It’s been a hectic week and I am not as on top of things as I would like to be. Some of the music making its way through Silver has been:
Jefferson Airplane: 2400 Fulton Street (disc one)
The early stuff. Ah, good stuff. Over the years I have found different facets of the Airplane to love. It began with White Rabbit, then the hits, the Dead influences, the Crosby influences, and am now a Jorma fan. As such, Embryonic Journeystands out. What a great tune.
Grateful Dead: Hundred Year Hall Europe ‘72. Deadheads recognize this tour as one of the monumental times of the band’s history. This release highlights the band at full speed, but only partially. One thing GDP has been irritatingly maddening with is releasing partial shows. This 26 April 1972 show is missing 14 songs from the night. Furthermore, the songs presented are not in chronological order. Argghh!
Yet, there’s the 19-minute-plus Lovelight and a 39-minute Other One! Yes, the band was on fire.
Grateful Dead: Dick’s Picks Volume 11; 27 September 1972 Stanley Theater, Jersey City, NJ
After the Europe run, the band continued rocking back in the States. The complete show is captured on this release.
The thing that stands out for me is Brokedown Palace. It seems so fragile here. To think it was written in the same afternoon as Ripple and To Lay Me Down. That is some trio. Of course, the highlight of this show is the 30-minute Dark Star. Truly mesmerizing.
Bob Marley and The Wailers: Live!
I have been a Marley fan from since I was a boy. I never got a chance to see him live, so this album has always gotten heavy play from me. Now that I do not have all my boots that I used to (I am convinced I once had every Marley show that circulated), this is all I have. The No Woman, No Cry is superb here!
Dude of Life: Crimes of the Mind I just read on Wikipedia that The Dude is now an elementary school teacher in NYC. That astounds me!
I recall this album’s release. I was very excited as it was at the height of my liking of Phish. THe Dude of Life was a close friend to the band having written several of their early songs, including my favorite Fluffhead. Crimes is a Phish album with The Dude singing his songs. Awesome! I was blessed at having seen a show on the brief tour that followed.
This album is not as weird as I sometimes think The Dude is. I really enjoyed listening to it this evening. Self is the highlight for me.
Rhythm Devils: The Apocalypse Now Sessions The epic movie with a legendary cast has a wonderful soundtrack. That music was played by none other than the Grateful Dead’s rhythm section: Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. Great stuff here with the boys and their friends imitating the sounds of the jungle. The ambient sounds make for a pleasant listen. The river music is among the most harmonic of the releases I have of Mickey’s. I really like this.
Sadly, this article is dead on about my favorite two actors . . . Someone said to me recently that anger is a big eraser; it erases what it perceives is a bigger emotion. Hmmm . . . Overheard from a public school teacher: “Clinton won Pennsylvania 55% to 47%” . . . There is a actually a Mac & Cheese group on Flickr . . . Spring is here, it’s time for sailing. I eagerly await a couple upcoming sails on the A.J. Meerwald . . . Gasoline prices are having us re-consider our summer vacation plans. It may be better to fly than drive . . . O’Reilly has another new segment (Reality Check). It’s a clunker. The show needs an overhaul; it is becoming far too segmented for my tastes . . . The two highlights of Corzine’s budget were closing nine state parks and eliminating the Dept. of Agriculture. Corzine has backed away from both proposals. That is fine, but not a penny more should be added to the bottom line. How much you want to bet more spending is added? . . . It’s good to see justice has been served: Wesley Snipes is going to jail (I bet there will be an appeal) . . . Wow! Zoomabooma sent me this article that explains how the Grateful Dead’s vault (stuff, not music) has been donated to Santa Cruz . . .
To celebrate what better way than a beautiful version of Peggy-O by the Grateful Dead. This traditional Irish folk song was a staple for decades. Enjoy!
I am slowing down on how much I listen to recently. I think this stems from putting too many shows on at once that I feel overwhelmed. I need to keep it to three or four shows so I can cycle through the podcasts I like to listen to as well.
Coming off are:
Derek Trucks Band 08-02-23: Seafood & Blues Festival, Coachman Park, Clearwater, FL
I love listening to music that is this new. Derek Trucks is a favorite of mine. The energy seemed a little low on this show at the start. One can hear folks talking throughout. Grr . . . Get Out of My Life, Woman was not hot as it should be. Things began heating up with Soul Serenade. How could it not? Gonna Move continued the energy. Stand Back cranked the band into high gear. Awesome!
Grateful Dead 83-09-11: Downs of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
What a nice show. This was Mickey’s 40th birthday. I really like the set list. There is an early West L.A. on this. The second set is really the highlight of this show. It smokes from beginning to end. My only complaint is that Bobby does not sing Wang Dang Doodle well. I love this song, but he pales in comparison to Koko Taylor. The Help > Slip > Frank is awesome as is Let It Grow.
85-10-28: Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
I love ‘85 shows. The set lists were varied and a lot of blues was played. That was a blessing and a curse on this night. This was the first time Kansas City was played. Blech! A good song that Bobby misses completely. He rebounds later with a nice Smokestack Lightning. I always liked My Brother Esau, although there is nothing stellar about this version. The first set ended nicely, however, with Ramble On Rose, Cassidy, Row Jimmy, Promised Land, all played well.
The second set moves well. While Touch of Grey ended up being overplayed, it was expertly done on this night and almost compensates for the lack of Fire. This was a nice Man Smart, Woman Smarter. The Terrapin Station was nice, although not as powerful as some. I would take the following out of Drums > Space any day: Truckin’> Smokestack> Stella Blue> Around> Good Lovin’. Good stuff all around. It’s nice to even hear Day Job on occasion.
87-04-03: The Centrum, Worcester, MA
I was to attend this show. I saw the night before. But Worcester police didn’t like me sleeping in my car in a private lot. I was rudely awaken about 3:00 a.m. and told to get out of town. Grrr . . .
I used to have this show on tape. This is a hot show! A very hot show! Hell in a Bucket > Sugaree to open is a good way to get me dancing. Big RR Blues brought a smile to my face. Good stuff. Let It Grow > Don’t Ease Me In provides two set closers in one set (’87 was very predictable).
A smoking China > Rider kicks off the second set. Wow! The bridge is stellar. Another Man Smart, Woman Smarter begins a run with Crazy Fingers and Samson and Delilah. Man Smart was very well played. This was prior to Bobby going haywire with this song. Crazy Fingers is one of those songs I love and rarely heard the boys play. I downloaded this show because someone commented how Samson was sequed into and that didn’t happen much. Indeed. Out of Drums > Space we get a powerful Other One into Stella Blue (ah!) into a clear deep Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away. U.S. Blues caps off this hot night.
The Centrum run was a good one. Fire this one up folks.
Ratdog 07-11-16: House of Blues, Orlando, FL
Ratdog has always left me wanting. I am a Jerry fan and Ratdog seemed lacking. I saw them once and have heard a smattering of shows. Eh . . . Looking for something a little different last time out, I decided to load up a couple Ratdog shows from consecutive nights last November. This show definitely impressed me.
So much for the random set lists. There is no way to begin the show with Help > Slip and then a couple hours later end with Franklin’s and not have it staged. Things got moving with Even So. Good stuff there. Bobby plays a lot of Jerry’s songs. I have mixed feelings about that. Good songs are good songs, but what does it say that eight songs this night were Jerry’s? I didn’t think about that too long . . . Easy to Slip came on and I was pleasantly taken back to my college days. I always liked that song. And then the band hit a very groovy patch that basically remained for the balance of the night. I loved the toned down, hip Railroad Blues. The funk that was there was perfect.
The second set began with Been All Around This World. It was fair, then it was back to that funky rhythm. Me & My Uncle was totally re-worked. Awesome! The Weight too was funky with the audience joining in. Then came Althea. I was not particularly looking forward to Bobby handling this song. But my goodness it was good. Then a hot jam ensued. Ratdog was definitely in the groove here. The set ended with Ashes and Glass > Stuff > Days Between > Two Djinn. This extended jam just continued the good vibes.
The encore reprised Two Djinn and then sequed back into Slip> Frank. I would have liked to have seen this show live. This is by far the best Ratdog show I have heard.
07-11-17: Mizner Amphitheatre, Boca Raton, FL
This was another nice Ratdog show, but not as hot as the night before. Rooster was very nice. The nearly 23 minute Eyes was the highlight of the night. Awesome! There was that funky feeling again in Goin’ Down the Road. The rest of the show was fine. Yes, there was Dark Star and some other stuff. This all leads me to think that Ratdog has matured into a good band. I’ll have to check out more of their recent stuff.
It seems like I have been walking around with the same tunes all week. I finally finished the rotation and am preparing Silver for the weekend. Coming off are the following:
Grateful Dead 72-08-27: Old Renaissance Faire Grounds - Veneta, OR
There are legendary shows in the band’s 30-year history. This is one such show that I have listened to many times over the years, although it has been a while. The sound on this is excellent.
The set list is nice. Sunshine Daydream is interesting in its infancy.
92-03-02: The Omni, Atlanta, GA
Another show I attended. After Brent’s death, the band changed again. There was MIDI and Vince Welnick. I don’t listen much to 1990s Dead and this is why. While this is not as bad as the ‘94 show, in hindsight the band’s sound is not what I usually think of when I think of my favorite band. To be sure, I enjoyed the show. It just doesn’t hold up well with the rest of the catalogue. No standouts, but I enjoyed Hornsby helping out.
94-03-21: Richfield Coliseum - Richfield, OH
This show is highlighted as the show from 1994 to listen to. Somewhere I read that this was the last great Dead show. Hmmm . . .
Obviously, one thing that stands out is the Lovelight –> Stella Blue –> Lovelight. Everyone talks about it. On paper (in binary?) in looks wonderful. Forgetting just what this show was when I listened to it, my thoughts were that Bobby does a poor imitation of a blues singer with Lovelight. The song seemed forced. Stella is one of my favorites. It was good until the end where Jerry moaned offkey. Then to come back to Lovelight was a nice touch, but there was something about Bobby on this night . . . it just didn’t do it for me.
Peggy-O I thought was well-played. Another thing that occurred to me was how songs mature. I really liked West L.A. Fadeawy. When this song first came out, I was not thrilled. It was okay, but nothing I ever said, “Wow, they play West L.A. tonight!” This version smoked and had a nice jam in the middle. The song improved in the eight years since I first heard it. He’s Gone including the jam coming out of it was well done, but I am a huge fan of the song to begin with, so the standard is low.
Once again, New Speedway was unrecognizable until Jerry began singing. The band’s sound is radically different than the band I grew up with. While there are moments late in the career that are nice, the MIDI sound is just not interesting to my ears. I am not a musician, but it sounds lazy to me.
Jerry Garcia Band
80-02-28: Wilkens Theatre, Kean College - Union, NJ
Robert Hunter guested for a few songs at the end of the second show. Hunter, longtime lyricist for Jerry, adds a different sound altogether.
This show is good. It’s a simple JGB band without Merl or Melvin laying in heavy keys. I like the sound of this band, even if it is not as mature as other incarnations.
83-12-04: Gym SUNY Stony Brook - Stony Brook, NY
I’ve been listening to a lot of ‘83 JGB recently. This is a short show, but my goodness it shines!
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door is up-tempo with a reggae feel, much like Dylan played it in ‘78. I really liked this version. Really, this whole set soars, particularly from Knockin’ on. A very good Mission in the Rain and Rhapsody in Red then a stellar trio of Don’t Let Go –> Deal –> Tangled Up in Blue. Awesome! It just smokes.
I was just about to type to make certain you download it, but I just found out my favorite site has just received a cease-and-desist order from Rhino Records. The Dead have outsourced their distribution to them. Not much has happened since. :( But to shut down sites sharing free music . . . errr . . . GD Productions is going to loose a lot of customers.
It looks like it will be the Archive only for a while.
I was rudely awaken about 3:00 a.m. and told to get out of town. Grrr . . .