"Postcards of a Hanging"

[jazzbo]

If anyone knows of a cheap copy of this one, I'd be interested. I am surprised to find that thtis does not appear to be in print.

Is it worth pursuing?

[.:.impossible]

Is this a recent live compilation Lon? If so, I'm surprised it is already out-of-print. Haven't heard it though...

[jazzbo]

Yes, it appears to be a compilation from 2002 and I don't see it at the usual places I shop. I'll widen my search.

[.:.impossible]

It is available at gdstore.com. I had no idea so much stuff had been remastered/released!

The site is sort of difficult to navigate. Click on music, then there is a sub-menu. Click on Grateful Dead.

A couple of things that immediately jumped out at me:

Grateful Dead - Birth Of The Dead CD

$23.00

Where it all began in 1965-1966. Two discs of pre-Warner Brothers recordings from the Autumn, Scorpio and Hendricks Sessions, plus live tracks from the same time period. HDCD.

DISC ONE: The Studio Sides

The Autumn Sessions

1 Early Morning Rain

2 I Know Your Rider

3 Mindbender (Confusion's Prince)

4 The Only Time Is Now

5 Caution (Do Not Step On Tracks)

6 Can't Come Down

The Scorpio Sessions

7 Stealin' (Instrumental)

8 Stealin' (with Vocals)

9 Don't Ease Me In (Instrumental)

10 Don't Ease Me In (with Vocals)

11 You Don't Have To Ask

12 Tastebud (Instrumental)

13 Tastebud (with Vocals)

14 I Know You Rider

15 Cold Rain and Snow (Instrumental)

16 Cold Rain and Snow (with Vocals)

The Hendricks Session

17 Fire In The City - Jon Hendricks

DISC TWO: The Live Sides

1 Viola Lee Blues

2 Don't Ease Me In

3 Pain In My Heart

4 Sitting On Top Of The World

5 It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

6 I'm A King Bee

7 Big Boss Man

8 Standing On The Corner

9 In The Pines

10 Nobody's Fault But Mine

11 Next Time You See Me

12 One Kind Favor

13 He Was A Friend Of Mine

14 Keep Rolling By

The Autumn Sessions were recorded at Golden State Recorders in San Francisco, CA in November of 1965 under the assumed name "The Emergency Crew." The Scorpio Sessions were recorded at Buena Vista Studio and Western Recording in San Francisco. They were originally released as a limited quantity single on Scorpio Records in July of 1966. The Hendricks session was recorded at Columbus Recorders in San Francisco in March of 1967 for use in the documentary film Sons And Daughters and was later released as a single by Verve Records. The live tracks on Disc Two were recorded in July of 1966 in San Francisco. Exact dates and venues are unknown.

HDCD provides higher resolution when played in an HDCD-equipped CD player, and offers superior sound when played in regular CD players. HDCD CDs can be played in all CD players.

:::::::::::::::::::

Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions CD

$15.00

The legendary Mother McCree's finally heard! This recording from a July 1964 Tangent show in Palo Alto, Califronia features the roots of the Grateful Dead: Weir, Garcia and Pig Pen playing in a bluegrass/jug/blues band. Amazingly mastered. This is a treat, with 17 tracks plus an interview with a very young-sounding Jerry and Bobby.

Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions

Jerry Garcia: guitar, kazoo, banjo,vocals

Ron "PigPen" McKernan harmonica, vocals

Bob Weir guitar, washtub bass, footcrasher, jug, kazoo, vocals

Dave Parker washboard, kazoo, tin cup, vocals

Tom Stone banjo, mandolin, guitar, vocals

Mike Garbett washtub bass, guitar, kazoo

Produced By: Michael Wanger & www.vidkid.com

Recorded live at the Tangent by: Pete Wanger and Wayne Ott

CD Mastering: Jeffery Norman, Club Front

Cover Art: Timothy Truman

Package Design: Gecko Graphics

Special Thanks to: John Cutler and Peter McQuaid

:::::::::::::::::::

I guess I'm just looking for an excuse to talk about any Dead news! I really haven't listened to anything in a while. Still interested in the Winterland deal!

One thing I did notice Lon, and this is why I've never heard Postcards, is that it is all from the latter half of the 1980s. Here and there, I like GD from the late 80s, but not so much. I have a Dead Hour tape where Uncle Dave played Dylan covers only. This is probably the other reason I've never been interested.

I'd like to hear that old Dylan and the Dead release again though. Similar time period, but with Dylan.

[AmirBagachelles]

I say Skip the Winterland. It's the coked up and nowhere-to-go-at-2am Dead. I love 'em and I think I know their music very well, and IMO Jerry's tonal range expanded hugely during and after '78. The band wasn't as red hot, but Jerry was a much more interesting guitarist, despite what many Deadheads say, particularly those who listen to little else. I attended about 200 shows from '77 to '95.

I'd say the best new music for sale is the '69 Dick's Picks from Minneapolis and Chicago, the '74 DP from Philly and Roosevelt Stadium, and another whole show from Europe '72 is on the way from Arista. All the '72 vault releases really have some amazing grooves. For the later stuff, get your local CDR-hound to make you some '90 w/ Hornsby, and there is some hot new stuff out of the vault from '79 and '83 (see/hear monster Shakedown from New Haven, not sure of the date).

[jazzbo]

Thanks for the input folks (both here and off the board as well). I wasn't in a hurry to get this but the fact that all of a sudden it hardly appeared anywhere got me wondering. I did see mention that only the "first 50,000" copies would have the second cd with two songs with Dylan on board, and maybe that printing has run out and they aren't printing more. . . .

My MAIN Dead interest these days is the early to mid-seventies; I really liked their first few years on their own label, and saw them a number of times in that era and didn't follow them much after that. Recently I've gotten "Wake of the Flood" (my favorite), "Mars Hotel" and "Blues for Allah" and the pertinent volumes in Dick's Picks that covers this band with the Godchaux and just Kreutzman, my favorite Dead drummer (anyone else reminded of DeJohnette listening to him?)

I've been reading Hadju's book on Dylan and looking at Dylan material as well (really my main interest in Dylan has been his work with The Band, a great coupling!), which was what sparked my interest in this disc. I should probably look for "Dylan and the Dead" instead. . . or as well.

Cary, that "Early Dead" two cd set does look interesting, as does the other cd; the two cd set IS included in the Rhino box set, which is something I keep wondering whether I should pick up one day. . . .

Edited April 19, 2004 by jazzbo

[jazzbo]

Boy am I weak. I went to look at the link you provided Cary, and ordered the disc!

Thanks.

[AmirBagachelles]

I really like the Hadju book, it blew my mind. I came away believing that Bob Dylan is indeed a picaresque fictional character. That does not change my immense enjoyment of Dylan music at all, and it somehow it all adds up now. It is an epic life we have been watching, one-of-a-kind but not real. Neither are many of the characters in the songs, so why must the songwriter and performer be "real"?

[jazzbo]

I both like. . .and dislike the book. Like the content. Dislike the "thinness" of some of the real material and the writing itself is sort of disquieting to me (just a personal writing style preferrance thang).

But yes, I mean I KNEW that Dylan was literally "a self-made man" before this book, but this book really brings that home. . . .

[.:.impossible]

Boy am I weak. I went to look at the link you provided Cary, and ordered the disc!

Thanks.

Hey, those Dick's Picks Vol. x-y sets look tempting! If I'm not careful, I'm going to end up filling MORE of my shelves with Dead material.

Amir, I actually like that Winterland concert quite a bit. The band does get into some areas that I hadn't previously heard before. My tapes are boxed up at my in-laws' house (!) so its been a while since I've heard the show. Three 90 minute cassettes I think. My cousin has walls of DAT. He used to hand stuff over all the time, but we live so far apart now. Now whenever I go over there, I find myself thinking *I wish this wall was full of Slug's material* or bootleg jazz recordings.

I haven't really met anyone with that sort of hook-up yet, but people have hinted around it. I'm sure its out there... different thread. I digress.

*This is the first time I can remember using the *asterisk* method.

[AfricaBrass]

Boy am I weak.  I went to look at the link you provided Cary, and ordered the disc!

Thanks.

Hey, those Dick's Picks Vol. x-y sets look tempting! If I'm not careful, I'm going to end up filling MORE of my shelves with Dead material.

Amir, I actually like that Winterland concert quite a bit. The band does get into some areas that I hadn't previously heard before. My tapes are boxed up at my in-laws' house (!) so its been a while since I've heard the show. Three 90 minute cassettes I think. My cousin has walls of DAT. He used to hand stuff over all the time, but we live so far apart now. Now whenever I go over there, I find myself thinking *I wish this wall was full of Slug's material* or bootleg jazz recordings.

I haven't really met anyone with that sort of hook-up yet, but people have hinted around it. I'm sure its out there... different thread. I digress.

*This is the first time I can remember using the *asterisk* method.

I've got about 25 of the Dick's Picks series so far and I think they're a great deal! I'd highly recommend them. Sometimes, they don't have complete shows, but, at least you can still find the shows out there somewhere.

I like the Winterland show too! I'm more of a sixties/seventies Deadhead myself, but I'm working on getting EVERYTHING anyway!

[jazzbo]

Okay, I finally got this two cd set (Postcards. ..) and I must say. . . half of the disc is great, the other half, and the bonus disc, well. . . not my cup of tea!

Hard to say even why half is great and half isn't because they are all pretty similar, but there's just something to half of it that is slick and grating.

I really have not warmed up to the Dead material with two drummers after Mickey's return. . . . I much prefer just Billy Kreutzman. . . that has a lot to do with what I don't like about half of this I think.

If you think you have to have this and can only find the single disc version, you're really not missing much at all by not having the two tunes on the bonus disc, which are in my opinion the worst of the lot.

Edited May 6, 2004 by jazzbo