[quote name='orchiddoctor' date='Aug 8 2006, 01:25 PM' post='537991']
[quote name='mr jazz' post='537534' date='Aug 7 2006, 12:43 PM']
there have been almost all of the fabled May 77 soundboards (all good SQ and some absolutely pristine) for down load on dime and zomb torrent sites-also other sites as well. I just got a nice copy of the great 5-9-77 show with one of my all time favorite 1st sets. Out there for free! For now
[/quote]

I know only about dimeadozen.org (home to a lot of Jazz such as Trane, the AEC, etc.), but not "zomb." Perhaps those in the know might list a few download sites. These sites tend to host only "legal" downloads, so there is no "moral" hangover involved.
[/quote


zombie torrents and trader's den are two i look at. There are a lot out there-google bit torrent sites

Sigh.....

11 years ago today.

Thank you, Jerry.

A sad ending for a deeply intelligent, deeply gifted, deeply troubled man.


Apropos of nothing, more from Rhino:
http://www.gdforum.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.c...2&list=postcard

Cool photo of Blue Ron!

Which Dick's Picks is this?

NEWSFLASH:

www.gdlive.com is back in operation with all of its listings intact.

Yes, I noticed a way in the back door to the MP3s of gdlive, and have been taking advantage of that.

This is artwork from Germany for one of those MP3 shows. There's a lot of resources out there for Deadheads!

Care to share that secret way in?

Go to gdlive.com and look on the left of the homepage. Under mp3, click on grateful dead and the whole list appears. Same for shn.

I also heard about gdlive.com a few days ago.It was down for several months. It's too bad that FTP connection is not working to the site.I wouldn't like to download some 66-67 shows by downloading files one by one

As Marty Balin might say, "It's no Secret."

Here's a quick link in to the MP3s:

www.gdlive.com/dead

There are many download managers available that will allow you to grab multiple files using http instead of ftp. If you use Firefox, check out FlashGot used in conjunction with one of the download managers linked on the FlashGot page. I've used Free Download Manager with FlashGot, and they work like a charm.

Thanks! Going in from the homepage resulted in an error, but this lets me right in.

The Mountains > Dark Star on that 4-22-69 show is AWESOME. Would have loved to heard Jerry play that acoutsic jam thing between the two for hours...

When I first heard the Mountains that preceeded the Dark Star from Live/Dead, I felt as if they'd left the best part off the L.P. I guess those were the limitations posed by 22-24 minutes a side. Thank God for cds. Don't have to change the record, don't have to guess what came before or after. Anyone listen to the entire suite that is excerpted in Europe '72?

After 20 minutes or so after I had posted this,I found solution at shnflac.net's discussion board.I downloaded a plugin called DownThemAll for Mozilla Firefox.Now I just need to click on directory and select the folder where I want to save the files and it works like charm!

I've already downloaded 3 1966 shows and two 1967 shows.I definitely need to buy 300-400 empty cdrs...

4-22-69 is a helluva show! I also have 4-21-69 and 4-23-69 and they are also excellent!

External hard drives have gotten so cheap now that it's become very tempting to just forget about recordable media entirely as an archival solution, and just move your SHN/FLAC/audio format of choice files to one or more hard drives that can be swapped out as quickly as plugging in a new USB device. Western Digital has 250-500GB external drives available for roughly $175-250, and with hard drives you don't have to worry about a scratched or otherwise suddenly unplayable CD-R so long as you do regular backups of all your data.

I have to admit I used to be skeptical about hard drives as a primary method of music file storage, but after seeing a friend's simple setup with 3 of these WD external drives, and the absolute ease of use compared to swapping out CD-Rs, I was convinced. Now I just need to get a sufficiently large drive - could've probably bought one with what I spent on the Concord sale...

I definitely can see the advantage (especially as many Dead shows as I've burned to cdr in the last few months) but. . . . I still like to have the disc as backup and I have great fun designing paperwork and cutting and inserting. . . I find it really relaxing to do this.

Remind Lon to show you all them gold stars he used to get waaaaaaaaaay back when.

Yup. . . had enough to represent all fifty states!

I've thought of buying an external HD (USB) but I love to burn those shows on CDRS and place them in my storage shelf.

On the other hand those copies take lot's of space and I have only a very small listening environment.Maybe I'll buy the external HD when I run out of space in this room.

So much music, so little time. Wish I were a kid again with all the time in the world. Back in the early 70s, I woould've killed for just one good soundboard from1969. We had snippets or tenth generation with warble or off speed--if I had this sort of access, I would burn out in a week!

check out buy.com for externals-they have good deals all the time. I just bought an IOmega 250 gig external for about $100 total.

Listening to DP 36. Man oh man this is a POWERFUL one. 1972 had some insanely good performances.



Keith really gave the band a shot in the arm in 1971 and 1972.

There are 3 Picks from Sept. '72 and they could still do more from that month & year without complaints from me. If their tapes are in good baking shape or better, 9/28 deserves it. Something could be done with the Waterbury (23rd & 24th) too, make it a comp just to piss of the completists. Oh what am I saying, maybe Rhino will start selling harddrives with "pick your tours" in a few years (do you want the Stealie or Roses design?) Think of what you'll save with shelf space.

[/quote]
Oh what am I saying, maybe Rhino will start selling harddrives with "pick your tours" in a few years (do you want the Stealie or Roses design?) Think of what you'll save with shelf space.
[/quote]


You know, that's not a bad idea: A complete Europe '72 on a minidrive--lossless, compact, easy to store.
Yes, that fall of '72!. . . . That's the last time I saw the band, save a few shows in 1973 (and one forgettible one in 1980). It seemed as if every show was well played: tight on the short songs, powerful on the ubiquitous "Playing in the Band," and challenging on the longer jams. The Wake of the Flood songs were just about to enter the sets (only Mississippi Half Step was played on that tour), replacing the raucous Pigpen numbers and the tock and roll fury with a mellower sound. The Philadelphia show was a perfect example of the Dead's creative power and mastery of their material.

Of course, the entire year is still up on Sugarmegs.org.

Europe '72 - the Box Set.

Why not? There are many "complete" live boxes for other artists out there. Mind you, I don't really NEED to hear a dozen Me and My Uncles, but it would be fun to have the complete shows mixed and fixed. All those Playing in the Bands and Good Lovins and Cautions and Dark Stars and . . . . .

10,000 copies?

Make it 15,000.

Doc Orch knows this, but I got my hands on a wonderfully priced copy of "The Deadhead's Taping Compendium Volume One" and have been just floored by the wealth of information and the "relics" in this hefty book. This goes from the beginning up into 1974 and is just fascinating. Half.com and Amazon.com have copies that won't set you back more than 20 dollars total (right now at least) and it's well worth that price!

I have all 3 Compendiums along w/ the last two editions of Deadbase. The Deadbase's, while they have been largely made obsolete by online sites, are great. Wanna know when the first version of (insert song here) was played? Or how many times it was played or how many shows since it was last played, etc, etc. ???? You'll find the answer here. The Compendiums are great too but they tend to be just a tad bit hyperbolic. The 10 pages on 8/27/72 are WAY over the top. A great show to be sure but there are many from the next month, as some of have noted in previous posts, that are more deserving, IMHO. When I first got heavily into collecting shows on CDR in the late 90's the Compendiums where a great wellspring of information. However, I think the reviews in Deadbase are more on the money. YMMV.

Point well taken I bet; I haven't gotten that far into the book yet. I don't really take stock in reviews. . . .I draw my own conclusion, I use them for information and for entertaining reading at best. But there's lots of very interesting information in this volume, iniformation that I, not a taper before, find engrossing.

It's easy to criticize the critics--I do it all the time. But I agree with Chalupa that the choice of a few shows for prolongued treatment can be hazardous to your health. Still, it's interesting to read the history and insight this adds to the review.

My bone to pick is that with so many different critics, how can you get a sense for their personal likes and dislikes OR their ability to criticise a work? How steeped in the Dead are they? And then there are those who love certain eras and don't like others. Would you want me to review shows in the eighties and nineties? I think not. I don't like their style post 1974.

But they have Brian Dykes review the bulk of the spring '71 shows. His attitude is clear: he thinks spring '71 is their weakest period! Naturally, he doesn't care for much.

Still, indispensible. I could not do a better job.

Of course, there are also the good opinions posted here

Right.

For me the information about the early taping, the interviews, and the listing of the shows and the logistical information of '65-'74 will be indispensible. . . . I am fascinated with these aspects and years and here are all these pages! A real treat for me.

Latvala! (and the rest).

Interesting stuff, indeed.

Yes.

I'm sorry if my tone was off putting. I do like the Compendiums and think overall they did a great job. Hey I bought all 3 volumes!

Agree w/ this. I think if there is one thing I got out of the Compendiums it's this - Don't judge a show by it's set list. Some shows look great on paper do nothing for me. Conversely, there are shows that look terrible on paper(this happens more in the 80's /90's then in the early years) which have blown me away when I heard the tapes. Example of the former 2/11/69 killer set list but the shows are just okay(in context of 1969 shows), imo. Example of the latter is 6/18/74 which has a so - so(by 1974 standards) set list but the music just cooks, especially that second set.

Ultimately, it's your ears that will decide.


RE:Spring/Summer '71
I think of the shows spanning the 68-74 time period, AKA the Golden Era, the shows from Spring/Summer '71 are probably the weakest. That's not to say that there are not good shows from this period(The Fillmore East run is fantastic as are the summer BCT shows) it's just that compared to what came before and after, these shows come up lacking. Pig Pen was running on vapors by that point and the band was still trying to adjust to the losses of TC and Mickey. As others have noted there is a "garage band" feeling to a lot of the shows from this time period, Additionally, the lack of extended jamming that is one of the other reasons why I stay away from this time period. Again, YMMV.

I agree that winter spring '71 isn't the most exciting, not like winter spring of 70 or certainly 1972.
A lot of semi-snoozers in that college tour. And several pages on the Princeton show when the punch line was "Sold, the Brooklyn Bridge for a dollah and a quarter" is overdone. I just feel that Mr. Dykes compromises his objectivity with his predisposition. But, who doesn't have a favorite period? I like Dwork and Getz' review the best as they seem to have a deeper knowledge and commitment that most. Maybe that's why they are the editors?

Still, the Compendium is a good place to start. And, stop me if I'm wrong, but has anyone else been covered so thoroughly--especially with a 30 year career with thousands of gigs? makes for great bathtub reading!

The only thing I got to say is if you don't like Pigpen, you suck.

WORD!

Listening to "Three Blind Mice." No, I mean "Shakedown Street." Sometimes that guitar effect Jer uses is too much. . . in a good way!

I know my love of Pig is a bit obvious, but I 've noticed something.

I've been doing some compilations of Pig from each year, and I realize how few songs he sang--both in terms of different tunes and performances. It's been said often that he was the original front man. I don't see that, not when I look at the available material from 66, 67,68 etc. He was never in rotation as every third song--maybe 5th or so. Yes, he had a few shows that were his, and he was the showstopper, but I wish he had had more presence and had kept more tunes in the repetoire--like It's a Man's, Man's World and Easy Wind. or Kingbee. Or Hard to Handle. Or Midnight Hour. Or . . . . . .

I find it so interesting that more than once Jerry has called Pigpen the only one with talent in the band at first. And it's true that his role was more prominent early on and as the others "bloomed" they grabbed more time and attention and Pigpen's place diminished. We have what we have, what happened happened, but I also wish that Blue Ron had kept a more diverse repretoire as time went by.

Jerry said that Ron really didn't like being the front man and yet he was such a monster entertainer and manipulator of audiences. Jerry said that Ron was at his best by himself with a guitar in a living room. . . .I actually believe that is a strong possibility from the recorded evidence; wish there were more recordings along those lines.

What I really dig about the music that features Pigpen is how the band plays. . . . They are just so "on" most every time Pig is at the mike, and they seem to play differently: they have blues and r and b hats on and they seem to love it. Jerry's guitar is just so "hot" behind Ron in 1966 and 1967 especially, that big Guild is just stinging out blues lines to die for.

A little story about meeting the Pig.

I got into the dead when they played in NYC at the Cafe AuGoGo in 1967. I was a junior in highschool at the time, and I lived only a few miles uptown from the village. In late 1968, a good friend of mine got me a slot ushering at the Fillmore East. I got to hang in the aisles and see all sorts of music roll on by. Backstage was always wide open--just had to watch what you drank.

Bill G. had a loose softball team that played teams formed by several of the bands that came to play at the Fillmore East. Mostly S.F. regulars like the Dead, the Airplane, Quicksilver, etc. Usually their teams would have more quippies than band members.

One fine Saturday afternoon in Central Park, we were playing the Dead. Usually, only a few band members made it to the game; the rest were friends or whomever. This time--God knows why--Pig came by. They bullied him into taking an at bat. This was hilarious enough--imagine a t-shirted Pig trying to figure out how to hold the damn thing!

I was pitching (now there's a joke!), and I threw a ball that was a bit close for his liking. He walked out to the mound, the meanest look on his face, and told me that if I did it again, he'd rip off my head and pitch it up my ass. Then I took the ball and held it up to his face and said something really lame to the effect of suck on this.

Pig dropped the fake scowl and hit the floor howling with laughter. He decided that he'd had enough of softball and suggested we go find something to drink.

Who was I to say no?

A majestic, kind, gentle, funny, kickass motherfucker.

Yes, very cool story (which I read elsewhere)* It must have been quite a trip to meet the man, and that way!


*Pigpen Discussion Page

I suck.

Seriously, the versions I've heard are pretty humiliating, IMNSO, compared to Slim Harpo or Etta James - an outlook with which I'm sure Pigpen would agree.

Yes he would--ever the humble man. But, Mr. Weir, you suck! You must think this is America with that high-fallutin' opinion of yours.

saw Bruce Hornsby last night and he was smoking. One of the many highlights was his "Grateful Dead" version of Valley Road-he referenced the Wembley arena show in 1990 with his first Dead tour. I saw his first show with the boys at MSG a few weeks prior and many more. He always pushed the band in the right direction.

I think the Dead and Pigpen had different intentions than Slim and Etta etc. with the material. . . . I love the way the band played these numbers behind him, and I love the way that Ron worked the audience with preaching and the off-the-cuff remarks . . . . I like the Dead tons and like many other perfformances of other material, but I just really respond to these features for Ron strongly.

You suck!

Pig owned Hard To Handle IMO.
I remember hearing an amazing Midnight Hour on the Grateful Dead Hour when I was in middle school. It blew my mind. You couldn't find bootlegs(here in New Orleans) that were worth a damn back then(59th generation tapes) so I would record the Dead hour as often as I could.

I'm listening to One From The Vault right now...