The Grateful Dead Dark Star

[jazzbo]

Velma in way over her head? You seriously underestimate the woman. Pops didn't!

[jazzbo]

Yeah. . . "Sunshine Daydream". . . I finally got to see that thanks to a kind gentleman. Those early film pieces of the Dead from "Acid Test" era are very cool!

[Quincy]

But on to my real query of the day:

My local used-disc dive has an inexpensive copy of the GD "Downhill From Here" DVD. Opinions on this one?

Cheap & used is the best way to get it (that's how I got mine.)

Of the late '80s and beyond videos I think it's the best musically (haven't seen/heard the VFV II or Buffalo), but weirdly enough the video quality is kind of grainy. Just a poor transfer I guess. But the "Deal" is a scorcher. While that may not be the first song you look for in a Dead setlist as a highlight, it really is a ripping one thanks to Jerry. Jerry appears happy and dare I say he sorta moves a little too. No Townshend windmills or leaps, but he moves a few times.

[Guest]

Of course, when you are 100 lbs overweight and recovering from heroin abuse AND a chain smoker, you just don't boogie like an 18 year old. Fortunately, he had enough wind in him to stand up and play his geetar.

But pretty boy Bob--he sure can shake that thang.

[Spontooneous]

Two things on my mind today:

1. Anybody know what's going on with the GDL site??

2. Big recommendation for Dick's Picks 36. I've never been a Morning Dew fan, but the Dark Star > Dew on this one makes me crumple.

[Guest akanalog]

any of you GD fans like agitation free? something about them reminds me of my favorite aspects of GD jams though it is more controlled and less explorative stuff. maybe more like the allman brothers but from germany. also no blues or c & w influences or vocals, which are all bonuses for me!

http://www.diregarden.com/god028.html

i enjoy this one a lot.

[Quincy]

Two things on my mind today:

1. Anybody know what's going on with the GDL site?

Even with a high speed connection the site can be slow. It takes at least 20 to 30 seconds after the lightning bolt fills up for the page to load in the 2 times I've visited. The response can be slow and weird when clicking things. It doesn't seem to respond to keyboard controls for scrolling.

The autumnal backdrop was somewhat unusual as like crows, Deadheads tend to prefer shiny and more colorful things.

2. Big recommendation for Dick's Picks 36. I've never been a Morning Dew fan, but the Dark Star > Dew on this one makes me crumple.

That'll convert ya alright. Dick's Pick 11 & 14 both include shows with the unusual leadoff Dews. Terrific!

[Spontooneous]

Quincy, can you get into the GDL site at all? I haven't been able to since Thursday. I've tried on three different machines.

Edited December 18, 2005 by Spontooneous

[gdogus]

Quincy, can you get into the GDL site at all? I haven't been able to since Thursday. I've tried on three different machines.

Maybe some wires are crossed here - Spontooneous seems to be talking about GD Live, an independent site that hosts music files; Quincy seems to be talking about the official DeadNet site.

Spontoon, GD Live does seem to be having some problems; no one seems able to reach it over the past few days. Temporary, I hope.

[Quincy]

Quincy, can you get into the GDL site at all? I haven't been able to since Thursday. I've tried on three different machines.

Maybe some wires are crossed here - Spontooneous seems to be talking about GD Live, an independent site that hosts music files; Quincy seems to be talking about the official DeadNet site.

Spontoon, GD Live does seem to be having some problems; no one seems able to reach it over the past few days. Temporary, I hope.

Oh, sorry 'bout that. Gdogus is right, I thought you were talking about the official site as someone just yesterday asked me if I was having problems with that one. Trouble ahead, trouble behind!

I've read about GD Live problems on rec.music.gdead. No one has been able to get on for days (just as Gdogus says.) One or two doomsayers noted that archive.org acted the same way before soundboards were pulled. I'm not trying to feed any conspiracy, just passing on the posts of worried minds.

[Guest]

GDLive has been having trouble for a long time. The shns haven't been accessible, you can't contact them--basically, it seems like it's been pretty much abandoned in the wake of the archive anyway--last update was at least a year ago.

But don't forget, if you download Total Recorder, you can download and burn all of the streams. There will be a half second gap between files, but it's still a wealth of music. The official shows have been pulled altogether, but that makes simple sense.

[gdogus]

GDLive has been having trouble for a long time. The shns haven't been accessible, you can't contact them--basically, it seems like it's been pretty much abandoned in the wake of the archive anyway--last update was at least a year ago.

Correct about updates, but I downloaded a shn set no prob from GDLive just last weekend...

[Guest]

[Matthew]

Meantime, buy DP 36. For thirty years, all I had was the poor audience tape I made. Hearing that spontaneous heavenly jam between Dark Star and Morning Dew after all these years in clear crisp soundboard quality blew me away. This show, btw, came a day after a show with the newly reinvigorated Miles Davis and the Weather Report lineup with Eric Gravatt and Miroslav Vitous. What a weekend!

Just to add my two cents: DP 36 is a great concert, and like everyone else, the Dark Stor / Morning Dew is worth the price alone; plus the sound is outstanding. It was mentioned earlier, but to have a complete set of Europe '72 would be sooooo cool. Right now I'm listening to Olympia Paris, '72 concert and it's very good.

[Matthew]

Is Jerry playing a steel guitar on It Hurts Me Too, in the Paris concert?

Late edit: I'm stunned, a Pigpen vocal I actually like! Two Souls in Communion has an understated, sad quality to it.

Edited December 19, 2005 by Matthew

[Guest]

Is Jerry playing a steel guitar on It Hurts Me Too, in the Paris concert?

Late edit: I'm stunned, a Pigpen vocal I actually like! Two Souls in Communion has an understated, sad quality to it.

I forget if it's on the DP 35, but you can stream Empty pages from Aug 71 at Gaelic Park on archive.

Now, if that don't make you weep, I'm sending you some onions.

[jazzbo]

Dang, going to have to get me the last few Dick's Picks early next year.

Yes, Doc Orc: thanks for the pointer to the Prankster/Acid Test material (and a big thanks to The Mule for burnin' 'em for me). I'm really glad to have those four discs!

[GregK]

All this Grateful Dead talk has me going back to the Golden Road and Beyond Description box sets. I've been spending a lot of time with the early discs (up to Workingman's Dead) of the former, and the first three of the latter (Blues for Allah is still their best studio record, to me at least)

[Guest]

All this Grateful Dead talk has me going back to the Golden Road and Beyond Description box sets. I've been spending a lot of time with the early discs (up to Workingman's Dead) of the former, and the first three of the latter (Blues for Allah is still their best studio record, to me at least)

Blus for Allah is certainly adventuresome. Help--Slipknot--Franklin's captures the deadelicacy of the band's group mind and, though written out in this instance, its ability to play some complex music in the studio.

The Music Never Stopped is a catchy Bobby tune that nailed the spirit of deadidity or deadinaciousness or deadocity (pick one) that was peaking at that time. But it's Crazy Fingers with it's sweet/sad lyrics and Jerry's perfectly soulful crooning that makes it work. The haiku lyrics also work well. Quite deadistacious in a deadipitous way.

BUT: Workingman's and American Beauty are simply dead on perfect, more so the latter release. Lesh's Box of Rain is still one of the great love songs in the American musical lexicon. And Friend of the Devil? Deadvistating. Candyman? Ripple? Brokedown Palace? Deadvistating.

So many people, including Garcia, have dismissed their studio work as lifeless and stiff--or at least as failing to catch the fire of the live shows. I disagree strongly. The original mix of Aoxomoxoa is a tour de force of acid drenched psycedelia (and thank God they left out the version of St. Stephen--the Eleen they recorded with Hunter on bagpipes!--though they could have included Clementine instead of What's Become of the Baby) Workingman's and American Beauty were rehearsed both on an off stage for months before they stepped foot in the studio. With Workingman's, the group entered the studio with a template tape of the tunes which they simply played over with love and care. American Beauty is so full of subtle nuances that you can play it a dozen times and just begin to unravel it's intricate complexities. There is a documentary in which Steven Barncard (the producer) isolates Jerry's vocal track on--I think--Ripple. Makes you weep. They both beat the crap out of Skullfuck or Europe '72, which were both hybrids of live material overdubbed in the studio. Steal Your Face? Or Steal Your Money? Wake of the Flood is also beautiful, crafted with care and a delight to listen to. Mars Hotel is a little weaker on material (except Scarlet Begonias and Unbroken Chain), but still brilliantly produced. I personally feel that after Mars Hotel the studio work starts to diminish in quality both in terms of material and effort.

What was my point? Oh, yeah. Just enjoy the music. It's all good. And I can' wait for the 25 disc box of Europe '72.

[Tony Pusey]

Good post Orchid, for me the last great Dead album was Skull Fuck, OK for Europe 72 ( I was there,so I always thought fondly of it as a souvenir), thourgt Wake had its moments, but really began to lose interest with Mars Hotel, excepting Lesh s 2 contributions I found it dreary in the extreme, they must have recorded that album with quality control off! I mean Loose Lucy? US Blues? In my opinion crap pure and simple. No, I no longer own a copy.

I am with you on Aoxomoxoa! I never get tired of Anthem either, and the recent 10 cd set is the motherlode for me!

[Guest]

So many folks underrate Skullfuck. I guess they don't like the return to the stripped down bar band that the Dead began as. The L.P. is filled with covers, and that seemed disappointing, but they were crisp and tight. Of course, now we have the Fillmore East box--unadulterated and fiesty. Those Fillmore tapes were among the first soundboards to make the rounds as early as 1972, and, off speed or hissy or chopped as they might be, they were the holy gail of the time--and extra precious to me as I had the good fortune to catch the whole run. And now we have them in 3-D. I could listen to a tape of nothing but the Hard to Handles from that era and be quite content.

I agree about Mars Hotel. It marked the beginning of the end of the truly great Garcia-Hunter tunes. Oh, but that Money Money is a classic!

[jazzbo]

Hard to handle?

[jazzbo]

[AmirBagachelles]

I listen to Mars Hotel as much as any studio album by the Dead, Workingman's is my fave. Generally, about half the cuts on all their records (yes incl Shakedown, GtH, and up thru Built) give adequate enjoyment to my live-jaded ears. And let's give Reflections some props, got me thru many a trippy post show drive. Comes A Time might be the BEST Dead song done in a studio.

[Guest]

I sure don't mean to imply that the well dried up all of a sudden in 1974! There are enough Garcia-Hunter tunes post Mars Hotel to make a great cd. Shakedown Street is a nice shuffle, Mission in the Rain, Reuben and Cherise, Crazy Fingers, Althea, yes (shoot me) Touch of Grey and of course Black Muddy River and Standing on the Moon all come quicky to mind--though the studio recordings don't always measure up to the song's potential. It's got to be hard to maintain the pace and quality that the young lions could crank out. And Jerry often said that he really didn't like to write in his later years. Hell, it's not like they had anything left to prove!