Customer Reviews

Dick's Picks, Vol. 21: Richmond, Virginia, 11/1/85

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is no secret that Grateful Dead shows from the decade of the '80's could be hit or miss affairs, but the band was still more than capable of delivering stunning, if somewhat ragged, performances. 1985 stands out as a pinnacle year for great shows, and this one represented by DP 21 is among the top 5 of that esteemed year. From the "Dancin' in the Streets" > "Cold Rain and Snow" opener to the energetic reading of "Gloria" to close the second set, this show sparkles with a wonderful intensity. Jerry was in the mood for ballads this evening and he delivered : "High Time," "He's Gone," "Comes A Time," and "She Belongs to Me" are all played with some serious soul and heart. The rest of the band is on, too, with Bobby delivering the goods on all of his tunes (especially Gloria) and even Phil joins in with a fun "Gimme Some Lovin.'" In short, if you are new to the Dead, you might want to pass this one in favor of a pick from the seventies. The sound is a little thin (per usual for '80's shows) and there are some missed chords and lyrics...however, if you appreciate the Dead even a little bit or are merely a fan of honest and beautiful music, this collection won't disappoint. Oh yeah, if this amazing '85 show isn't enough, four juicy bonus songs from 1980 will surely satisfy those pleasure centers in your brain.

This three disc set is the only official release from `85.It includes songs rarely seen on other live releases from The Grateful dead like 'spoonful','lost sailor','gimmie some lovin','she belongs to me','gloria' and 'keep your day job'.

This show would be 100 percent perfect if not for the fact that Jerry Garcia`s vocals are a bit weak on 'high time' and 'he`s gone' from the second disc.Otherwise this show if filled with top-notch performances and rarely played songs.

great couple of sets from '85
spoonful, comes a time, lost sailor in 2nd set
one of my favorite shows from this series

I think what should be kept in mind when listening to any of the Dick's Picks series is that these are from soundboard recordings.I have had an audience recording of this show from about a week of the performance that my friend who attended made and like all audience tapes it is an authentic representation of the way the band actually sounded live. Jerry and Bob's guitars sound so much better on an audience bootleg because that's how they really sounded.And it's a shame because they had such a GREAT sound. It does NOT sound nearly as good from a soundboard(of course this is assuming the audience recording is well balanced and recorded obviously)version.For instance Staggerlee is one of the greatest renditions I've ever heard. Jerry's solos are just so regal and powerfully eloquent and yet on this soundboard recording it sounds positively anemic( same thing with Bob's rhythm ). The recordings may be "cleaner" but they suck the life right out of the performance.As a lifelong fan and collector I have always felt this way about them and they absolutely are NOT an accurate representation of the bands sound live. If they could completely remove the actual audience noise from the audience recordings it would be a better alternative to the boards but what are you gonna do? C'est la Vie.

I know that many Deadheads realize the mid- 80's might not have been the best of the Dead. But, I'm really glad to see at least one concert available in the Dicks Picks series that has a concert when the time when I personnally saw many Dead shows. I saw the New York show of this tour in Saratoga in the summer. This fall show of the same tour showcases how great they jammed during this time. This CD has a great set list that I'm sure the people who were there loved the surprises.

I'd love to see more mid 80's shows from Grateful Dead Productions. So pass the word for anyone who knows anybody.

Awesome CD

This show was a delight to the ears. They were on this day. If you still liked the Dead in the 80s you will like this Cd. I think it's got a nice happy vibe to it dispute the bands poor additude and drug use in that decade. Do you all love it, I do!!!!!!!! Peace

First off, let me go ahead and say that this was a truly awesome show, definitely one the best from '85. Then why you might ask, do I rate this a 1 star? Simply put, I've heard better quality versions of this show on 4th or 5th generation CASSETTES recorded by audience members. That's right, I've heard better AUD's of this show than the sound quality given to us on this Dicks' Picks. It's almost un-listenable in my honest opinion. I'm not sure what the editors and producers were thinking. The 'live feel' is simply not there on this highly edited and reduced recording. Almost no bass from Phil, the drums sound muffled, the volume between Jerry and Bobby's mics aren't synched. A lot of stuff is just bad about this version. Do yourself a favor, if you want a quality version of this show then you're better off downloading a bootleg copy or if you have the time you can download a few different soundboards of this show via bt.etree.org. You can stream the show (along with all the other GD shows) at archive.org, you can't download the soundboards anymore from that site, but they do let you stream them.


Link to Archive.org search results for "Grateful Dead 1985-11-01 Richmond, VA"
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Just about all of these trump the Dick's Picks version though this one is on the list somewhere anyway...

This cd has a unique song selection, and many are well played. These are largely simple songs that do not provide the interest of other dead songs though. The quality of playing is inconsistent and the sound is thin at times, not unusual for this period in the Dead life...when it seems many bandmembers had more pressing daily concerns than music.

Not quite sure why this 1985 show was released as a Dick's Pick.
It's weak, frequently sloppy and uninspired.
There are better versions of just about every song on other Dead releases.
It simply cannot compare to the truly brilliant, inspired playing of the band on DP releases (and other Dead recordings) from the 60s and 70s. By the 80s, the band was sometimes phoning it in, as this release shows.
I'm giving it three stars only out of my love for the Dead.

It's a good show. It seems to me from my limited listening to this point that 1980's shows usually are - Brent Mydland was a solid player and added energy. The fidelity is good. There's no particular extra-special something to place this above the other Dick's Picks or live performances available though. It's pretty much exactly the same band and same approach as on DP 13 from 1981.