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    A sealed, unlabeled box sat undisturbed for decades on a shelf in the Grateful Dead’s San Rafael tape vault on Front Street, its contents an enduring mystery, even to those few with access to the vault. All David Lemieux knew about that box when he became the Dead’s archivist was that it contained tapes belonging to Bear—Owsley Stanley, the Dead’s first soundman and architect of the Wall of Sound. Even in the Dead Heads’ Holy of Holies, the taped-up box was tantalizing. But this was Bear’s personal property, and so he didn’t touch the box out of an abiding respect for the elder luminary of sound. Bear’s archive of Sonic Journal recordings had been kept safe for him for years within the Grateful Dead’s vault—over 1,300 reels of tape stored in heavy-duty cartons like old banana boxes. At any time, David could have popped the tops and explored them to his archivist heart's content. But they were off-limits without the nod from Bear. - Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell, Owsley Stanley Foundation

     

    With a wink and a nod from Bear, we've peeled back those banana boxes to find some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including the double dose of shows that make up DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43. The two virtually complete performances from San Francisco 11/2/69, Live At Family Dog At The Great Highway, and from Dallas 12/26/69, McFarlin Auditorium, are complementary in their clarity and consistency thanks to Bear himself, and in their ability to foreshadow where the Dead were headed in the years to come. If the two killer 20-minute+ "Dark Stars" don't get ya, how about the Pigpen-centric sets featuring "Midnight Hour," "Next Time You See Me," "Big Boss Man," "Good Lovin'," and the once-lost-now-found complete rendition of "Dancing In The Streets," or the first full acoustic set ever performed? And we're certain you'll be fascinated to uncover the "Mystery Of Bear's Banana Boxes" as told by Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell in the liners.

     

    Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43 was recorded by Owlsey "Bear" Stanley and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.

     

    *2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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  • #41
    Cousins Of The…
    Joined:
    MSG box

    Going through the box one more time; listening to 9/21/82, what really bugs me is that the Charlie Miller on the archive sounds better in general, more crisp; box version almost sounds like some noise reduction was applied. Anyone else??

  • #42
    dmcvt
    Joined:
    Eleven list, MSG UV art, Hornsby Intersections

    Always appreciate hints to favorites/bests lists, was on a Viola Lee Blues quest a while back mice elf. Knowing at least one or two of my Dead loving friends would pick up the MSG big box and facing serious media overload/storage conditions, went for the 3CD package, am happy to have just it. Did stream much of the other shows before decision. Also thought the advance promo artwork at announcement was weird, now seeing part of it on the 3CD, also get it. Would suggest if any of y'all have a black light, check it out, those are florescent inks. Full disclosure, I held on to almost all my lighting effects from back in the day, makes me laugh still, thinking of UV posters and painted basement or attic hang outs. Recently picked up yet unheard Bruce Hornsby's Intersections, very nice extended foray into nooks and crannies of his great talent.

  • #43
    JoeyMC
    Joined:
    The Eleven

    Thank you for your list.

  • #44
    daverock
    Joined:
    RIP Robert Gordon

    Amen, Cousins. "The Humbler" and "The Real Humbler", with Danny Gatton, are two are my favourite rock n' roll albums. Robert Gordon was also a pretty good writer on Southern rock n' roll/blues/soul. Three on my book shelf are "It Came From Memphis", "Respect Your Self-Stax Records and The Soul Explosion" and "I Can't be Satisfied-the Life and Times of Muddy Waters"
    Alvar - great post on "The Eleven"-cheers. I always think of "classic rock" as being a bit of a negative description though - an attempt to make rock music socially acceptable. It always seems to be attached to very successful bands at the very point that they have lost their edge. Music your dad would like. Or your kids, come to that. Not a description that fits Eleven era Dead exactly.

    Last 5 - none of which are socially acceptable. Hopefully
    Nasty Rockabilly Volume 1. Various
    Dust On The Nettles cd 3 Various
    Live at The Venue, London 4/19/80 The Cramps
    Chasin' The Bird cd 1 Charlie Parker
    Complete Motown Singles 1966 cd 2 Various ( damn. It's still really good though)

  • #45
    JimInMD
    Joined:
    Re: VGuy / Phil and Horns

    I'd bet a buffalo nickel they play Viola Lee Blues. That song lends itself well to a full brass sound.

    So Vegas odds we see a Viola over the weekend.

    For what it's worth, the horns player Phil had for the first three nights was fantastic. An Energizer Bunny if I've ever seen one. Karl Denson. Check this guy out, he's the real deal.. funk and jazz, a perfect fit.

  • #46
    JimInMD
    Joined:
    Re: Alverhonso

    I finally got through the whole MSG box and gave a few shows a second listen. I enjoyed it and am glad I have it but it's just not the strongest box set they've ever put out. I think deadtony had one of the better one liners on the MSG thread, suffice for a review.. "Love me some dirty 80s." Pretty much sums it up.

    I would consider getting the stand alone show (3/9/81) if the cost of the box and space issues are driving your decision. It's probably the strongest performance of the bunch and I think it sounds the best of what is in the box. Down and dirty Grateful Dead, Cliffs notes edition. You would be missing the pretty tripped out wild colored box art, but... that's all flare and flash, albiet trippy flare and flash.

    Just something to consider.

    Back to whatever it was you were doing or listening to, screwing up or making just exactly perfect.

  • #47
    alvarhanso
    Joined:
    Re: Elevens Journey and Umphrey's

    On UM, I've seen them about a dozen times over the last 20 years, mainly when they've been on a co-bill. They are incredibly proficient musicians, they kill killer covers, and take adventurous chances improvisationally. However, I don't really gel with them, never have. Too much prog in the jam for my tastes. Phish has prog out the wazoo, but they incoporate so much more groove.

    Which brings me back to that Eleven search. That song is more like classical rock, since it's years before people thought of labeling prog as such, and Phil was classically trained along with that avant garde training. There's the weird waltzing rhythm, the dynamic ebbs and flows, and Jerry ripping a composed piece with increasing ferocity, all while Phil goes from rapid-fire eighth notes to huge counterpoint chords, and Mickey has the time of his life. A request had been made for where that list stood, a nice weekend up to Quebec put off an answer til now, but it also gave me a chance to relisten to a couple, which changed things a bit:
    1 2/28/69 mainly ahead of the pack for the few minutes of Phil and Jerry bobbing and weaving around each other, for some of it by themselves very quietly, and this one is nearly flawless.
    2 1/2/70 DaP 30 this one surprised me, did not recall it being this good. Of course, this is an A++ Dark Star sequence at that show anyway, but this is a really hot Eleven.
    3 3/2/69 going into it, thought this would be easily the best based on previous listens where I was blown away, mainly by Phil's ability to improvise in 11 the way he does in this one that he doesn't do the rest of the Fillmore West run. Yet I still liked the FE one from 10 months later slightly better.
    4 3/1/69 being the third best version of the Eleven out of four in four nights isn't that bad. Still well executed and a rousing version. I've long felt this show's wad was shot with That's It For The Other One opening, but it's still great primal Dead.
    5 12/11/69 DaP Bonus Disc 2014 very nice, tight version that goes ridiculously into an early Cumberland Blues.
    6 11/8/69 DiP 16 this show was just ridiculous, especially that dream continuous second set.
    7 2/27/69 the Dark Star is on Live/Dead, but they skipped this Eleven because it's shaky from a few guys at a couple different spots. Phil is all over it, and the jam is great because Jerry gets over his initial stumbles and makes up for it with some fiery work. But since my goal was a really great version that is also nailed, I knocked it down a bit. Which leads to my last eighth note on The Eleven
    8 11/2/69 DaP 43 the big thing that throws me on this one is the drum break by Mickey and re-entry bomb by Phil being uncharacteristically off. Some others aren't so smooth either, this one maybe was the most awkward. It's a small thing, but this guy is definitely going to be more impressed by one where they nail that bomb like the Fillmore West Run where they played it each night, and had it DOWN. But I do love this last Dave's Picks Dark Star sequence. The Dark Star, St Stephen are A+, The Eleven an A-, but that oh so deft segue into Death Don't Have No Mercy, maybe the best one I've heard (happy for suggestions to knock it from that personal perch), is just fantastic.

    Sorry for the lengthy diversion. Dave's 44 looks promising. MSG not sounding so promising. If it's around in six months, I'll probably bite the bullet then. Dave's 2023 subs are right around the corner, that's the best hundred bucks I spend every year.

    ETA: I unfortunately had to limit my choices to what I had on USB drives in my car, just moved a couple weeks ago, and the computer is still in a box, so the Download Series and other versions from 1968-69 weren't readily available. Dick's Picks 26 has 2 versions! I will need to set up that very computer for the creation of the disc, so may give them a spin whenever I get around to that :)

  • #48
    Cousins Of The…
    Joined:
    RIP Robert Gordon

    Great rock and roll singer, always with a killer band(L!nk Wray, Chris Spedding, Danny Gatton)

    Had to add "!" in Mr. Wray's first name...Dead.net barked.

    Last 5:

    Robert Gordon Are You Gonna' Be the One
    Weyes Blood Titanic Rising
    Beach Boys Live 1968 (8 soundboards in 1 box set)
    GD 3-10-81 (Bob MIA in the mix - almost sounds like JGB at times)
    Cactus Blossoms One Day

  • #49
    Vguy72
    Joined:
    Phil Lesh & Friends next weekend....

    ....will be joined by the horn section of the Trey Anastasio Band. Very cool.

  • #50
    PeteH
    Joined:
    Umphreys

    Hey Vguy this is a band you want to see. They rock! I've seen them about 30 times and am never disappointed. They are a true jam band with most songs in the 12 to 20 minute range. Their collaborative and improvisational skills are awesome. Very talented. I've seen many many shows/bands over the years and they rank right up there with the Dead in how much fun and enjoyment I've had at their shows.

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A sealed, unlabeled box sat undisturbed for decades on a shelf in the Grateful Dead’s San Rafael tape vault on Front Street, its contents an enduring mystery, even to those few with access to the vault. All David Lemieux knew about that box when he became the Dead’s archivist was that it contained tapes belonging to Bear—Owsley Stanley, the Dead’s first soundman and architect of the Wall of Sound. Even in the Dead Heads’ Holy of Holies, the taped-up box was tantalizing. But this was Bear’s personal property, and so he didn’t touch the box out of an abiding respect for the elder luminary of sound. Bear’s archive of Sonic Journal recordings had been kept safe for him for years within the Grateful Dead’s vault—over 1,300 reels of tape stored in heavy-duty cartons like old banana boxes. At any time, David could have popped the tops and explored them to his archivist heart's content. But they were off-limits without the nod from Bear. - Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell, Owsley Stanley Foundation

 

With a wink and a nod from Bear, we've peeled back those banana boxes to find some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including the double dose of shows that make up DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43. The two virtually complete performances from San Francisco 11/2/69, Live At Family Dog At The Great Highway, and from Dallas 12/26/69, McFarlin Auditorium, are complementary in their clarity and consistency thanks to Bear himself, and in their ability to foreshadow where the Dead were headed in the years to come. If the two killer 20-minute+ "Dark Stars" don't get ya, how about the Pigpen-centric sets featuring "Midnight Hour," "Next Time You See Me," "Big Boss Man," "Good Lovin'," and the once-lost-now-found complete rendition of "Dancing In The Streets," or the first full acoustic set ever performed? And we're certain you'll be fascinated to uncover the "Mystery Of Bear's Banana Boxes" as told by Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell in the liners.

 

Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43 was recorded by Owlsey "Bear" Stanley and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.

 

*2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

....prez follows through on a campaign promise and the hate still flies with certain people. "What about my mortgage?!" "MIdterm excuse for votes!"
Fascinating indeed brother. The current conservative trends are alarming to say the least. Go out and vote like your lives depend on it! Because it does.
My political rant for the month.
Back to tunes. And it ain't Kid Rock or Nugent.

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Submitted by KeithFan2112 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 04:25

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Glad you had that memory come back so clearly. I recently had a similar experience that brought me back to college beer parties, and sneaking off to smoke with buddies and get a few tunes in. Memory is a funny thing.

What a first show, 6/16/74. I did not realize that one was a three set show. One of my favorite 1974 releases. A buddy sent me the remainder from 6/16 and 6/18, but I rarely listen. That's about to change - you've inspired me.
For whatever reason Jerry is extra up-front in the mix, which is especially cool with when he's hitting chords - it's a very crunchy Wolf.

Just to see them in those early days. Thanks for the detailed account. It reminded me of some of my best concert experiences. I have no doubt I would have had a difficult time not following them outside of a hundred mile radius. The way I think of it, I was willing to see bands like Yes, Rush, and The Who 3 or 4 times a tour at multiple venues, and they all played basically the same set list from night to night. If that grabbed me, then getting a different set list every night would have had drawn me outside of the Philly / Jersey / New York market. That sounds like real freedom to me.

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Submitted by KeithFan2112 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 04:41

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Has anyone checked out the home page Veneta application, where you can isolate tracks? Highly recommend isolating Keith on Playing in the Band. During the jam part he plays, I guess 10+ minutes of perfectly seamless improv piano that sounds like a concerto. As much as I knew what a talent he was, listening to his isolated piano there made me realize I didn't know the half of it. The app can be a little bit quirky, and I could not get Bertha to work, but be patient and use a PC if it doesn't work on your phone.

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Submitted by JimInMD on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 04:57

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I cobbled together a complete 6/18 using the Full-Norman for the road trips and the best sounding board from the Archive. You two have inspired me to do the same for 6/16.. in fact for all the '74 chop job shows. Thankfully they started releasing full shows for the most part. .. at least to me, I know some prefer or are ok with partial shows, which is ok, but I do prefer complete shows being remastered unless in those rare occurrences there really was a train wreck mid show complete with explosions, body parts flailing and mortally wounded lying by the wreckage. ..but I digress, thanks for inspiring me, a nice little project when I get the time.

As for the Sunshine Daydream / Veneta app.. I looked but all I could find was that there is a Sunshine Daydream week strain. I think I am going to have to seek that one out.

Edit: I went to the local store and sure enough.. they had some Sunshine Daydream buds. The stuff is outstanding.. super trippy, yields a strong, transcendent buzz.. but beware of the side effects. I snapped out of a 5-hour stupor completely naked straddling the top of a telephone pole. This stuff should come with a warning label. I've got some nasty splinters in places that, well....

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Submitted by PT Barnum on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 06:07

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far freaking out man. Unfortunately for me, I live in the south where you can still get busted for smoking an herb. It's 2022 for Christ's sake. When is this madness ever gonna end? For over 50 years I have been smoking weed and it has never hurt me, well, unless you want to count that time, we smoked all that black afghani hash and woke up with our faces in our shoes, it took hours for those shoe prints to wear off.
Top five bands for me:
#1 The God Damn Grateful Dead
#2 Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, Beatles, Vguy and I have similar likes, except fish, tried them, didn't take. Yes, number 5 is whatever I'm listening to right now.
Student loan forgiveness: Wow, thanks Prez Biden for that, and thanks to all you folks who think you got ripped off and didn't get anything ("what about...pay your bills...my, my me me mine) now we know who you are and remember that we vote in November again and that you will be remembered as the ones who complained about this. Stupid republicans shoot themselves in the foot again. Again, the words of Harry Truman ring true in my ears "if you want to live like a republican, you had better vote democrat." Political rant over, for now.

A large gap before we get to number two

2. Traffic
3. The Band
4. Pink Floyd

5. My most recent concert.

Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Beatles are all stepping stones to the other stuff.

Surprised nobody mentioned the Allmans.

Yea. Student loan forgiveness. How about grow up and pay your bills.

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Submitted by Nick1234 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 11:50

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I tend to like a few albums by a lot of bands/artists without any staying at the top or near the top of the pile. All those already mentioned plus Spirit, Dylan, Love, Talk Talk, The Fall, Van Morrison and on and on. For the last couple of years I've hardly played any GD. My interest will return I'm sure but I don't know when.

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Submitted by frosted on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 12:05

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I can't resist, I'm a list guy.

The Grateful Dead would be the only rock band that cracks my top 5, the rest being Jazz groups.

But for this, I'll stick to rock, and bands with more than just an album or two in their portfolio. Surely there are changes over time, but here's what I'd say currently based on the amount I listen to now and have listened to over the years:

1. Grateful Dead

2. Brian Setzer Orchestra

3. The Band

4. Little Feat

5. The Byrds/Flying Burrito Brothers/and associated solo projects

Impossible for me too.

Besides the GD and the Garcia Band(s).. Floyd, ABB, Hot Tuna, Steely Dan, The Band, Van Morrison, Beatles, Airplane, Burritos, Old and in the Way, Lots of bluegrass/folk/blues, goodness, we could be here all day. But to my ears and mind nothing tops the good old GD / Garcia Band.. I like many of Phil's line-ups, a lot. But hey.. I have it a go.

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Submitted by Charlie3 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 13:25

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Man, glad you guys are all so cool with paying my kids' student loans, pretty cool windfall for the two that are done with college already. And don't thank Biden, he's not paying for it, we all are, so thanks to us would be more appropriate. The loans didn't really disappear, they just don't have to be paid back by the borrower.

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Submitted by billy the kiddd on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 14:23

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1) Grateful Dead and anything acoustic or electric that Jerry Garcia played. ,2) Muddy Waters blues band, with Little Water, Otis Spann, & Jimmy Rodgers. from the early 1950s, 3) Paul Butterfield Blues Band with Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, San Lay & Jerome Arnold. Favorite musicians, B.B.King, T Bone Walker, Elmore James, Charlie Musslewhite, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and on & on & on .

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Submitted by daverock on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 14:27

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Maybe not...the band I have listened to most apart from The Dead is sadly The Stones. The band I have seen the most, between 40-50 times over 46 years is Hawkwind. So top 5 from 1972 to now might be
1. The Stones
2. Hawkwind
3. The Cramps
4. Gong
5. David Bowie - but only up to 1980.

But in the last 12 months, I have listened to more King Crimson, who I saw for the first time about 2017, and an assortment of 1950s rockers than any of the above - Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Duane Eddy to name 5. Many more though.

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Submitted by billy the kiddd on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 14:58

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Garcia's playing made every song better. But I never really cared for Quinn the Eskimo, Samba in the Rain, Picasso Moon, Just a Little Light, Satisfaction, Victim or the Crime, there's a few others. It would have been so much cooler if they would have pulled out Pride of Coucamonga, Mtns of the Moon, Sitting on top of the World, Attics of My Life( they did it, but not very often) and many others.

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Submitted by 1stshow70878 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 15:33

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Almost my exact same list of least favs.
Can't do a top 5 bands either, just too many but if I look ay my collection...
GD by a huge number
Allman Bros.
Eric Clapton
If I limit it to performers I've seen live, same list but I'd add
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Albert "The Ice Pick" Collins
Return To Forever
Weather Report
Eagles (first line-up)
But I digress, cheers

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Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 16:32

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>98% of my music listening is GD.
I collected tapes in the 90’s, then digitized the tapes, then downloaded all the SBD’s from archive before that was blocked (think that I got about 125 GB of shn), then got shn files on DVD-R from the snail mail vines, then starting doing torrents.
I probably have 3 TB of GD torrents that I haven’t even listened to yet.
And I buy the official releases.

Of the other ~2%, JG takes up about half, then Hendrix, Floyd, Who, ABB, Led Zep, Stones, Rush, Hard Working Americans, Ziggy Stardust (my preferred Bowie era) and others. Generally live recordings, very little studio albums, although I did listen to Quadrophenia earlier this week, and will listen to Hendrix and Floyd studio albums.

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Submitted by Vguy72 on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 17:11

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....don't remind me. Even Vince's songs were better. Childhoods End? Trash. If The Shoe Fits? Trash.

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Submitted by proudfoot on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 18:19

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VGUY72!!!!

Wave to the Wind still horrifies me to think about. Other Phil songs are acceptable.

Vince's songs were overplayed, but they are alright to me.

The others anything after 1985 gets little play from me. I do have the occasional visit to that stretch, but _occasional_.

....is my mailmans middle name!
Edit. Dave's 43 glass shipping notice received!
Double edit. Larkin Poe is playing here tonight as part of the Big Blues Bender four day festival. So is Little Feat and Buddy Guy. Unfortunately, they don't offer individual day tix. It's a $500 wristband or nothing. Hard pass. Bummer in the summer.
I'll see you eventually ladies!! Until then, keep doing what you're doing because you kick ass!

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Submitted by deadmike on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 23:10

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for info on the latest DP-volume. I have registered the tracking info in my Swedish Postal Service app but nothing so far. The wait is absolutely worst when a record has music from the late 60's or up to about 1974, because that's my main focus when it comes to listening to the band.

The past 25 years there is only ONE release I have listened to muliple times, or ONE track since I don't have the vinyl LP. That's Playing in the Band from 5-21-74, which I have in the box set Pacific Northwest '73–'74: The Complete Recordings. Okey, maybe I have listened a couple of times to the Complete 1969 Fillmore West as well. ;-)

About lists, I love lists but nowadays I usually only make lists of ten favorite artists or bands. In my dead.net profile I list my favorite bands as follows:

1. GRATEFUL DEAD
2. YELLO
3. CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
4. QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE
5. FRANK MARINO & MAHOGANY RUSH
6. ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND
7. JERRY GARCIA BAND(S)
8. REDBONE
9. LED ZEPPELIN
10. HAWKWIND

I listen to a lot more jazz though than any of the above bands, maybe excluding the Dead.

These are the different artists/bands I have most records (LP's, CD's, 45's, prerecorded tapes, etc), DVD's and (prerecorded) VHS's with:

Grateful Dead, 224 units +
Yello, 86 units
Jerry Wallace, 60 units (only 45's)
Bob Dylan, 58 units
David Bowie, 54 units
Hawkwind, 47 units
Miles Davis, 41 units
Allman Brothers Band, 40 units
Santana (not counting Carlos Santana solo stuff), 36 units
John Coltrane, 32 units +
(Jerry Garcia solo and bands, 32 units)
(Charles Mingus, 30 units)
(CCR, 27 units)
(Led Zeppelin, 26 units)
(Marshall Tucker Band, 26 units)

Best regards,
Micke Östlund,
Växjö, Sweden

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Submitted by daverock on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 02:29

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Frosted - of all the bands I haven't seen, the Brain Setzer Orchestra is the one I think I would most like to witness. Incredible live dvd of them playing live in Japan about 20 years ago. It was seeing The Stray Cats and The Cramps back in 1981 that first turned me on to rock n' roll. Jumping jehosophat!

Me too Dennis, probably my favorite Brentski tune.
Always liked Hey Pockey Way and Let the Good Times Roll, though I guess they all sang on that…

Perhaps the best thing about these “other” tunes was Garcia!
Picasso, Victim, Brent Tunes, Saint etc: try listening to just what JG is doing.
The guy is just so damn versatile. As good as he is “leading”, he’s perhaps even better accompanying or augmenting others!
The Maestro!

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11 years 7 months

Submitted by Angry Jack Straw on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 08:03

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For whatever reason I have always considered Dylan and Van Morrison to be solo artists rather than bands.

If I look at it that way, they displace most bands and are definitely in the top 6 (I need to make room). I would add Neil Young to that grouping as well.

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Submitted by Crow Told Me on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 08:04

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Nothing lasts. Including top 5 lists. On 8/26/22, at 8:15 am, my top 5 (not counting jazz) was:

GOGD
ABB
Zeppelin
Van Morrison
TTB

But then at 8:20, I realized, no way can I leave out the Beatles. They're the fucking Beatles! Oh yeah, and the Stones. So what if they haven't made a decent new record since the '70s, and I really can't bear to watch them on stage without Chollie, ya still gotta reckon with how impossibly awesome they were from '68-'72. And I spent the whole late '70s early '80s listening to punk, so there's got to be some of that in there somewhere. So at 8:10 am it changed to:

GOGD
Beatles
Stones
ABB
Clash

But then I was like, what about Dylan? Or Neil Young? I've definitely listened to them my whole damn life, a lot longer than I was into punk. Come to think of it, Los Lobos have been constant favorites since the punk rock days. And what about Hendrix, for fuck's sake?

So at 8:25 am, I just gave up.

Interesting, to me anyway, to consider why some artists fascinated me for a year or two or three, and others have stayed with me for decades. Some of it is just getting older. I'm not nearly as pissed off as I was as an 18 year old, so I don't listen to as much Black Flag or Fugazi. Some of it is just trends that come and go: I''ve had periods where I listened to prog a lot, others where all that stuff seemed horribly pretentious. I've had times when I couldn't listen to country, times when it was all I wanted to hear.

One constant has been the GOGD. They're like an ocean. There's a lot of it. It's always changing. You can float along the surface or dive deep down. There's always more to explore, and always something new to notice when I return to things I've heard over and over. I never get tired of 'em.

Love the Animal house like time stamps (like in the move when they all sync watches but all have different times; )

AND
That last paragraph has got to be one of the best descriptions of the GOGD I’ve ever read!
Sheer poetry, right up there with Ralph’s essay in the Christmas story! Teasing of course, but totally serious about your great description!

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16 years 10 months

Submitted by Vguy72 on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 09:38

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....The Black Crowes! They're up there on my list too.
Which reminds me.....time to dust them off. BRB.
That's actually how I discovered TTB. Saw the Crowes live a year or so ago. Went home and started watching you toob Crowe videos. One was of Chris Robinson with TTB in a dressing room jamming. I had heard of the TTB, but never checked them out. That video blew my mind, and away I went down the rabbit hole. Thanks Mr. Robinson!

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Submitted by That Mike on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 09:57

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Dennis - As an avid collector, please see Miles Davis website (store) for an offer on a new premium pressing of Kind Of Blue. You may have to tell the wife the charge was for “Miles Motors & Repair” for some nebulous “car repairs”, but I think this pressing will interest you greatly.

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Submitted by That Mike on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 10:42

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VGuy - I’ve personally just been spending the week going down the Jayhawks rabbit hole, a band always on my periphery, but I never gave full attention to. I’ve been buying their back catalogue, including solo work. One cd I had delivered was a duo effort by the two principal songwriters, Mark Olson and Gary Louris, called “Ready For The Flood”.

The producer? Why none other than Black Crowe, Chris Robinson, hisself!

The knee bone is connected to the shin bone. The shin bone is connected…

Ah, the mails in Thing! (Creak). Why the brand new TTB album “I Am The Moon”!! Fire up the CD player, Lurch, and let’s play all 4 parts of this symphony in order, to get the overall story!

Not sure why, I’ve never really checked out her music, but perhaps like a as not yet “knowing” youngster might say, “ she gives me a funny feeling” lol
She’s what known as a Hot Mess!

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Submitted by frosted on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 11:37

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Yeah, the Brian Setzer Orchestra is great, especially if you like a little jazz and swing twist to your rocknroll. They play plenty of Stray Cats tunes too, so I'd really include both of those groups in my favorites. I've seen the Orchestra once, and it was a great show, with lots of horn players and really tight musicians. I have that live disc you mentioned, listen to it a lot, along with many others by them.

Setzer is vastly underappreciated IMO. An outstanding guitarist, and he knows his jazz chords and licks better than most rock guitarists. He sometimes gets pigeonholed with the rockabilly label. That's music I like, but some people treat it as an outdated fad. He has an excellent voice too. He sometimes rants and raves when doing rockabilly, but has a very good range, and a really nice voice on the old jazz standards and doo-wop type ballads.

I first saw the Stray Cats in the early 80s too. Hadn't heard much of them, and went in thinking I wouldn't like them much, because I didn't like the punk and new wave scene that I thought they were coming out of - seemed like too much anti-Dead to me. Boy was I wrong, it was the most fun show I ever saw. In a small gymnasium at my university, I was right near the stage. Setzer had blue streaks in his hair and his shirt off on a hot night - a skinny guy with too many tattoos, but what a musician and stage force he was. They rocked the whole time - had the energy of 5 bands, nonstop, just enjoying every minute and not at all nihilistic and cynical like the punks of that era.

To catch the Cats in their prime, I watch their live show on youtube at Montreaux from 1981 or so. They were really young and rebellious looking. The stand up drumming and double bass just look cool on stage while they're constantly on the move - and those 3 instruments put out a hell of a sound for a small combo. The song My One Desire in that show sort of epitomizes a great pure rock tune for me. When I want to get fired up with adrenaline, I'll occasionally go back to that show.

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Submitted by Sixtus_ on Fri, 08/26/2022 - 12:32

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this one is rubbing me right....

those mentioning Jayhawks, check out Golden Smog if you get a chance or haven't already.
I'm super familiar with their first two albums (some all timers on those).
I fell into them via Jayhawks/Wilco/Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt years ago as a peripheral rabbit hole and have been in wonderland ever since.

Be Well People!
Sixtus

Sixtus - I too am a huge fan of Wilco/Tweedy/Tupelo/Farrar/Son Volt, but aside from “Hollywood Town Hall”, I didn’t know the Jayhawks, but these guys are terrific. I’m just learning about this supergroup thing Golden Smog with Tweedy and Louris and others, gonna dig deeper, thanks for the heads up.

....shipped from Austin, TX weds. Arrives two days later. I'm looking 👀 at you rhino/dead.net. See? It's not that hard to get the people what they bought in a timely fashion.
Edit. Seems I should listen to these Jayhawks. I've never heard of them.
Edited again. CD carousel is loaded up with I Am The Moon. Slightly disappointed that they didn't come in a cardboard sleeve to hold all four volumes together, but first world problems. Time to pack a bowl.

Checked around,,, if it's the UHQR version it seems to be sold out EVERYWHERE!

Will keep eye out,,, thanks for the heads up.

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Submitted by proudfoot on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 08:15

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First: I had no idea ST played guitar
2nd: I had no idea ST and DT were married (my wife said they were)
3rd: first few numbers were good
Then Derek started playing with Susan off the stage.
Pretty good. Pretty, pretty good. (A curb your enthusiasm/Larry David reference)

Bottom line: thumbs up. Well worth attending. The entire band was supreme. Good vibes.

Los Lobos was good, too. My wife and I saw them 2x before: in Fall 85 in Tacoma (when we were merely dating) and in 96 at further festival at Gorge (when she was pregs with our twins)

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Submitted by Oroborous on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 10:07

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I worked that show (half the tour actually), wonder if we met lol
The Gorge is sweet!

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Submitted by That Mike on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 10:12

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Hey Dennis - I double checked the email I received yesterday. It CAME from the Miles Davis site, but to purchase the UHQR Vinyl of Kind of Blue, it directs you to the following linq:
store(dot)acousticsounds (dot) com

My apologies for directing you to the Miles store.
I hope this helps! Bonne chance!

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9 years 8 months

Submitted by daverock on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 10:59

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Frosted - I was inspired by your post to watch The Stray Cays live in Cologne 7/16/81 show on dvd earlier today. A wild show - what a great guitar sound and style he has. Jazz inspired rock n'roll, as you say. I saw them with my brother when I went to visit him in March 81. I had little idea what to expect, and no real expectations. But they blew me away.

At that time, in England, rock n' roll had quite a cute image - although it was followed by murderous Teddy Boys who were a bit older than yer average rock fan. They took umbrage with punks and used to stage battles with them like the mods and rockers supposedly did in the 60s. I was still in full freak mode at the time - but I enjoyed fast hard rock in the 70s, so punk quite appealed to me at first. The gigs in 1976 - 1977 were a blast, but then it became a bit cliched so I stopped going. But The Stray Cats blew every punk band I had seen out of the water. They hung out with The Clash, and had a lot more bite than any rock n'roll band I had ever come across up to that point. I should say that I hadn't heard any of the great recordings of the 1950s at this point - but like The Stones and The Dead, listening to The Stray Cats opened a door into the past without being locked into it.

I can remember reading an interview with Brian Setzer, in which he said it would be too expensive to bring the full orchestra over to England. A real shame.
I don't see any contradiction in liking The Stray Cats and The Dead at all, incidentally. The week after I saw them, I saw The Dead for the first time. No need to choose between them at all. To me, the whole thing of listening to The Dead is to be open minded, and explore different styles of music. If it rocks.....it rocks!

....saw Phish there in '97 and '98. Beautiful venue and cool camping.
If you've been there, you know where the best spot is. In between the floor and the lawn is a strip of flat grass that circles the floor. At the '98 shows, I went with my wife (then girlfriend) and a buddy of mine and his girlfriend. I wanted to get in line early to snag a spot there. Wife/girlfriend wondered what the big deal was and didn't want to get in line so early. I said, "trust me. Its worth it." Mike Gordon drove by the line in a golf cart and said hello to everyone, which was very cool. Gates opened. My buddy and I scooby-doo'ed down the hill to get there. Ran so fast I lost a Birkenstock. Girlfriends behind picked it up and eventually found us on that flat strip. After we were all there, I asked my girlfriend/wife, "worth the wait?" She rubbed her toes in the grass, saw the view, caved and said, "You were correct Vinnie." We all proceeded to pop some caps and stems and Phish obliged by playing one of the most highly rated shows of that year. (And '98 is widely considered a banner year).
Wife doesn't indulge anymore, but I'm an old dog who likes his old tricks.
Shit. That was 24 years ago??
I need to get back there someday.
Footnote. We then drove south to catch them at Shoreline and Ventura. Pulled into a rest stop in No. Cal to sleep in our cars. I woke up to my girlfriend/wife laughing her ass off. Apparently, some fans that were driving the same route slept on the rest stop lawn and picnic tables in their sleeping bags and the sprinklers went off.
"Vinnie! It's so funny! They all jumped up in their bags and hopped around like Mexican jumping beans!" We sat there and watched the show, then went looking for a breakfast spot.
Good times.
Stray Cats are legit.

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16 years 11 months

Submitted by Oroborous on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 11:30

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Can’t believe you anniversary types haven’t mentioned the big one today: 50 years for Veneta!
SSDD on the big screen tonight!

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15 years 8 months

Submitted by Nick1234 on Sat, 08/27/2022 - 12:04

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How often do you play those classic records that you were sick to death of back in the day? Harvest, Led Zep IV, DSOM, Sticky Fingers etc. I've really been enjoying them lately. I've completely fallen in love again with early 70s Neil Young, I'm 15 again and very happy about it.

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