Grateful Dead
Duke '78
** out of *****
Standard disclaimer: When reviewing any Grateful Dead release at this point, it needs to be noted that a lot of the truly great shows from the band have already been professionally released. (If you are new to the band, check out RtBE's Beginners Guide to The Grateful Dead Part's one and two.) With their vast back catalog on archive.org and all of their previous releases, the band's selections are running thin when it comes to must own, professionally released shows.
That said, the band still release shows because rabid fans (RtBE included) will listen to everything they put out. So click that "Read More" button and dive in...
Let's start with that cover art...good god that is rough! As someone who has loved some of their recent art work, this might be the worst album cover they have ever put out, and that is saying something. When it comes to the show itself, it isn't as bad as the cover art, but it is certainly a strange choice for a standalone release from the Friend of the Devils 19 CD box set.
The most obvious issue with Duke '78 is Jerry Garcia's mic isn't working for the first three songs and he sings lead on one of those. It finally clicks on four songs in, but things aren't smooth for "Peggy-O" either as the band are still wrestling with gremlins to begin the night. The Dead seem to find their edge by fighting with the Duke staff about lighting, and then a solid "Row Jimmy" rolls out. The end of the first set is pretty well played with an aggressive "New Minglewood Blues", a strong "Loser" and an excellent version of "Lazy Lightning >Supplication" which is in the conversation as one of hte best all-time versions of this pairing.
The full box set is named after The Rhythm Devils, The Grateful Dead drum duo Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart. This April '78 run of concerts is when the showpiece known as "Drums" on thousands of setlists really solidified. The drummers are a major highlight here, and not just in their spotlight slot in the second set, the last four songs of the first set are raised a level by the percussion.
"Bertha" is a fun second set opener, but "Good Lovin'" is much better as the band starts to really pump. It should be mentioned that Donna Jean sounds great in the mix (which comes from the excellent Betty Cantor board recordings) while husband Keith is a bit sleepy on the keys. Sleepy also is a good term for "It Must Have Been The Roses" but "Estimated Prophet" goes long and spacey, dripping into a very fluid and upbeat "Eyes of the World" which is again pushed along by the drummers.
Their 25+ minute "Rhythm Devils" segment is interesting as the percussion takes over and the players get out there, before an average "Truckin'" follows. A pairing of high energy numbers "Wharf Rat" and "Around and Around" wrap up the set and 'high' isn't a strong enough term to place on the yelling Garcia brings to the encore of "U.S. Blues"; either he was angry at someone or had a lot of energy to burn on the last tune.
Not a clunker of a show, but in a box set with better offerings around it perhaps Duke '78 could have stayed in the box and another show (4/8 or 4/16) could have been released on its own. An odd show that is certainly unique, and fans of "Drums" will want to seek this out, but when the Drums section is the best part of the Grateful Dead show, and you can't even hear Jerry Garcia for three songs to start, it is hard to rate this one too highly.
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