If you’re reading this blog post in mid-July, chances are I am sunning myself on one of Kauai’s white-sand beaches, or gazing at a humuhumunukunukuapua’a through my snorkel mask, or sipping a mai tai under graceful swaying palm trees. Then again, maybe it’s pouring rain on the North Shore and we’re stuck playing Uno in the house. Anyway, it’s vacation time for the Jackson family—our first exotic one in several years—and I’m taking a breather from writing and really kicking back for a couple of weeks. The trip also coincides with my 30th wedding anniversary. If only my wife had gotten to come along! (Just kiddin’. Got the whole family with us.)
I spent part of the week before the trip loading up my teeny iPod Nano with a bunch of Hawaiian and Grateful Dead music, and it got me thinking: If I was stranded on a desert island (I’ll take a tropical island, please) and I could only bring 12 Dead CDs/shows (sorry, no iPods in this fantasy—we’re making it hard!) to last me for a couple of months until I was rescued, what would I choose?
Question: Do giant box sets count as one, or the number of discs in the box? Well, fortunately the Europe ’72 megabox isn’t out yet, so that’s off the table for this discussion. Here’s my completely heartless and arbitrary ruling: No box sets containing more than six discs—so no ’73 or ’77 Winterland or Fillmore West ’69 or giant GD studio album box sets are allowed. But, yes, a four- or even six-CD Dick’s Picks would count as one. Hey, nobody said life was “fair,” so quit your whinin’! You’re lucky you’re getting a CD player and headphones!
Now, I suppose there are many of you who could be blissfully happy spinning nothing but shows from ’72-’74 during your time on the island. That’s cool. It’s your choice. However, I’d like to have a much wider span of the Dead’s history represented in my Desert Isle Collection, as I like all eras of GD music and would want to have a greater variety of different songs and styles at my disposal. And so, my 12 picks (in chronological order):
1. Road Trips Vol 2. No 2: Carousel 2/14/68. One of the best ’68 shows, with primo versions of Anthem material, plus other bonus tracks from the Northwest tour (and another bonus disc besides).
2. Fillmore West 1969 (the 3-CD Set). Tough to pick between Live Dead, which I’ve loved forever, or this one, culled from the same shows but including much more material, all of it great. I’ve heard Live Dead so much I can always replay it in my head.
3. Dicks Picks Vol. 4: 2/13-14/70. Besides the deservedly admired “Dark Star,” this has a killer “Dancing in the Street” and a super-charged “NFA” > “Mason’s Children” > “Caution.”
4. American Beauty. Taking a studio album? Yes! Simply because it is beautiful and moving beyond compare.
5. Rotterdam 5/11/72. I could get more Europe ’72 music by bringing the excellent Stepping Out 4-CD set, but this is possibly the best show of the tour (and the longest) with my favorite of the 11 (!) Europe versions of “Dark Star” and everything else that’s important.
6. The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack. There are better individual shows and sets from ’73 and ’74, but this has so much good stuff, I’m happy to have it representing that era.
7. Dicks Picks Vol. 33: 10/9-10/76. Some folks don’t care for ’76. I love it. If this only had Disc Two, with “St. Stephen” > “NFA” > “St. Stephen” > “Help on the Way,” etc., it would be worth having, but all four discs are strong.
8. Cornell 5/8/77. We can all pretend that there are better ’77 shows and this has been overhyped, but why accept less than the best? (It is not, however, the best show of all time.)
9. Frost 10/10/82. This show is juiced from top to bottom, and includes one of the best pre-“drums” segments I ever saw. A classic!
10. Santa Fe 9/11/83. One of my favorite versions of “Help on the Way,” a rare second-set “Let It Grow” and “Morning Dew” are among the highlights. It helps that I was there and it’s still fresh in my mind.
11. Grateful Dead Download Series Vol. 5: Hampton 3/27/88. I never get tired of this; the late ’80s at their most exciting.
12. So Many Roads: (1965-1995). Lots of rarities and oddities; not a “Best of” by any means, but the five CDs are packed with enough great and strange stuff from all eras that it’s worth having around, and I can always ignore the stuff I don’t care for.
Well, that was hard and frustrating, and no doubt a whole bunch of “essentials” will come to mind over the next days and weeks. But enough about me. What 12 Grateful Dead CDs/shows would you bring to this remote and beautiful island? They better be good, in case we’re shipwrecked together!
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1) Ladies and Gentlemen.
1) Ladies and Gentlemen. Blair - you overlooked this, unforgiveable... it's top 5 all-time official product no question ask around listen again you too can know the truth. "It's an environment!" 2) Steppin' Out
3) Hundred Year Hall
4) Aomoxoa w/ bonus tracks
5) 2/14/68 and the bonus disc
6) Fillmore 3cd set, great call BJ
7) Dick's Pick's 36
8) Anthem, w/ bonus tracks
9) Garcia's Warner Bros. masterpiece
10) 11/30/80 my blissed out front row memory of a great show will never die, but just in case...
So many legs
Fortunately I had the privelege to attend many outstanding shows and can make my list from shows I have attended.
9-3-77 My first
10-30-80 Radio City
5-6-81 Nassau
5-15-81 Rutgers Crazy lightning
9-26-81 Buffalo
4-6-82 Spectrum Blizzard
9-21-82 Garden Cool opener
4-16-83 Meadowlands Stephen Stills
10-11-83 Garden St. Stephen
3-23-87 Hampton Stellar
9-22-87 Spectrum Spencer Davis
6-25-93 RFK Very good show
To name a few.
JP'sChoice #1
My number one choice has not yet been released - but that will be remedied by the Europe '72 box - nearly 40 years on I will finally get to hear a pristine copy of all of 4.7.72, my first show. Desert Island for that, and Desert Island for the exquisite Dark Star > Sugar Mags > Caution section. The segue out of Dark Star is the Dead's Ode To Joy for me, Sugar Mags a steam train out of control, and a Caution which could have been out of the bubbling primaeval swamp of '68.
This may take some time ... :-)
JP'sChoice #2
Now that I mention it, the 1969 Mystery discs would have to be in there as well. May have to reorder these...
if it wasn't limited to
if it wasn't limited to taking only official releases ...i would make it a point to take along shows unheard. .... i think that is one of the best aspects of the GD's music .. seems like i still uncover music that my ears haven't heard before....
"I have spent my life
Seeking all that's still unsung"
I have nothing but affection
I have nothing but affection for all those that sailed with me...
I agree with so many of what
I agree with so many of what has been mentioned but would have to include NYE 72/73...a Desert Island show for me.
upon scrutiny....
Ah, Hampton 3/23....the most exhilarating Touch of Grey ever, and Jerry again on that Iko.....but the next night, Loser, Let It Grow, and THAT TERRAPIN. Sigh, do I need to revise my list again?
Spencer Davis Spectrum night also had the haunting Handsome Cabin Boy jam out of space. It took me over a decade (a housemate's blaring Shady Grove out of his car) to finally identify that piece of music.
bear 14's choices
Just looked at my iPhone:
- Winterland 77 and I reject the arbitrary cd count rule. I was there. Had just got back from a trek to the Palenque, Yucatan and the Belize Maya sites. Takes me away,all of it. Hear it in colors not seen by eyes.
- Dicks Picks 8 esp disc 1 Rider>FOTD>Wolf>Beat it on down the line.
- Grateful Dead Movie
- 5-12-77 Auditorium Theater
- Reckoning
- Lonesome Prison Blues
- Old and in the Way esp Wild Horses
- UIC Pavilion 4/9-10-11/87 Epic NFA 9:33. The tribe was in town and really on it. Took 3 days off from work for this one.
- Waiting for a Train- by Kory Quinn and the Comrades,my son. Sings his songs. Plays with his friends. A real nice music maker. Coming soon to a bar near you. Took him to his first show in a baby carrier. Alpine 6/85 he was 2 months old.
- USNA Men's Glee Club- Handel's Messiah and Eternal Father. Youngest son sang on these. He graduated in '09 and commissioned in USMC. Obama gave him the diploma and we were proud of both of them. Now he is doing the Marine thing. We live in hope and pray for those in harms way.
- Courtney my spouse singing the Exultet and Psalm at Easter Vigil. Connects me to the ineffable.
It MUST have been the Roses
Bear xiv
MINIMALIST
Hey man, as a practicing minimalist just for this excercise:
Official:Dick's Vol. 4 2/13-14/1970
Unofficial: Cape Cod 10/27-28/1979 After all these years,still cannot get it out of my mind.Who would really want to?
You all know how it is...
Shwack
Desert Island Discs
Completely agree on the Fillmore West 1969The sound is very high quality with great dynamics on the bass and drums
Even "School Girl" is very powerful here
The ultimate 12
DP 12 Providence/Boston June 74DP 28 Lincoln/Salt Lake City Feb 73
One From The Vault American Music Hall 1975
Reckoning Fall 1980
ladie and Gentlemen April 1971
Postcards for the Hanging
GD Movie Soundtrack
SF 12-31-72
Washington DC 6-10-73
Williamsburg 9-12-73
Chicago 7-25-74
Tuscaloosca 5-17-77
You have incredible memories
I've gotta hand it to you folks, the way you can keep all those concerts straight in your minds as to what version of what song(s) are tops. Truly, it all runs together for me; maybe I have too much brain damage from the early 70s.
I know this is heresy to the purists, but I have traded/collected so many tapes over the decades that I'm kind of fried on whole concerts. The occasional entire set or show is OK in a few cases for me, but in general I like it when some discerning individual - either the band or one of their own experts - chooses the high spots for me. Yes, I get the "context" thing, but this isn't a music history class; I want to have fun.
• I'll go with the Road Trips 2.2, Carousel 2-14-68
• Live Dead- absolutely essential
• Skullfuck - Not Fade Away>GDTRFB is the greatest piece of music ever recorded by anyone anywhere anytime period.
• Ladies and Gentlemen... April '71 Fillmore East
• Workingman's Dead
• American Beauty
• Europe '72
• I made a 2-disc compilation mostly from shows I downloaded from Wolfgang's Vault in addition to the above releases that is strictly performances featuring Pigpen - very intense
• Yes, Cornell 5-8-77 (Sadly, and perhaps unfairly, I have to stay away from mid to late 70s Dead because of Donna dread. She seems like a nice person, but honestly, she is the only human to utter noises that make Yoko Ono sound sweet by comparison.)
• Dead Set, 9 & 10-80
• Reckoning, 9 & 10-80
• Postcards of the Hanging
• Without A Net, 1990
I know that's 13 titles, but since I didn't take any 3 disc DPs etc., I pushed it.
Also the rule about solo discs cramps me a lot, because I am a huge Jerry Band fan.
But I could keep myself happy with the above, particularly if the tropical island I was stranded on was good for growing bud.
~ I'll meet you some morning in the sweet by and by
No '73, Blair?!
I love reading all of the desert island lists here, but Blair, no '73! Admittedly, I don't have your expertise and we all have our favorites, but I would be tempted to forego the 10 picks and bring the Winterland '73 box only! I think it would occupy me for a few months by itself.
Jeff VanderVeen
"May the 4 winds blow you safely home."
Seeing we can add a bonus disc
One that I forgot was the Road Trips Vol 3 No 3 which is great seeing we can add a bonus
That 73 period had some great stuff when Phil did "Box of Rain", "Eyes of the World" was played at nearly every show but we didn't know the songs name and the reggae style "They Love Each Other". I just played part of One from the Vault this morning and that has probably my favorite version of Help\Slipknot\Franklin on it. I am also fond of "On The Road Again" and the 74 version of "Scarlet Begonias" and China\Rider especially from DP12.
DP 12 Providence/Boston June 74
DP 28 Lincoln/Salt Lake City Feb 73
One From The Vault American Music Hall 1975
Reckoning Fall 1980
Ladies and Gentlemen April 1971
Postcards for the Hanging
GD Movie Soundtrack
SF 12-31-72
Washington DC 6-10-73
Williamsburg 9-12-73
Chicago 7-25-74
Tuscaloosca 5-17-77
4-14-727-12-69 2-27-69 6-7-6
4-14-72
7-12-69
2-27-69
6-7-69
10-15-76
5-3-72
8-6-71
8-1-73
2-23-74
12-29-77
7-8-78
3-18-77
Aloha...
Back from Kauai. It's been great reading all these suggestions and seeing how they converge and diverge. So many great shows and discs have been mentioned! Y'know, I was so busy and had so little time to get my iPod ( a new technology for me) together before the trip, I didn't actually end up bringing that much Dead. Here's what I ended up taking in my rush: The Austin '71 Road Trips, the Denver '73 Road Trips, Dicks Picks 12 ('74), Dicks Picks 14 ('73), Dicks Picks 4 ('70), Dicks Picks 28 ('73), 6/9/77 Winterland, Reckoning, Cornell '80 Road Trips, Fillmore West '69 compilation, 4/1/88 Road Trips, Crimson White & Indigo ('89), So Many Roads Discs 2 and 3. And a WHOLE BUNCH of my pretty extensive Hawaiian music collection--lots of Gabby Pahinui, Sons of Hawaii, Rev. Dennis Kamakahi and a slew of vintage Hawaiian stuff from the '20s through the '40s.
And you know what--because we were traveling with another family and had, between us, four kids ages 15, 17, 19 and 20, each of whom had their own iPods, I'd say most of the time we were listening to non-Dead and non-Hawaiian music. As a result I heard a lot of My Morning Jacket (whom I already liked but was not THAT familiar with), Of Montreal (no thank you), Dr. Dog (OK), She and Him (nice retro sound), Flight of the Conchords (love 'em!), Neon Indian (pretty cool), Flying Lotus (trippy electronic), The Harder They Come soundtrack, assorted reggae, and a slew of other acts I've now forgotten. Their choices didn't always fit my mood the way Dead and Hawaiian do (I've tested this music in Hawaii over the course of more than a dozen trips the past 30 years), but you don't want to be a complete music fascist (or do I?), so I tolerated it--most of the time. Sometimes I insisted on Hawaiian at the end of the day. Occasionally a welcome request for a '74 "Eyes" would come in from the back seat of the minivan, and for our nighttime ride from Lihue, on the southern end of the Island, back up to Haena, in the extreme north, after we all saw the new Harry Potter movie one evening, HAD to be a FW '69 "Dark Star."
And I did drink at least one mai-tai every day.
1.) One From The Vault -
1.) One From The Vault - classic Bill Graham intro " on lead guitar and vocals.. Mr. Jerry Garcia.. Would you welcome please.. The Grateful Dead" and wham first chord to a Help/Slip/ Franklin's of which I have every note memorized.* 2) Veneta 72 _ you can feel the hot sun and the acid. Jerry's melting wah wah work on best Playin ever. * 3) Buffalo 79 _ Dancin' >Franklin's with Brent's funky synth.* 4)Silver Bowl'92 _ laid back Scarlet>Fire
OK, here goes, in rough
OK, here goes, in rough chronological order:
1 - Anthem of the Sun. By far my fave Dead "studio" album.
2 - Yes, Blair, Road Trips Vol 2. No 2: Carousel 2/14/68. For this 61-year-old Head, '68 is THE year.
3 - Two from the Vault, 8-24-68. Because, after all, '68 is the THE year of the glorious hot passionate psychedelic Dead mess.
4 - Fillmore West late Feb./early March 1969, the complete box set. I paid for it, I own it and I'm taking it to my island. Sorry Blair, but as Kurt Russell's Snake Plisken says in John Carpenter's "Escape from L.A.," "your rules are really starting to get on my nerves." But if you're gonna physically block me, then "Live/Dead." As a matter of fact ...
5 - "Live/Dead," late Feb./early March 1969. The Holy Grail of GD recordings. Best ever versions of Dark Star/St. Stephen/The Eleven all on one disc. 'Nuff said.
6 - "Grateful Dead (Skull and Roses), 1971. Featuring the Dead once again as their original tight, muscular fivesome, this two-disc set sounds Phatter than ANY other Dead disc (that's a compliment). Best ever version of "Fade/Road." Way less expensive and much more effective than Prozac.
7 - "Three from the Vault," 1971. More great second incarnation quintet Dead. Many delights, including a wonderful early "Bird Song," fairly different than what the ode to Janis evolved into.
8 - "Europe `72," 1972 (duh). A "live" Dead disc never sounded this clean and tight (especially the vocals), undoubtedly due to the reported subsequent studio overdubs once the boys were back in the Bay Area. Definitive versions from the greatest Dead tour ever of "He's Gone," "China/Rider," "Sugar" and so much more.
9 - "Hundred Year Hall," 1972. More greatness - and more great jamming - from the greatest tour ever. But wait. There's more.
10 - "Rocking the Rhein," 1972. Even MORE great Europe '72 Dead, especially disc three with its INSANE jamming, including second-best "Dark Star" ever.
11 - "Dick's Picks 18," 2-3-78, 2-5-78; Best DP ever, IMHO, especially the jam-heavy discs 2 and 3, highlighted by Jerry's simply beautiful, inspired, transcendent, goose-bump-producing soloing into to "Eyes." I play it whenever I'm at the dentist. Pain be gone!
12- "Grayfolded," 1969-1995. Portions of 26-years-worth of "Dark Stars" spliced together into one two-hour "Dark Star." Brillant and perfect for 2 a.m. Sunday morning when you are really, really, REALLY high.
13 - "So Many Roads," 1965-95. So much great music on its career-spanning five discs; worth the price of admission alone for the 2-18-71 "Beautiful Jam" and the 7-27-73 "Watkins Glen soundcheck jam."
14 - You need something to read on the island, right? In that case, "A Long, Strange Trip" by Dennis McNalley, and;
15 - "Garcia" by one Blair Jackson.
Sorry for any tpyos. I'm hammered on Scoth at 12:30 a.m. after a VERY long day at wrok.
different songs and styles at my disposal. And so, my 12 picks (in chronological order):
1. Road Trips Vol 2. No 2: Carousel 2/14/68. One of the best ’68 shows, with primo versions of Anthem material, plus other bonus tracks from the Northwest tour (and another bonus disc besides).
2. Fillmore West 1969 (the 3-CD Set). Tough to pick between Live Dead, which I’ve loved forever, or this one, culled from the same shows but including much more material, all of it great. I’ve heard Live Dead so much I can always replay it in my head.
3. Dicks Picks Vol. 4: 2/13-14/70. Besides the deservedly admired “Dark Star,” this has a killer “Dancing in the Street” and a super-charged “NFA” > “Mason’s Children” > “Caution.”
4. American Beauty. Taking a studio album? Yes! Simply because it is beautiful and moving beyond compare.
5. Rotterdam 5/11/72. I could get more Europe ’72 music by bringing the excellent Stepping Out 4-CD set, but this is possibly the best show of the tour (and the longest) with my favorite of the 11 (!) Europe versions of “Dark Star” and everything else that’s important.
6. The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack. There are better individual shows and sets from ’73 and ’74, but this has so much good stuff, I’m happy to have it representing that era.
7. Dicks Picks Vol. 33: 10/9-10/76. Some folks don’t care for ’76. I love it. If this only had Disc Two, with “St. Stephen” > “NFA” > “St. Stephen” > “Help on the Way,” etc., it would be worth having, but all four discs are strong.
8. Cornell 5/8/77. We can all pretend that there are better ’77 shows and this has been overhyped, but why accept less than the best? (It is not, however, the best show of all time.)
9. Frost 10/10/82. This show is juiced from top to bottom, and includes one of the best pre-“drums” segments I ever saw. A classic!
10. Santa Fe 9/11/83. One of my favorite versions of “Help on the Way,” a rare second-set “Let It Grow” and “Morning Dew” are among the highlights. It helps that I was there and it’s still fresh in my mind.
11. Grateful Dead Download Series Vol. 5: Hampton 3/27/88. I never get tired of this; the late ’80s at their most exciting.
12. So Many Roads: (1965-1995). Lots of rarities and oddities; not a “Best of” by any means, but the five CDs are packed with enough great and strange stuff from all eras that it’s worth having around, and I can always ignore the stuff I don’t care for
Once in a while you get shown the light
In the strangest of places if you look at it right.
before it glowed the mind slowed soaked slept shined
Just twelve, you say?Mmmmmm. I think some random finger-sticking would be in the spirit of the endeavour; chance operations for a sandy shore. (em)balmy evenings greet the improvisational encounter; blue sky heralding inner adventure.
when in doubt, affix the jewel cases in paddle-like conform; row like jimmy before complacency and madness manifest. over-familiarity the curse.
no order. would be impertinent.....
Roscoe Maples Pavilion, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, February 9, 1973 - dry heat, sweating liquid, imbibing sunshine. Eyes to the heart and fly fly fly; wrapped in Angel Pie while the city lights glow and the train rolls gently by.
Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, CO, July 8, 1978 - energy propel and sandstone frame; forward motion as Samson bounces. dark heart of a solo prophet, inner journey in the small hours; tendrils spread, polyrhythmic feelers towards the unknown. late at the station and a howl at the moon.
Parc des Expositions, Dijon, France, September 18, 1974 - wall of whatever; black throat coat and the stretched rabbit's tail. silver apples of Morton's moon after the a band of many directions. caution the intake when there's an early start; universal Mind at whatever the Time. before radiation the vegetables were sweet. popping another tab and stopping at the Fool.
Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA, October 9, 1989 - interjections at all points; adrenalin rush through the black hole. slipped into no-mind on a heated floor. dripping with diamonds and the aluminum medicine. crab-walk through a paper screen. window blowing warmth but the cube is giving all. inspiring tantric chants in it's aftermath until the visions come.
Dick's Picks 36 - Bear necessities; frequency ring under a tangerine pillow. communal chatter from the beings bring comfort. bird's circle the futon. menthol and whiskey trips where the left arm meets the Head. meant to sound like this; four limbs delivering raindrops on the roof. darts in the ether; tequila fancy on the railroad. impassioned losing amid sprightly temperature. cocoon-like comfort greeted by hugs at the knees in morn; a child's openness and a grab at the paper decoration.
Dicks Picks Vol. 10 - estimated beauty and those first notes of a china cat; mine the rich seventies seam, joyous admittance in chaotic fog and cresting waves. ecstatic jubilation; wood and skin and string and current. holy voices making things possible.
Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Washington, DC, June 10, 1973 - tender begins. waving for all i'm worth. nickles and dimes on a dusty bar. here it comes; melancholy in the night. why? i don't know. familiar setting shapeshifts. looking out as the hops play their tune. another one-man trap meet and feeling fine. drenched but dandy, the instinct calling the tune.
Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD, June 27, 1984 - hello Brent, nice to meet you. help slip franklin, the air burning; show me the eyes, show me the eyes! what a friend that came before. bitter plant but that's okay; assume the taste. cracked ribs loosened with rhyme. pain suppressed by the silver-bullet; wrists twist, it's own snake in the River. a case of twelve halfway in. a gift for Being. i imagined, it came. same lights glowing as it fades away...
Dick's Picks 27 - spatial strafe; in the depths of loss the darkness enlarges the pupils. drums pan the spectrum. Cancer turmoil Healed, two cabinets into the Void. plant medicine inhaled as i come Up; warm enveloping as his Soul journey begins.
Dick's Picks 25 - two friends and one death that showed my Heart the way; hunched in the unfamiliar familiar. tubular access to the temple of Smoke. my Soul entered by white light like space dust on the tongue. pouring into my Heart, He passed through me. Goodbye to the material world, Dad. how to explain visible fractals that rush all senses? through me and out the Other side. third eye opens, tears on the arms wrapped tightly. broke down while rolling and all thanks to another estimated solo. I Speak In The Hushed Tones When I Speak At All.
Dozin' At The Knick - jungle sine waves; initial immune system it accompanied. a thank to Brent. whistle in the humidity; saturated immersion. pulse pulse pulse. pulse. Pulse. syncopate and abandon. drop and turbulence. if the thunder..........; sing me sweetly home angle multiple anticipate spread pool heart-flash-rate-back-rate. under feet pulled when the moment demands.
Paramount Theater, Portland, OR, October 2, 1977 - a fire in one's own mountain; the thirst for new illumination. sunrise at night strangely enough and all the better for it; maybe the night of too much. schedule adjusted in literature heat. bourbon sofa for the MVP? feeling it grow and another other.
for today.
but not tomorrow.
Let's play
Since this is hypothetical, and quite far from realistic, I would utilize the new desert island technology of recording every show on to a single disc. This is accomplished of course without sound loss, and not only will I have every Dead show ever performed on the Island, there's still room for 11 more. It's dizzying, the possibilities...
I will post my list later,
I will post my list later, but very little mention of Winterland in June of 1977. I consider these amongst the finest shows ever played.
Desert Isle discs.....
Wow the holy grail of Dead Head questions, bound to annoy as much as inform/amuse! My list changes with the seasons, years, my moods and so on. Certain shows have burned themselves deep into my consciousness, due not just to the power of the music, but the role they played in my own personal development and psychic/spiritual adventures and growth. Both the shows on Dicks Picks 4 I can summon in my minds ear instantaneously. I spent many a night (and early dawn) listening to Louisville 6/18/74. Both Reflections and American Beauty conjure long lost carefree summers of youth, when every day was a new adventure. The opening show of the 76 tour from the Paramount Theatre, so full of joy and energy, with an audience that has found again it seemingly lost for ever talisman. The first show at Saratoga, perhaps the last time live that the Dead got me to that special place.... Time to stop writing and go listen to something on my extended list!
one more thing.....
Hope you are enjoying the beach and happy anniversary Blair! (note of jealousy in my voice, sitting at home VERY far from a Hawaiian beach!)
Ok, so lets give this a try...
I had to do a bunch of listening to make this list and I put a few extra restrictions on my list - I have to own the album OR I was at the show. This list is in no particular order:
1. Reckoning, 2 disc edition. I have listened to this too many times to count and to my ears, this is the greatest example of the Dead using dynamics.
2. Dozin at the Knick. Discs 2 and 3 of this set are amazing.
3. Nightfall of Diamonds. Love the Darkstar>Playin>UJB.
4. One From the Vault - One of my first GD shows on cd and still one of my favs.
5. To Terrapin Hartford 77 - the Sugaree alone is out of this world and nothing else really can come close to matching it. The rest of the show is really good too.
6. The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack - Tons of highlights here. My favs are Darkstar, Missisippi Half Step and the awesome Eyes of the World.
7. Crimson, White and Indigo - I had a bootleg of the second set in college, and this Scarlet Fire is etched in my DNA. This brought back a flood of memories upon hearing it again!
8. Palladium, NY 4/30/77 - The first GD download series and it is awesome. The first set Peggy-o is one of my favs.
9. DP #36 - 9/21/72 - This is a great show. I was able to see a bunch of spectrum shows in the late 80's and early 90's and I LOVE philly so I may be a little biased...
10. DP #24 - 3/23/74 - Love the Wall of Soundcheck.
11. American Beauty/Workingman's Dead - Yes, they might as well be one album.
12. 10/19/89 - My first show.
Beauty/Workingman's
I agree, @chrisd, they ARE one album as far as I'm concerned. And they make my list for sure, along with Wake of the Flood, for no good reason than I can think of other than it was the first Dead album that I bought immediately on release...so I listened to it until I wore the grooves down to nothing. So despite the fact that I'm generally unimpressed with the Grateful Dead studio output, there are still a handful of albums that I hold dear to my heart.
I've put together a couple of lists so far, can't really decide on a definitive one unless I cheat to no end. And in the end, stuck on that desert island, I'd be just plain glad that I HAD cheated, I think.
Had to think about this a
Had to think about this a while, but I guess it would be as follows.
If you're going to give me up to six discs per pick, then I'd go for the sixes where possible.
1. Dick's Picks 29(I think) the six-discer from '77.
2. So Many Roads. So many choice cuts.
3. The first Road Trips release, including bonus disc. Go back and listen, if you doubt me. Awesome.
4. Nightfall of Diamonds. 89 = underrated
5. Two From the Vault, love love love this one.
6. Dick's 36, Philly '72 all awesome, but the Boulder Other One is just phenomenal
7. Dick's 35, August '71. Phil is just all over these tracks, such driven rock and roll.
8. Road Trips, From Egypt with Love
9. Road Trips, 10/77. Help>Slip>Franks, Black Peter = majestic
10. Formerly the Warlocks, 10/89
Jackson's list is hurting
The Santa Fe '83 and Frost '82? No, no, no dude. Why squander choices on that underwhelming stuff? I could take all of June 1990 with some 73 and 77 and that's all I would need!
Double T...
We're gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. Not that big a fan of June '90 stuff, frankly. Definitely some good shows in there. But Desert Island-worthy? Um, NO!
Awesome challenge, Blair.
Awesome challenge, Blair. At the risk of tweaking things a bit, I'd have to go with a baker's dozen:
2/14/68 - Carousel Ballroom - One of the absolutely essential, all-time classics.
Live/Dead - Since I can't include the Fillmore West Box Set, I will go with the utter timelessness of Live/Dead. Even though it's permanently encoded in my synapses and DNA, it's a piece of music I will always want to have with me.
American Beauty - The Grateful Dead's best studio album, and one of the best studio albums by any band. Some of Robert Hunter's most timeless lyrics performed and recorded exquisitely.
5/2/70 - DP 8 - If I had my druthers, I'd go for the trifecta and grab this, 2/13-14/70 and 5/15/70. But as it is, this squeaks through as my favorite of 1970 with a wonderful acoustic set, and one of the most mind-melting Other Ones evan! (can I please squeeze in that Gator . . . Caution from 2/14/70?)
Ladies and Gentlemen – Fillmore East 1971 - 4 disks offering a just exactly perfect overview of the Dead's career up to that point. Plus it has my all-time favorite Lovelight!
Stepping Out – England 72 - A superb sampler of E-72
GD Movie Soundtrack - it's a tough call between this and DP12 (the latter offering one of the very best China > Riders ever). But this set has some amazing music on it - and that 10/19/74 disk, from Uncle John's on, is an amazing set of music (plus the cd set includes my favorite Eyes, and an absolutely melting Playin'.
3/18/77 - My first show. Alltime best NFA - and the night that dissolved my frontal lobes and got my on the bus for life.
12/31/78 - Closing of Winterland - there may have been better shows - but I was fortunate to be there, and this night is one of the greatest nights of my life. Whenever anybody asks me why New Years shows mean so much to me, I refer them to 12/31/78. It ruined me for life. :)
9/12/81 - Probably the best show of the pre-coma Brent era. Absolutely fluid first set, with outstanding Shakedown, Bird Song, Cassidy and China > Rider. And that Scarlet > Fire is beyond amazing!
12/31/81 - #2 of my three favorite NYE's. Best one of the Brent era with three very strong, well played sets and outstanding song selection
6/15/90 – VFTV 3 - second set is beyond wow - longest China > Rider since '74 and an endless Terrapin (another night that has stayed with me ever since).
12/31/90 - The last truly great NYE show. The second set - with Garcia, Hornsby, Lesh and Branford weaving a musical tapestry through Eyes and Dark Star - and then going into drums with Hamza - what can I say. Still in the top 10 - and probably top 5 - GD shows I ever had the good fortune to attend. As my friend Dennis said that night, it was one of those shows that can last you a long, long time.
Interesting comment BJ
Another thing too that struck me - you didn't have one '85 on there. I remember back in the day you claimed '85 was the best of the 80s...."every show from June on is a knockout."
That '82-'83 stuff to me is all about the emotional experiences of those who were fortunate to have seen them in those great venues with what apparently was a wonderful, close knit scene. I'm 40 so that was before my time. Musically that period is very mind-numbing to me. How can you listen to Cal Expo 6/10 or Eugene 6/23 and not immediately hear how much more chiseled, refined and telepathic the music is in comparison? Silky smooth. Plus, Brent and particularly Phil were so "on" during the Brent portion of '90. Phil was a fat drunk slob on that early 80s stuff - barely doing anything. So, just for that reason alone, I don't get it. But one thing I did miss in my relatively obnoxious intial post - yes, Live Dead needs to be on my list as well.
true DoubleT, true
It's that ol' '90's snobbery again!!
There were some great shows from that year; 03/19/90 at the Civic Center, Hartford, CT, 07/12/90 at RFK Stadium, Washington, DC, 07/16/90 at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY and many others.
Time stopped for some it seems....
my 12
1. So Many Roads 2. Cornell 77
3. Dicks Picks 18 1978
4. Dicks Picks 20 1976
5. Download Series 9 1989
6. Europe 72
7. Without A Net
8.. Ladies and Gentleman....1971
9.. Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack
10. Dicks Picks 1 1973
11. Dicks Picks 16 1969
12. (TIE) Dicks Picks 3, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
action jackson
Well Brent certainly had his problems, poor soul, but the June 16, 1990 and July 8, 1990 shows were fine. Same with the RFK & Rich Stadium shows i mentioned.As for playing too loud, well that's not necessarily going to come across on disc/download.
But i do think that maybe one has to readjust his or her's approach to that particular period; you are kinda listening to someone's personal meltdown (witness that moment in the Summer Solstice show?? i think, not sure, during The Other One when the camera catches his eyes as wide as the Grand Canyon; and that is earlier, in '89!).
But there is a beauty to be found in those sad moments. Over-playing and over-loud maybe, but its real, honest and from the heart which is what i want from the Dead; questionable intonation, fluffed lyrics and some meandering then so be it.
I'd rather listen to fluid jamming (although Summer '90 has that), seamless segues (although Summer '90 has that) and impassioned vocals (although Summer '90 has that) but that's okay. It's just a different reflection through the prism, that's all.
Come on, don't be a Latvala ha ha!!!
By the way, you going to answer the '85 claim that DoubleT mentioned he he!!!
'85
Great year, obviously. No Desert Island choices for me, though. I'd personally love to see a Greek '85 box come out... 4/28 is sloppy but has some amazing stuff--"She Belongs to Me," that beautiful little melodic jam after "China Doll," etc... Many excellent shows that summer and fall.
Don't be hatin' on '82, though... ;-)
keep it dusty!
No hatin' on '82 from me! Some classics from that year.I love it.
Love the debate....
Too much, too loud. LOL. That's what I liked about him during that period. Playing like his life depended on it. I dug it. I like all the color in the music at that time. I'm one that likes blistering "trumpet" solos like the one in "Fire" on 7/4/90. You don't get that in 1982. You get a lot of one sound, one dynamic level, and no crisp, inventive bass playing that is way up in the mix like you do in '90.
And for 3/27/88 to make the list - now that is just incredible to me. I think I've fallen asleep or lost interest in that every single time I've tried it!
Is there one of those epic 6 minute versions of "Eyes" on that one? Ha - just teasin' now (but not really). :)
I love threads like this and
I love threads like this and it's been a real good time reading all y'all's lists and comments. Being a bit of an old timer (first show: Buffalo '73), my list leans real heavy on the 70's stuff. Here's what I finally whittled it down to (with alternatives -- I couldn't resist):
1. Road Trips Vol 2. No 2: Carousel 2/14/68 (Two From The Vault)
2. Fillmore West 1969 (the 3-CD Set) (Live/Dead)
3. Dicks Picks Vol. 4: 2/13-14/70 (DP8 Harpurs 5/2/70)
4. Ladies and Gentlemen (April 1971) (Skull****)
5. 100 Year Hall (4/26/72) (Rotterdam 5/11/72)
6. Europe '72 (DP11 9/27/72)
7. Steppin' Out (April-May 1972) (Veneta 8/27/72)
8. Winterland '73 (11/73) (Madison, Wisconsin 2/15/73)
9. One From The Vault (1975) (GD Movie Soundtrack ('74 overrated))
10. DP29 (Atlanta-Lakeland May 1977) (DP15 Englishtown (9/77)
11. So Many Roads (Best Comp) (Grayfolded)
12. Reckoning (1980) (Without A Net 89-90)
12 ain't enough, but if that's all I can take...
no one seems to have touched upon a few cherished shows from the nineties, so lets start there:4-2-95 Memphis, home of Elvis with a wonderful shakedown opener, Stuck inside of mobile with the Memphis blues again, Tennessee Jed and a promised land closer, HCS opens second set with a solid Eternity that flows into the best Estimated of the late 90's into Drums/space that will spin your head off, unbroken chain as the encore
4-1-94 Atlanta, Six pack first set with Deal, dire wolf Black throated wind and a bird song.
Jerry is in a great mood here and his playing shows it, Second set china cat, box, estimated, he's gone, that would be something into another deep drums and space into TOO, wharf rat and lovelite, Brokedown palace encores, just a great show from beginning to end.
Infrared roses, with spacey titles like Little Nemo in Nightland, Post-Modern Highrise-table top stomp, silver apples of the moon and speaking in swords to name a few provided by Hunter just a cornacopia of spaces and drums and beautiful jams from the 90's, it's a gotta have on the island.
3-24-93 Chapel Hill, strong first set but the second set is to die for, with a killer HCS into PITB into box into the sweetest and most emotional Crazy fingers>spanish Jam>playin' reprise ever, into another deep deep drums and space, Jerry shines here like it's 20 yrs ago, just beautiful, with a killer Lucy in the sky encore
4-9-91 Orlando, wharf gator, great way to end a three night run, with a trippy TOO and a classic Whart Rat.
10-26-89, Miami, best Dark star of 89, nuff said.
Grayfolded, both discs, plunderphonics remixed, rewound darkstars, how cool is that?
10-30-80 Radio City Music Hall, all of it, acoustic set too, a gotta have.
10-29-77 Decalb, best Might as Well ever, Jerry jumps of the disc, a solid show from a great year.
Dick's Picks 29, all six discs, was at the Lakeland show so have fond memories.
So Many Roads all five discs, just cherry picked beauties of an awesome career.
4-25/26/27/28/29-71 Filmore east, lots of fun with Duane allman joining on 4-26, Beach Boys on 4-27, TC on 4-28 with that Killer Darkstar and I love the pre show interview with BG, and the Alligator on 4-29 makes for 5 shows in a row that were all excellent.
That's more than 12 shows but I threw out socks, so I've got room. :) I know a lot of heads wouldn't take post 91 shows, but check these out, you will be surprised, astonished, and glad you did. .
desert island picks
theres a show from mississippi gd listening guide turned me onto, 12/19/ 78. the boys are on point every note which becomes totally apparent when they jam from stella into nfa. also the pittsburg download from 89. keep up these cool questions because i like finding cool new music (to my ears). One more to note, its not gd . 7walkers 12/11 and 12 2010 dont get boring.