The Grateful Dead Dark Star

[Guest]

Below is a link that will take you to a direct download of Bob Weir commenting (or trying to ) about the archive.org controversy.

It's kind of a tough listen as he stammers his way through, but I love the voice he uses when criticizing the "information wants to be free" crowd.

Bob on archive.org

Bobby is an idiot, pure and simple. Even he can't muddle through the line of b.s. he gave in the interview. How simple it would have been to tell the truth--but this "copyright" business? How lame can he be? You can't download because there might be a Dylan song in the file? Ha! Simply put, he'd love to ram the genie back into the bottle. Unfortunately, they came out with a black eye. "There ain't no winner in this game." Or so Bobby has sung for 25 years.

It's all a sham--I mean shame.

But the new downloads look super.

[Quincy]

Below is a link that will take you to a direct download of Bob Weir commenting (or trying to ) about the archive.org controversy.

It's kind of a tough listen as he stammers his way through, but I love the voice he uses when criticizing the "information wants to be free" crowd.

Bob on archive.org

Bobby is an idiot, pure and simple. Even he can't muddle through the line of b.s. he gave in the interview.

Not to drag politics into our Dead corner, but while listening to the clip I couldn't help but think how awesome it would be to hear a debate between Bobby & our President. Between the stammering, made up words and excuses it could be quite a contest. Slip Bush a dose and it might even become more interesting.

Yee-haw!

[Guest]

Not to drag politics into our Dead corner, but while listening to the clip I couldn't help but think how awesome it would be to hear a debate between Bobby & our President. Between the stammering, made up words and excuses it could be quite a contest. Slip Bush a dose and it might even become more interesting.

Yee-haw!

[Guest]

By the way, all you have to do is download Total Record for under twelve bucks and you can download all of those streams and burn 'em (including the Fillmore West run). But I hear Bobby owns the rights to that too.

[GregK]

just got my 3-disc copy (I would have ordered the 10-disc box when it was announced but I just couldn't imagine sitting through that much PigPen-sorry). Nice little package. The music is better than I expected; I guess I just haven't gone back to Live/Dead enough or something but the interaction between Garcia/Lesh/drummers is fascinating. I will be listening to this one a lot in the next few weeks. I'm also considering getting another Dick's Picks; is there anything from just before their hiatus?

[jazzbo]

Wow, that's interesting. . . not sitting through that much Pigpen. In the past I hadn't been the biggest fan of the man. . . . But in my opinion he really shines brightly on these nights, I'm really digging his contributions to this release.

[Spontooneous]

Can't say I was ever a big Pigpen fan -- but my recent re-immersion in all things Dead has given me a much higher opinion.

Check out 2-19-71, the first show after Mickey's abrupt departure. Jerry sounds a little confused, forgetting lyrics like it's 1993, and at first it sounds like everybody's trying too hard. But Pigpen rallies the band and saves the day. Would you believe "Smokestack Lightning" is a highlight? I never thought I'd say that. But it is. And Pig's even better in the second set.

Greg K: The last Dick's Picks from before the hiatus are #31, August '74, and #7, September '74. Haven't heard either. I'm tempted by #12, from June '74, because the shows I've heard from that month are among my favorites.

[Quincy]

Greg K: The last Dick's Picks from before the hiatus are #31, August '74, and #7, September '74. Haven't heard either. I'm tempted by #12, from June '74, because the shows I've heard from that month are among my favorites.

DP 12 is my favorite of all the picks. Worth it for the intro to "China>Rider" alone, but there's a whole lot more.

Be forewarned I'm a '74 whore, but the August '74 comp is yummy too. They picked the meaty stuff from all 3 dates. Some complain that the Sept. '74 set is too mellow, but I think it has some great music on it too.

But by all means, get DP 12!

[GregK]

Wow, that's interesting. . . not sitting through that much Pigpen. In the past I hadn't been the biggest fan of the man. . . . But in my opinion he really shines brightly on these nights, I'm really digging his contributions to this release.

Maybe I just need to hear more live stuff. I can't say that disc one of this 3-disc Fillmore set (which is PigPen heavy) is as off-putting as I expected. I just have never gone for the R&B thing too much.

I'll check out those Dicks Picks; so far I have 4, 8, 12 (great one!) and 28. There are just so many to choose from, I'm wondering what else I need from pre-hiatus.

[Quincy]

I'll check out those Dicks Picks; so far I have 4, 8, 12 (great one!) and 28. There are just so many to choose from, I'm wondering what else I need from pre-hiatus.

A couple more near the top of my list are:

DP 11 - 9/27/72 - Terrific "Birdsong," perhaps my favorite complete show of all the picks. The "Dark Star > Cumberland" is unique. Oh shucks, I forgot about the new kid, the latest & greatest DP 36 (9/21/72.) That might be better - so hard to to pick between the 2! You can't go wrong with either. Also, if you prefer a rumblin' "Other One" to "Dark Star," DP 23 is what you need (9/17/72.) But it's fall '72, so get them all!

DP 14 - 11/30/73 & 12/2/73 - A leadoff Dew and a closing one, both very different approaches. Also 2 Playings and 2 Weather Report Suites! Woo-hoo! The Sunshine > WRS > Dark Star Jam > Eyes is classic stuff. It's a good thing it isn't vinyl or mine would be worn out. Also worth mentioning - no Donna. She's off having her baby, so you have to provide your own screams.

[Chalupa]

Greg K: The last Dick's Picks from before the hiatus are #31, August '74, and #7, September '74. Haven't heard either. I'm tempted by #12, from June '74, because the shows I've heard from that month are among my favorites.

DP 12 is my favorite of all the picks. Worth it for the intro to "China>Rider" alone, but there's a whole lot more.

Be forewarned I'm a '74 whore, but the August '74 comp is yummy too. They picked the meaty stuff from all 3 dates. Some complain that the Sept. '74 set is too mellow, but I think it has some great music on it too.

But by all means, get DP 12!

The China>Rider from DP12 is the all-time best version EVER, IMHO.

I just gotta say - I love Pigpen. Not too hot on the keyboards but a totally underrated singer and harp player. Love his version of "It's A Man's World" from DP 8. Pretty scary to think that he died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 27 and had been dry for nearly two years.

[Tony Pusey]

Well Kenny, I can stop playing the Kenton for a few days cos its arrived in Sweden, I am going to open a Belgian beer and kick off my shoes, put on the Dead and spread!

[Tony Pusey]

Who would have thought that after all these years Lovelight could sound so.....fresh!

[jazzbo]

I hear ya!

They chose just absolutely the right tempo for one rendition on the set!

I've been listening to some of the "Acid Tests" acquired thanks to a pointer from Orchid Doc to this page:

http://www.gdlive.com/xtrasshn/acidtestcompilation/

Damned interesting "genesis of the Dead" material. I really like the sound of Garcia's Guild guitar on these. . . and his playing is just so cool blue! Pig was definitely a front person there.

[Tony Pusey]

A few beers down the road,

Grateful Dead, circa 69, the best rock n roll band on the planet,

M Lud, I rest my case.

[jazzbo]

You just know a big belch is just a moment away.

[Tony Pusey]

[Guest]

You just know a big belch is just a moment away.

Is this the beginning of another four day creep?

For those who question the pig's virtuosity, listen to the Good Lovin' from Copenhagen '72 that's on the Rhino rerelease of Europe '72. The man could testify. Speaking of Europe '72, those shows have been completely removed from the archives, even as streams. Must be something brewing. Wouldn't you love to see a 10 cd set from that tour? I don't think we need every Me and My Uncle--but we do need every Good Lovin'. Okay--and Dark Star and the Other One and Playing in the Band and . . . .

[Chalupa]

You just know a big belch is just a moment away.

Is this the beginning of another four day creep?

For those who question the pig's virtuosity, listen to the Good Lovin' from Copenhagen '72 that's on the Rhino rerelease of Europe '72. The man could testify. Speaking of Europe '72, those shows have been completely removed from the archives, even as streams. Must be something brewing. Wouldn't you love to see a 10 cd set from that tour? I don't think we need every Me and My Uncle--but we do need every Good Lovin'. Okay--and Dark Star and the Other One and Playing in the Band and . . . .

The Europe '72 shows were multi-track recordings. All of the multi-tracks were removed awhile ago by request of the GD.

[Guest]

]

The Europe '72 shows were multi-track recordings. All of the multi-tracks were removed awhile ago by request of the GD.

[Guest]

Oops--maybe some text! A good number of '72 shows were up until the other week. Several, like Copenhagen and Hundred year Hall--the released dates--have been gone for a year or more. I wish I'd downloaded the rest of the Hundred year concert. The two Paris shows were the last to be removed, making me think that they are next up on the list. Even some of the England shows were up; this time around, they've wisely removed all of the official releases or partial releases. A combined set of Paris would be nice--though all those D.S.---Sugar Magnolia--Caution type jams would be great. The mixdowns on Archive were board mixes with all of the warts and cuts; I'd imagine the full mixes would really make the music shine brightly. I think I downloaded most of the Europe shows (is there a cure out there?), but would welcome prisitine copies if available. And, btw, a good number of these Europe shows are still available on Furthernet. It seems that the Dead only went after the archive because it was too simple to download a hundred shows a day, and too many people knew about it.

[Tony Pusey]

Another 10 cd set?

Id buy it, tho a man cannot live by Dead alone

[Guest akanalog]

i just downloaded a rehearsal session from 4-16-79.

it is brent getting acclimated to jamming with the rest of the guys and i guess them all preparing for the first brent gigs.

it is pretty cool when they are not playing beat songs like "i need a miracle". some interesting jams with brent heavy on the pitch wheel and some interesting rhythmic jams in general with brent playing sort of repeated patterns and disco-ey guitar overhead.

[Guest]

Another 10 cd set?

Id buy it, tho a man cannot live by Dead alone

Well, the last 10 cd set sold out pretty fast--why not? As it is, they keep releasing Europe '72 in drips and drabs. Why not offer another limited run? Though I suppose it might be a bit crass to include previously released material and, again, they could go light on the heavily repeated material.

Or maybe just a monsterous box set of Reverend Ron's lectures on how to "jump in the saddle."

[jazzbo]

Jerry and Mountain Girl 1967