Showing posts with label 1972. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1972. Show all posts
Friday, June 21, 2024
Full Show Friday: Traffic - Santa Monica, CA 1972
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Traffic!
Friday, June 16, 2023
Full Show Friday: Chuck Berry - Live at BBC Theatre 1972
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Chuck Berry!
Today it is the innovator of rock and roll himself, Chuck Berry. We discussed Chuck in our Masters series and recently read the fantastic biography on him by R.J. Smith, Chuck Berry: An American Life, which is worth buying.
Pro Shot, Pro Sound, Set list below. Enjoy!
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Album Review: The Grateful Dead - Dave's Picks 46: Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, California 9/9/72
The Grateful Dead
Dave's Picks 46: Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, California 9/9/72
**** out of *****
It is really hard to find a bad Grateful Dead show from 1972. Almost every night saw the band "on" and some nights found them soaring to the highest peaks of their history. Dave's Picks 46 goes to one of the strongest months of that heavily toured year, September, and delivers; 9/9/72 from the Hollywood Palladium.
The band, Jerry Garcia – lead guitar, vocals Bob Weir – rhythm guitar, vocals Phil Lesh – bass guitar, vocals Bill Kreutzmann – drums Keith Godchaux – keyboards Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals, were clicking on a very high level and the sound on this release from all involved, is pristine. If anything, the vocals are pushed a bit too far in front so slightly missed notes or harmonies standout more than on old tapes. It is really amazing the work Dave Lemieux and his team put into cleaning up the sound, and the unreal job Owsley Stanley did originally recording this show.
This night begins with a fairly tame, yet professionally delivered first set, par for the course for September '72. Opening and closing with Chuck Berry covers, in-between showcasing a gorgeous "Sugaree" that has a deep bass, "Tennessee Jed" with nice guitar work from Jerry and an average "Bird Song" that, even when not the set highlight, is always welcomed. Speaking of set highlights, that would easily be "Playin' In The Band", the group kicks in from there and the tune really seems to spark the inventive playing and energy for the rest of the night.
The second set starts with an excellent version of the classic pairing "China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider" and Godchaux's keys, along with Garcia's inventive guitar lines (especially over the second half) shines bright throughout. Keith's playing also highlights a cool version of "Friend of the Devil", a song that the band didn't always deliver in the live setting. The CD aspect of Dave's Picks can be frustrating as disk 2 contains the end of the show, but reprogramming it is a must for this night as Disk 3 (the middle of the second set) is where the magic truly happens.
The raw and semi bluesy "He's Gone" starts the proceedings with languid playing from all involved before segueing into an top notch version of "Truckin'" that features weeping, bended notes from Garcia. The tempo kicks up for the song which rambles on winningly before dropping into a brief "Drums" segment before "The Other One" begins.
While the show has been 'solid to pretty good' at this point, "The Other One" presented here is worth the price of this release alone. It captures everything that makes the Dead special in the thirty five minute run time as it begins with wild, blazing energy before moving to tripped out spacey noise/free form playing. Things then shift towards melodic and sweet sounds at the end of the journey; in a year full of amazing versions of this song, this one needs to be heard and ranked accordingly.
"Stella Blue" is a blissful way to come down from that adventure and "El Paso" is oddly placed by Weir, but fine. The show wraps with a high energy version of "Casey Jones" and an even better spin through "Sugar Magnolias" which features Donna Jean and Weir yelling out their sunshine day dreams.
An upbeat "One More Saturday Night" wraps it up and while not as amazing as other nights this month (9/3, 9/21, 9/24) Dave's Picks 46 certainly holds it's own and with this outstanding version of "The Other One", it a must own for Deadheads.
_____________________________
Support the artists and peep some video below (not official audio from Dave's 46):
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
The Black Crowes Announce Cover EP 1972
The brothers Crowe have announced a new EP as The Black Crowes release 1972 via Amazon Music. 
The cover EP focuses on songs released in the year of its title and it was recorded in January at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles.
“The year 1972 was a watershed moment, some of the greatest rock and roll songs ever made came out of that year. To get our band back together in the studio, it had to be a celebration of rock and roll,” said The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson. “This record is about love and devotion to something that makes us feel good. We hope that it makes fans around the world feel the same.”
The track list and album trailer are below and you can pre-order the EP now:
1972 Track List: “Rocks Off” (The Rolling Stones) “The Slider” (T-Rex) “You Wear It Well” (Rod Stewart) “Easy To Slip” (Little Feat) “Moonage Daydream” (David Bowie) “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (The Temptations)
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Beginners Guide To The Grateful Dead - Part Two
There is a lot of music out there and some artists have massive catalogs which can paralyze new listeners with overwhelming choices. This Beginners Guide series will attempt to give new listeners entry points to some of these artists. Today we will look at: The Grateful Dead.
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This post was very long so we are breaking it into two parts. This first offering will discuss the five places RtBE feels are the best entry points to the band. The follow up post will dive into the different eras of the Dead and pull out some well known and underappreciated shows for further listening.
In part one RtBE discussed live shows and albums which will ease a listener into the band. The group has such a wide range of music/sound/shows that RtBE went through the years they were active and pulled out specific highlights. While this gets long, it is literally the tip of the iceberg. The Internet Archive is a digital gold mine for amazing Grateful Dead shows, but below are are choices throughout the years for highlights and further listening.
Let's do a deeper dive now...
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Beginners Guide To The Grateful Dead - Part One
There is a lot of music out there and some artists have massive catalogs which can paralyze new listeners with overwhelming choices. This Beginners Guide series will attempt to give those new listeners entry points to some of these artists. Today we will look at: The Grateful Dead.
This post became very long so we are breaking it into two parts. This first offering will discuss the five places RtBE feels are the best entry points to the band. The follow up post will dive into the different eras of the Dead and pull out some well known and underappreciated shows for further listening.
In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic here in NYC the soothing sounds of The Grateful Dead helped ease my mind during a tumultuous sense of loss and uncertainty. Shortly after lock down, a co-worker reached out and mentioned they wanted more information on the band as they were just discovering them.
That request led to this series, so it makes sense that the good ol' Grateful Dead should be the first group we discuss when it comes to Beginners Guides. RtBE will take an extensive look into their career with a focus on new listeners and will provide links to youtube when possible, but feel free to buy all of the albums from the band themselves. We also wrote about the band in our Masters series previously ranking our favorite studio albums, official live releases and more.
Also feel free to check out the amazing Internet Archive with its phenomenal collection of Grateful Dead shows. In the early days of this site (2010-2011) we wrote on most Monday's about random Dead shows, we covered 46 of them, and they are in a list on the archive here and you can scroll back and read our takes if you want.
Almost everything you could want is on the archive and usually with multiple recordings from the groups insanely dedicated fan base. The truth is the band could hit amazing highs any night they played and while they have the reputation of drugged out hippies, the quality of their musical output remained incredibly consistent and excellent for the majority of their careers.
We will dissect the bands shifting sound in part two of this post, for now let's start with the basics. Click the read more button:
TL:DR Version:
Start with, in order:
1. Cornell 1977
Friday, March 6, 2020
Full Show Friday: Mahavishnu Orchestra 8/3/72
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Mahavishnu Orchestra!
January may have been Jazzy January here at RtBE, but this one fits the rock box as well so we held off to give Mahavishnu Orchestra some love in March on this Full Show Friday. One of the biggest Jazz Fusion bands who we have not featured on the site yet.
Full Show, Pro Shot, Pro Sound, Enjoy:
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
The Masters - The Grateful Dead - Best Live Albums
RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.
For June The Masters focuses on the great The Grateful Dead.
Live music is the best thing out there. Being caught in the moment is religion. Palpable vibes of healing and energy are transmitted and shit...gets...real. For this month's focus, The Grateful Dead may be more tied to the live show than any other rock band in history. They developed a literal touring mini economy and because of the bands massive structure, had to be on the road almost constantly.
The group had many phases and multiple lineup shifts, but the stage is where they truly succeeded as a collective, playing in the moment and without net. The group soared more than non-fans give them credit for and that thrilling collective experience is what kept fans touring the country with their musical heroes.
For other entries in The Masters, when it comes to live albums there were some limits, with the Dead it is just the opposite, there have been so many live releases it is hard to limit this list to "official" releases as prolific taping, the Internet Archive and tons of other sites have made obtaining a certain night in the bands history incredibly easy.
However, since we have been using official releases for other entries of The Masters, we will stick with that for this post and move to personal "Go-To" shows at a later date. We know that times have changed and while One From the Vault and Hundred Year Hall were instrumental to our love of the Dead, these days people do not need official releases to get soundboard quality and are much more likely to just stream a solid show then purchase an "official release".
With Dicks/Dave's Picks, the criminally underrated Road Trips series and various completest Box Sets being offered up seemingly every month (their whole history will be officially released soon) it is hard to keep track of which shows are officially out there and which are still in the hands of tapers, so for this list we are skipping all of those and just going with live albums released officially by the band. Going to be tough, but we will give this a shot, below are our top five live albums from the Grateful Dead.
As always, these lists are designed to start conversations, not end them.
The group had many phases and multiple lineup shifts, but the stage is where they truly succeeded as a collective, playing in the moment and without net. The group soared more than non-fans give them credit for and that thrilling collective experience is what kept fans touring the country with their musical heroes.
For other entries in The Masters, when it comes to live albums there were some limits, with the Dead it is just the opposite, there have been so many live releases it is hard to limit this list to "official" releases as prolific taping, the Internet Archive and tons of other sites have made obtaining a certain night in the bands history incredibly easy.
However, since we have been using official releases for other entries of The Masters, we will stick with that for this post and move to personal "Go-To" shows at a later date. We know that times have changed and while One From the Vault and Hundred Year Hall were instrumental to our love of the Dead, these days people do not need official releases to get soundboard quality and are much more likely to just stream a solid show then purchase an "official release".
With Dicks/Dave's Picks, the criminally underrated Road Trips series and various completest Box Sets being offered up seemingly every month (their whole history will be officially released soon) it is hard to keep track of which shows are officially out there and which are still in the hands of tapers, so for this list we are skipping all of those and just going with live albums released officially by the band. Going to be tough, but we will give this a shot, below are our top five live albums from the Grateful Dead.
As always, these lists are designed to start conversations, not end them.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
The Masters: The Rolling Stones - Best Live Albums
RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.
For April The Masters focuses on The Rolling Stones.
Live music is the best thing out there. Being caught in the moment is religion. Palpable vibes of healing and energy are transmitted and shit...gets...real. For this month's focus, The Rolling Stones are one of the best live bands in the world, but their studio albums get more respect than any live records and with reason.
While the the group has released a bunch of live records, throughout their career they acted more as stop gaps and contract fillers than devastating/must hear shows. Moments may feel transcendent but this is a group who managed to get the most out of their premier studio work and a lot of their live albums fall into the "release so we can stave off a studio record" category.
While the the group has released a bunch of live records, throughout their career they acted more as stop gaps and contract fillers than devastating/must hear shows. Moments may feel transcendent but this is a group who managed to get the most out of their premier studio work and a lot of their live albums fall into the "release so we can stave off a studio record" category.
However, things have been changing over the last ten years as their archives have opened up and some great sets/shows/performances have been officially released to the world through the vault series and other venues. Longtime fans have had bootlegs of these for years, but now they get better quality and blessings from the band.
Below RtBE ranks their best five live albums, so let's get to it.
Below RtBE ranks their best five live albums, so let's get to it.
As always, these lists are designed to start conversations, not end them.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
The Masters: The Rolling Stones - Top Five Studio Albums
RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.
For April The Masters focuses on The Rolling Stones.
A few months ago we focused on The Beatles and when you think of best rock and roll bands of all time, they and the Stones are usually somewhere near the top of the list. What is truly amazing is that the Rolling Stones are STILL getting after it. You can buy tickets to see them in 2019 and RtBE will be catching them twice, once in Jersey and once at NOLA Jazzfest in just over a month! (Update: With Mick Jagger's Health Issues, the Stones have canceled their tour with the hopes to reschedule). With the Stones set to tour we figured April would be a good time to focus on them for The Masters series.
Unlike The Beatles, who I loved upon first listen, I was a late bloomer to The Stones. I knew the hits (they were impossible to miss) but never dove into any of their records with much passion. During the early 00's when I was downloading a lot of live recordings from bands like Phish, Gov't Mule and The Grateful Dead, I stumbled upon a bootleg called A Few Hearts Broken, A Few Strings Busted, I downloaded, burned it and put it in the case with other live shows.
When I listened to it a few weeks later I was blown away by the power of the group. This was the high point of the Stones to these ears (and continues to be years later). The band officially released parts of these shows as Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones on DVD. When I next saw my Uncle who is a massive Stones fan, and played him this bootleg he turned to me and said this is the best Stones he had ever heard. I was hooked and dove in, hard. In fact, when it came time to personally play and write music in my own band, Angels & Vagabonds, The Stones were our collective rallying point, covering their songs live and writing a bit in their style.
The group has had many eras and a few lineup changes, but the core and their overall sound has remained pretty solidly intact. They are a great bar band who just happened to become one of the biggest and best bands in the world. Today lets go to what RtBE considers their top five studio albums.
As always, these lists are designed to start conversations, not end them.
Friday, March 31, 2017
Full Show Friday: Grand Funk Railroad - In Concert 1972
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Grand Funk Railroad (and Special Guest Freddie King)!.
Sometimes we pick bands for Full Show Friday that personally mean a lot to this site (see St. Patrick's Day).and some times we just randomly pick a show...This week is that roll of the dice! We know next to nothing about Grand Funk Railroad, way before out time, but when we found out the bass player was from ? and the Mysterians we wanted to check out a show of theirs.
Meah...This show is pretty straight ahead rock and roll with fast firm Detroit drumming. The video cuts in and out at times, but for 1972 the video and sound are almost perfect from this television capture.
The coolest part is the special guest Freddie King set smack dab in the middle of the show (starting around the twenty minute mark) and the interviews to end things. A bit a different show for us this week, but fear not =, next month we focus on acts playing NOLA Jazzfest this year.
Enjoy:
Sometimes we pick bands for Full Show Friday that personally mean a lot to this site (see St. Patrick's Day).and some times we just randomly pick a show...This week is that roll of the dice! We know next to nothing about Grand Funk Railroad, way before out time, but when we found out the bass player was from ? and the Mysterians we wanted to check out a show of theirs.
Meah...This show is pretty straight ahead rock and roll with fast firm Detroit drumming. The video cuts in and out at times, but for 1972 the video and sound are almost perfect from this television capture.
The coolest part is the special guest Freddie King set smack dab in the middle of the show (starting around the twenty minute mark) and the interviews to end things. A bit a different show for us this week, but fear not =, next month we focus on acts playing NOLA Jazzfest this year.
Enjoy:
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday Dead - RTBE Personal Favorites Edition: 8-27-1972 Veneta, OR
Originally I wanted to do a "Best Of" instead of a Personal Favorite Edition of the Dead, but when it came right down to it I realized there are two shows that are pretty spot on for the best ever Grateful Dead show...Cornell 1977 which is popular and lots have been written regarding it and there is my personal favorite, today's show 8-27-1972 from Ken Kesey's Dairy Farm up in Veneta, Oregon.
Click that link or listen right c'here!
While Cornell gets a ton of publicity as the pinnacle of the group, I think this show from the pacific Northwest is even better. The sunstroked serenader's earned their title of the greatest expansive group (jamband?!) on this summer day. This show has it all, inventive playing, tight song structures when needed and cohesive singing. When it all clicked for the fellas it was magic, and this is one of those shows.
I can talk all day about this show, but I will keep it short...or try to...so you can get your listen on. You can also get your view on as the show was filmed and titled "Sunshine Daydream". It has long been rumored for official release, and here's hoping that happens soon, but currently their are clips up on Youtube that I will embedded here. The "Sugaree" is a perfect work out and the second song in as the group starts rolling. An all time version that is a good bell weather for things to come. Same can be said about the "China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider" which flows as one track here.
The tightness of the band can be found multiple times, but "Mexicali Blues" particularly cackles. Garcia's guitar leads are monumental spicing up everything, take his solo in "Bertha" for example that just cooks. While the first set is pretty solid, things explode into the heavens with set 2 starting with the first tune; "Playin' In The Band"
This is the first of a few all-time greats on hand here today, this "Playin" has it all free form flowing, melodic harmonics, everything. It goes in seven directions at once but never sounds cluttered, Garcia of course leads the way, but the band does a great job following on this one, 20 minutes of magic. When they come back around to the theme 15 minutes in you can't help but smile.
The "Jack Straw" is another one I rank as a Best of with it's crisp delivery and perfect singing.
And this "Birdsong" is simply fantastic, on par with the Branford version from 3-29-90 and in my opinion even better. This is a class act that I would like to have as my theme music following me around. Not overly long, but glorious in the paths it takes, a must listen. Around the 4:20 mark Jerry's guitar lines ring with precision and elevates everything around him, try this one on for size for people who never got the dead, it will open some eyes. "The Greatest Story Ever Told" has a ton of energy and Wah-wahing.
and then comes the third set and really the centerpiece; an absolutely epic "Dark Star". This outing rates as my favorite playing of this song, just barely edging out the version from only a few days before...8-24-1972 which I all ready wrote about here. The group playing here is a complete brainwave, trippy as all hell and worth every penny.
I am sure many minds have been lost to this piece of spacey art and my favorite part just may be as it drips effortlessly into "El Paso", cosmic cowboys indeed.
One would think that would be enough, but no no no the fellas pull out one of their most beautiful moments with this drop dead gorgeous version of "Sing Me Back Home". This one tugs at the heartstrings and confirms how monumental this show is. Again, I can go on and on about this one, but you are probably better served by just listening and enjoying some amazing music.
Next week I hope to have some input from friends and their recommendations as we wrap up the year of Mondays and the RTBE Personal Favorites Edition. Until then enjoy the tunes...
While Cornell gets a ton of publicity as the pinnacle of the group, I think this show from the pacific Northwest is even better. The sunstroked serenader's earned their title of the greatest expansive group (jamband?!) on this summer day. This show has it all, inventive playing, tight song structures when needed and cohesive singing. When it all clicked for the fellas it was magic, and this is one of those shows.
I can talk all day about this show, but I will keep it short...or try to...so you can get your listen on. You can also get your view on as the show was filmed and titled "Sunshine Daydream". It has long been rumored for official release, and here's hoping that happens soon, but currently their are clips up on Youtube that I will embedded here. The "Sugaree" is a perfect work out and the second song in as the group starts rolling. An all time version that is a good bell weather for things to come. Same can be said about the "China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider" which flows as one track here.
The tightness of the band can be found multiple times, but "Mexicali Blues" particularly cackles. Garcia's guitar leads are monumental spicing up everything, take his solo in "Bertha" for example that just cooks. While the first set is pretty solid, things explode into the heavens with set 2 starting with the first tune; "Playin' In The Band"
This is the first of a few all-time greats on hand here today, this "Playin" has it all free form flowing, melodic harmonics, everything. It goes in seven directions at once but never sounds cluttered, Garcia of course leads the way, but the band does a great job following on this one, 20 minutes of magic. When they come back around to the theme 15 minutes in you can't help but smile.
And this "Birdsong" is simply fantastic, on par with the Branford version from 3-29-90 and in my opinion even better. This is a class act that I would like to have as my theme music following me around. Not overly long, but glorious in the paths it takes, a must listen. Around the 4:20 mark Jerry's guitar lines ring with precision and elevates everything around him, try this one on for size for people who never got the dead, it will open some eyes. "The Greatest Story Ever Told" has a ton of energy and Wah-wahing.
and then comes the third set and really the centerpiece; an absolutely epic "Dark Star". This outing rates as my favorite playing of this song, just barely edging out the version from only a few days before...8-24-1972 which I all ready wrote about here. The group playing here is a complete brainwave, trippy as all hell and worth every penny.
I am sure many minds have been lost to this piece of spacey art and my favorite part just may be as it drips effortlessly into "El Paso", cosmic cowboys indeed.
One would think that would be enough, but no no no the fellas pull out one of their most beautiful moments with this drop dead gorgeous version of "Sing Me Back Home". This one tugs at the heartstrings and confirms how monumental this show is. Again, I can go on and on about this one, but you are probably better served by just listening and enjoying some amazing music.
Next week I hope to have some input from friends and their recommendations as we wrap up the year of Mondays and the RTBE Personal Favorites Edition. Until then enjoy the tunes...
Monday, December 6, 2010
Monday Dead - RTBE Personal Favorites Edition: 5-3-1972 Olympia Theater, Paris, France
So continuing the RTBE Personal Favorites Edition I am going to a post show that I can not get enough of and it is a WHOPPER! Today's behemoth comes from 5-3-1972 Olympia Theater in Paris France.
Click that link or stream it right c'here:
I have all ready discussed a couple of shows from 1972, and may even discuss some more because it was a magical year for the fellas. Keith was becoming comfortable, Pig Pen still had legs (more importantly a voice) and Garcia was hitting a career highlight with Robert Hunter when it came to song writing. Europe 72 is the most memorable tour the group would ever undertake, and while the times were wild the playing may have never been better, today's show is a great example of the majesty that was on display.
Four cuts from today's show actually make the official release of Europe '72, 3 of them come in the first set. This show is is broken up to 33 songs here and it covers 4-CD's worth of music, I love slapping my Blue Highlighted Disks into the player and letting the magic unfold, but the stream from this archive feed is just as good. Prefect recording that does justice to the perfect playing. There are other versions on the archive, and feel free to pick your own favorite, but just do yourself a favor and devote sometime to this night. While everyone is working together and on for this evening, I believe the real reason I love this particular show is the crisp, inventive bass playing from Phil, masterfully recorded and presented here on every tune.
He works his bass into and out of country staples, psychedelic vamps, and blues walks with ease and grit when needed, it is a pleasure to listen to him conduct the group on this night and still manage to drop sonic bass bombs. That may be getting a bit ahead of myself though. This show, like so many in 72, offers something for every kind of music fan. The first set focuses more on the shorter country/blues/rock flavored numbers that casual fans can bop around too, while the section set showcases the jamming which made the groups legends and larger then their parts.
Some highlights of the first set is an engagingly sung "Black Throated Wind" where Garcia rips a major solo in the end to close things up, a fun little "Chinatown Shuffle" sung by Pig Pen and killer versions of "Sing Me Back Home" and "Next Time You See Me" which has pure attitude flowing through the harmonica and fret runs. There must also be attention brought to the 3 songs from this set that made the cut for Europe 72 and can be actually be heard here on this stream, which is nice. Granted there seems to be consensus that studio work has been added to enhance these tracks, but I am not complaining. The solid piano runs and vocals that color "China Cat Sunflower" and weep into "I Know You Rider" are things of beauty. They are worthy of "best of" consideration and are versions I know many fans cherish. The "Tennessee Jed" also made the huge album released post tour and rambles along, giving the French a taste of Americana on this night.
I can talk about every track at this hulking mass of a show, but it would take you all day and night to read it, so let's skip to the second set (at least in writing, keep listening all day long).
It may open with a smoking wah-wah filled version of "Greatest Story Ever Told" but this set will always be known to me (and I hope many others) as "The Other One" set. Phil is everywhere and doing everything but before the full chaos drops we get a moving version of "Hurt's Me Too" that puts desperate emotion on display with a slicing guitar tone from Jerry and panged vocals from Pig Pen. A tightly wound and energetic "Truckin" begins the chaos and you can hear Phil is amped (Pretty sure he even yells out some vocals on the first chorus) and the group is hyped and rolling. About the 5:50 mark the pianos start playing along one would think to a crescendo, but instead we get a wandering jam where the band literally seems to be talking to each other about what to play through their instruments. Lesh starts moving in the direction of "The Other One" and we are off to the races via some freaky cosmic dancing and the patented space rumbles.
The track explores tons of different locales; the group isn't in a hurry to hit the vocals any time soon. Jerry runs in one direction, Phil follows behind, looping in the distance and adding weight to his runs as Billy is a whirl on the cymbals and Pig's organ sustains underneath it all. Bobby joins the party around the 10 minute mark along with Keith's piano and then the band gives way so Billy can take center stage on "Drums". Sensing they were onto something special though the group dips back into "The Other One" with some jazzy undercurrent once again being led by Lesh; in fact it sounds like it's just him and Billy getting down for a couple of minutes once it starts back up. The band weaves and bobs around the theme again, finding new nooks and crannies to explore, at times leaking into the unknown or doing choreographed exchanges like around 7:20. To say the freak out machinations were blowing the minds of the tripping few that night would probably be an understatement, but for them to fall away and leave a bright shiny "Me & Bobby McGee" in it's wake is almost as mind numbing. This pop gem seemingly oozes out of nowhere and is a glorious ray of light, here's a video of a version of the tune from a few nights before this show:
Pretty cool to see what the boys looked like on this tour, but we can't leave this show as the group thunders out another "Other One" segment with Phil's bombing and a wrap up of the lyrical piece before dipping directly into a ballad, with Jerry's soulful "Wharf Rat". Fantastic playing which features Garcia's riffs that sound easy and jangling. The set gets a midpoint energy injection with "Jack Straw" and "Sugar Magnolia" and Straw was the 4th song featured on Europe 72, an all time version while the Sugar is no slouch with killer Phil runs and Garcia wah wah.
The end of the set is a segue/combo that I love; "Not Fade Away>Going Down The Road Feeling Bad>Not Fade Away". I kept this version of the combo on my hard drive for ever and would drop it onto various Dead shows or CD's I burned and I always love revisiting it, especially after "The Other One" madness from earlier in the set. This is a nice and tight combo that manages to always put a smile on my face and today's version is no exception with the clear lines Garcia plays.
(I like the version from todays show better, but this is a cool video)
The band ends the huge night of music with "One More Saturday Night" and it is hard to ask for anything more from a Dead show, and they still had another night at the Olympia (which a lot of fans like even more then this show). Easily one of my personal favorites when it comes to this band, here's hoping you enjoy it.
___________________________________________________________
I also wanted to take a second to mention that the Dead completed their offering of a new Mp3 download for every day in November, and the crew over at Dead Roots were nice enough to compile them all for your downloading enjoyment. Go here to get them!
I haven't gone through them all but some of my highlights were "New Speedway Boogie", "Sailor/Saint" and "The Music Never Stopped" which is completely killer and I actually discussed before here. Feel free to check it on out and enjoy all the great music.
I have all ready discussed a couple of shows from 1972, and may even discuss some more because it was a magical year for the fellas. Keith was becoming comfortable, Pig Pen still had legs (more importantly a voice) and Garcia was hitting a career highlight with Robert Hunter when it came to song writing. Europe 72 is the most memorable tour the group would ever undertake, and while the times were wild the playing may have never been better, today's show is a great example of the majesty that was on display.
Some highlights of the first set is an engagingly sung "Black Throated Wind" where Garcia rips a major solo in the end to close things up, a fun little "Chinatown Shuffle" sung by Pig Pen and killer versions of "Sing Me Back Home" and "Next Time You See Me" which has pure attitude flowing through the harmonica and fret runs. There must also be attention brought to the 3 songs from this set that made the cut for Europe 72 and can be actually be heard here on this stream, which is nice. Granted there seems to be consensus that studio work has been added to enhance these tracks, but I am not complaining. The solid piano runs and vocals that color "China Cat Sunflower" and weep into "I Know You Rider" are things of beauty. They are worthy of "best of" consideration and are versions I know many fans cherish. The "Tennessee Jed" also made the huge album released post tour and rambles along, giving the French a taste of Americana on this night.
I can talk about every track at this hulking mass of a show, but it would take you all day and night to read it, so let's skip to the second set (at least in writing, keep listening all day long).
It may open with a smoking wah-wah filled version of "Greatest Story Ever Told" but this set will always be known to me (and I hope many others) as "The Other One" set. Phil is everywhere and doing everything but before the full chaos drops we get a moving version of "Hurt's Me Too" that puts desperate emotion on display with a slicing guitar tone from Jerry and panged vocals from Pig Pen. A tightly wound and energetic "Truckin" begins the chaos and you can hear Phil is amped (Pretty sure he even yells out some vocals on the first chorus) and the group is hyped and rolling. About the 5:50 mark the pianos start playing along one would think to a crescendo, but instead we get a wandering jam where the band literally seems to be talking to each other about what to play through their instruments. Lesh starts moving in the direction of "The Other One" and we are off to the races via some freaky cosmic dancing and the patented space rumbles.
Pretty cool to see what the boys looked like on this tour, but we can't leave this show as the group thunders out another "Other One" segment with Phil's bombing and a wrap up of the lyrical piece before dipping directly into a ballad, with Jerry's soulful "Wharf Rat". Fantastic playing which features Garcia's riffs that sound easy and jangling. The set gets a midpoint energy injection with "Jack Straw" and "Sugar Magnolia" and Straw was the 4th song featured on Europe 72, an all time version while the Sugar is no slouch with killer Phil runs and Garcia wah wah.
The end of the set is a segue/combo that I love; "Not Fade Away>Going Down The Road Feeling Bad>Not Fade Away". I kept this version of the combo on my hard drive for ever and would drop it onto various Dead shows or CD's I burned and I always love revisiting it, especially after "The Other One" madness from earlier in the set. This is a nice and tight combo that manages to always put a smile on my face and today's version is no exception with the clear lines Garcia plays.
(I like the version from todays show better, but this is a cool video)
The band ends the huge night of music with "One More Saturday Night" and it is hard to ask for anything more from a Dead show, and they still had another night at the Olympia (which a lot of fans like even more then this show). Easily one of my personal favorites when it comes to this band, here's hoping you enjoy it.
___________________________________________________________
I also wanted to take a second to mention that the Dead completed their offering of a new Mp3 download for every day in November, and the crew over at Dead Roots were nice enough to compile them all for your downloading enjoyment. Go here to get them!
I haven't gone through them all but some of my highlights were "New Speedway Boogie", "Sailor/Saint" and "The Music Never Stopped" which is completely killer and I actually discussed before here. Feel free to check it on out and enjoy all the great music.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Monday Dead: Before the Europe 3-23-1972
This Mondays Dead show catches the group before they launched their most famous tour, Europe 1972. The band stationed themselves in fantastic New York City for a few weeks pre-trip to make sure things were ready for the Bozo's to bombard the old country and they figured they would play a few shows as tune up. The group has already officially released some of these shows, but today's is on par with those official releases so you can save some bucks as your relive the pre tour jitters with the group before they high stepped it across the Atlantic.
Today's show is 3-23-1972, at the New York Academy of Music. Click that link or Stream the show live here:
It is odd that I haven't presented more 1972 here at RTBE, as it is arguably the groups finest year. It also seems to be their most well documented year with tons of official releases, pristine tapes and recordings. I guess I want to highlight some lesser known years and shows, but I hope to hit some classics in the upcoming winter months and that will no doubt include a fistful of '72.
What needs to be mentioned off the top is that this show is simply a perfect to listen, A+ quality all around. Charlie Miller is a god amongst Dead Heads, and has out done himself, this has the texture and audio perfection of a official release. You could not want more from a live show over 35 years old...ahh the magic of the Archive.
Onto the playing this night at the Academy. Just which Academy of Music were they playing at? This one? This One? Well it took a bit of research, but turns out the Academy of Music, changed into the Palladium on 14th St, that use to host shows, but now just hosts NYU students.
A smaller venue for the boys who set up shop 7 nights in 1972 and got the kinks out before invading Europe, which would immortalized on the excellent live disk. Tonight's first set is fucking huge and would showcase a lot of those songs that showed up on the first "set" of the live disk. I mean you have an 18 song first set to dig into it and you should, I will just mention some spots of interest.
There are solid versions of old favorites like the opening "China>Rider" which sets a nice theme for the evening a LOUD Lesh! There are also top notch versions of songs that would blossom in 1972, "Tennessee Jed", "Brown Eyed Women" and "Jack Straw" which is one of my favorite songs and in 1972 it was consistently performed at an apex level as it is this night. "Mr. Charlie" fines Pigpen still giving it his all before his final days:
Other high-spots from the early going's-on's are the relaxed and stretched out "Cumberland Blues" which eases over 8 minutes and allows Phil to plop and pop on the bass with confidence and depth. The excellent back-up vocals and crying pedal-steel guitar that Jerry employs to support Bobby in "Looks Like Rain" must be checked out. The production and cleaning up here are evident as the pedal-steel weeps proudly then soars, a really cool twist on a pretty standard song. A rare swinging version of "You Win Again" showcases Keith Godchaux's twinkling key work that would come to define the groups piano style for the next 8 years, letting the track play to the end allows you to hear the boys discuss the alligators in NYC's sewers; a major issue that we are all well aware of.
The first set ending foursome has some real exciting. A tight and short (by Dead standards) "Playing In the Band" amps up the energy while "Comes A Time" showcases the balladry of Garcia along again with his closing guitar solo and Phil's well timed bass notes. Bobby Weir takes the vocals on "Bobby McGee" and brings the thunder before a set closing cocaine fueled freight train of "Casey Jones" all winners.
That seems like a show in and of itself, but it's just a first set.
"Truckin'" gets moving down the highway and it is a perfect synopsis of the 72 playing style. Crisp leads from Phil, simple snare work from Billy who was once again flying solo in the drum chair, a shuffle groove on the keys and guitar leads with vocals sprinkled on top. The adventure starts a bit later in the set, but "Truckin'" along with "Ramble on Rose" give some stability to the proceedings.
Next comes the rare Pigpen written "Stranger (Two Souls In Communion)", one of the last contributions to the band before his death, it is a gospel tinged number that could have flourished but never grew secure legs. Tonight's version is heartfelt and shows that there was another songwriter in the group with McKernan, whose range was more then the Blues. Here is a version of Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes covering the tune when he came out with Furthur, Robinson does more then do this tune justice, he elevates it to what it might have become.
After a bizarrely placed "Mexicali Blues" comes the meat and potatoes of the show, "Dark Star". Ahhh, 1972 and Dark Star's...a match made in heaven. The last 1972 show I discussed has one of my all-time favorite versions of this jam vehicle, like all great jam songs they can go in vastly different directions. Today's version doesn't reach the heights of 8/27 yet it is nothing to shake a warped brain at.
Jerry keeps the light and airey feel during the intro with Phil's bass runs also containing a light touch before the song drifts into almost nothingness. The band re-energizes about around the 10:30 mark playing with an increasing tempo, but dip back into a more laid back trip. Then 13 minutes in the band plays with it's LSD laced audience and starts the FrEaaaK OOuTT!?!?! for about 2 minutes before Billy tries to restore some order on drums and launches the band into a surprisingly buoyant jam piece. Jerry shines a light on this segment at the 17 minute mark putting a smile on all faces before returning to the "Dark Star" theme 21 and a half minutes in.
This is a great example of the Dead in a nutshell; face melting dissonance into sunshine-y omnipresent rock and roll in the span of 10 minutes and doing both with ease and flair.
Pigpen gives a breather with "Big Boss Man", but then the explosive "Not Fade Away>Going Down The Road Feeling Bad> Not Fade Away" sandwich ends a career spanning set with Bobby and Pigpen screaming at each other with aggression and probably a wee bit o' bourbon; what a closer.
This night is a kick ass show getting the crew ready for Europe on the horizon and more immediately the Hell's Angels benefit in two nights:
It is odd that I haven't presented more 1972 here at RTBE, as it is arguably the groups finest year. It also seems to be their most well documented year with tons of official releases, pristine tapes and recordings. I guess I want to highlight some lesser known years and shows, but I hope to hit some classics in the upcoming winter months and that will no doubt include a fistful of '72.
What needs to be mentioned off the top is that this show is simply a perfect to listen, A+ quality all around. Charlie Miller is a god amongst Dead Heads, and has out done himself, this has the texture and audio perfection of a official release. You could not want more from a live show over 35 years old...ahh the magic of the Archive.
Onto the playing this night at the Academy. Just which Academy of Music were they playing at? This one? This One? Well it took a bit of research, but turns out the Academy of Music, changed into the Palladium on 14th St, that use to host shows, but now just hosts NYU students.
There are solid versions of old favorites like the opening "China>Rider" which sets a nice theme for the evening a LOUD Lesh! There are also top notch versions of songs that would blossom in 1972, "Tennessee Jed", "Brown Eyed Women" and "Jack Straw" which is one of my favorite songs and in 1972 it was consistently performed at an apex level as it is this night. "Mr. Charlie" fines Pigpen still giving it his all before his final days:
Other high-spots from the early going's-on's are the relaxed and stretched out "Cumberland Blues" which eases over 8 minutes and allows Phil to plop and pop on the bass with confidence and depth. The excellent back-up vocals and crying pedal-steel guitar that Jerry employs to support Bobby in "Looks Like Rain" must be checked out. The production and cleaning up here are evident as the pedal-steel weeps proudly then soars, a really cool twist on a pretty standard song. A rare swinging version of "You Win Again" showcases Keith Godchaux's twinkling key work that would come to define the groups piano style for the next 8 years, letting the track play to the end allows you to hear the boys discuss the alligators in NYC's sewers; a major issue that we are all well aware of.
That seems like a show in and of itself, but it's just a first set.
"Truckin'" gets moving down the highway and it is a perfect synopsis of the 72 playing style. Crisp leads from Phil, simple snare work from Billy who was once again flying solo in the drum chair, a shuffle groove on the keys and guitar leads with vocals sprinkled on top. The adventure starts a bit later in the set, but "Truckin'" along with "Ramble on Rose" give some stability to the proceedings.
Next comes the rare Pigpen written "Stranger (Two Souls In Communion)", one of the last contributions to the band before his death, it is a gospel tinged number that could have flourished but never grew secure legs. Tonight's version is heartfelt and shows that there was another songwriter in the group with McKernan, whose range was more then the Blues. Here is a version of Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes covering the tune when he came out with Furthur, Robinson does more then do this tune justice, he elevates it to what it might have become.
After a bizarrely placed "Mexicali Blues" comes the meat and potatoes of the show, "Dark Star". Ahhh, 1972 and Dark Star's...a match made in heaven. The last 1972 show I discussed has one of my all-time favorite versions of this jam vehicle, like all great jam songs they can go in vastly different directions. Today's version doesn't reach the heights of 8/27 yet it is nothing to shake a warped brain at.
Jerry keeps the light and airey feel during the intro with Phil's bass runs also containing a light touch before the song drifts into almost nothingness. The band re-energizes about around the 10:30 mark playing with an increasing tempo, but dip back into a more laid back trip. Then 13 minutes in the band plays with it's LSD laced audience and starts the FrEaaaK OOuTT!?!?! for about 2 minutes before Billy tries to restore some order on drums and launches the band into a surprisingly buoyant jam piece. Jerry shines a light on this segment at the 17 minute mark putting a smile on all faces before returning to the "Dark Star" theme 21 and a half minutes in.
This is a great example of the Dead in a nutshell; face melting dissonance into sunshine-y omnipresent rock and roll in the span of 10 minutes and doing both with ease and flair.
Pigpen gives a breather with "Big Boss Man", but then the explosive "Not Fade Away>Going Down The Road Feeling Bad> Not Fade Away" sandwich ends a career spanning set with Bobby and Pigpen screaming at each other with aggression and probably a wee bit o' bourbon; what a closer.
This night is a kick ass show getting the crew ready for Europe on the horizon and more immediately the Hell's Angels benefit in two nights:
Monday, March 29, 2010
Rainy Monday with The Dead
I know I know...for the 2 people who read this blog, I missed last Monday's Dead Show, oh well...you get what you pay for...Anyway, to make up for that, I am posting a monster of a night in Dead History.
Today's show is from the magical August of 1972, 8-24-1972 to be precise. You can click that link for the archive, or you can listen right ch'ere:
This is my first post from one of the most amazing years in Dead history 1972. For those new to the Dead, August 1972 has something special in it...each show seems epic in retrospect. The band was firing on all cylinders, and today's show from Berkeley is a perfect example of that. Having just gotten back from Europe (the tour which would be immortalized as the album Europe 1972) found the crew just blending magically.
I noticed a few freak out's with this recording early on but it doesn't take away from the opening trifecta of "Promised Land", "Sugaree", "Jack Straw"; in fact Keith's key's get amped for the Straw and everything starts to come into it's own on this fantastic version. "China>Rider" is tight and a money "Bird Song" (I always forget how much I love this song) and exploratory "Playing in The Band" (around the 12 minute mark it is really catchy, pre-reprise and Donna screams) move the first set forward and sets the stage for some insanity to follow.
OK, lets get right to it...The Dark Star from this show is one of my all time favorites, and I am not sure it gets enough attention due to a little old show that happens only 3 days later (will get to that show soon...what a week it would have been to follow the boys huh?). Dark Star wanders in beautifully with some independent riffs from Jerry and some melodious bass work from Phil who is a shining example of creativity throughout these 27 minutes. Around the 5 minute mark, things start getting a bit anxious, with the group ramping up the speed Billy is cymbal dancing all over the map and at 6 minutes Bobby's Jazzy riffs and Phil's bass line seem to be taking the song in a different direction. At the 7 minute mark the groups still moving higher into the stratosphere, and quicker to boot. 10 minutes in and the tension eases with some mellowing out before the common "Dark Star" song structure starts to take shape and Garcia starts singing 11 minutes in; hell of an Intro.
Just when madness seems certain, Billy starts a rhythmic beat that everyone can get behind. The group starts a focused march to glory...yeah everyone loves this jam, but wait a second, 25 minutes in and things look like they might get weird again...is that a cello playing? Is Jerry off on another mind numbing mission???! Oh Shit it's a mega "Morning Dew"!!!! Awesomenuciousness.
This breakdown down in "Dark Star" and then the transition into a climatic version of "Morning Dew" is what makes the Dead something special to me. The willingness to toss off everything and explore the airwaves...granted it's not for everyone, but it is as close to a free jazz/Rock and Roll combo that is out there and it can yeild some magical results. The rest of the set is just gravy, but what delicious gravy at that..."Sugar Magnolia" "Sing Me Back Home" encore of "Uncle Johns Band", tasty. Anyway, give it a gander if you are feeling adventurous, and if not, I am sure you can find something more up your alley elsewhere.
Today's show is from the magical August of 1972, 8-24-1972 to be precise. You can click that link for the archive, or you can listen right ch'ere:
This is my first post from one of the most amazing years in Dead history 1972. For those new to the Dead, August 1972 has something special in it...each show seems epic in retrospect. The band was firing on all cylinders, and today's show from Berkeley is a perfect example of that. Having just gotten back from Europe (the tour which would be immortalized as the album Europe 1972) found the crew just blending magically.
I noticed a few freak out's with this recording early on but it doesn't take away from the opening trifecta of "Promised Land", "Sugaree", "Jack Straw"; in fact Keith's key's get amped for the Straw and everything starts to come into it's own on this fantastic version. "China>Rider" is tight and a money "Bird Song" (I always forget how much I love this song) and exploratory "Playing in The Band" (around the 12 minute mark it is really catchy, pre-reprise and Donna screams) move the first set forward and sets the stage for some insanity to follow.
OK, lets get right to it...The Dark Star from this show is one of my all time favorites, and I am not sure it gets enough attention due to a little old show that happens only 3 days later (will get to that show soon...what a week it would have been to follow the boys huh?). Dark Star wanders in beautifully with some independent riffs from Jerry and some melodious bass work from Phil who is a shining example of creativity throughout these 27 minutes. Around the 5 minute mark, things start getting a bit anxious, with the group ramping up the speed Billy is cymbal dancing all over the map and at 6 minutes Bobby's Jazzy riffs and Phil's bass line seem to be taking the song in a different direction. At the 7 minute mark the groups still moving higher into the stratosphere, and quicker to boot. 10 minutes in and the tension eases with some mellowing out before the common "Dark Star" song structure starts to take shape and Garcia starts singing 11 minutes in; hell of an Intro.
13 minutes in and all bets are off, once the vocals are out of the way, the boys are free to get freaky. Soundscapes whiz by, sounding like ethereal ghosts in the speakers, while the low bass lines manage to creepy things up just enough. The scaling of inner ear canals by the guitars and the weird hoppiness of the drums is off putting yet exciting. When Keith rolls the ivories around the 17 minute mark it perks up the ears and gives the listener something to focus on before the ominous 18 minute mark comes in and just scares the shit out of those tripping in the audience. Things become unbearable at 20 minutes with all members wailing away in different directions, Garcia seemingly playing with 8 arms on the fret board, before sonically dripping out into emptiness.
This breakdown down in "Dark Star" and then the transition into a climatic version of "Morning Dew" is what makes the Dead something special to me. The willingness to toss off everything and explore the airwaves...granted it's not for everyone, but it is as close to a free jazz/Rock and Roll combo that is out there and it can yeild some magical results. The rest of the set is just gravy, but what delicious gravy at that..."Sugar Magnolia" "Sing Me Back Home" encore of "Uncle Johns Band", tasty. Anyway, give it a gander if you are feeling adventurous, and if not, I am sure you can find something more up your alley elsewhere.
Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA (8/24/72) Promised Land Sugaree Jack Straw China Cat Sunflower I Know You Rider Me and My Uncle Bird Song Beat it on Down the Line Tennessee Jed Playing in the Band Casey Jones Mississippi Half-Step Mexicali Blues Brown Eyed Women Truckin' Dark Star Morning Dew Sugar Magnolia Sing Me Back Home One More Saturday Night Uncle John's Band
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