/91, or 9/26/91... BOTTOM LINE- It's great to see the Dave Picks series move to the 1980s, LET'S KEEP THAT DECADE GOING! Also, I know there is always chatter about sound quality/kick drum etc for 1980s shows as far as being unreleasable....BUT MY GOODNESS- think of all the 1973-1978 shows released that even with a nice recording were ruined because of DG's howling 'er singing (IMHO)

Dave Lemieux goes out of his way to throw accolades at Jeffrey Norman for the mastering work he did for this release. Possibly the originals from which this release came from were so poor and Mr Norman did do a marvelous job. But we're not afforded the opportunity to hear the masters for this - just the final results. I'm guessing that many who have found this recording acceptable might have been lulled after 30 minutes or so of thinking "ah this ain't half bad". But I suggest stopping in the middle of Eyes of the World or Estimated Prophet after being into it for a good hour and a half, throw on any other show they released. You'll be amazed just how bad the sound of this one is. So much of the music is flat out missing. I'm not talking a specific instrument, though some are very hard to hear, but rather the musical range you're left with, the missing sound frequencies. And then there is the whole mix issue. Jeffrey I have to believe this isn't a recording you'd share with your professional peers to demonstrate your skills unless you also have the master to show what you've done, because by itself it is a disaster. If it were me, I'd have my name removed from the credits.

talk about yer cupcakes.

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