I will take you home (Grateful Dead) (LP 1011 - 1013)

Grateful Dead  Go To Heaven (Vinyl, Arista Records, 1980) ***  

Grateful Dead  In The Dark (Vinyl, Grateful Dead Records, 1987) ***  

Grateful Dead  Built To Last (Vinyl, Arista Records, 1989) ***  

Genre: San Franciscan pop rock 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records (one of those ones I bought while working there during my varsity holidays)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Althea (Go To Heaven)

Gear costume: Throwing Stones, Black Muddy River (In The Dark)

Active compensatory factors: I'm pretty naive - it was only while reading the Wikipedia entry on Go To Heaven that I saw the negative 1980 reception of the cover. At the time, I just put the white suits down to a desire to reflect the album title as angels - not disco John Travolta wannabees.

I liked the album then, and I like the album now. The sound has little of the eighties about it. It's a punchy kind of production but sounds exactly like the Dead. Brent Mydland had joined the band, replacing Donna and Keith Godchaux, and he contributed a couple of okay songs but nothing of the Hunter/Garcia or Barlow/Weir quality.

Seven years later (and thereby avoiding many of the eighties production excesses) came In The Dark and that unlikely hit single Touch Of Grey. I couldn't believe it when the video came on via MTV. What the...?

But yes, there they were - playing on my TV set. In truth it was a bit of a fluke. The song is catchy but so is Alabama Getaway or Uncle John's Band or any number of their equally catchy back catalogue songs - but Touch Of Grey somehow made it onto the Top 40 countdown in 1987. Remarkable.

The rest of In The Dark is good solid Grateful Dead - not a million miles from Go To Heaven, but was also a big success on the back of Touch Of Grey (terrible cover though - with seven sets of eyes featuring - 6 for band members and in a nice touch - Bill Graham's are the 7th).

Built To Last, with a slightly better cover, was ironically their last studio album - Garcia's death in 1995 effectively drew a line under the band's continuing under that name. It tends to get a bad press but I think it's under-rated.

Okay the album has four Mydland/Barlow songs which are underwhelming but there are three decent Garcia/Hunter efforts. Plus, there is a clear highlight with the Bob Weir sung Victim Or The Crime. It's like Throwing Stones - the longest and most interesting song on the album.

Where do they all belong? That's it for the time being. I keep being drawn back to the band and its offshoots so I doubt this is the end of their appearances in the collection. The live catalogue keeps expanding on a regular basis after all.

Down the line (Grateful Dead) (LP 982 - 984)

Grateful Dead with Duane Allman Fillmore East 1971 (Vinyl, Bootleg) ***  

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)

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!

The concert is prime '71 Dead - a little ragged at times, lyrical at others, spirited throughout!

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?).

Ship of fools (Grateful Dead (LP 945 - 948)

Grateful Dead  Wake Of The Flood (Vinyl, Grateful Dead Records/ Atlantic, 1973) ***  

Grateful Dead  Grateful Dead From The Mars Hotel (Vinyl, Grateful Dead Records/ Atlantic, 1974) ****  

Grateful Dead  Terrapin Station (Vinyl, Arista, 1977) ****

Grateful Dead  Shakedown Street (Vinyl, Grateful Dead Records/ Atlantic, 1978) ***   

Genre: San Francisco rock

Places I remember: Marbecks Records/ Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Terrapin Station

Gear costume: Ship Of Fools (Mars Hotel);

Active compensatory factors: The studio albums in the seventies are under-appreciated I feel, and are ripe for reappraisal and rediscovery. 

While Wake Of The Flood has a brilliant cover, it is a somewhat downbeat, transitional album, with new members, the Godchauxs, now fully replacing Pigpen. Even so it includes the standout Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo.

After that one they revived quickly and put together a good run of radio friendly, fun records from then onwards.

I like both Mars Hotel and Terrapin Station a lot. They are more upbeat, more confident with the new members and while they still seem constrained in the studio they could at least update their sound in that setting.

Side two of Terrapin Station has the title track in eight parts and I adore this brilliant song, principally written by Garcia/Hunter but including compositional contribution from all the band. It is a delight! Everything works spectacularly on this track - the quasi medieval instrumental sections, and the singing by Garcia is superb. Robert Hunter's lyrics are again unique!

I'm also quite partial to their final seventies album - Shakedown Street. Not only featuring a brilliant cover by Gilbert Shelton, but with Lowell George as producer (shortly before he passed away).

He sets up a very cool California soft rock groove for the album.

I bought Terrapin and Shakedown while working at Marbecks in my varsity holidays and they, along with 1980's Go To Heaven, formed a lot of the soundtrack for these years. Special times with special people!

Where do they all belong? For some reason I've never bought Blues For Allah - also from this period. I'll have to rectify that. The eighties and beyond to come.

You win again (Grateful Dead) (LP 869)

Grateful Dead  Europe '72 (Vinyl, Warner Brothers Records, 1972) ****  

Genre: San Francisco rock 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Jack Straw

Gear costume: Morning Dew

Active compensatory factors: This triple album of Dead highlights from their April/May trek through Europe in 1972 looms large in their legend. It was commercially and artistically a big hit with Deadheads.

For simple reasons: the playing is great; the songs were new and presented in their best light.

Otherwise it's NOT a great live album in my estimation. The crowd noise is forensically removed so this, along with a number of studio overdubs, plus the fact it cherry picks from a number of venues, all means this is presented more like a studio recording than a live document.  

The band personnel was interesting too - Pigpen's last tour and the first by Keith and Donna Godchaux. The combination most definitely worked!

Where do they all belong? A transitional record in some respects but it's a benchmark in the vast Dead canon.

I believe in magic and I believe in dreams (Grace Slick)

I love the magic of the Hard Rock Cafe. It's not only the dreamy rock music ambiance but that's a big part.

The noise is great (it's always loud and you can always guarantee great music during your visit), the burgers are great, and the walls are always festooned with great rock music memorabilia.

So far I've been to H.R.C.'s in Edinburgh, London, Paris, Rome and now San Francisco.

Of course there is a fantastic Grateful Dead section, Jacky Casady's bass guitar, and a George Harrison guitar in the Beatle corner, but the highlight for me was a portrait of Jerry Garcia by Grace Slick.

Although Grace was born in Chicago and now lives in Malibu she and San Francisco are synonymous for me. Her previous home overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge was pointed out to me during my stay and I loved feeling some connection to her, even as tenuous as that.

Hope you're healthy Grace. Thanks for everything and that is one great great portrait.

I close my eyes and remember the days of a blood red sky and a purple haze (Starship)

The final theme centres on the arty farty world of the album cover. In practice this is a bit of a mixture of comic book art, drawings, and paintings used to sell an image - Commander Cody as a Flash Gordon type character, Conan the Barbarian style warriors used on the southern boogie band Molly Hatchet and so on.

I have many favourites in this category - here are the first 10.

By the way - the Big Man's passing will be marked in the appropriate way in a post to come soon. In the meantime suffice to say the world got a little less flamboyent and a little less exciting as a result of his passing.

Have you see her, have you heard? The way she plays there are no words. (Stone Roses)

Speaking of Grateful Dead (previous post): I have often wondered why they bothered with two drummers. The Dead's songs are not that wild that they need two drummers surely? I know Hart calls himself a percussionist but that seems disingenuous. It's not like the Allman Brothers Band where one plays drums and t'other plays percussion instruments. Both Hart and Kruetzmann are playing drums in the Dead.

This got me thinking about other bands with two drummers and why they have them. The school of thought on the two drummer thing comes down to: either they exist to gain certain effects (eight limbs playing like eight limbs) or produce meatier drum sounds (eight limbs playing like four).

You either use each player to generate something totally different that comes together in a way that one drummer couldn't possibly achieve, or, you have two or more drummers playing the same thing to get an organic meaty sound that delays/EQ can't replicate. Like in a marching band.

Personally I mostly fail to see the point. Bonzo only needed one set after all. But then I watched Zappa's Roxy band and remembered he had Chester Thompson and Ralph Humphrey on drums. And they were amazing. Trouble every day from the Roxy and Elsewhere album has a HUGE drum sound. Zappa was a percussionist at heart and if it's good enough for him etc.

Chester Thompson also features on the Genesis track Home by the sea. It ends with an extended orgy of drums that puts the case for two drummers most succinctly. But the Dead?

P.S. Just heard from my son that Captain Beefheart died recently. He (my son) and I remain big fans. A sad day - the planet needs more courageous musicians like Frank and Don. Where is the like in today's crop?? Sho nuff there's no one!

It's a buck dancers choice my friend (Grateful Dead)

Two purchases from Kings' Recordings were live Grateful Dead albums: Europe '72 I have in a variety of formats; I first taped a version of it way, way back in the day. I also have a fairly scratched triple vinyl copy and now a double CD set with loads of bonus tracks (including a stupendous version of Truckin').

It was one of the first things I ever heard by the Dead and it made an impression. All those long druggy noodling versions of songs on Live Dead never did it for me - instead I loved the relatively shorter, more coherent, noodling versions of songs on Europe '72.

I love the space in these versions. I'm not sure how they achieved that but it is there - a lightness of touch that is absent from Live Dead.

The second set from Kings' was Nightfall of Diamonds and picks up a set from 1989.

I love this one even more and it may well be my favourite live Dead experience (Workingman's Dead and American Beauty are the best studio sets by some distance but I also love Terrapin Station). There must be well over 50 live sets of the band that have been released over the years, and I've certainly not heard them all (who has?) but this one stands out for me from what I've heard.

On Nightfall... the band is tight as a drum (haha, and what else would you expect - they can play these songs in their sleep) and they are battle scarred (Garcia's voice on Dark Star is about shot), yet it's a magnificent collection of songs. Gotta say I love their version of Dylan's Stuck inside of Mobile with those Memphis blues again too. I turn this one up really loud in the car on the way home from work!!