@mrcompletely Agreed! More a statistical novelty than peak Dead. See my other post from tonight. Vancouver is the version I'd have included. Nonetheless, I understand why Seattle is included.
@mrcompletely@4CPcomics Plus they put out the Seattle PITB on its own release (vinyl) so they could have selected something different since they already showcased it.
This 1976 #gratefuldead mix - the contents of which were not defined by me - has become a mainstay of my Dead listening.
It's a fantastic and unexpected version of "jazz Dead" unlike any other, and a beguiling calling card from 1976 that asks you to listen more closely to the whole year.
"Out of Nowhere Jams," 1976, based on Dead Notes' detective work.
Ahead of their June 1976 return to touring, #gratefuldead rehearsed seriously enough to produce beautiful recordings of numerous songs. (Reggae-inflected “Attics!”) This mix includes notable as-recorded takes, plus multi-take edits of Supplication and Eyes.
Could have been a radio/tour-supporting promo album. So good.
@mrcompletely@4CPcomics There is a lot of great stuff to mine from June 76. Not under the radar by any means but I have a soft spot for 6/14 and 6/15. The Slipknot from 6/14 is a winner.
Here’s an imaginary studio Little Feat soul-jazz-funk studio album. It does not include anything from the seven Lowell George-era studio albums. It shuffles together selections from recordings with jazz drummer Chico Hamilton (1973) and singer Robert Palmer (1975) with relevant, officially-released Feat studio outtakes (1972-1975, with two 1969 outliers).
@mrcompletely@4CPcomics big same. i try to also tag each file set (even the official releases) with a ticket stub or poster or contemporaneous something-or-other. it's not as fun as making my own j-cards, but feels kinda like the same thing for me. and for me anyway, i think the act of relabeling often helps me retain/process/contextualize the info, in addition to being able to find it more easily.
@bourgwick@4CPcomics I agree the retagging is part of the mental process of assimilation. My album art process is more chaotic. I'm trying to improve it as I go.
It's currently the sweetest, softest Spring-into-Summer evening where I am... Great weekend so far. Biked the neighborhood yard sale Friday, collecting little treasures to give to the 1-3 year-olds we saw at brunch and a bbq today. Brunch hosted by someone we met when she was nine. BBQ hosted by our young neighbors, whose toddler is letting us try out being grandparents. Spring + humans vibing together is an amazing reminder of the reasons to be hopeful.
@mrcompletely I think Durham was probably equally broken in my time there, but there was a college town inside it, which was real, even if not representative of the whole.
As #gratefuldead May ’77 madness comes ‘round again, bolstered this year by the release of 1.5 more May ’77 shows (Dave’s 50 shipping now), I encourage you to check out two hours of jammy highlights from the tour’s first two shows on April 22-23, in Philadelphia and Springfield.
If you find May ’77 too “same-y,” I think you’ll find this music less so. Second and third performances of "Fire!"
The announcement of a live 1968 Mothers of Invention box brings this household great joy.
A while back, Save Your Face sifted a ton of late ‘60s Mothers tapes and created a couple of big mixes of instrumental and improvisational material. King Kong, Pound for a Brown, Sleeping in a Jar, Eric Dolphy Memorial BBQ, Green Genes, Uncle Meat, Dog Breath Variations, Orange County Lumber Truck… that kind of music.
#gratefuldead fans: There will surely be a "Blues for Allah" reissue in 2025. Will we get a comprehensive boxed set of the vast/important rehearsals... or something much smaller and extremely disappointing?
Here's a delightful little creature from those rehearsals/sessions:
@4CPcomics there really are a lot of cool little creatures in there. I don't know if the Vault has nearly everything that is represented in the Steve Brown tapes currently in circulation; probably, but maybe not. Fwiw, I have at least one track from one of his tapes that hasn't circulated yet, but it's just another take on Lazy Lightning, so I'm looking for some other material to package it with for circulation
@mrcompletely I don't truly want a comprehensive box - just a large one. I'm a pretty dedicated purchaser of archival Dead releases, but I haven't bought any of the recent series of studio album reissues. They seem like bullshit to me.
I really like the early throbbiness of “West LA Fadeaway.” At some point it relaxed into a more “Althea”-like execution and lost some of the grim, hard edge. This version is the 10th performance of the song from 41 years ago this week.
West LA Fadeaway
April 9, 1983, Hampton Coliseum #gratefuldead
35 years ago, my most fun Grateful Dead run - Ann Arbor, April 5-6, 1989. Walked to the shows from my apt. Center of the 8th and 13th rows with all my hometown Heads. Club show experience.
I’d seen some 1988 shows, and this seemed like a different band. Tight, confident, energetic, having fun, singing well, jamming fluidly. Mighty!
I pulled together my favorite 3 hours from the run.
@shaugn@4CPcomics@chopaganda things really seemed headed in the wrong direction then. I couldn't see it at the time bc I was brand new but my older friends mostly did. By the time it got better for awhile the scene was much bigger
Here's a fantastic #gratefuldead Space improv passage from 30 years ago tomorrow. Jason Crane has identified the source of the vocal sample: "Something Within Me" by Take 6.