Grateful Dead live, Dick's Picks etc - S&D

From latest Jerry Garcia Band collection: gets a little lost at the very end, but most of this is pretty cool:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/hear-jerry-garcia-bands-jubliant-live-mighty-high-from-1976-w431440 As Tyler and I were talking about here in April, Keith and Donna and Garcia seem refreshed by getting away from the Dead.

some pretty great garcia/saunders recordings (previously uncirculating i think) popped up this week.
www.jambase.com/article/rare-jerry-garcia-merl-saunders-soundboards-surface

I got to see the JGB in the 90s, and I found it to be a much better experience than seeing the Dead around the same time. No Bobby tunes :)

yeah i never saw him w/o the dead, and kind of regret it

Seemed much more engaged to me generally, but not sure my memory is to be trusted too well in regards to the early 90s. Still, it was certainly a much more reliably enjoyable experience than the Dead shows I saw then, feel lucky I got to go.

man I missed the announce on that hawaii set and it's gone. I also did the math on what they make from 16,500 copies at 28.98 apiece, I knew these guys were cleaning up but man. production costs on these don't even begin to chip into the profits

It was shared on Demonoid so may still be on there.

Well brothers & sisters--who'm I kidding---well brothers, bout that tyme again---for:
Announcing Dave's Picks Volume 20
Who's ready for a little early 80's Grateful Dead? For our last installment of the 2016 Dave's Picks series we are heeding that call with Boulder, CO, December 9, 1981. The last show of a 10-day run, Dave's Picks Volume 20 finds the band cranking out back-to-back high-energy sets; the first filled with superior Jerry moments ("Friend Of The Devil," "Bird Song") and a very rare 1-2 punch of Bobby songs ("Cassidy," "Looks Like Rain"). The second is a powerhouse of tight innovation with a nearly perfect "Scarlet>Fire," Brent's organs taking "Estimated" to an otherworldly level, and a double encore fit for "rock 'n' roll excellence."

And if that wasn't enticing enough, this one is chock full of classic covers - "Mama Tried," "Little Red Rooster," "Around and Around," "Good Lovin'," and potentially the very best version of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" that the Dead ever did do.

Taken from 7" reel-to-reel master tapes, Dave's Picks Volume 20 offers up top-notch sound quality and a robustness that was unusual for the tape recordings at this time. As always, it has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman and it is limited to 16,500 individually numbered copies.

Grab a copy while you can.

(And you'll also wanna stay tuned because we'll have breaking news on the Dave's Picks 2017 subscription real soon!)
more info, listening party etc.:
http://view.em-dead.net/?qs=31cd2c83f85a6878a15c60eb1e7f0585905db735736a0468dfda4814daf72fee85922dc3917f55ecceeb89d8f4784ec7a1184e92bac2089eff5523f61d4c7bf7

http://www.dead.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/product-main/dp20_0.jpg?1477522695

potentially the very best version of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
haha hmmm

i've listened to the audience tape of this one, though, it's pretty good as far as early 80s dead goes!

They're slowly giving it to all the complainers who criticized the series as being too heavy on the 70s

Like, I get it, guys, you were there, but that alone doesn't make it a great show

Would subscribe to a '70s only' Dave's Picks series

Classifying any "Little Red Rooster as classic is a little rich for my blood. Automatic skip though it is more enjoyable if you can actually see Bobby's short shorts, tank top, and pink guitar.

http://cdn.rhinofy.com/emailcms/files/styles/top/public/2016-11/30-days-of-dead-2016-580.jpg?itok=bKx23qC8

30 DAYS OF DEAD
30 DAYS OF DEAD

It's that time of year again! We're issuing miracles on the daily.

Each day in November we will be giving away a high-quality 320Kbps MP3 download. That's 30 days of unreleased Grateful Dead tracks from the vault, selected by Dead archivist and producer David Lemieux! Intrigued? We're also going to put your knowledge to the test and give you the chance to win a pack of Grateful Dead Holiday Cards.

Most of you know the drill by now, but for those, that don't, here's the deal:

You know your Ables from your Bakers from your C's, but can your finely tuned ears differentiate the cosmic "comeback" tour from a spacey 70's show? Each day we'll post a free download from one of the Dead's coveted shows. Will it be from that magical night at Madison Square Garden in '93 or from way back when they were just starting to warm it up at Winterland? Is that Pigpen's harmonica we hear? Brent on keys? Step right up and try your hand all November long and win a prize while you're at it.

Join us for 30 Days of Dead » http://www.dead.net/30daysofdead?cmpid=dn/2016November1/-JoinUsFor30Days-main-more-1&eml=2016November1/3786373/6131962&etsubid=33554028

After realizing I'd been listening to the Dead continuously for a month, I was curious: what would be the track(s) you would play for people when they asked you 'why the hell do you spend so much time listening to this band? What is the deal?'

My picks would be:

8/6/74 Eyes
2/22/69 DS
8/6/71 Handle

Tracks or continuous sequences, so that I'm not saying to people 'you have to listen to all four nights from Feb-March 1969 Fillmore' which are obviously five-star shows in their entirety aside from Hey Jude

8/6/74 Eyes

this is a good choice. DP31 is a favorite Pick almost for this reason alone. The whole 4th disc, really...

One From The Vault Help/Slip/Frank. Bill Graham introduces each member and they go to town. Tight, great improv, no wanking.

friend of the devil from american beauty
black peter from workingman's dead
dark star from two from the vault

8/27/72 Bird Song

Feel like Europe '72 / American Beauty were the closest they ever came to selections of strong, concise songs that non-jam folks might like; otherwise, you could just put on some '73 Playing in the Band or '77 Scarlet-Fire or w/e and it would be self-explanatory.

I spent a lot of wasted hours trying to curate little selections to answer "why the hell do you spend so much time listening to this band? What is the deal?" If you're not already hooked by the long improv stuff, then it's kinda tough to find bits here and there, trying to force-feed GD.

selections of strong, concise songs that non-jam folks might like

might've linked to this previously, but this collection scratches that itch, too. also weir-free: http://saveyourface.posthaven.com/save-your-face-garcia-songs-live-1972-1974

I mean I feel like whole shows are the only real way in, but...

Dark Star 12-6-73
Help/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower 5-22-77
Me & My Uncle 7-18-72
and a '69 St. Stephen but I can't settle on one

Help/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower 5-22-77

as i said on some other dead thread this was my gateway. i was listening to the pembroke pines show and was like "this is nice" and somewhere in the center of this i was like "holy shit omg i get it"

honestly I'd make a case for a lot of '73 country-rock jams, because they are SO good but also have that fried psych feel still and it suggests the mix of stuff that makes the Dead special. Bertha, Tennessee Jed, Mama Tried, the whole country dead when they were really on is pretty persuasive

xp yeah the Pembroke Pines show is one that sneaks up on you. had the same experience with it in a car, going from "cool" to "man they're really on tonight"

yeah, the pleasure in exploring post-74 shows for me is getting to those moments when you realize they aren't just coasting -- usually something to do with Garcia leaning into a song, and the rest of the band suddenly snapping into focus.

and was like "this is nice" and somewhere in the center of this i was like "holy shit omg i get it"

This applies to any of the crazy Phil-heavy '77 mixes; I can literally still remember where I was the first time I heard 5/8/77 SBD.

Yesssss that's a pretty great selection for less long-winded side of GD, tylerw.

Late 1969 through 1975 were clearly Garcia’s songwriting flood years – an amazing catalog of songs written with Robert Hunter, the notable status of which, as an oeuvre, is perhaps partly obscured by both by the relative marginality of the studio albums on which they appear and the dispersion of these songs, in live performance, among both country and western covers and expanses of improvisational playing.

OTM.

I've muttered this before here and there (maybe on this thread?) but oddly enough though I don't really have much of a feel for the band it's Hunter who I enjoy the most as a linchpin. I always find his role, especially as a non-performer, both fascinating and essential -- however you want to phrase his sensibility (curdled, wry, cynical, or maybe just simply honest), it gives the band something almost uniquely its own. And given that I pretty much am all about zoned instrumental improvisation or the like in terms of a lot of my listening, and generally (never fully) am not a listen-for-the-lyrics person, the fact that for me re the Dead this breakdown is totally flipped is something I've never been able to put my finger on in terms of any sort of rationale. But I appreciate that I may never exactly know in the end, and am quite fine with it.

yeah that is otm -- it's sort of surprising that more bands don't employ a lyricist, but I guess Hunter was unique in that he didn't really have performing aspirations there during the Dead's prime years. they discuss it in interviews, but I've always kinda wanted to hear a detailed progression of how hunter presented a song to Garcia and then follow along as Garcia edits it into the song we all know. maybe it's in some doc?

Dunno but I was just reminded of this piece from Hunter from 1996, mostly discussing "Franklin's Tower":

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/GDead/agdl/fauthrep.html

(The fact that said piece is from a UC Santa Cruz site reminds me that a visit to the library is fun if you get the chance -- like all such archives, the actual GD collection is functionally packed away in the building for research use, but they rotate the main exhibition area.)

ha, that piece is good, i imagine some of hunter's explanations there mirror convos he had with garcia about the song.

I found list of top jam segments to be really handy, it's worth a read

for me it was china cat on europe 72 which caught my ears, then i finally 'got' it listening to dark star off live/dead

i'm hooked tho. i feel like playing in the band from veneta would be a good intro

that one recently converted my older brother (who liked the Dead previously but didn't LIKE them).

also sugaree from 5/22/77 is amazing, could listen to the second instrumental break all day

Veneta is another excellent choice. My favorite Dark Star definitely

I'm way, way into the most recent Dave's Pick (Vol 20, Dec 81), and I'm not even a big Brent guy. Disc 2 on this thing is amazing

i ended up listening to an 83 show due to a lauded sugaree. not half bad honestly! i'll have to dive into more 80s

yeah man some china cats are good entrypoints actually. don't really have a favorite, but I know that when I was first getting into live dead, this was a tune that routinely made me go "whoa they're really goin' in here"

they sweetened up the vocals on europe 72 so that's a good entry although the jams are better on others. i feel often it's the first one to make you go 'whoa' that remains the 'standard' to you

was listening to a pauline oliveros interview today from 1985 and she talks about going to see the Dead the night before, how sick their sound system was. can't believe they didn't invite her onstage to jam on accordion for Space.

the Europe 72 "He's Gone" is fucking aces imo

Listening to Rare Cuts and Oddities 1966: fast tight, Thee Sir Pigpen Quintet mostly, with Garcia singing looser than usual on very tight fast "Promised Land" full-group-throated vox on "Good Lovin", stompin' Highway 61/Blonde On outtake-type punky "Cream Puff War", with VU/TVesque guitar climax--ready for CBGB!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ztvlU0mBow

(now Dupree pitching woo slowly etc.)

"Put your arms around me like a circle 'round the sun..."

Got the ripple already

Dammit Garcia is already a past master ov all styles

And he hasn't even gotten weird yet

i feel like playing in the band from veneta would be a good intro

Damn, I'd forgotten how good that is - thanks for the reminder