• https://www.dead.net/features/blair-jackson/blair-s-golden-road-blog-after-brent
    Blair’s Golden Road Blog - After Brent

    I’m generalizing somewhat, but it seems as though the Dead Heads who have chimed in here on various topics favor one (or more) of five eras of Grateful Dead music: the primal psychedelic beast of ’68-’69; the ’72-’74 group with Keith and Donna, pre-hiatus; the same group, with Mickey added, in ’77-’78; the early Brent years from ’80-’85; and the post Jerry coma years from ’88-’90. (Yes, I know there are many who love all the years I didn’t mention—including me! Just go with my premise, please.)

    But you hear very little love or even much respect for the post-Brent years, especially once Bruce Hornsby is out of the picture in mid-’92. There are, of course, multiple reasons for this.

    Many Dead Heads never warmed up to Brent’s replacement, Vince Welnick (just as thousands of mostly older Heads never warmed up to Brent during his 11-year stint with the band). Vince had a lot of things going against him when he joined the group. He was banned from playing B-3 (like Brent) or an acoustic grand piano (like Keith), and was instead saddled with a rather harsh electronic keyboard with sounds pre-programmed for him by the band’s resident MIDI whiz, Bob Bralove. A lot of the timbres that were chosen for him were, frankly, cheesy-sounding—it was a couple of years before he had a decent B-3 sound in his arsenal (and it was never as full and rich as real B-3).

    Though an excellent technical player, he did not have a background as a soloist particularly, and since his younger days had not played in a band that actually jammed. He turned some people off by consistently using his MIDI saxophone sound on the jam after “Estimated Prophet” (which he had learned, he admitted, from the album version of the song—sacrilege!— featuring Tom Scott), tossing bird effects into “Birdsong” and occasionally overdoing the atmospheric textures on “Stella Blue” and other ballads. His first songwriting contribution, “Way to Go Home,” was accepted by many at first, but then lost its luster to some when it became one of the most common songs the Dead played and appeared exclusively in second sets. “Samba in the Rain” was even less popular.

    I can’t argue with any of those points, yet my experience of Vince was almost entirely positive. I loved his upbeat onstage demeanor (especially compared to Brent, who was often so dark and surly towards the end). Some of the new colors he brought to the group’s sound were cool and imaginative. I dug his choice of cover tunes—“Baba O’Riley,” “It’s All Too Much”—and wish he’d gotten to sing more. As time went on, he played better and chose more appropriate sounds. I liked his harmony singing. I am not a Vince detractor at all. On a personal level, I had the opportunity to interview him a few times (during his Dead years and after) and I found him to be bright and friendly; a really good guy.

    And there was plenty of other stuff going on in the Grateful Dead besides Vince from ’92-’95 that was disturbing/dismaying. A few of the other band members’ new song contributions were greeted with indifference and hostility by some. (As usual, it’s all just personal taste. I loved “Corrinna” and “If the Shoe Fits.” So sue me.) Poor Vince’s ascension also coincided with Garcia’s decline. The whole band tried so hard during ’94 and ’95 to make up for Garcia’s lapses, some of which were drug-related but also affected by his obvious physical deterioration. The lack of precision in his playing was partly from losing feeling in his fingers due to his ongoing struggle with diabetes. His heart disease contributed to his brain not getting enough oxygen. You know the whole grim story.

    But through it all, the band gamely persevered and often rose to amazing heights. A show in which Garcia seemed spaced and/or distracted for long stretches might have an incredible “Wharf Rat” or a killer “Scarlet-Fire.” There were beautiful and moving versions of late-period gems such as “Lazy River Road,” “So Many Roads” and “Days Between.” Sometimes the chemistry and interaction among everyone except Jerry was enough to elevate a show. Remember that period when a bunch of the band members got into yoga and suddenly seemed to connect in special ways?

    It was also a period when thousands upon thousands of new Dead Heads fell in love with the band for many of the same reasons us older fans did. So, we can sit here and be all critical and nitpicky (for good reason!), but it obviously still worked on some level; that essential Grateful Dead X-factor still had the power to reel in newbies until the bitter end—and to occasionally satiate old-timers like yours truly, too.

    Two of the last three shows I saw—at Shoreline Amphitheatre in early June ’95—left me feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future of the band. Even with all the horror stories emanating from the road on that grisly, nightmarish summer of ’95 jaunt (the “Death Tour” we called it, even before Jerry died), when word came down that Jerry had gone into rehab shortly after the final show in Chicago, I figured the next Grateful Dead renaissance was right around the corner. (Believe it or not, I never had that feeling of impending doom that so many of you did in ’94-’95. I’ve always been an optimist to a fault.) Alas, it was not to be.

    Tell us about some of your experiences of the post-Brent era. I’d love to hear about the shows that you enjoyed and that you think we should check out (Boston Garden 10/1/94 is loved by many, for instance, as are the two Salt Lake City ’95 shows and various Las Vegas shows from the ’90s). And if you hated everything post-Brent, tell us why. Would you buy CDs of a ’94 or ’95 show, or should David Lemieux stick to earlier years? How do you feel about the few Dick’s Picks and Road Trips releases that have come from the final era?

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    Daz
    4 years 2 months ago
    Post Brent

    The last few months I have purchased the Saint of Circumstance 6/17/91 (would have acquired the box if finances allowed) and the Ready or Not release. Both are my first post-Brent acquisitions. Both are a total delight. I've now been hitting up post-Brent online stuff. Wow. All the years I simply didn't bother, contempt without any investigation, were a waste. As with all line-ups everyone does their job spectacularly. Due to my age I come into the Dead's music with Brent in the hot seat. It took a while for me to even warm to Keith when I went backwards. Nowadays I'm all over any era, enjoying the differences and forever grateful to each of the musicians who participated. In fact, with so much early Dead already released a few later gigs would be great. Perhaps someone might have a word with David... more later gigs and a few earlier Brent era releases wouldn't go amiss.

  • Frank Barton
    5 years 9 months ago
    ATL
    3/30/94. Final Dark Star. Solid show, top to bottom. Seattle 95. Buffalo 6/13/93.
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    LongGoneDaddy
    10 years 5 months ago
    lights
    the best thing about Corrina where the awesome purple lights that accompanied the song. Musically though, it was lukewarm, unless you were a huge Bobby "lost sailor" person...
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I’m generalizing somewhat, but it seems as though the Dead Heads who have chimed in here on various topics favor one (or more) of five eras of Grateful Dead music: the primal psychedelic beast of ’68-’69; the ’72-’74 group with Keith and Donna, pre-hiatus; the same group, with Mickey added, in ’77-’78; the early Brent years from ’80-’85; and the post Jerry coma years from ’88-’90. (Yes, I know there are many who love all the years I didn’t mention—including me! Just go with my premise, please.)

But you hear very little love or even much respect for the post-Brent years, especially once Bruce Hornsby is out of the picture in mid-’92. There are, of course, multiple reasons for this.

Many Dead Heads never warmed up to Brent’s replacement, Vince Welnick (just as thousands of mostly older Heads never warmed up to Brent during his 11-year stint with the band). Vince had a lot of things going against him when he joined the group. He was banned from playing B-3 (like Brent) or an acoustic grand piano (like Keith), and was instead saddled with a rather harsh electronic keyboard with sounds pre-programmed for him by the band’s resident MIDI whiz, Bob Bralove. A lot of the timbres that were chosen for him were, frankly, cheesy-sounding—it was a couple of years before he had a decent B-3 sound in his arsenal (and it was never as full and rich as real B-3).

Though an excellent technical player, he did not have a background as a soloist particularly, and since his younger days had not played in a band that actually jammed. He turned some people off by consistently using his MIDI saxophone sound on the jam after “Estimated Prophet” (which he had learned, he admitted, from the album version of the song—sacrilege!— featuring Tom Scott), tossing bird effects into “Birdsong” and occasionally overdoing the atmospheric textures on “Stella Blue” and other ballads. His first songwriting contribution, “Way to Go Home,” was accepted by many at first, but then lost its luster to some when it became one of the most common songs the Dead played and appeared exclusively in second sets. “Samba in the Rain” was even less popular.

I can’t argue with any of those points, yet my experience of Vince was almost entirely positive. I loved his upbeat onstage demeanor (especially compared to Brent, who was often so dark and surly towards the end). Some of the new colors he brought to the group’s sound were cool and imaginative. I dug his choice of cover tunes—“Baba O’Riley,” “It’s All Too Much”—and wish he’d gotten to sing more. As time went on, he played better and chose more appropriate sounds. I liked his harmony singing. I am not a Vince detractor at all. On a personal level, I had the opportunity to interview him a few times (during his Dead years and after) and I found him to be bright and friendly; a really good guy.

And there was plenty of other stuff going on in the Grateful Dead besides Vince from ’92-’95 that was disturbing/dismaying. A few of the other band members’ new song contributions were greeted with indifference and hostility by some. (As usual, it’s all just personal taste. I loved “Corrinna” and “If the Shoe Fits.” So sue me.) Poor Vince’s ascension also coincided with Garcia’s decline. The whole band tried so hard during ’94 and ’95 to make up for Garcia’s lapses, some of which were drug-related but also affected by his obvious physical deterioration. The lack of precision in his playing was partly from losing feeling in his fingers due to his ongoing struggle with diabetes. His heart disease contributed to his brain not getting enough oxygen. You know the whole grim story.

But through it all, the band gamely persevered and often rose to amazing heights. A show in which Garcia seemed spaced and/or distracted for long stretches might have an incredible “Wharf Rat” or a killer “Scarlet-Fire.” There were beautiful and moving versions of late-period gems such as “Lazy River Road,” “So Many Roads” and “Days Between.” Sometimes the chemistry and interaction among everyone except Jerry was enough to elevate a show. Remember that period when a bunch of the band members got into yoga and suddenly seemed to connect in special ways?

It was also a period when thousands upon thousands of new Dead Heads fell in love with the band for many of the same reasons us older fans did. So, we can sit here and be all critical and nitpicky (for good reason!), but it obviously still worked on some level; that essential Grateful Dead X-factor still had the power to reel in newbies until the bitter end—and to occasionally satiate old-timers like yours truly, too.

Two of the last three shows I saw—at Shoreline Amphitheatre in early June ’95—left me feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future of the band. Even with all the horror stories emanating from the road on that grisly, nightmarish summer of ’95 jaunt (the “Death Tour” we called it, even before Jerry died), when word came down that Jerry had gone into rehab shortly after the final show in Chicago, I figured the next Grateful Dead renaissance was right around the corner. (Believe it or not, I never had that feeling of impending doom that so many of you did in ’94-’95. I’ve always been an optimist to a fault.) Alas, it was not to be.

Tell us about some of your experiences of the post-Brent era. I’d love to hear about the shows that you enjoyed and that you think we should check out (Boston Garden 10/1/94 is loved by many, for instance, as are the two Salt Lake City ’95 shows and various Las Vegas shows from the ’90s). And if you hated everything post-Brent, tell us why. Would you buy CDs of a ’94 or ’95 show, or should David Lemieux stick to earlier years? How do you feel about the few Dick’s Picks and Road Trips releases that have come from the final era?

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I’m generalizing somewhat, but it seems as though the Dead Heads who have chimed in here on various topics favor one (or more) of five eras of Grateful Dead music: the primal psychedelic beast of ’68-’69; the ’72-’74 group with Keith and Donna, pre-hiatus; the same group, with Mickey added, in ’77-’78; the early Brent years from ’80-’85; and the post Jerry coma years from ’88-’90. (Yes, I know there are many who love all the years I didn’t mention—including me! Just go with my premise, please.)

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As I mentioned in my post to this article, I enjoyed shows with Vince very much, and more so with Brent. I heard music of absolutely transcendent quality, but it pales before the 68-74 and 77 Dead. I'm honestly not knocking the 80's and 90's - those were some of the best times of my life, and I'll always treasure them.
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Marye, I *think* the show where Bob sings Take Me To The River was a show by "The Valentines" on, of course, Feb. 14 of some year. David Gans played it on GD Hour a long time ago. I could be way wrong on this, but that is what my memory is telling me. :-) I believe The Valentines were a precursor to Ratdog, and some of the players were the same. I wouldn't bet money on any of this, though...

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I saw Bob do that at least twice in that era ~ once w/ Wasserman opening for Jerry at Merriweather '89, and possibly again a couple years later when he co-headlined there with Hot Tuna. Those '89 acoustic opening sets were really nice, some other songs I recall are Twilight Time, Artificial Flowers (what a goofy song, which he definitely played again a couple years later), Victim Or the Crime, Heaven Help, and ~ especially ~ Looks Like Rain.
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Blair, those of us working on the 1995 Summer tour called it "The Tour From Hell" not "The Death Tour." It truly was The Tour From Hell...People dying in the parking lots from over doses, the destruction of Deer Creek and the very real death threat against Jerry at Deer Creek (the show went on after the police and FBI informed the promoters and band of what they called a very credible death threat, and Jerry decided to go on although the house lights were on and down in front of the stage was lined with plain clothes and uniformed police and us facing the audience and watching...) The collapse of a balcony at a camp ground "near" the Riverport concert (actually over 20 miles away!) It was a very depressing concert tour and truly was from hell...
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My fave period is most definitely the 68-69 psychedelic snarling beast.Having said that, I saw the boys numerous times in the 90s right up til the end and they always brought it in concert. However, I draw a disinction between attending live shows and recordings of those shows. Being there in person is such a more intense in-your-face experience than listening to a disc of the same show. And thus, even though I always enjoyed my post-Brent shows, discs from the 90s are my least favorite. The band had - forgive my crudeness here - largely shot their load by then and frequently sounded tired, uninspired and going through the motions. Hey, they'd been doing it for three decades and Jerry's substance-abuse health problems didn't help matters. Furthur, on the other hand, sounds very rejuvinated.
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4/1/95: The Pyramid, Memphis6/21/95: The Knick, Albany 6/30/95: Three Rivers, Pittsburgh 7/6/95: Riverport, Maryland Heights (Mo.) Vince sounds fine to me on these songs. Wish they'd had the time to round this one out.
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My 1st show was 7-8-70, and I saw the boys all the way through & enjoyed every moment. Post-Brent, I took my girls, ages 8 & 10, to the Pine Knob shows June 19th & 20th. Both nights were much fun, weather was great and the playing was so wonderful; seemed the band was a cohesive group. Vince & Bruce worked well together although Vince kinda stayed back some, but really enjoyable. The highlight for me was the 2nd night, 2nd set starting with Throwin' Stones with the segue into a hot Iko Iko, then a sharp turn into the best Watchtower I ever heard live, or even on recording. The reprise into Throwin' to finish up made it a great finish. Had to keep swattin' some younger Heads away from my totally cute 10 year old daughter, although she was digging the attention. Peace, Steve
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An Oakland show in 1992. Musically is was probably the worst show i saw (dating back to 1972) but, like every show i attended, the overall experience of being at a Grateful Dead concert was great! The Dick's Pick from 92 (Oakland) has some very nice parts, especially the reflective Playing in the Band. The Dark Star is one in name only and singing only the second verse seems out of place (i guess they did the first verse the night before). I do like the added material from the next night. I actually listen to this CD often. The Sacramento 93 irritates me as the drums/space was left off and totally disrupts the aftermath of a powerful Playing in the Band (quite different that the Oakland 92 release). Other than that, I think the show is quite good. The glue remenents on Crazy Fingers renders that song unplayable. I would purchase some music form the 94 95 era. Since you are asking, i'd prefer more of the "newer" tunes and have it be a complation that was designed to mirror a concert (first disk set one...second and third disks set two). Whatever the powers that be decide is good enough to release is good enough for me. For the record, my 5 favorite years are (in order) 72, 70, 69, 77 and 89 Thanks for asking for opinions, Blair. You all keep up the great work! Many of us do appreciate it!!
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A trademark of the 90's shows is the evolution of the Space Jam. The Drums portion is a trip through the sounds of the world- One night could feel like you're on a safari in Africa, and the next night could seem like a journey through the Orient. And then Space could be Jazz Fusion, or perhaps a delicate floating pulse, hauntingly beautiful. I read once a review of the Spring of 94, that described Drums and Space as the most consistently innovative part of a show. That about seems to sum it up.
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For a long time my attitude was complilations or "best of the run" approaches were just fine. But I've changed my tune. Just release a good show. There are a ton from '92 until the end, many have been listed here. There are plenty that are good enough to have at least a chunk of the first set and all of the second included. If you want to cut out Way to Go Home or a botched first set tune I perhaps live with it. But that's as far as it should go. As the previous poster mentions, it's especially critical for the late period to have a flow going into drums and space and back out. The MSG 90 Road Trips - nice try but it doesn't really work for me. Just pick one of the dates and put that show out, or put it all out as a box. Anyone with iTunes can make their own playlists from their own collection. I'm not spending any more money on the company's effort to create a playlist they think I might like. For better or worse part of what made a year like '94 was the unpredictable and erratic quality. Let it shine. The peaks are worth the entire journey. I really think 9-13-93 would be a great place to start.
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As far as releasing material from the final version of the band, I for one see no problem in doing it ....even full shows .....its the great thing about this band....feel like the 60's...its there...a little 70's ....no problem....the 90's why not .....its like a fine wine you can always let age....as far as Vince is concerned he was just another player in the transition of piano players.....I'm lucky to see all of them...can't say I prefer one over the other, each had there input on the band ...Release stuff from the 90's .......its all good!!!!
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Thanks for another great topic for a blog Blair, you never shy away from topics that everyone seems to have an opinion on, and here's mine :)Loved Vinny, from those first shows with Bruce, right thru the nineties, I really enjoyed both Bruce and Vince together, those 90-91 shows were excellent, perhaps a release of that 90's european tour, that had some moments, or anything from the spring 91 tour, or 10-27-91, I know, guest musicians on that one but it was a fine show with some fine licks from Gary Duncan and Carlos Santana, or 5-29-92, or one of my personal favorites 3-24-93, perhaps the 4-1-94 show from Atlanta, or the 7-31>8-1-94 shows or 10-15-94 or even something from the spring of 95 tour, that 4-2 show is sweet, so, yeah, there's a lot of good stuff in the 90's, just got to poke around and you will hear the x factor, big time.
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A vintage wine may age well but if it is not taken care of properly it becomes vinager. I don't think I would love the dead if all I had to listen to was post 85. There are so many special shows that will it all likelyhood never see the light of day. Do we ever hear about shows like 4/17/71, 11/19/72,2/9/73 or 11/6/77 ever being released. Jerry and the boys were in their prime and the music is testament to that. I'm sorry but listening to the dead post 85 is like watching Ali fight in his 40s. This is crazy talk about releasing late dead stuff when what made us listen to the dead in the first place is there waiting in the vault for someone to make a decision on what to put out. Please 85 or earlier before we all die or become too senile to care.
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right on about 11/19/72 and 2/9/73!! I have always enjoyed 11/19/72...that Dark Star is AWESOME!!!!! Philled with power. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. ha.
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memories of a "special time" in my dorm room listening to it. :))))))))))))))))))) AND listening to it while I was living in California in the back yard. hmmmm...
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I thought that it was a cool, funky tune. It seemed to be a solid launching point for jamming.
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the Terrapin Station version of DITS, and Wave to the Wind. WHAT were they thinking? Eternity gets good 'n weird. Corinna is ok. Samba has a few good moments. Way to Go Home is good to me as long as it's not played every day going into drums or out of space.
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Still some good shows after brent,sometimes they were jammin really hard but jerrys guitar was so low in the mix it would piss me off i mean everyone else was loud but i be straining to hear jerry and he was playing hard.They got rid of dan healy after all those years and it was never the same with out him.Like in miami 94 they were playing a watchtower and i know jerry was rippin some intense leads but you could not even hear him what the hell was up with that.Thats my beef its as if they turned him down on perpose.Drums and space was really cool all the way till the end.
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= more late era Dead releases. Totally nuts = whole show 90s releases. Bambini - well said. This is OMFG territory frankly.
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Out of over 400 discs of Archival releases, how many are from 93 to 95? Three discs- the one 1993 release from Cal Expo.
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Thanks for answering that question that had been banging around my head so loudly, David. I guess if the reason was non-musical I can understand it, but from a musical perspective, Vince not having a real B-3 seriously undermined his chances at being great in the keyboard spot, IMO. But I will always prefer organic, classic instruments and tones over synthesized, MIDI-ized ones. To my ears, nothing beats a B-3, a Fender Rhodes, an acoustic piano, and maybe a Farfisa every now and then. I wish Vince had gotten a chance to play some real keyboards in the GD.
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I just listened again to the 3/27/88 download and the Cal Expo 93 release. Based on those, I'll take Vince over Brent, anyday (especially later Brent) Admittedly, I'm no expert on either era, but it seems to me Vince listens more to the rest of the band and plays with more taste and feeling. And yeah, WTF, only one release from 93-95? I'd also love a compilation that's heavy on the newer tunes that were being developed- Lazy RR, Liberty, Days Between, So Many Roads are all knockouts, on the SMR Box set. I don't even have a recording of "Wave to the Wind". Never even heard "If the Shoe Fits". I don't think I have any "Easy Answers", except Weir/Wasserman. I only have one "Picasso Moon", a song I really like a lot. Let's hear some of the choicest ones. That would be much more interesting to me than another Brent era release.The only embarrassing Dead song to me is "I Will Take You Home". Barry Manilow wouldn't lower himself to sing such a syrupy, heart on the sleeve, trite tune. I could never listen to it- definitely a "pee break" song.
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It took many years since the end of the GD for me to appreciate Vince. I did see some shows, post Brent, that blew me away. Still, Brent, IMO cannot be matched. HIS approach to the B3 and his contributions were a perfect fit for the band. Keith in 72-74 is also up there for me. But I can listen to 80-Summer 90 all day every day.
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Well, 9-20-90 has gotta be one of the best post-Brent shows. Its a damn shame they didn't put out the first set on the Road Trips release, there is some smokin' playing going on there, check out Its All Over Now, even Vince gets in a killer solo (right after Bruce slays a piano solo, of course). 9-19-90 is pretty excellent, as well. (Its a mystery why 9-16-90 was chosen for Dicks Picks 9 over the last two nights of the run, other than what Blair said earlier in this thread about Dick not being the best guy to pick shows from the 80s and 90s) I also loved Compton Terrace, Arizona in 1990, 12-9-90, in particular, but that's mostly because of Hornsby's playing, he's really rocking it. Yep, all my favorite post-Brent shows had Bruce in the band. Sorry, I just am not a fan of Vince's playing or singing or songwriting. Totally agree with the dude who wished it was just Bruce who replaced Brent.
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Saw the GOGD about 1xyr 68-80, missed 81-83, 2-3xyr 84-95. Not a single concert I attended from the 1990-95 era stands out as being of much substance musically to me. The only ones in my collection from this period that I ever listen to are: 09/10/91 MSG with Branford Marsalis-sax; 02/23/93 Oakland with Ornette Coleman-sax; and 09/22/93 MSG with David Murray-sax. Regrettably, I was not at any of these. I know, I'm just (you should pardon the phrase) old and in the way, but that's my 2 cents worth.

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Zuckfun, Same deal for 84->86 ~ three discs (Dick's 21 ~ and the filler was from '80!). Widen that to 83 -> 87 ~ a five-year stretch ~ just three releases in 19 years (Dick's 6 & 21, and View From the Vault 4). Almost like saying a whole era of Dead (the mid-80's, and all the fun & musical thrills that era's Heads enjoyed) never happened. By the way, PalmerEldritch, the 2nd set of that 3/17/93 Landover show started with a Picasso Moon cranked to 11.
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The sound and tuning on Jerry's guitar was amazing - rivals pitches from any other year - in '93 and '94 in my opinion. The stereophonics of the band - the way it sounded - was awesome in this period.
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Fair point Antonjo, but don't forget Dylan and the Dead. On the other hand ........;-)
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the best thing about Corrina where the awesome purple lights that accompanied the song. Musically though, it was lukewarm, unless you were a huge Bobby "lost sailor" person...
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3/30/94. Final Dark Star. Solid show, top to bottom. Seattle 95. Buffalo 6/13/93.
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The last few months I have purchased the Saint of Circumstance 6/17/91 (would have acquired the box if finances allowed) and the Ready or Not release. Both are my first post-Brent acquisitions. Both are a total delight. I've now been hitting up post-Brent online stuff. Wow. All the years I simply didn't bother, contempt without any investigation, were a waste. As with all line-ups everyone does their job spectacularly. Due to my age I come into the Dead's music with Brent in the hot seat. It took a while for me to even warm to Keith when I went backwards. Nowadays I'm all over any era, enjoying the differences and forever grateful to each of the musicians who participated. In fact, with so much early Dead already released a few later gigs would be great. Perhaps someone might have a word with David... more later gigs and a few earlier Brent era releases wouldn't go amiss.