Where to start with The Grateful Dead?

[mountain bed]

Hey reverandgroove, you were asking about which GD albums to get started with...this is just my opinion but in general GD albums are everything Wilco albums are NOT---a little flat, and ultimately not too satisfying. Perhaps the best studio Dead isn't techinically a GD record at all---Bob Weir's "Ace" (1972). It's just Bobby songs w/ the GD as backup. The Playin' in the Band is as good as they ever got in the studio.

 

If you're interested in live stuff here's a sample....I'll put one show per year here that are some of my favorites: (subject to debate, of course)

 

9/16/66--Pigpen early lengthy workout on Midnight Hour

3/18/67--1st LP release party...rare versions of Golden Road & Cream Puff War

2/14/68--very psychedelic show..Mickey is well integrated into the band by this point

2/28/69--perhaps my very fave Pig-era show. This one has it all!

9/20/70--one of the best acoustic sets around. The electric stuff is top-notch as well

4/17/71--the finest example of Pig at the top of his rapping powers...Good Lovin' & Lovelight!!

8/24/72--this is where it gets tough...nearly everything from Fall '72 is amazing. I chose this for the excellent Dark Star>Morning Dew. Kieth uses some electric piano on the Star that is reminiscent of Chick Corea circa early Return to Forever

6/10/73--long a fave..1st set Dew opener, Playin' 1st set closer..WONDERFUL Eyes of the World, 25 min. Star, great Here Comes Sunshine, 3rd set w/ the Allmans..whoa

9/11/74--one of the spaciest sets ever done. nuff said

8/13/75--wonderful stuff (Vault #1) live version of Blues For Allah

6/14/76--one of the lengthiest, spaciest Slipknots around

6/9/77--Incredible 2nd set. One of the very best Help>Slip>Franks.

12/30/78--Hamza El-Din & the Nubians sit in for a trance-inducing Ollin Arrageed>St. Stephen..killer

12/26/79--wonderful show from Brent's first year (DP #5)

10/31/80--final show of the acoustic series from Radio City.Wonderful.

5/6/81--incredible Caution Jam in the 2nd set (DP #13)

7/31/82--2nd set is an all-timer! Wild Brent Fender Rhodes jamming from Eyes into the Drums

4/12/83--one of the best first sets from the '80's. very jammy.

6/30/84--I'm partial to this because I was there, but the 2nd set opening Shakedown>Playin'>Terrapin is some of the best 45 minutes of GD in the '80's (imo)

6/24/85--huge 2nd set includes the return of Cryptical (after a 13 year hiatus) & a wonderful Comes A Time

3/24/86--Killer Dew.. admittedly an off-year (esp. due to Jerry's coma in July)

8/23/87--1st set w/ Santana, 2nd set is perfection!

7/2/88--great 'summery' vibe from this outdoor show. Excellent Crazy Fingers.

10/9/89--the return of Dark star ( now w/ midi wierdness!) this one should make anyone's top 20 shows

3/29/90--w/ Branford Marsalis. Best show of the last decade of their career?

9/10/91-- another excellent show w/ Branford

6/28/92--the Vince years is where it becomes really hit-or-miss. That said, the first set here may have been the best one I ever saw. Last-ever To Lay Me Down, Casey Jones encore ( back from an 8 year hiatus)

5/26/93--the Playin' here stands up to any version from the '70's . No shit.

10/14/94--get this one for the 35 min. Scarlet>Fire. The Corinna is not bad either

7/2/95--my last show The 'riot'. Still a pretty decent show. Listen for the crowd erupt during Desolation Row ( the fence was being torn down)

 

Happy hunting!!

[jimtweedy1977]

Some favorites of mine:

Dick's Picks 4 (2/13-14/70-especially the third disc)

Dick's Picks 16 (11/8/69-especially the second disc)

Dick's Picks 21 (11/1/85)

Skull & Roses (Grateful Dead)

Reckoning

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Ever heard the alternate version with the choir girls? It's my favorite. A friend of mine had an original pressing of Aoxomoxoa when we were teenagers and he recorded it for me. I still have the tape somewhere in storage with my other 1000 grateful dead tapes. If it's floating around out there in the internets you should pick it up.

I have not heard a version of Mountains of the Moon with choir girls. Sounds pretty bizarro.

I love the version from 3/1/69 best out of the ones I've heard.

 

Nice list, mountain bed (see what happens when you ask an expert!).

I'll add a few favorite shows of mine: 5/16/72; 7/18/72 (I really need a copy of this one if any traders out there have it); 5/8/77; 9/23/82 (my first show); 10/9/82 (great early/sloppy Throwin Stones > Touch of Grey).

 

By the way, a great many of these shows can be streamed from archive.org, and you don't have to be a bittorrent expert to do it.

[Floyd Walpole]

Shakedown Street is a classic.

[radiokills]

American Beauty is a pretty solid "starter" album of theirs'.

 

Then for live stuff that has lots of their good tracks try Dozing at the Knick or Steppin Out with the Grateful Dead, which is them live in Europe in 72.

[Lammycat]

I have not heard a version of Mountains of the Moon with choir girls. Sounds pretty bizarro.

The Aoxomoxoa outtakes have been around for awhile. This is where you'll find the "Mts. of the Moon" with the choir. Better than the one they went with, IMO. Garcia made some pretty severe cuts (end of tunes, omissions, etc.) on a lot of tunes prior to the final official release. This is where you'll find one of the originals of "Barbed Wire Whipping Party," as well.

 

Here's a link from archives.org to download. It is in SHN. format. I've tried to download it but can't covert the shn for whatever reason. I've got an old tape of it, though. Click on the first link in the thread:

http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=129752

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Cool!

One great thing about the Dead: there was always a tape rolling, and old Owsley in particular made some fantastic recordings.

If only the same could be said of the 67-68 psychedelic version of Pink Floyd.

[El Picador]

I like the one show a year idea. Here's my list:

 

07/16/66 - Beautiful soundboard out there - played on GD hour years ago

03/18/67 - I love this show! Probably the blueisest GD I ever heard

10/30/68 - Mickey and the Hartbeats - Dark Star jam -> Death Letter Blues

04/22/69 - Dupree's> Mountains Of The Moon> Dark Star> St. Stephen> The Eleven> Lovelight> Caution Jam> Lovelight

05/02/70 - Best acoustic set followed by 2 balls out electric sets. Still one of my faves.

04/29/71 - This show is smokin'. Alligator> Drums> Jam> GDTRFB> Cold Rain!!

11/19/72 - Dark Star> WRS Prelude> Half Step

11/10/73 - Playin> Uncle John> Morning Dew> Uncle John> Playin

06/28/74 - My favorite. WRS Prelude> WRS Part 1> Let It Grow> Space> Mind Left Body Jam> Jam> U. S. Blues

08/13/75 - One from the Vault

07/16/76 - Playin> Stronger Than Dirt> Cosmic Charlie> Samson> Spanish Jam> Drums> Wheel> Playin

05/09/77 - My favorite of a stellar May '77

12/31/78 - Dark Star> Other One> Dark Star> Wharf Rat> St. Stephen> Good Lovin

10/27/79 - Dancin> Franklin's, He's Gone> Caution Jam> Other One> Drumz> NFA

10/10/80 - Scarlet> Fire

08/28/81 - solid show w/ many of my favorites

08/07/82 - Music> Sugaree> Music

10/14/83 - not a very good year but a solid show

07/13/84 - set II and dark Star encore

11/01/85 - Besides Jerry's scratchy voice, a very good show

03/28/86 - My least favorite year for GD.

09/18/87 - Shakedown St.

03/27/88 - Ballad of a Thin Man; So What Space>Sugar>Scarlet>Fire

10/16/89 - tied with 10/09/89

03/24/90 - Playin> Uncle John> Terrapin> Mind Left Body Jam

06/25/91 - Scarlet>Fire in the heat!

12/16/92 - good Dark Star

05/26/93 - Playin'

12/19/94 - New Speedway> Nobody's Fault But Mine

03/23/95 - Unbroken Chain, Mathilda, Bruce Hornsby on grand piano

[El Picador]

The Aoxomoxoa outtakes have been around for awhile. This is where you'll find the "Mts. of the Moon" with the choir. Better than the one they went with, IMO. Garcia made some pretty severe cuts (end of tunes, omissions, etc.) on a lot of tunes prior to the final official release. This is where you'll find one of the originals of "Barbed Wire Whipping Party," as well.

 

The outtakes has 2 versions of Mountains of the Moon, neither of which has the choir (at least the copy I have). Here's a link to the vinyl rip of the Aoxomoxoa that has uncut versions of songs, including MOTM with the choir.

 

Aoxomoxoa - vinyl rip - 1970

[mountain bed]

Excellent choices there!

 

4/22 may be my favorite Star from '69. GREAT meltdown on the 11/19/72. 6/28/74 is deservedly a fave...the jam is one of the very best pieces of GD around!

 

Nice call on the 10/27/79 as well. Phil's bomb to start the Other One can blow your speakers!

 

I love that there is still some love for teh GD here...but the feeling seems to be reciprocal: alot of Heads I know dig Wilco too.

[OOO]

I must admit I have never tried out the GD (I'm somewhat young), but I will give them a whirl based on some of these suggestions! thanks!

[El Picador]

Excellent choices there!

 

4/22 may be my favorite Star from '69. GREAT meltdown on the 11/19/72. 6/28/74 is deservedly a fave...the jam is one of the very best pieces of GD around!

 

Thanks! I'm listening to a great audience copy of 6/28/74 as I type with an old Deadhead buddy. This Let it Grow is insanely good!

 

I love that there is still some love for teh GD here...but the feeling seems to be reciprocal: alot of Heads I know dig Wilco too.

 

Although they don't get as much of my attention as they used to, I will always love GD. I love Wilco too...but in a different way.

[oceanman]

GD,American Beauty

JGB,Reflections

[phish907]

If you'd like to hear the band at the peak of their country/blues/roots influenced songwriting: American Beauty and Workingman's Dead

If you'd like to hear the band showing off their most intricate and musically complex work: Blues For Allah

If you'd like a pschedelic taste of what they were doing in the late 60's that inspired a lifetime of devotion from so many: Live Dead

 

The Dead are still the most misunderstood and unfairly dismissed band of all time. Forget their fans and whatever images you conjure up when hearing the word "Deadhead". Forget what you think they should sound like. Just listen to the music: the ups, the downs, the timeworn tales of misbegotten gamblers and shadowy outcasts, the hurtling blues squall of the early days, the majestic group dynamics of something like "Terrapin Station", and the ethereal, often inhuman strangeness found in the midsts of an epic "Dark Star" or "Playing In the Band". You won't like all of it, and not every jam is a revelation. There's an element of risk with the Dead that makes them addicting. It's completely unfair and wildly inaccurate to callously dismiss them as aimless hippie noodlers.

Amen to everything said here

[lowspark86]

Hundred Year Hall, for sure a better choice than Europe 72. As a bit of a tangent, the official release of hundred year hall is only half the damn show (4/26/72). Luckily a sbd of the rest of the show (and almost all of the entire tour) is out there so you can splice it back together. Chinatown shuffle is a good reason to get some europe 72 shows. People have already summed this up enough. All you can really do with the dead is let and play and figure it out, its really like listening to a multiple bands that happen to play some of the same songs.

[Analogman]

Cool!

One great thing about the Dead: there was always a tape rolling, and old Owsley in particular made some fantastic recordings.

If only the same could be said of the 67-68 psychedelic version of Pink Floyd.

 

I am parital to anything with Betty's name on it - maybe moreso than his.

[quarter23cd]

One great thing about the Dead: there was always a tape rolling

And thank goodness for that. Not that the studio albums are bad (well, okay, some of them ain't great), but that's not really where the magic happened and I think there would be an awful lot of younger people wondering what the fuss was all about if that's all we had to listen to now.

 

lowspark86, thanks for the tip on the "other half" of the Hundred Year Hall show. HYH is a good release, though always seemed like it was "missing" a bunch of songs I wished were on it to make for a truly great show--I'll have to check out the other half of the show!

 

Thanks to everyone posting lists. I'm really only recently getting going with my show collecting (I have maybe 10-20 total) and I appreciate the suggestions!

[mountain bed]

I am parital to anything with Betty's name on it - maybe moreso than his.

The latest issue of Rolling Shite has a rare, recent interview with Bear that is really interesting. They don't make 'em any stranger than this dude.

[Analogman]

The latest issue of Rolling Shite has a rare, recent interview with Bear that is really interesting. They don't make 'em any stranger than this dude.

 

Oh really - it is old or new? He lives in Australia now - he must be in his 70s?

[mountain bed]

Oh really - it is old or new? He lives in Australia now - he must be in his 70s?

Yeah, it's the latest one. The '1967' issue. He's 72...you should read his thoughts on global warming & his undying belief that being a total carnivore is the only way to be.

[Analogman]

Oh - I may buy that. He has a bunch of "essays" like that on his website.

[Lammycat]

Yeah, it's the latest one. The '1967' issue. He's 72...you should read his thoughts on global warming & his undying belief that being a total carnivore is the only way to be.

I thought he was over that meat-only deal. I like how when he was "managing" the band the guys were eating only loads of meat and drinking milk.

 

I met Owsley once , very briefly, backstage at a Boston Garden show in either '93 or '94. He's a pretty short and compact dude.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

I think the Betty boards are probably better in general than Bear's tapes, but then, maybe Betty wasn't quite as crispy as old Owsley.

 

Just read that same RS issue, and am sure that's why I had Owsley on the brain (no pun intended). I have to say that, as a strict vegetarian, I think the guy is a complete nut job, but still wish him the best.

[nettles]

The outtakes has 2 versions of Mountains of the Moon, neither of which has the choir (at least the copy I have). Here's a link to the vinyl rip of the Aoxomoxoa that has uncut versions of songs, including MOTM with the choir.

 

Aoxomoxoa - vinyl rip - 1970

 

 

Thanks for this by the way, never heard this version or was aware of it even. Just finsihed listening, great stuff!

[El Picador]

Dick's Picks 29 is a great place to start. It is 6 disks from 2 or 3 different shows in May '77. I loaded my changer up in my car with these a few days ago and have been stoked. I think May '77 GD is probably the most polished you will ever hear them. Check it out.