ROLLING STONE COLLECTORS EDITION: GRATEFUL DEAD - THE ULTIMATE GUIDE
Our friends at Rolling Stone have put together a Special Collectors Edition issue completely devoted to the Grateful Dead, which includes some of their greatest interviews from the Rolling Stone archives, an introduction from Bob Weir, and David Fricke’s list of the 20 essential Grateful Dead shows. You can pick up the issue now on newsstands or at Barnes & Noble’s website.
Now Available: 10 Shows from Fricke's Essential 20
Listening Party
Rolling Stone is featuring a stream of the complete show at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York from February 13, 1971, which is one of Fricke’s essential shows. Stream it here now.
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Is this the same Rolling Stone
That dissed Jerry royally in their greatest guitarists of all time. Only #13, I think?
Nice marketing gambit, though.
RE: Is this the same Rolling Stone
It is indeed. It's also the same "Rolling Stone" that used to rank Frank Zappa in the upper-forties of Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Fortunately, that oversight has since been rectified--I think he's in the lower-twenties now--but yes, Jerry deserves to be in the top ten. All in all, their 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list is suspect to say the least.
Fricke's Top 20
I was amazed to see 9/14/91 in there but I must concur with the man. The set list was fairly mundane, but I still count that show as among the best I saw. The energy was full on at that show; check out the Jack Straw, Jack-a-roe and China>Rider for some highlights but the whole thing smoked beginning to end. Top 20 ever .... well ..... certainly a great show and deserving of recognition.
February 13, 1971 Port Chester???
Probably a typo, but there was no GD show on 2/13/71
wet cardboard
Any guesses on which '84 show was nixed for release due to the kick drum sounding like wet cardboard? I see that Fricke counts among the 'essential 20' 10-12-84 in the new Rolling Stone Grateful Dead issue. Not sure the complete show exists in the vault on that one though, I seem to remember.
Is Bobby high or just doesn't have any memory?
In the Rolling Stone, Bob Weir is quoted as saying the best Dead was from the late '80's. Is he brain dead? High? Too many drugs to have any memory? Or does he really have that bad a taste in music? LOL!The '80's were their worst decade, hands down. Jerry sounded very sick. The band was uninspired. And in any case how could anyone possibly compare that time period to the late sixties to early '70's and call it better? Unreal.
Just one more reason to suspect Weir's musical ear. ;)
100 greatest
On the rolling stone top guitarist list Jerry clocks in at #46. Tom morello and mick Ronson are apparently more accomplished or influential axes.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-guitarists-2011112…
100 greatest...
They have no idea how to gauge talent. They are like a bunch of teeny-bopper girls just listening casually and taking popularity into account. Maybe they listened to one studio song of Jerry's and based their opinion on that. It's absurd to call Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards at the top! What a joke. They are good, I like them, and they are talented rockers. But pure guitar talent? They couldn't shine Jerry's shoes!Even Hendrix isn't as good as Jerry if you take into account Jerry's best live improvisational jams and the depth and breadth of his ability. Jimi is unreal, of course, but I hardly ever listen to his albums because they are all so similar. Sort of a "one trick pony" in a way. Sacrilege, I know, but that's how I feel.
And Pete Townsend? George Harrison? Are you KIDDING me? Again, I like them both a lot. I love George Harrison. But on a pure guitar talent list these people wouldn't come close to Jerry.
Neil Young? I love him. He is in my top 10 for sure. But guitar at 17 when Jerry's at 46? It's laughable.
Unless they just listened to Jerry at his worst and these others at their best. Listen to Dick's Picks #8 and THEN do the comparison!
Not to mention the others on the list above Jerry. Totally absurd. Stupid list voted on by a bunch of "pop" heads.
Now I'm sure what they would say to this tirade is that I'm just a Dead Head cultist. No, I just actually LISTEN closely to the actual guitar notes and licks. You cannot listen closely and put a list together that is this absurd.
Nice rave, Munkin!
Couldn't have said it better myself! Second and third that emotion!
Motion is passed!
Jerry should have made the top ten & Rolling Stone is a commercial interest!
Consistency
One reason you don't see Jerry ranked higher is his lack of consistency. From roughly '68-'77, he could hold his own with anyone. From '78-'88, hit-and-miss. Beautifully resurgent in Summer '89 and Spring '90, but still not where he was in '77. From '91-'95 his playing was too often below high school standards (and sometimes frighteningly off-kilter). Arguably, had he retired at the conclusion of '77 (or maybe Spring '90), he would more consistently make the top 10-15 in these types of rankings.
Selection Standards
If I remember reading correctly, Rolling Stone bases their 100 Greatest Guitarists list off of a variety of factors, mostly the individual's legacy and impact on other guitarists. With that said, it still doesn't explain why Jerry isn't in the top 10. From what I've read in RS, they don't ever seem to take the 'Dead seriously and seem to shrug off the millions upon millions of Deadheads who keep waiting for them to get it. Also, RS is getting further and further away from "rock and roll" and more and more into "contemporary music," particularly with how much time they spend on hip-hop artists, Justin Bieber, and EDM. To call them a rock and roll magazine would require an extreme redefinition of rock and roll.
On a different note, did anyone else notice that Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth dropped drastically from the latest Top 100 list? And that Lee Ranaldo, also of Sonic Youth, didn't even make the list? I hear these guys in more new music than a lot of other guitarists, and they got royally snubbed. Worse than Jerry, even!
I think they 'get it'
special issues for Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead
"they got my money"
Rolling Stoned
Yeah i Like The Rolling Stone Issue on The Grateful Dead "The Ultimate Guide" ok i really like the issue and should i say about time the Grateful Dead get a nice layout. Years after the passing of Jerry and the numbers tell the tale. We love this band 24 hours a day, 7days a week, 365 days a year. And we put our $$$ out on table for those awesome boxed sets and shows sets that keep coming out from all the recordings the band made year after year. Not over dubbed studio albums but for shows that were played year after year and were different and special in there own way through the years different musicians that were with the band through all the years that made each show very special in its own way. As far as Rolling Stones ratings of There idea of who the best Guitarist in the world are. Well it might take a few more decades of album sales and fan loyalties to show who the best really was. After all when i listen back to radio shows and top tens and such rareley are the really best musicians actually recognized in the prestent or near present. After all the trendy years pass bye and nothing but the truth remaines Jerry has always been at the top of the list. And for my money Bob Weir deserves a spot for even knowing what to play between him and Phil Lesh.