August 20 - August 26, 2007
As we move toward the symbolic end of summer (Labour Day, of course), we have some great music to play spanning about 21 years of Grateful Dead music, from 1968 to 1989, two fine years with which to bookend this week’s offerings.
Our first entry this week is the encore from 8/21/68 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, a nice, juicy Midnight Hour. Although not quite as prevalent at shows in 1968 as it had been in 1966, the Grateful Dead continued to play monster versions of this Pigpen vehicle.
Next we’ll stop into 1972, to the opening night of the rightfully famous Europe 72 tour, to 4/7/72 in London. From the middle of that night’s first set is a typically hot 1972 rendition of China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider.
In 1976, at the end of their very successful summer of comeback shows, the Grateful Dead entered the studio and recorded a couple of the songs they’d been playing that summer. From one of those sessions on 8/29/76 is this bare-bones Dancing In The Street with only Donna on vocals. While we’re in mid-1970s mode, we also have this terrific Samson and Delilah from 5/12/77 in Chicago. Despite the frequency that song was played in 1976-1977, they never seem to get tired of it, always offering up an inspired rendition.
Finally from the 1970s, on 4/22/78 in Nashville to be precise, we are pleased to bring you a couple of tracks from the second set, starting with the second set opening Lazy Lightning>Supplication and the pre-Drums Estimated Prophet>Eyes of the World, both very nicely performed songs on this night.
Our last stop this week is in New Jersey on 7/10/89, a show that took place in and out of a massive thunderstorm. By request, we have the first set closer, The Music Never Stopped, and from the start of the second set, a great 1989 combination of Foolish Heart, Just a Little Light, Playing In The Band>Uncle John’s Band. What a great tour.
Be sure to check in next week, as we’ll be exploring some intriguing material from 1969 and 1980, and other material between those years, and likely after. We try to surprise even ourselves. Feel free to write with questions or comments.
David Lemieux
vault [at] dead.net
I also ask you to reconsider this latest move to streaming audio only. If there is something we as a community need to do to get what used to be, back to what is, please tell us.
Rhino has made a clusterf*ck of the show downloads, the Dick's Picks, vault releases and now these. So are we surprised by this move? As a longtime Deadhead and loyal customer, it sure seems like they are, *at best*, incompetent. I know this not to be true because if one visits their site at rhino.com they have all sorts of great re-issues, new releases, box sets and the like. One must ask, then, why are they screwing the pooch when it comes to their arrangement with The Grateful Dead?
Rhino and to whomever else it may concern, surpise us. Provide some answers, MARKET some music (you know downloads, CDs, DVDs, and the like?), stop killing off people's love and passion for the Grateful Dead you Ship of Fools!
Explain the decision to deep-six the mp3 format. Unless this decision is reversed, I will not be visiting this site again. And you can bet I won't buy anymore Grateful Dead CDs. Three From The Vault will be it. Is this a money thing? Did Microsoft and Apple lay some bread on you guys? Hey, it's your site, your music-but you had a good thing here and were really generating a lot of good will with your generosity. I don't like listening to music on my computer. It sucks. If you can't do something right, don't do it at all.
Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.Streaming sucks.
The new format really sucks, nothing like alienating your fans for what? Hey Rhino, this is going to hurt your profits not help them...stupid corporate jerks!
If I want streaming Dead I will go to one of the hundred other streaming sites.
I guess we were not buying enough Dick's Picks or something.
Oh well, I can still get soundboard shows for free elsewhere...
Cut of the week.
Nice Estimated>Eyes.
The Dancin' is interesting with Donna, but nice and tight musically. Love Jerry's leads here.
As for streaming only..well...that be out of my hands.
“The Omnipotent Grateful Dead!”
I have nothing new to add to what everyone else is bitching about, but I wanted to throw my hat into the ring so to speak...
THIS SUCKS!
PLEASE BRING BACK THE DOWNLOADABLE MP3s!!!!!!!!!!
Well, I discovered this site about two months ago and have been enjoying not only the new releases each Monday, but also slowly but surely catching up on all of the previous weeks' postings in the archives. When I found out that new stuff would not be downloadable, I was pretty bummed, but took solace in that I would still be able to get all of the previously posted material. (Some weeks I still haven't looked at, and some I only downloaded a few tunes, thinking eventually I'd be able to go back and get it all.)
Forgive me if someone has already made this observation (I haven't read every post), but even the old tracks in the archives can now only be streamed!
I guess one way of looking at it is that I have a bit more live Dead than I had two months ago. Unlike some others, I'm not particularly pissed, just kind of disappointed that such a cool thing (apparently) had to end. (This feeling, incidentally, is somewhat akin to having just experienced a, shall way say, less-than-stellar Dead show ... not angry, just sadly disappointed knowing that it could have been better.)
Add my name to the list of people upset over the new format. I too looked forward to Mondays to see what David would put up for us. Now I will be taking the Dead site off my list of weekly visits. This sucks. Very un-Dead like if you ask me too.
Location
I'm just as bummed about the streaming, but can we limit our comments to ones that make sense.
1. Yes, Jerry did say once they play it, its the audiences. Fine. Did he say it like a proclamation? Did he say it more than once? Did he preach to the masses? Didn't he say it like I don't know 30 years ago? He said it in an interview. Most of you look to this as gospel - when it was an offhand comment at best. Plus, the big guy's gone and has been for 12 years. May be time to move on a bit.
2. This has all been to whet our whistle, Rhino hoping for us to cash in and buy more product. It will work cause I really want to complete some shows! And guess what, you have every right not to purchase it as well and show your distaste for the man.
3. Email, call, write send a smoke signal out to your Deadhead friends - TRADE FOR THESE SHOWS!! Most are out there on cd (before archive fiasco). Go out there and find them, BE A COMMUNITY - NOT AN INDIVIDUAL DOWNLOADING AND LOOKING TO GRAB AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. The GD talked about being a community so work on it. Or shut up!
4. Read # 3 again, that's what Jerry was talking about. In my opinion of course.
Good luck to all - and thanks David for the treats.
Chris