"The Dead" recommendations.....

[7/4]

Five years of downloading live shows from Dime and I've never had a problem.

dB

[Tony Pusey]

I bought the first album in 67 when I was 14. The dead have been my companions ever since, they have stayed with me wharever I was listening to at the time, BUT caveat emptor, I have always been ultimately dissapointed by anything post Warner Brothers era. So the motherload: Live Dead. The complete Rhino run, long oop is awonder from start to finish. And Live Dead was bracketed by thier best 4 studio albums, 2 before Anthem and Aoxomoxoa, after, Workingmans and American Beauty.

And while I have owned most of the official output at sometime or another, I would be quite happy to go with the Rhino complete Warners, the complete run of the Live Dead material,Ladies and Gentlemen, and the 3 volume box of from the Vault.I will continue to be suckered into buying new stuff, but this is what I will take with me. Always.

The bus came by and I got on.......

Edited January 26, 2009 by Tony Pusey

[kenny weir]

Ed, you should have a ball.

In fact, I'd guess you could possibly have a much cooler gig than many of us with long histories with the band.

I saw 'em once - 1977 - but it was momentous. So I suspect any revisit via a Dead show would lead to disappointment fuelled by memories of that show and countless hours of listening to great (almost exclusively live) recordings.

Someone else nailed it: No matter how worthy the various guitarists, they ain't Jerry.

But you shouldn't have any hangups on that score, and if anything your lack of exposure to the band's recordings is a blessing. Hold off on stocking up till after the gig, hey!

Keep expectations modest and go for it.

I second recommendations of the GD Movie soundtrack set (with the caveat that it features only the one drummer) and the Cow Palace 3CD.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

First one I'd spin for a 14 yr old would be Mars Hotel. Plenty of time after to start easing youngins' into jams like 'Alligator'

[.:.impossible]

I think someone gave me Mars Hotel when I was 14. Younger actually. That and the Long, Strange Trip 2x cassette collection.

[sal]

This thread got me going back through my Dicks Picks collection, which I think are the best way (along with other mediums of listening to complete Dead shows) to experience the Dead in the comfort of your home. Besides vol 10 which I mentioned earlier, I also really enjoy volumes 6, 8, 11 and 15. Athough the later Dicks Picks are very solid too, i definitley think that the cream of the crop were picked by Dick Latvala while he was still alive.

[WorldB3]

This thread got me going back through my Dicks Picks collection, which I think are the best way (along with other mediums of listening to complete Dead shows) to experience the Dead in the comfort of your home. Besides vol 10 which I mentioned earlier, I also really enjoy volumes 6, 8, 11 and 15. Athough the later Dicks Picks are very solid too, i definitley think that the cream of the crop were picked by Dick Latvala while he was still alive.

DP8 and 11 are both great starting places. Two of my all time favorites. For 77 Dicks Picks I got to go with #3 for closing sequence of Estimated to Dew. Doesn't get any better.

[rostasi]

"Very Fine Indeed"

[greggery peccary]

The new 3 CD set "To Terrapin" from 5/28/77 is also a gem. Great set list, the band is on, and the sound on these discs is amazing. There is such clarity and presence. I had been really enjoying the Winterland Box, but this set was a revelation. I also managed to get the set for $15 shipped from Amazon. This sets a new standard for the Rhino issues and I hope that future releases sustain this level of excellence.

[jazzbo]

Ed, any impressions of the Dead now that you've had some listening material?

[bertrand]

I found their performance of 'Sugar Magnolia' on Letterman tonight somewhat lackluster.

Bertrand.

[Spontooneous]

I found their performance of 'Sugar Magnolia' on Letterman tonight somewhat lackluster.

Bertrand.

I'd disagree. It was extremely lackluster.

[bertrand]

I was trying to be nice