Grateful Dead Listening Guide

Second set from 10-12 1984 - with the exception of...

2009-11-07T07:49:09.263-06:00

Second set from 10-12 1984 - with the exception of the crappy Brent tune, was the bomb. Best show of the year. Check it out on archive.net

Although I REALLY like The Grateful Dead, I can't ...

2009-11-04T14:51:22.902-06:00

Although I REALLY like The Grateful Dead, I can't imagine anyone listening to ONLY one band. I betcha' none of the guys in the band only listen to one band. Variety is the spice of life.

Love your site, man.

Good to have you here, Joe. Hope you enjoy. Ramb...

2009-11-03T21:53:24.458-06:00

Good to have you here, Joe. Hope you enjoy.

Rambler Room review on the GDLG? Maybe if an AUD turns up. :-)

@wordrpesscloakr from twitter stopping in to say h...

2009-11-03T21:08:45.066-06:00

@wordrpesscloakr from twitter stopping in to say hey. Nice site mate!

Is the photo of the Rambler Room show a portent fo...

2009-10-31T16:28:53.672-05:00

Is the photo of the Rambler Room show a portent for things to come?

"it just creeps into your head!" Andrew, you nail...

2009-10-31T10:31:24.517-05:00

"it just creeps into your head!" Andrew, you nailed it. There is certainly something about this tape in particular.

How about that Good Lovin'! One of the best on tap...

2009-10-31T10:23:14.884-05:00

How about that Good Lovin'! One of the best on tape for sure! I always thought all other versions paled to the performance on the album Bear's Choice but this one is right up there with it! I love the sound of this AUD, the highs and lows are perfect and it just creeps into your head! I think 1970 is my favorite year to listen to AUDs. They might be a little rough but the vibes just flow right through. Thank you so much for pointing me to this great show!

Arch, jeffk, Blue Heron -- Thanks for your very th...

2009-10-31T07:27:00.804-05:00

Arch, jeffk, Blue Heron -- Thanks for your very thoughtful comments. It reaffirms what I love about doing the blog in the first place.

And http://www.instapaper.com/ on the iPod Touch?! Fantastic! I'm a classic user myself. But that makes for a perfect union. Sort of the GDLG's ultimate Kindle platform.

My Twitter reset password request finally came through as mysteriously as this entire lock out debacle began. @deadlistening is back up and running.

I know that I am an apostate but I know what you m...

2009-10-29T18:56:40.023-05:00

I know that I am an apostate but I know what you mean about having to walk away sometimes. For an unstructured band, things certainly fell into a formula at times. I have over 39 years of being a fan of the dead but sometimes just wished for a two or three minute song. Most of the songs resembled salt water taffy that could be pulled into infinite space in an instant. But I sometimes wondered if the emotions the band were trying to convey were slightly canned. If they ever thought, fuck mythos for a second, I am going to sing about something that makes me genuinely happy or sad? I blogged about my dead feelings this week, if you are interested click on my name and visit "three to get ready and four to fly". I still listen to the dead for a few hours a day but can't live on a constant diet.

I came back to the Dead pretty recently, after bei...

2009-10-29T16:13:37.412-05:00

I came back to the Dead pretty recently, after being away for a long time - a decade, maybe? Your blog was instrumental returning this music to my life, so I'll give my thanks as well. Next time I'm back home, I'm digging out my old tape cases. I can't wait to see those old photocopied cassette inserts.

I've actually got a GDLG folder in my iTunes library, and I've saved all the corresponding posts to my Instapaper account. That way I can cue up a show and revisit the article while I listen, and it's all right there on my iPod. Makes long flights go by justlikethat.

You know, you've also brought me back to concert recordings in general - I've spent the last few weeks listening almost exclusively to '70s Springsteen and Van Morrison shows. So double thanks!

Noah, I have to admit that my initial reaction to...

2009-10-29T03:50:27.311-05:00

Noah,

I have to admit that my initial reaction to the title of this post was quite selfish: "Roll away? That sounds like a farewell!" But after reading further and realizing that you were still "at work" my thoughts turned to my sister who I just had the pleasure of visiting in Western North Carolina. Being nine years older and a child of the '80's, graduating high school in 1988, she was turned on to the Dead via the albums and the very small set of widely unappreciated early 80's bootlegs circulating among her friends.

I saw how this music affected my sister and I had inklings of its power from the albums I borrowed from her. "Skeleton's" of course but of much greater impact was the "Skull and Roses" album. That Bertha! And Wharf Rat! My young mind spun. And then in the summer of 1990 while I was attending camp in Northern Michigan, Brent Mydland passed. I saw one of my counselors brought to tears as we flew the flag at half mast. (How cool was that?) "Why are you crying?" A simple answer, "Brent died." Without A Net came out that fall and it literally changed my life. This was my band.

To bring it all full circle, as I was riding in my sister's car on my latest visit to NC, she put in a show from 1993 at Chapel Hill. I was a bit surprised as she normally does not have the Dead on hand anymore and as I remarked on this fact she just smiled and said she had started listening again after a long absence. Jerry was shining on this particular night and it dawned on me that my sister had been front and center for Brent's passing and the transition that followed. Brent's passing more than anything led her away from the band but the fire the band set aflame in her still burns bright. Her education of the band came mostly in the live setting. Imagine discovering Peggy-O or Let It Grow for the first time with dear friends at Pine Knob. Or letting the rapture of Terrapin lift you as you heard Jerry sing "Inspiration! Move me brightly" for the first time. Being born too late, I missed seeing the band play as my sister saw them. I saw them once: at Three Rivers in 1995. Jerry was in ill repair but the "Rain" set coming out of set break blew my mind. My nine month old niece was there. It was her second show; one more than me. I just saw her in NC. She just finished driver's ed last month. Man does time fly....

My point being, this blog has pointed the way and given me access to untold riches. Dick's Picks were my lifeblood for many years. I had very few friends to trade with and sadly, my tape collection was stolen from my car in college. My 120 tape case gone. Those cases were hard to find. Honestly, I had to special order one from my local record store. They indulged me in my special order as I had spent countless dollars on 20 packs of Memorex 100 minute tapes and bought whatever bootleg, European discs that came in. I bought a fabulous 5 disc solo Jerry box set from that store. I have never seen another copy of that box set. Boogie Records it was called. But I digress...

I admit that I am one of the few that have read the blog cover to cover. I found it by accident early this year and downloaded every show. Noah, your labors are appreciated more than you will ever know. The "anniversary" shows of note that you post on twitter are most welcome as well. I share your love of 1973 and I have found that I can now pick out a '76 show within a few bars. Amazing how the Dead's sound differs so greatly yet so subtly between years.

Thank you from a fellow Chicago Deadhead.

Cheers,

Arch

Another strikingly great '72 show. The boys were ...

2009-10-28T18:34:28.577-05:00

Another strikingly great '72 show. The boys were still on the bus, with all the attendant youthful spark, but their chops had matured tremendously. The band just crackles with energy. Great work you are doing here. Cheers.

With all due respect to the person who said there ...

2009-10-26T09:09:53.462-05:00

With all due respect to the person who said there were "great" sounding boards prior to the release of the betty boards in 87, in a way I must disagree. Yes, there were stellar and very clean board tapes out there, but when the Betty's hit..... that was and still is the pinacle of sound. The richness of the May 77 run that was captured on tape to this day is the benchmark through which all other tapes are measured. And Icepetal, i'm a huge and gracious fan of your postings. Inspirational indeed!

Don't write 1986 off completely. From that same to...

2009-10-22T21:19:21.581-05:00

Don't write 1986 off completely. From that same tour the Hampton Shows were good shows and the crowd reaction when they broke loose with "Box of Rain" still gives me goosebumps - 1st time in something like 14 years. If you haven't listened to 3/20/86 recently at least pull down the Box and see if your opinion can be changed. For me 87 and 88 in general were weaker than 86 in general although there are exceptions of course.
BTW, great work. Love the blog. It's helped me discover shows I never would have found. If you recommend it, I'll listen to it.

Ice, Thanks again for another review. I'm pushing ...

2009-10-15T23:11:30.086-05:00

Ice, Thanks again for another review. I'm pushing 40 years of Dead and I keep discovering this stuff due to your insight and archive.org. Keep it up. Ron, Chicago.

Somehow I can't recall how I stumbled onto your bl...

2009-10-15T19:00:01.462-05:00

Somehow I can't recall how I stumbled onto your blog. Regardless, it's now bookmarked. Listened to the 24th last night while doing other things...tonight it's playing again, though now it's just me, the music, and a warm woodstove on a cold October night. Thanks for being out there and sharing.

Thanks for this. I had never listened to August 2...

2009-10-14T18:06:25.974-05:00

Thanks for this. I had never listened to August 24 and 25 before, but the Charlie Miller SBDs on archive.org are remarkable. These shows may be the peak of their entire career. Dave Davis, Los Angeles

Noah: Thank you for these podcasts. Long time De...

2009-10-13T18:10:58.042-05:00

Noah:

Thank you for these podcasts. Long time Deadhead - and participant of a few ADT trees in the years past - with thousands of tapes and CDs.

But still - maybe its the context, the mix you put together - but these Jerry Band pieces are mindblowing. Utterly.

Thanks

This is one of those things that most people would...

2009-10-07T21:09:10.036-05:00

This is one of those things that most people wouldn't normally admit, but seeing as I'm among kindred spirits, here... I am definitely with you on spending a disproportionate amount of time fixated on the "space" between certain songs. Reading your (one paragraph!) description of that minute between Bird Song and Cumberland reminded me of the first time I heard the Scarlet from 8/5/74 on whatever Dick's Picks it's on... or rather, the space before Scarlet. The band's just vibing, Jer's quietly chunking away at the chords, some dude in the distance hollers "shake it, Jerry!", you can damn near hear the smokey air around the microphones, and the pure pleasure of basking in all that good energy is almost tangible -- then WHAM, Scarlet starts and the moment's over. In a way it's like everything you need to understand about a Dead show is somewhere tucked away in that moment of anticipation.

Right. Anyway, I feel you on this show. It's a great one. How's about completing the trilogy and giving some shine to 6/29 in all it's hissy, cut up glory? The Playin', that Other One, and especially that majestic space that leads into Morning Dew... phew.

Thanks yet again for a great read.

Great podcast - I keep coming back to this one. I'...

2009-10-06T23:15:45.075-05:00

Great podcast - I keep coming back to this one.
I've been going mad though scouring the internet for that full '75 show with Little Sunflower. It was really mesmerizing. It's a burning itch I can't scratch - Do you think you can point us in the right direction?

What an upgrade to my original tape! My brother c...

2009-10-06T10:00:32.149-05:00

What an upgrade to my original tape! My brother came home from freshman year in college with a box of bootlegs. While the sound was hissy, this was one of my favorite tapes.

As an inexperienced taper, this is one of the first shows that I copied -- using a dual well deck and a Maxell UL90 in 1990 (long before I purchased two single well decks, upgraded to XLII's, and learned to set levels properly).

This is very sad for me to read. I went to High sc...

2009-10-05T13:21:05.417-05:00

This is very sad for me to read. I went to High school with Gerry [ which is the correct spelling of his name, short for Gerald. ] We partied a lot together and went to concerts together. Oddly, no Dead shows together as I wasn't a fan at the time.
The last show I saw with him was Jorma Kaukonen at The Pier in Manhatten when they used to have shows there. I remember when he founded Relix. He loved science fiction books, and loved to write.
Rest in peace old friend, and we'll meet again some day. Peace, Ted M.

yes, Peter Walker is the man and still being produ...

2009-10-04T23:10:08.807-05:00

yes, Peter Walker is the man and still being productive today- qualifies for a whole show maybe?!

thanks much

Thanks Dr. B and Squash. Love that this is scratc...

2009-09-29T20:15:31.739-05:00

Thanks Dr. B and Squash. Love that this is scratching a deep itch. I'll keep producing these as quickly as I can. Weekly might be a bit of a stretch. :-)

This is fantastic again. I can't stop listening to...

2009-09-29T13:46:15.915-05:00

This is fantastic again. I can't stop listening to this podcast! You've really put your finger on a sensibility that is hard to define, and that I've been trying, myself, to crystallize -- a musical era in which the flute and vibes briefly nudge the sax and piano aside. I, myself, have approached this sensibility through Charles Lloyd on the more traditional end and later Grant Green on the funky side (check out "Cease the Bombing"). I would even put the intense hard-to-define psychedelic jazz-rock of the "Third"-era Soft Machine into the mix. However, you again have opened up all sorts of new artists for me, and for that I am deeply grateful. I share with you a love of the loose, intimate, and groovy vibe of late sixties jazz. I will continue to play this one over and over.