Grateful Dead The Closing Of Winterland December 31 1978 (CD, Grateful Dead Productions, 1978) ***
Grateful Dead Nightfall Of Diamonds (CD, Rhino, 1989) ****
Genre: San Francisco rock
Places I remember: Spellbound Wax Company, Real Groovy Records and JB Hi Fi in that order.
Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Down The Line (Fillmore East 1971); Fire On The Mountain (Winterland)
Gear costume: Friend Of The Devil (Winterland); Uncle John's Band (Nightfall)
Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Down The Line (Fillmore East 1971); Fire On The Mountain (Winterland)
Gear costume: Friend Of The Devil (Winterland); Uncle John's Band (Nightfall)
NB: this review comes to you from London Town! I'm on holiday but my dedication to blogging forges ahead!!
Active compensatory factors: The Grateful Dead were predominantly a live touring band and they've left a huge archive of live recordings that keep getting released. It's hard to keep up. Forget hard - impossible.
I have a few. I have no idea how they stack against the rest of their live albums so this will be a very idiosyncratic summary of these three.
Starting with the bootleg that I got a few weeks ago from Spellbound Wax Company in Gisborne for $30. Duane Allman does actually appear as billed (I was a little suspicious when I saw the cover - but sure enough). It's a good quality bootleg - I have heard far far worse believe me!
By 1978 and the Winterland gig they were a different band and a lot more polished musically. This set benefits from having a lot of new material added to the set. The downside is that at 4 CDs in length it is way too long to digest in a single setting.
Kudos to the band though - they never short changed their loyal audience.
Nightfall of Diamonds is a live set from 1989 at The Meadowlands Arena and is tight and together. It's a great, balanced set of songs that show off the band's strengths.
Where do they all belong? Will I buy more live sets by the Dead. Yes, I will. I have a few on my list that have been recommended by reviewers. You most definitely need a 'how to buy live albums by The Grateful Dead' to make sense of things. Plus, there are still some studio albums to come before we can let them rest in peace (see what I did there?).
Where do they all belong? Will I buy more live sets by the Dead. Yes, I will. I have a few on my list that have been recommended by reviewers. You most definitely need a 'how to buy live albums by The Grateful Dead' to make sense of things. Plus, there are still some studio albums to come before we can let them rest in peace (see what I did there?).
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