Road Trips Volume 1 - Number 3

More Lost and Found From the Hot, Hot Summer of’71 on this Two-Disc Set!

If you’re up on your Dick’s Picks releases—and we know you are—you’ll recall that Dick’s Picks 35, released in 2005, featured some smokin’ performances from the summer of 1971. The master reels from which it was culled, long believed to have been lost, had turned up miraculously on a houseboat owned by the parents of former GD keyboardist Keith Godchaux, discovered more than 30 years later by Keith’s brother, Brian, and son, Zion. And Keith had these masters because the band wanted him to be able to hear their most recent tour in preparation for his taking the piano seat that fall. It was quite a find, to say the least—the Grateful Dead world equivalent of uncovering a new royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

So imagine our surprise when two years later, under completely different circumstances, even more great, previously uncirculated master tapes from the summer of ’71 turned up unexpectedly. Surely that was a sign, too, that this music needed to come out and be shared with all of you. Which brings us, happily, to Road Trips Volume One, Number 3. This release offers up the brightest of these recently discovered gems: Disc One is taken from the famous show at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut, July 31, 1971, anchored around an out-of-this-world “Dark Star” and a version of “Not Fade Away > Goin’ Down the Road” that also includes a short “Darkness, Darkness” jam. Hot stuff!

The material on Disc Two is from the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago about three weeks later—8/23/71 (the following night, 8/24, was spotlighted on DP35)—and its big highlight is probably the very jammed out version of “That’s It for the Other One,” which in my humble opinion stands with the best they ever played (yes, even ones from the Fillmore West box). Spread across the discs you’ll also find outstanding versions of “China Cat > Rider,” “Uncle John’s Band > Johnny B. Goode,” “Wharf Rat,” “Sugar Magnolia” and lots more. Like the DP35 performances, these are a Phil-lover’s-delight, with massive bass on almost every track—careful if you’re driving or operating heavy machinery when you crank up these CDs!

As usual, these master soundboard recordings have been mastered in HDCD, and each package includes a cool booklet with an essay about the music (by yours truly in this case) and plenty o’ rare photos from the period.

So…You know the drill: click here for a complete track listing, and click here to order your copy today!

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Playin' in the Band?

We don't get to hear the full Playin' in the Band > Dark Star > Bird Song sequence? Hopefully its not a painful cut.

first the houseboat....

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"two years later, under completely different circumstances, even more great, previously uncirculated master tapes from the summer of ’71 turned up unexpectedly."

Curious to know what these different circumstances were ... perhaps in the liner notes I hope?

Summer Dead...what's better?

It's summertime. Schedule is packed with shows: Ratdog, Allmans, DSO, Steely Dan...what better way to stoke up for months of jammin' and road trippin' than with sounds from sweet summer of '71....as I place my order and sip my beer I can't help but wonder incredulously: how can everyone NOT hear this how I hear it???

PITB and Hard to Handle on STASH radio in Hamburg, Germany

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Hey all,
on the first edition of my STASH radio show in March last year I played the Hard to Handle audience version from Fallout from the Phil Zone (08-06-71), what a wonderful and ecstatic piece of music! And as if I have foreseen it, on the last edition I presented the PITB from DP35 (08-24-71), just to remind DL, the DP series and Phil's aggressive bass of these days. And now this one, very cool!
You can read the track lists of all STASH shows and download them as mp3 files here if you want to: www.stash-radio.de/archiv.htm
How long is this Dark Star > Bird Song? Would be something for radio airplay?!
Lemme know, Frank
---
www.stash-radio.de

Hard to wait!

Can't wait - please post the Hard to Handle on the listening party - best guitar solo ever, no contest.

The Cumberland Blues sounds fantastic - seems to be a different pitch to the AUD on the live music archive.

Hot Damn

Can't beat a 71 Hard To Handle.

Keep em coming.

Hoping it's a step up in the series

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So far, I have been a bit disappointed with the Road Trips series -- many of us Deadheads can make our own mix CDs of a given tour! Finally, something that many of us likely have not heard. I also wish Rhino would change their packaging, as I've found the packaging of the first two road trips and Winterland '73 to be of schwag quality. For the $$$$ paid, we Deadheads deserve better...and have in the past prior to the GD vault going to Rhino.

RE: Playin' in the Band?

"We don't get to hear the full Playin' in the Band > Dark Star > Bird Song sequence? Hopefully its not a painful cut."

It's not what you think; this is not one of those melt down PITB with a deep jam that slides into Dark Star. Its the embryonic PITB with NO jam at all which just ends and Dark Star starts immediately after - no real transition at all. Frankly I think it is a fair edit as the flow really isnt there for me - be-boping to Playin' with an abrupt shift into the cosmic jam.

Bobby sure could blow the flow from time to time - BIODTL to follow a triumphant Morning Dew (a la 9/21/72)?!!??? Jeez Bob - talk about musical whiplash. I don't feel that this edit is offensive due to this feeling of mine on the flow of things - although Bobby McGee isn't exactly a cosmic jam vehicle either, but at least it is a bit more of a mellow tune to change gears with from Hard to Handle.

No Complaints!

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What a pleasure it is not to read the usual whiners moanin and groanin about complete shows. Like I've said before, the market will determine the types of releases we will see in the future. So vote with your wallet, and I for one am ordering this collection today.

8/6/71

An alltime favorite memory of the dead at the hollywood palladium. It was such a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. At one of the palladium shows (I don't remember which one), Garcia said to us "listen harder folks". I also remember when Weir told the guy to move his mikes back for better dispersion.
There was a balcony where you could buy drinks, but we weren't old enough!
thank you for 8.06.71 - it brings back some fine memories.

take care all

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