scrubbedexpat099

Oops my Petrol indice is wrong Yom Kippur war was end of 73 so 2 gallons of petrol.

Nutmegger

Hiro11

Most of the Dead's best and best known songs are barely on any studio album. Trying to understand them by listening for singles or even albums is not going to work. Here's my personal guide to getting into the Dead. It's long, befitting the Dead:

101:
Listen to "American Beauty" and "Workingman's Dead". These are the two unarguably great studio albums the Dead produced. The songs are concise, tightly arranged and beautifully recorded. They emerged within a few months of each other in 1970 and should be listened to together. "American Beauty" is more electric, "Workingman's Dead" is more acoustic. Beautiful Americana folk-rock with tinges of bluegrass, blue and psychedelia. Stories of an imagined West, of hippy nirvana, of wild abandon, of tragedy and loss.

Sophomore:
Get a live recording. You will get a 100 different answers from 100 different Dead fans on where to start. Personally, I suggest the classic "Europe '72" live album. This is the Dead at a early-mid peak and will introduce you to many of their live staples. It's a justly famous live album recorded during the band's first European tour.

Junior year:
Start to understand the different phases of the live Dead. '68 Dead is different from '72 Dead which is different from '77 Dead and '91 Dead. Here are some representative (in my mind) shows:
Dick's Pick's Volume 4: This is prime early Dead. Just out of the Acid Test phase, Pigpen was still their front man. Deeply psychedelic, heavily influenced by blues rock and bluegrass.
"Sunshine Daydream" 8-27-72. My personal favorite Dead show. The Dead had just returned from their European triumph and staged a benefit concert for Ken Kesey's family dairy. It's was about 100 degrees F and the crowd was full of Dead faithful. This is a great set list and includes one of the best "China Cat Sunflower --> I Know You Rider" they ever did. The cover of Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home" as the sun set is equally incredible.
Cornell 5-8-77. Widely regarded as their single best show, only made available commercially in the last few years. The Dead took a couple of years off in '75 and '76 and came storming back in '77. The Dead emerged more forceful, more funky and tighter than ever. This show has a buzzing energy about it from the off. The "Scarlet Begonias --> Fire on the Mountain" is justly famous in Dead circles, but that's just the tip of the iceberg here.
"Dozin at the Knick" March, 1990. The Dead had a resurgence (to the degree that they ever went away) in the late eighties and early nineties. They had garnered a new generation of fans with the 1987 release of "Touch of Grey", a song that would become their biggest hit (not that the Dead were ever about hits). This show neatly demonstrates that the hit single was not a fluke and that they still had more to give live. It has a great cover of Dylan's "When I Paint my Masterpiece" and a classic "Goin' down the Road Feelin' Bad".

Senior year, advanced study:
Delve into more shows. Harpur College '70. 8-5-74 in Philly. "One from the Vault" 8-13-75. 7-8-78 Red Rocks. 9-18-87 Madison Square Garden. Etc. All of these dates are iconic among Deadheads. Start to hear the individual instruments. Jerry's on the left, Bob's on the right... pre-'82. After that they switched sides. Hear the difference when Mickey Hart left the band and what it sounded like when he came back. Decide on your favorite keyboardist. Start to understand the meaning of the songs: "Box of Rain" is about the death of Phil's dad. "He's Gone" was originally about Mickey Hart's dad ripping the band off but evolved to be about the loss of anyone close to the band. "New Speedway Boogie" is about Altamont. What the hell is Phil doing on that Dancin' on the Streets? Geez, Bob was on fire that day. Jerry sounds exhausted, he seems to have forgotten the lyrics there. There is a world to dig into.

Steerpike

Wow - that's an amazing amount of very useful information! Thanks!

The Amazon documentary was great - I demolished it in two sittings. I'd be curious to learn more about his heroin addiction; you would think he would have been smart enough to avoid that one - of all the drugs, heroin is the most seductive and destructive. I just loved the fact that all the fans congregated at their concerts, even if they didn't have tickets, just for the 'vibe' in the parking lot / outer areas. I spoke to a buddy of mine who was born/raised in the bay area, and he still goes to their concerts at Shoreline Amphitheater, and he said he has more fun in the parking lot than in the concert itself! And it was interesting how Jerry just could not bring himself to contribute to the 'public announcement' asking fans NOT to congregate, even when it was resulting in serious problems - he was a purist! The great irony was, he never wanted to be a celebrity but he ended up being trapped - holed up on his hotel room - like any other celebrity.

I will start on the 'education plan' you've outlined and let you know how it goes!

Hiro11

Just remember: as Neil Young says, "it's all one song".

Pulaski

Touch of Grey?

caretaker

I had a couple of Jefferson Airplane albums in the 60's-70's, but they were never favourites. The person I've probably known longest in Regina (since about 1965) is a Deadhead - travelled all over, went to all their concerts, still does probably.... is an idiot. Son of an intellectual, psuedo-intellectual himself, been all over the world... shit for brains. I punched him in the nose for smart-mouthing me when I was about 12 and still stand by my decision. Everyone's stack of records had Workingman's Dead in it, but they were never favourites either.

Steerpike

I'm having fun generally getting to know the Dead, loosely working through your 'itinerary'. But I have to say, I stumbled across this gem:
The performance starts around 3:00 (seems like lots of their videos include a lengthy tune-up!). Then at 5:53, they hit a groove that is just outstanding! The quality of the video (and audio) isn't great, but the mood, the flavor, the vibe ... it's great! The three guitars and piano just get on a roll! At 8:04, is that a new song that starts? or is it a continuation of the first song? I'm guessing that's the start of 'scarlet begonias'? Things get into a great groove again at around 11:15 ... I guess I'm much more partial to their playing than their singing. I still enjoy it as they get all funky around 15:00 to 20:00. When in the sequence does Fire on the Mountain start ...?

Definitely the best 'Dead' I've come across so far! Oh, to have been in that audience!

Nutmegger

With your new-found enthusiasm, hope you are breaking out the tie-dye!!!

Pulaski

I made it through the first six minutes or so of the video, and it isn't at all bad, actually better than I expected, but is a bit more laid back than I prefer. It reminds me a good bit of the Eagles, who my wife likes, and I have seen twice.

I like the sound of bands with multiple guitars, it can be quite distinctive, especially with "twin lead guitars" like Whitesnake, Molly Hatchet, Def Leppard, and the Scorpions, among others, but they all have a bit more attack that the Grateful Dead apparently did.

Steerpike

Just to clarify ... you say you made it through the first six minutes; I said they really get going at 5:57 ... so did you skip the first part and listen to what I thought was the best, or did you stop right at the point where I felt it got going? The first 3 minutes are, literally, tuning up ! If not, I'd give it a shot STARTING at the 5:57 mark and going from there!

I have a 6 hour drive from Pasadena to the Bay Area ahead of me ... I will let YouTube be my DJ on the drive ...

Pulaski

I skipped the first 2:45, not being sure how precise you'd been with your "performance starts around 3:00", but not getting my kicks from tuning-up activities. I am not sure exactly when I stopped listening, probably somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00, but it just didn't sound like it was going to burst into a driving instrumental midsection a la Space Trucking on Made in Japan; maybe I was wrong, I'll try again later, but currently I am bingeing on Joe Bonamassa.

Steerpike

Oh boy - just pulled into the Bay Area after an almost non-stop ride from LA; spent the whole time listening to (and watching, on occasion ..) the Greatfull Dead on YouTube. YouTube is such a wonderful thing ...

Anyway ... discovered this absolute gem. Must be one of the best things I've ever heard. I tend to like original versions, and was suspicious when I first heard what they were singing (the Stones' Not Fade Away - or should I say, Buddy Holly's!)), but this is just wonderful! Quite unlike most Dead I've heard so far, this one has a pounding drum beat to start with, and then the guitar kicks in around 1:06 and is spectacular! I played this about 5 times, and had the volume on full! My Lexus is a great cruising car - smooth and quiet at 80 mph; I never realized just how good a sound system it has also (I usually drive in peaceful silence!).


The journey continues ...

Pulaski

I tried again, starting back again around 6:00 and listening all the way past the 11:00 mark, and I didn't detect anything I recognized as "picking up", it still sounded like laid-back Eagles to me. Sorry, I tried, I really did!

Rather that try to compare the grateful Dead to something else you may already be familiar with, this (below) is typical of what I was listening to this afternoon, which drives along very nicely without getting too aggressive. I think this one song has distilled the very best of the last 60 years of rock and blues - there's some blistering guitar (mostly he used a Les Paul, but switches to a Strat for the solo, which seems a bit strange) and has the bonus of twin drums, which gives it thunderous driving beat.

Hiro11

Convertible on a hot summer evening:

Peak of the party:
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Monday morning, coming down: