Grateful Dead - reviews of official live and Vault releases

Oops that one skipped my mind. I love it, 4 stars.

This is the "Plunderphonics" disc created by John Oswald. Two full-lengh discs of mostly Dark Star excerpts. This was released originally as a single disc in 1994 and then as a double disc set a couple years later. Get the double disc - the booklet provides an invaluable roadmap of the various Dark Stars (and some other songs) used in the mix. The notes by Rob Bowman give great insight as well, including interviews with Phil, Jerry, and Robert Hunter. Enjoy!

 

Can't get enough of Ladies and Gentlemen! The sound is amazing! When Sugar Magnolia starts up its so damn clear it sounds like a REAL guitar in my living room! Is that Bobby on the intro there? That version is sooo funky!


The whole thing reeks of realness. Just a great band, having a great time, for a great crowd. And I haven't even made it to discs 3 and 4 yet!

Yes yes yes yes yes!!!!!!

 

Wait till you hear that JAM after Alligator. It will blow the hair off your snutz.

 

Disks 3 and 4 are actually BETTER than 1 and 2!

L.

 

Im excited!



So how come there are no Vault release of 1977? I would think they were definitely making multi-track recordings in that year....probably with stellar results! I read an interview that said they DO have multi's of Cornell....

Just seems to be a great year for the Dead. Although I have never heard any '77 it seems to score big with a lot of folks!

 

1977 has a ton of great shows and is a fan-favorite, which is why there are so many Dick's Picks releases from that year. Not sure about any 1977 multi-track stuff. The vast majority of their shows were recorded straight to two-track, direct from the board.

For 1977, get DP 3, DP 15, and DP 29, and 5/8/77 Cornell.

 

Thanks Mike! I know I keep asking the same questions but entering the world of the Dead is a daunting task!

I can't believe DP 29 is only $33 for 6 discs!

 

lemieux says cornell 5/8/77 not in vault

Interview on jambase.com with Lemieux says cornell '77 not in vault. Nearly half the tapes from spring '77 tour were sold at Betty Cantor storage locker auction.

 

The entire month of May 77 is remarkably good. Tight playing, great flow to the shows, high energy from all band members. Add to that 9/3/77 (one of my favorite Eyes, killer He's Gone->NFA) and most of November, and you've got my favorite year of the Dead. On top of that, as mentioned already, most of these shows were included in the Betty Board lot, so they've been available in crispy SBD form for years, and are highly circulated.

 

IIRC, 9/3/77 was multi-tracked, but they released the 2 tracked rough mix as DP15.

 

I have to believe that the majority of what we're hearing on live Dead reissues is more or less "audio verite" - for example, if Jeffrey Norman were really of a mind to alter or "improve" things, it would probably have been quite easy, given today's technology, to "fix" Pig's vocal on the Ladies and Gentlemen... "Lovelight" (where he sings the entire song a half-tone flat, putting a slight taint on what is otherwise one of the band's finest performances of the song).

 

Did Pig ever sing ANYTHING in tune? I thought that was part of his "charm"

 

Well it finally happened! Really it was only a matter of time!


I threw on disc 2 of Ladies and Gentlemen last night while we were doing some unpacking (just moved) and I hear:

"The Dead again?! All we've listened to for the past 2 months is the Dead! In the car, in the house, everywhere! It has to stop!


Ah well....I threw on some FZ to even things out.



Didn't mention I have a show on the way and Dick's Picks 31 about to be ordered!

 

Wait until you hear "just how many versions of Scarlet Begonias do you need?..."

 

Hahaha!


I gotta hand it to her though! She really enjoys the Dead! She can really get into it. One of her favorite jams is the Playin' on 36 just because they get SO deep into it! But between DP 4, DP 36, and Ladies and Gentlemen I could see how that might seem overkill to some! I keep trying to listen to other things....but while something else is playing I just wish I was listening to the Dead instead.

Actually it's DP 36 that really, really turned me on and I can't thank you enough for the recomendation!! In headphones (Sennheiser HD-280's) that thing sounds SUPERB!

 

ALL OF THEM! I NEED EVERY SINGLE ONE! THEY ARE ALL SO UNIQUE IN THEIR OWN BEAUTIFUL WAYS!

J/K...but seriously, this is why my girlfriend is also my "show partner".

 

Man, I was listening to Disc 4 of Ladies and Gentlemen and I couldn't help but be completely blown away by the warmth of the performances. I dont really mean the sound, but the atmosphere. It's really astounding. The crowd and the Dead seem completely as one and everyone is having a great time! Bill Grahams little speech is absolutely heartwarming.

The Drums > Jam is superb!


Had some friends over Saturday night and just let all 4 discs play and it made excellent background party music. Several people were definitely turned on and asked to see what it was! Then I played some DP 36 and it was all over for them.....

 

I just ordered a new, sealed copy of the So Many Roads Box Set form Dead.net... Cannot wait..

 

Got the Three from the Vault set yesterday. It's great to finally have this outstanding show complete and in great quality sound. They really did a great job on this one. Don't miss it!

 

I hope mine arrives today.

 

as many as there are, it's the Bobby songs I don't need anymore off!

 

So how is the Dick's Dex reference?

 

I have an early (first) German CD pressing of this set. It comes in two individual jewel cases and a clear plastic "slipcase". It was released under license of the LINE label, although the CD's also list Grateful Dead Records. The catalog numbers are GDCD 9.01095 L and GDCD 9.01096 L respectively.

I read somewhere on the internet that all the vault releases were mastered in HDCD. I don't think my first pressing is a HDCD release, but I could be wrong. Anyhow, it doesn't show HDCD anywhere and it lists a lot of technical details about the mastering of this album, but no mention of HDCD. Also, was HDCD even available (commercially) in 1991?

Maybe some knowledgable forum members can shed some light onto this.

By the way, I think the CD is mastered nicely and sounds very smooth and transparent without sounding harsh.