The Good Ol' Grateful Thread

Bennnnn said:
Still fairly new to the Dead, but I'm going at my own pace. For me, I had friends growing up who loved them, but I never gave them a chance until a couple of years ago. And, yeah it was because of that Day of the Dead comp. Since then, I've picked up a handful of the newer live releases, like Cornell (though I don't have the vinyl set yet) and most recently the acoustic set from Record Store Day. Studio-wise, I haven't gone too deep (and I feel the consensus is I don't need to?) but I do have the recent Anthem of the Sun reissue and a compilation from the Long Strange Trip documentary (it has both studio and live stuff - mostly live I think).
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I somewhat disagree with the studio album thing. The live shows are of course where it’s at, but as someone mentioned American Beauty and Workingmans Dead are must haves. And I think all of them pre-80 are great. And even post-80 have many great songs (especially the ballads). Blues for Allah is a great listen and so is Wake of the Flood.
 
Bennnnn said:
Still fairly new to the Dead, but I'm going at my own pace. For me, I had friends growing up who loved them, but I never gave them a chance until a couple of years ago. And, yeah it was because of that Day of the Dead comp. Since then, I've picked up a handful of the newer live releases, like Cornell (though I don't have the vinyl set yet) and most recently the acoustic set from Record Store Day. Studio-wise, I haven't gone too deep (and I feel the consensus is I don't need to?) but I do have the recent Anthem of the Sun reissue and a compilation from the Long Strange Trip documentary (it has both studio and live stuff - mostly live I think).
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If you like the Warfield RSD release, listen to Reckoning. Same shows.

Also, get a copy of Jerry's Oregon State Pen show. I had a post with a DL of it on my website, but I guess it expired. I'll have to reupload it
 
AugustWest said:
I somewhat disagree with the studio album thing. The live shows are of course where it’s at, but as someone mentioned American Beauty and Workingmans Dead are must haves. And I think all of them pre-80 are great. And even post-80 have many great songs (especially the ballads). Blues for Allah is a great listen and so is Wake of the Flood.
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Agreed. And Wake Of The Flood doesn't get mentioned enough, but it's one of my favorites
 
AugustWest said:
I somewhat disagree with the studio album thing. The live shows are of course where it’s at, but as someone mentioned American Beauty and Workingmans Dead are must haves. And I think all of them pre-80 are great. And even post-80 have many great songs (especially the ballads). Blues for Allah is a great listen and so is Wake of the Flood.
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Now there’s so much more to listen to! I’ve heard bits of American Beauty throughout the years but I’ve never sat down and listened to it front to back. All the others, I have no familiarity with.
 
Dead C said:
I'm no audiophile, but since there are no standard pressings of Shady Grove, things might be changing soon
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I'd highly recommend both Shady Grove and the Garcia/Grisman self-titled albums from MFSL. Their both excellent. The latter is probably one of my most spun records, and serves as a great demo for trying out new gear and speakers. Thrill is Gone, Russian Lullaby, and Friend of the Devil are A+ tracks from a sound quality stand-point.

I'd grab Shady Grove while you can. Press counts are fairly low, and I don't see them pressing another batch once they're gone.
 
Dead C said:
I'm buying this if it gets reprinted

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The night Bear dosed the coffee pot and every person was tripping at the mansion except for Hugh.


Tag me if these ever pop up, please!
Bennnnn said:
Still fairly new to the Dead, but I'm going at my own pace. For me, I had friends growing up who loved them, but I never gave them a chance until a couple of years ago. And, yeah it was because of that Day of the Dead comp. Since then, I've picked up a handful of the newer live releases, like Cornell (though I don't have the vinyl set yet) and most recently the acoustic set from Record Store Day. Studio-wise, I haven't gone too deep (and I feel the consensus is I don't need to?) but I do have the recent Anthem of the Sun reissue and a compilation from the Long Strange Trip documentary (it has both studio and live stuff - mostly live I think).
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In my opinion most of the studio albums are great, they start to falter after Terrapin Station a little bit but still all of them are worth checking out.

Aoxomoxoa is an album I love that doesn’t get the mentions it should. It’s the height of the Dead’s studio experimentation. “What’s Become Of The Baby” is an interesting tune.
wmeugene said:
Studio-wise you need Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. While the studio output gets a bad rap, nothing is necessarily essential other than those two. Explore as you have time and desire on those.

Live is where it’s at and your options are limitless. The band’s peak, imho, is ‘72-74 and almost all the official releases from that period are worthwhile. Generally ‘68-‘78 and ‘89-90 are the best eras to explore, though every year has its own charms and character. Enjoy the adventure!
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Agreed, although I’d throw ‘68-‘70 in there as prime Dead years. ‘69-‘70 is my sweet spot for psychedelic goodness and a mixture of that organic twangy goodness.

Also I agree with @Dead C , Wake of the Flood doesn’t get the push that American Beauty & Workingman’s Dead get. But, man “”Weather Report Suite” really showcases Bob Weir’s unbelievable playing and songwriting.

Check out this demo with just Weir just humming the melody. One of the finest rhythm guitarists to ever touch the instrument.


AugustWest said:
I somewhat disagree with the studio album thing. The live shows are of course where it’s at, but as someone mentioned American Beauty and Workingmans Dead are must haves. And I think all of them pre-80 are great. And even post-80 have many great songs (especially the ballads). Blues for Allah is a great listen and so is Wake of the Flood.
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Agreed, although I’d throw From The Mars Hotel in there too even though “Money Money” is one of the worst songs the Dead ever made.
 
imtheocean said:
Agreed on From the Mars Hotel. There's enough good stuff on it to outweigh Money Money. Unbroken Chain in particular.
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Agreed, I love every other song on there, but man I dislike “Money Money.”
Glad they only played it a few times live in ‘74.

It’s like the Dead tried to make an un Dead song.
 
So the Grateful Dead's YouTube channel is starting a weekly archive release of live performances. Every Thursday they'll be uploading a new one. Here's the first!



From the middle night of a five night stand that were billed as the Dead's "Farewell Concerts," this is widely considered one of the greatest, and most emotional, versions of "Morning Dew" ever performed by the Grateful Dead. Thankfully, the Dead's farewell proved to be a two year hiatus from live touring, and in June 1976 they returned to the road. - David Lemieux
 
smokethepandas said:
So the Grateful Dead's YouTube channel is starting a weekly archive release of live performances. Every Thursday they'll be uploading a new one. Here's the first!



From the middle night of a five night stand that were billed as the Dead's "Farewell Concerts," this is widely considered one of the greatest, and most emotional, versions of "Morning Dew" ever performed by the Grateful Dead. Thankfully, the Dead's farewell proved to be a two year hiatus from live touring, and in June 1976 they returned to the road. - David Lemieux
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This is the “Morning Dew” from the Grateful Dead movie. Which would be another great introduction for people who are interested in learning more about the band.
 
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