Customer Reviews

Dick's Picks, Vol. 30: Academy of Music, New York City, NY, 3/25&28/72 [LIVE]

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i guess i'll have to be the first to review this fine 4 disc set !! i haven't listened to disc 4 yet but the other 3 are super !! disc 1 starts off with bo diddley playing on 5 songs that are all great. the rest of the disc is very good also. discs 2 and 3 are actually a europe 72 recorded in new york city !! pigpen shines as usual on his turns and bob is really on with his songs. i don't write long reviews but take my word for it, this is worth the price !! go to dead.net and you can pick this up for $21.00 plus s and h. other pricey dick's picks are available there also !!

I've owned this for years now but only recently have I really taken time to sit down and check it out.

The Bo Diddley parts are most definitely worth the price of admission alone. "I've Seen Them All" is absolutely superb. Hearing the GD back a cat like that is otherworldly.

The rest of the show is acceptable. But the rest doesn't even matter. This is an amazing merging of musical genres and talents.

The Grateful Dead catalog can, at best, be described as an exercise in redundancy. At worst, it is the essence of perversity. There are simply too many titles out there featuring the same signature songs, played in a very similar fashion, to very similar audiences, using similar recording techniques, in similar venues (theatre, arena or stadium). In some ways, having this many LP's/CD's out there actually detracts from the band's legacy. The list of titles available also represents a baffling array of choices for anyone new to the party who wants to know what the hoopla was all about.

Part of what makes the process of putting together a Grateful Dead collection is that there are multiple series available, from multiple incarnations of the band, from multiple labels. Here is some helpful classifications:

1) Live Work vs. Studio Work-the live stuff is decidedly better, and more representative of what the group was all about (the segues in between songs, and the improvisation, are just as important as the songs themselves).

2) There are 4 distinct eras:
a) the PigPen era-roughly 1965-1972, this era is an interesting blend of psychedelia, folk and blues. The recording quality benefits from the fact that most of the better shows were recorded in acoustically superior theatre venues. Unfortunately, the equipment and techniques used weren't so great at times, and the musicianship wasn't as great as it would later become.
b) the Keith & Donna era-roughly 1973-1979: the so-called "wall of sound" was expensive and over-rated, but adding a female voice to the harmonies created a decidedly different sound. The band was peaking musically, with old blues/R&B rave-ups (like "Turn On Your Lovelight") and psychedelia being replaced with country-rock and a near-jazzy approach to the improvisation.
c) the Brent Mydland era-roughly 1980-1990: at this point the Dead were more or less a retro act, and Jerry was having well-known drug and health issues, but they still burned on a good night. This period saw a return to some old blues/R&B numbers, but still retained a country-rock flavor. Brent's playing was excellent, and his energy occasionally goaded Jerry into really rocking it out. Brent's gravelly voice also added some grit to the harmonies. This era features some of the highest quality digital sound recordings, but the musicianship isn't quite up to par with the previous era.
d) the Welnick/Hornsby era-roughly 1990-1995: Vince Welnick was a very competent musician and singer (think "She's a Beauty" from The Tubes)who always seemed to be one step behind the fame that he so desperately craved in life. He did a nice job filling out the band's sound, which was starting to get a bit thin mainly due to the fact that everyone was getting older, less energetic, less enthusiastic, etc. This is a band in decline, and Welnick's histrionics and over-playing (at times) cannot stop the ship from going down. The sound quality from this era is very good, but cannot make up for the fact that the band is clearly sagging. There are good recordings to be had, but one must be highly selective and "try before you buy".

Different Labels/Series:

1) Rhino-seems to have the highest quality multi-track recordings from the height of the bands' powers-roughly 1970-1980 plus the brief rennaissance that occurred from 1987-1990. Check out the "Vault" series first.

2) Arista-after Rhino, these guys have some very good multi-track live stuff, particularly with regards to solo Jerry Garcia Band concerts. Like Rhino, Arista recordings are known mainly for quality and selectivity. Unfortunately, they simply weren't around (with their superior sound equipment and engineering) when many of the band's magic moments took place on stage.

3) Grateful Dead Records-Here you will find the widest array of track listings, venues, solos, etc. The "Road Trips" and "Dick's Picks" series can be found here. These are basically "official bootlegs" which feature a number of sonic anomalies that couldn't be fixed. Here you will find ballsy, low-tech performances full of character, and they will occasionally blow your mind. Other times they will be a huge bore because they're too long, and a listener has to sit through yet another "Space/Drums" freak-out to reach the payoff: a smokin' end-of-the-show finale or solo.

At any rate, how does all of this info pertain to the title being reviewed? The answer is that this disc comes from the tail end of the McKernan era. He wasn't contributing much musically at this juncture, but he was still singing spirited renditions of old blues numbers. Weir's playing was vastly improved as was his songwriting. Jerry Garcia was still in good health and on an upward trajectory musically. This CD stands out because it features the charismatic Bo Diddley, a unique track listing, and a blues/R&B/country-rock flavor with little or no reference to the psychedelic period. It deserves to remain in print, which cannot be said for at least 1/2 of the 36 titles available in the "Dick's Picks" series.

In the spirit of non-commercial non-consumerist hippy philosophy go forth and ye shall find it retail for not a bad price. Guess where? It's easy.