Fillmore West 1969

Grateful Dead | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 1, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Rhino Records
• ASIN: B000B6VUA2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,897 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The 1969 double album Live/Dead holds a special place in the Deadhead universe; indeed, many band members and their inner circle consider it to be the band’s best overall collection as well. This expanded, three-CD edition is culled from the same February/March ’69 shows at the Dead’s de facto live home, San Francisco’s Fillmore West. What’s documented here are not only some of the greatest performances of the band’s early era, but the still-evolving template for much of the band’s later flights of improvisation. The first, blues-dominated disc pays tribute to a band that a couple years earlier had been but an ambitious bar covers ban! d, while the second chronicles the Dead’s expansive "Dark Star/St. Stephen/The Eleven" triptych wed to a cover of the Rev. Gary Davis’ "Death Don’t Have No Mercy," 2/28/69 performances that turn on the freeform interplay that would become their trademark for decades to follow. The set’s final disc is highlighted by a vigorous, nearly hour-long workout that jams its way through the band’s early "Alligator," "Caution" and the obligatory drum break to the traditional closer, "We Bid You Goodnight." Said to be the first 16-track live recording, the epochal performances here are burnished to near sonic perfection via HDCD mastering, a heady, if ironic wedding of technology and the band’s rootsy, musical humanity. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

This 3 CD set is the original 2005 Rhino release. The set comes in a hard book cover package. Catalog R2 73193. It has a mark through the UPC code.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

101 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Rest of "Live/Dead", November 12, 2005

By 

Thomas D. Ryan "American Hit Network" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fillmore West 1969 (Audio CD)

If you're not already a fan of the Grateful Dead, then move on; there's nothing here for you to see (or hear). This 3-CD set will drive you just as crazy as any of the other 3,687 or so `Live Dead' collections. If, on the other hand, you are a `Deadhead' and buy into their marketing concept of eventually releasing virtually every recorded performance, then you have just stumbled upon the Rosetta Stone of `Live Dead' recordings.
The first `officially' released live recording of the Grateful Dead appeared in 1969, entitled "Live/Dead". To this day, a large percentage of fans consider this to be the band's best album, their shining moment. `Fillmore West 1969' is compiled from the same set of shows that were excerpted for "Live/Dead". It is special for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it captures the band just as they are discovering their own ability to explore the outer regions of their spontaneous compositional abilities. During a four-night run from February 27- March 2, 1969, in San Francisco, the Grateful Dead were the perfect band in the perfect place at the perfect time.
The `Live/Dead" album was a two disk set, approximately eighty minutes in length. At the time, this was fairly lavish, but by necessity, it represented only a fraction of the music from this historic stand. "Fillmore West" is compiled from the best parts of those shows that did not `make the cut' for "Live Dead". The 3-CD package generously triples the playing time of the original album, and structures itself as if it were one incredibly long, exhaustive set. A 20-minute version of "Dark Star" is the centerpiece, and segues beautifully into "St. Stephen," followed by "The Eleven," all of which capture the rich, exploratory nature of a band that was at the nascent crest of its powers. A near-perfect 23-minute version of "That's It For the Other One" precedes a 25-minute track simply entitled "Jam". The packaging is a lavish, hard-covered booklet that includes a lengthy, informative essay, and a multitude of excellent photographs. If you don't get the Dead by now, then it's safe to assume that it's never going to happen. If you're a fan, though, then this is one live collection that you simply must own. A Tom Ryan

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes Off Where "Live Dead" Started., December 11, 2005

By 

Anthony (Our Nation's Capital) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fillmore West 1969 (Audio CD)

Now that I have this set I am gonna be sorry I never sprung for the 10 disc complete Fillmore 69 stand. That was limited to 10,000 copies. Guess that's how the Dead pays the bills these day. We keep buying this stuff.

The sound quality is amazing. This was the first live recording to use a 16 track. Darkstar is amazing, but different than the performance on "live dead." Unlike the original Allman Brother's Live at Fillmore, there are no splices, every performance is as it happened. Morning Dew is one of the three best I have ever heard. Get it.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gotta Have It, December 8, 2005

By 

Kenneth M. Goodman (Cleveland, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fillmore West 1969 (Audio CD)

Highlights:

Disk one: Morning Dew: grittier version while retaining staggering beauty. Doin' That Rag: quirky song that sticks in your mind, then really pays off with kewl Jerry guitar solo at the end.

Disk two: DARK STAR: Energetic as well as psychedelic; if you're a lover & collector of Dark Stars...you gotta have it.
The Eleven: Other than the "Filmore East 2/11/69" version, this is the best Eleven jam I've ever heard...very creative.

Disk three: JAM: Fantastic jam, goes through several changes...
all extraordinary. It really has a power.