What does it sound like?:
This four CD set is a sampler for the mammoth eighty CD box set, which showcases one concert from each year of the band’s touring career, spanning 1966 -1995.
This package contains one song from each of the shows, all previously unreleased, plus a 1965 studio recording of Caution (Do Not Step On The Tracks).
All Dead fans will have their favourite era of shows and of course their own ideas as to what music should have been included here, but the compilers have done a good job overall.
For me, highlights include Here Comes Sunshine (from 1973), Scarlet Begonias (from 1976), a lovely version of Morning Dew (from 1987) and Ramble On Rose (from 1990).
The set concludes with a cover of Robbie Roberson’s Broken Arrow, a wistful So Many Roads and finally a mournful sounding Garcia rounds thing off with Dylan’s Visions Of Johanna.
A very informative and well put together booklet enhances this beautifully packaged set with extensive notes on the songs and shows.
What does it all *mean*?
Everyone will have their own little quibbles as to what songs were not included – no China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider for example – but overall this is a very good selection of material from the band’s early days, through to their peak years and on to the gradual dying out of the fire.
Goes well with…
This could be a good introduction for the casual fan or newcomer to the band, covering as it does their whole career. Hardcore fans will love it of course – and the download is currently a mere £13.99 on Amazon, an absolute bargain for four cds worth of this great music from one of the most important and significant American bands.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
As ever with the Grateful Dead, you’re either on the bus or off the bus!
I never thought I’d like the Dead. I found their studio albums meh (I bought the first two, more fool me). However, Saucey worked his magic and introduced me to Live At Barton Hall. After a while, I was hypnotised by its gentle undulations and managed to no longer notice the weedy vocals and the aimless wibbly guitars. I found it went well with my cardigan and slippers. It’s a long time since I had spiky hair and tight trousers.
*sigh*
This download of which you speak sounds perfect for me. Thank you, Bargepole.
We all have our own way of assuming deadheadedness. For me, as for many, it was Dark Star on Live Dead, but the “song albums” are perhaps a door more swung.
I found this at the local eel market, and I’m just about to cue it up. I’m not expecting surprises, but I’m not expecting disappointments, either. True fans will prefer the complete concerts, but for those of us with only one life to live, this comp seems like a good thing.
The thing for me, with the Dead, was to ignore the fans, ignore the massive wealth of recordings, and just pick up the stuff you like, little by little. You’re never going to get it all, which is why terminal deadheads will always be a compulsively anal and competitive community, more interested in setlists than the music. But there will be studio albums that you’ll click with, too. Maybe tig made a mistake starting at the beginning. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like American Beauty, and mid-period albums like Mars Hotel, Wake Of The Flood, and Blues For Allah all have their share of songs-to-be-dead-for. And Garcia’s solo albums from the period are beautiful, too, Dead albums in all but name.
There’ll always be those who are perfectly content, thanyouverymuch, to remain off the bus. Doesn’t matter a bit, but sneering at the Grateful Dead is as sad a waste of time as any.
This is a cracking set, Grommit. I started half way through, with the choogling funk – no, really – of Shakedown Street, followed by an absolutely beautiful Bird Song … now into an absolutely furious Let It Grow. This is why I love this band, right here. Listen to the way they’re listening!
OK, OK. I surrender. I’ve pressed the ‘order’ button.
At my local Eel Market that nice Mr Beolab let me have all 4cds for really next to nothing (I’m sure Jerry G would approve) and after two listens this really is a cracking Best Of release…
I saw the henpetsgi rubric attached to this thread on the spiffy new track feature, and legged it over here certain I was going to enjoy a signature “this is bollocks” comment from the arbiter of no taste at all. How disappointed I was to read Mr Tsgi’s glowing encomium! Is the Afterword a busted flush?
Yours Sincerely
A Reader
The Tsgi rule still works for me, I’m afraid. This is the first time I’ve used the queen’s shillings to acquire any live Dead. I’ve thrown good money away on worse things. The first track is really promising, uptempo even, then is cut short. The singing on track two makes me wince. On track three, my teeth are hurting. That isn’t singing, it’s the whining of a dentist’s drill. By track four, the structure of my middle ear is disintegrating. The singing is just awful and they hire backing vocalists who are equally awful. Track four, I’ve finally had enough…..make it stop….I smash my forehead against the pause button but there is no silence. That voice is still tunelessly circulating around my cochlea in an infinite Escher loop. It haunts my dreams. I now have permanent tinnitus.
If you are going to risk listening to live Dead, I recommend you try the longest track you can find and cross your fingers they don’t sing for long. Avoid their cover versions. Dancing In The Street is so lifeless that it belongs in a mortuary.
The amiable guitar wobbling is alright.
Stop the bus. I’m getting off.
I can only agree with you HP, this new set is marvellous. To think I used to laugh at a mate of mine who, whenever I went around his place he would be playing The GD, more the fool me.
However about 8 years ago, I had AB & WM’sD in my collection for over 30 years and loved them but that was it, after listening to the latest Dead concert my mate had done for me it suddenly clicked.
Since then I have been able to unravel each track, layer by layer and appreciate the topper most musicianship and arrangements of the GD and kicked myself for not doing so earlier.
Nice review Bargie, thanks.
As you probably know, when it comes to the Grateful Dead, I’m on the bus. I may not have descended into the desperate depths of obsessive Deadheadedness, but I’m definitely on the bus. Indeed, I’ve got a seat on the upper deck and have bought a ticket all the way to the terminus.
I ordered this 4CD set last week, and it’s still on its way to me in the post. I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s a nice idea to select one track from each of the band’s thirty years. And also, they’ve restricted Brent Mydland to only one of his wretched self-penned songs, so that’ll be easy enough to skip. Most of all, I’m keen to hear some decent live material from the two eras that are underrepresented among official Grateful Dead concert releases, namely 1982 – 1988 and 1991 – 1995. I suppose David Lemieux keeps releasing show after show from the classic 1972 -80 period because the quality of performances and recordings from those years are so high, but it’ll still be nice to hear some mid-eighties stuff which isn’t rubbish. It’s a pity that they won’t be releasing any of the shows as individual CD sets, as I reckon I’d be interested in one or two of them.
It’s gratifying to see Bargepole, Saucy and the Baron give this set the thumbs-up. I’ll return when I’ve heard it.
(but couldn’t they have squeezed in a Stella Blue, Ship of Fools, or Brokedown Palace somewhere? That would’ve got the duco01 seal of approval)
Re omitted favourites, I see there’s a Franklins Tower but no Help On The Way and Slipknot before it. That is against God and Nature, I tell you!
Re: “Franklins Tower but no Help On The Way and Slipknot before it. ”
Yes, it is rather unusual, and of course everyone loves the good old Help>Slipknot>Franklin’s triumvirate.
The only other show I can think of which has a Franklin’s Tower all on its own is Boston Music Hall, 9 June 1976 (Road Trips 4.5), in which the song appears, bizarrely, as a solitary encore.
@duco01 can you recommend a show with a particularly good H>S>F? Currently listening to Sunshine Daydream and realising that I really should expand beyond 1972… Bonus points if it also has Scarlet Begonias!
Dicks Picks 3 has a good one from the magic month of May 77 (22nd). Easily available digitally but I fear the physicals have long since gone. If 1990 isn’t too far past 1972 for you, then there is a version on Without A Net that I like (but that may be because it was my first exposure)
Thanks – v helpful! Managed to find a not-eye-watering used copy:-)
@kid-dynamite – thanks again. That Dick’s Pick’s 3 is an absolutely engrossing listen. I also got a copy of Without a Net at a bargain price. Good – very good – however it sounds almost rushed in parts, if that makes any sense.
it is a good one, isn’t it? Glad you’re enjoying it
Hi Lando – Sorry I’m a bit late in replying.
1. Kid Dynamite’s recommendation of the Pembroke Pines May 77 show is indeed a good ‘un. This show was a big favourite of Dead archivist Dick Latvala.
2. Yes, I like the Without a Net H>S>F, too. It comes from 30 March 1990.
3. Another cracking H>S>F is from the College of William & Mary gig at Williamsburg, VA on 24 September 1976. This was released as Dave’s Picks Vol. 4. You’ll probably have to stream this one, as they’re pretty much impossible to find cheaply.
3. I’ve been scratching my head to come up with a show that features H>S>F AND “Scarlet Begonias”. There aren’t a huge number, in fact, as Scarlet Begonias was normally paired with “Fire on the Mountain”, and it was difficult to fit two such monster sections into a set.
However, One show that does have H>S>F AND “Scarlet Begonias” (but without “Fire”) is 9 October 1976 in Oakland. This was released as Dick’s Picks Vol. 33. I don’t have the set, but would like it. It’s supposed to be very fine.
“Live at the Cow Palace: New Year’s Eve 1976” also has H>S>F AND “Scarlet Begonias” (but without “Fire”), but somehow this is a show that has never really grabbed me in a big way.
And finally, by absolute favourite Scarlet>Fire of all time, is from 5 February 1978 at Cedar Falls, Iowa. This was released (with the show 2 days previously in Madison) as Dick’s Picks Vol. 18. Indeed, I rate this whole set as one of the 3 greatest Dead concert releases of all time. Absolutely phenomenal.
I think one of the Fare Thee Well shows (first Chicago?) had both H>S>F and Scarlet > Fire. I’m sure they’ll be available commercially sooner or later, but the brief clips I’ve seen aren’t stunning.
Think the shows are available end of November.
Excellent reply, thanks. And recommendation of Dicks Picks 18 noted. just out of interest, what are the other 2 in your top 3? Feel free to expand, actually…
@duco01 Dick’s Picks 4 is coming up as the Fillmore for me – are you sure that’s the right one?
I’ve been looking out for vol 18 and the price never seems to fall below £30 – is that typical for the Dick’s Picks releases?
And, as said below though you may have missed it in the melee, would be interested to hear your top 5. Or indeed 10.
Hi Lando,
It’s easy to misread or mix up Dick’s Picks and Dave’s Picks!
I had to go back to my original post and see whether I’d made a mistake.
But no – I wrote DAVE’S PICKS Vol. 4 for the September 76 gig, and that’s correct.
As you say, Dick’s Picks Vol. 4 is the February 1970 set from the Fillmore East.
When I was first getting into the Dead, I read that this was a classic set, and quickly snapped it up. My view now is that it’s not at all an ideal set for someone who’s just venturing into Dead-dom. For a start, there’s a 12-minute “Drums”, AND “The Other One” starts with about a ten-minute drum solo too. So that’s pretty hard work.
The segued three-song suite of Dark Star, Other One, and Lovelight goes on for NINETY minutes. Now, that’s fine for the hardcore Heads, but it could be enough to put off normal sane human beings. So my recommendation as regards Dick’s Picks Vol. 4 is “approach with caution”.
Luckily, there is a brand new inexpensive semi-official Grateful Dead release out, and it’s from the 1976 vintage.
It’s “San Francisco 1976” – an FM radio broadcast from the Orpheum Theatre from 18 July of that year. The band’s sound is typical of 1976: slow, relaxed, extremely mellow – nothing like the famous spring 1977 shows that came only 9 months later.
I’ve just received the set and listened to the first CD. Great setlist! A sedate “Row Jimmy”, a sprightly Mississippi Half Step, and a nice standalone “Scarlet begonias” that goes wandering off somewhere for a few minutes in the middle.
I haven’t heard the second set yet, but it’s rated by hardcore Heads as one of the very best of the year.
Price from the tax-dodgers: less than a tenner. Invest immediately!
any idea why the Dicks Picks seem to be available through the usual digital outlets and Dave’s Picks aren’t?
The CDs of Dick’s Picks are being re-released gradually over the years by Real Gone Music. The prices go up and down a bit, but these sets are never super-bargains. The 6CD sets, like Volume 29, are always really pricey.
Dick’s Picks are also being released on vinyl – a popular alternative among the well-heeled Deadheads on the various online forums.
Dave’s Picks are a different kettle of fish. These are strictly limited editions of 10,000 – 16,500 copies released through the Grateful Dead site only. Most of them are bought on an annual subscription, and the few that remain sell out immediately upon release (i.e. within 24 hours). They then command silly prices on eBay.
My recommendation as regards Dave’s Picks is: do what I do – subscribe.
1. sign up for the newsletter from the GD site.
2. sometime in the next couple of weeks, you’ll get a mail with information about the 2016 subcription. This will be for 4 x 3CD sets, plus a subscribers-only bonus disc. The cost for the 13 discs of the annual subscription is very reasonable, especially compared with what you’d have to pay to buy them separately.
3. Then just sit back and – wahey! – every 3 months, a wonderful bundle of joy will come through your letterbox in the form of a top-notch Grateful Dead show. Hurrah! I’ve subscribed for the past two years, and will be doing so again. If you’re a fan of the band, it’s definitely the best deal out there.
Hmm. Potential Christmas present to myself here…
signed up
Good move, Mr Dynamite. The announcement of the Dave’s Picks subscription should be coming fairly soon.
When they announce the subscription, they normally also say what the first Pick of the year (i.e. DaP 17, released in February) will be.
David Lemieux is a crafty bugger. Mark my words, he will ensure that the first pick of 2016 will be a killer show from a classic year, meaning that all the Heads will immediately start foaming at the mouth, reach for their credit cards and subscribe.
Releases that are more left-field choices and not nailed-on monster shows tend to be kept for the second and third Picks of the year.
D’oh!
Dick’s Picks, Dave’s Picks, the Rhino released like Sunshine Daydream and the semi-official ones as above. How is the Afterworder about town to keep track of all this?
Of course, it’s not just the releases you mention, Lando, you’ve also got the Road Trips series (17 albums) and the Download series as well. Keeping track of GD releases is nothing like following any other band I know. An excellent site for all the details presented in a logical, informative way is Dead Disc. For example, this page presents all the releases in chronological order – very useful when building a collection.
http://www.deaddisc.com/GDFD_Dead_By_Date.htm
You’ll see that tons of stuff has been released from 1972, 73 and 77, when the Dead were great, and very little from 1983, 86 and 94, when the band were … not so great.
I watched the Bob Weir documentary recently on Netflix. (yay Netflix!) I found it an excellent watch, dealing as it did with the ’60s counterculture and the birth and growth of the band.
Watching them live on the documentary made a difference as I found the listening experience much more enjoyable as I could more easily grasp what was going on among the band members.
I still think ‘Touch of Grey’ is a magnificent single; one of the best of the ’80s by any artist.
One of our few agreements there, Nessie.
Try and keep these to a minimum, Shipman.
I concur re Touch of Grey – a masterpiece.
4cd set just ordered – £18 from the Tax dodgers site – a bargain.
I was just wondering … has any Afterworder actually placed an order for the full 80CD Mammoth full shows version of “Thirty Trips Around the Sun” (the release of which has been delayed)?
Over on the Steve Hoffman forum, there are of course hundreds of really hardcore Deadheads who’ve forked out the $700 for the full Monty, the Grande Bouffe.
Waiting for your review before committing.
Oh aye, that and the 18 CD Dylan set. I wish or then again maybe not.
Isn’t that 18 CD set an edited highlights version?
I have fallen sleep at not one but two Grateful Dead concerts (ok, weed & wine may well have been on the pre-concert menu).
Kind of sums up my overall feelings about The Dead. So much magnificence – American Beauty, Blues for Allah, Ship of Fools, Dark Star et al. Play any of Dave or indeed Dick’s Picks and somewhere in the middle of all that musical meandering will be moments of stellar beauty.
But, Jesus, there are hours/days/weeks of endless tedium, reedy voices, pointless solos, self-indulgent nonsense.
God Bless The Dead And All Who Sail(ed) in Her.
well that’s the drugs for ya !
Attention all Afterword Grateful Dead fans!
Here’s some hot GD news, just announced within the past hour or so.
The details of Dave’s Picks Vol. 16 have been unveiled, and it’s the Springfield, Mass. show from 28 March 1973.
Full details here:
http://www.dead.net/store/live-shows/dicks-picks/daves-picks-volume-16?intcmp=home/carousel1
I reckon this looks like a pretty tasty pick:
Disc 1
1. Cumberland Blues [6:08]
2. Here Comes Sunshine [8:47]
3. Mexicali Blues [3:42]
4. Wave That Flag [5:39]
5. Beat It On Down The Line [3:25]
6. Loser [7:09]
7. Jack Straw [4:59]
8. Box Of Rain [4:57]
9. They Love Each Other [6:03]
10. El Paso [4:50]
11. Row Jimmy [8:41]
12. Around And Around [5:24]
13. Brown-Eyed Women [5:13]
Disc 2
1. You Ain’t Woman Enough [5:17]
2. Looks Like Rain [7:36]
3. China Cat Sunflower> [8:54]
4. I Know You Rider [5:19]
5. Promised Land [3:12]
6. Loose Lucy [7:04]
7. Me And My Uncle [4:12]
8. Don’t Ease Me In [3:23]
9. The Race Is On [3:13]
10. Stella Blue [7:34]
11. Big River [4:38]
12. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo [7:51]
Disc 3
1. Weather Report Suite Prelude> [3:09]
2. Dark Star> [31:46]
3. Eyes Of The World> [12:51]
4. Playing In The Band [15:27]
5. Johnny B. Goode [3:51]
That’s 30 songs – a really long show, even by GD standards.
That one-hour triple-decker sandwich of Dark Star>Eyes>Playing at the end looks pretty colossal. On the promo video, archivist Dave Lemieux describes the 30-minute “Dark Star” as ‘atonal’. Hmmm … I sense some cosmic heaviosity ahead.
As regards the earlier tracks, I’m always up for a “Here Comes Sunshine” from 1973. And there’s an embryonic “U.S. Blues” in the form of “Wave That Flag”. And Phil Lesh gets a rare vocal outing with “Box of Rain”.
Anyway, if you plan to snap this up, then it’s a good idea to pre-order soon. These Dave’s Picks sets always sell out within a few days, and some of them have even sold out within 24 hours.
Dave’s 16th Pick in flac (natch) now available at an Eel Market near you…
I’m sure I speak for all Afterword Deadheads in wishing Phil Lesh well in the light of his cancer diagnosis.
30 Days of the Dead begins today – a free unreleased track each day in November
http://www.dead.net/30daysofdead
The Dave’s Picks subscription has just been announced – a bargain at $99.98 for 13 CDs.
http://www.dead.net/store/new/daves-picks-2016-subscription?intcmp=home/carousel3
Also, advance notice has been given of the show chosen for Dave’s Picks 17 – it’s 19 July 1974 at Selland Arena, Fresno, CA.
http://www.dead.net/almanac?cmpid=dn/2015November3/AlmanacIsHere-main-image-1&eml=2015November3/2862202/6131962&etsubid=16415515
Signed up. I think it’s time to give up my emusic sub, which just about balances it over the year. apart from the no doubt eye-watering customs duty, which I am choosing not to think about just now…
I’ve never paid any customs duty on any of the standard CD releases sent from the US by the GD people. In my experience, Swedish customs always lets a small CD package through with no duty to be paid.
The only time I had to pay duty was for the 14CD “May 77” box set which came in a sumptuous, lavishly decorated package.
I can but hope. Thanks for the heads-up on this, by the way!
Yours for a mere £14.99 from Amazon at the moment – a real bargain!