Customer Reviews

Go To Nassau

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

1980...The dawn of the third decade for the Dead saw them breaking in their third full-time keyboard player. Brent Mydland had been with the band for a little over a year when this was recorded, and by May of '80 the Dead were playing with a refreshed vibe that had been sorely missed by the late seventies. The "Go To Heaven" album had just been released and this set features many tunes from that album. Unlike the Dick's Picks series which is predominately made up of 2 channel PA mixes, this is a HQ multi-track mix that sounds simply stunning, especially since the masters were recorded onto cassette.
The playing is tight and focused, even on the longer numbers, with each player easily heard and separated in the mix. Opening with a warm-up Jack Straw, the band wastes no time diving into a 12 minute Franklin's Tower, sans the Help-Slipknot, as was often the case during this period. Everyone's tone is sparkling clean, resulting in a very sharp soundscape. Though culled from 2 nights, the running order is laid out very much like a first set, second set on each disc respectively. Tape archivist David Lemeaux chose the best of both nights highlighting many exciting performances. There is a beautiful High Time with all the band members actually singing on key, an energetic Lazy Lightning/Supplication, a near-perfect Peggy-O, and a fun China/Rider to round out the first set, and that's just disc 1!
Disc 2 starts off with a version of Feel Like A Stranger that is interesting to hear since it is still in it's infancy. Though it's nowhere near the caliber of what it would become later on (listen to the version from "Without A Net" 1990), it bubbles with energy, especially towards the end when Brent and Bobby get going with the "long, long crazy night" call and response. Next is a simmering Althea, though very laid back and methodical, Jerry manages some excellent vocals and tasty guitar licks. The Playing In The Band/Uncle John's Band is typical from this time period and never really launches into the pandemonium that characterizes the early 70's or 90's versions. They are both given a decent workout, however, and the band drifts into a short drums/space segment before closing out with some high-powered rock-n-roll to end the set.
Overall this is a welcome release of a time period that is very much under-represented amongst all the other vault releases and Dick's Picks. Yes, it's a bit more tame than other releases, but it does show what the Dead were capable of on a good night when everyone was "on". If you like this, try "Nightfall Of Diamonds" which features the same lineup, only nine years later. Highly recommended.

I don't know where people get off proclaiming that 1980 was some sort of bad year for the Dead. Personally, and I know others feel the same way, I think the early Eighties were great years for the Dead, as they broke new ground musically, and brought in a young Brent Mydland - whom out of all the keyboardists the Dead had, was BY FAR the most talented. I don't know, maybe I'm biased - my favorite Dead recordings have always been 9/1/79 (Rochester, NY), 1/13/80 (Oakland,CA), Dead Reckoning, and anything from the Summer Tour '85. More recent additions to that list are Dick's Picks volume 6 (Hartford '83) and Dick's Picks volume 13 (Nassau '81).

Technically speaking, this two-disc set blows any Dick's Pick recording out of the water. The depth, clarity and sound separation is unbelievable. And who says, as far as the songs go, there is nothing new here? Try to find another Minglewood Blues played anywhere close to the way they do it here.

If you know how to appreciate clean, crisp mixes, and crystal clear Phil bass lines that rumble the neighbor's china, Go to Nassau is a must.

A common complaint among Deadheads is that, during the early 1980s the band was too restrained ("not enough jamming"), perhaps reflecting a desire for more commercial success.

I say hogwash. Yes, in 1980 and '81, the Dead were more disciplined and commercially oriented than they had been in the late 70s. But, these tight performances -- jams and all -- are oozing with nuance, counterpoint, drama, and color. Unlike previous years, there are no slouches in the band, either instrumentally or vocally.

While Garcia's guitar leads sparkle, Brent Mydland's work also deserves special note. On keyboards, these are his most forceful most inventive contributions ever. What's more, he gave vocal harmonies a new sweetness rarely heard afterwards.

My only criticism is the set list: some filler is present. But, in contrast to many other sloppy and redundant Dead releases, I can recommend this one to both hardcore and the uninitiated alike.

I actually enjoy a lot of the 1979-1981 period. Yes, a lot of the freeform exploratory jamming of the 1977-78 period is not there. But there are some good crisp shows from this period. Brent has not come into his own yet but he is a welcome addition to the fold after the way Keith played(or I should say not played) during the 1976-79 period. His vocal harmonies are a welcome change as well. Let's face it, Donna's live vocal harmonies were atrocious. This show is good, not great. It will not blow your mind by any stretch. The sound quality is very good and it has some good moments. A lot of people were bashing 1980 as a horrible year, it had some great moments too. Let's not forget the Warfield/Radio City run. 1982-1984 were some horrible years. Talk about uninspired playing. Yikes. Jerry was such a mess during those years it is painful to listen to. His health wasn't much better during 1985 but the shows got better. Has anyone ever noticed (or is it just me) that during the 1983-1986 period there are very few pictures of Garcia taken. If you look at say an old Relix from that period they will have a lot of pictures of the rest of the band and very few of Garcia. It's almost as if they were trying to protect him by omitting his pictures. There was no denying the guy was a complete mess. Look at the cover of the book Playing in the Band by David Gans. You can actually see all the soot and residue of the tips of his fingers from the heroin that he was smoking. All in all this CD is worthwhile to have in your collection if you're a head. The Nassau from 1981 that became a Dick's Picks is much better show from this period.

1980 was the last year I saw the Grateful Dead. The two shows I caught in Springfield, MA and New Haven, CT that year were underwhelming. The Spingfield show was embarassing, with Garcia flubbing lyrics, forgetting lyrics, stumbling through solos, and stumbling on the stage. The following night in New Haven was "ok" ,with Phil saving the evening. But still, pretty bland and slow. So I was surprised when a friend lent me this two CD set. Somebody must have brewed up a batch of double expresso for the band on these two nights, because these performances really move. The songs from "Go To Heaven" get a kick in the ass, and the "Althea" is the best that I've heard. The one critisism I have is Brent's keyboard sound. That Fender-Rhodes sounds like a door-bell. Otherwise, this set is a pleasant surprise and worth adding to your collection.

I enjoyed this two disc set very much. Obviously I loved "Althea," probably my favorite Grateful Dead song. "High Time" was great, nice and slow, the way you want that song. Naturally "Uncle John's Band" was excellent, also a bit of a slow song. Of course that song is like grilled cheese, very difficult to screw up. I also enjoyed as always the upbeat songs such as "Good Lovin'" and "I know You Rider." "Looks Like Rain" also was very well done. If you could not tell, I liked this CD alot and think it is worth a try for any Deadhead.

If you think that the Grateful Dead were all about interminable instrumental noodling and out-of-tune singing, this might introduce you to how sharp the Dead really could be on a good night. It's dynamic and well-focused; melodic concise songs, gentle ballads, hard rockers, well sung and beautifully played.

If you are a Dead Head, you'll find it as enjoyable as I do. An enjoyable two-and-a-half hours.

This release is just what any deadhead could ever want. It's got some great live dead and remains fairly short, this is good in that this release is great for commuting/in-betweenclasses listening, a "quickie" if you will. While stopping and changing tracks during a show is frowned upon because of the spontaneity involved in the "experience" we can do it with this release because it's a compilation of two nights and isn't in order anyways. The first set is sweet, the straw>franklins is beautiful, and the rest is awesome but what REALLY hit me HARD was the Lazy>supplication, it was freaggin' amazing, possibly my fav. ever! Disc 2..ahh..disc 2..Most would think it couldn't get better than disc 1 after listening to it, but your wrong...SO WRONG. The stranger>althea is suberb along with the energy filled sailor>saint. The playing sequence that follows is WONDERFULL. I could go on and on about this release in detail, but I reccomend this to EVERYONE/ANYONE who likes good music, especially deadheads.

People seem to have two problems with this album: it's not a complete show, and it's from 1980 (many people say "There is no good Grateful Dead after year x"). First, while it is not one full show, it flows nicely and has the feel of a show. Second, there is good to be found in every year of the Grateful Dead's career. I'll agree the later years were far less kind to them than the earlier, but in 1980 they were still rockin out just fine. If you're wary because "Dead Set" is also from '80 and you're not happy with it, know that this album has something that one lacks: it's brimming with energy. The Jack Straw>Franklin's Tower is great, the China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider is one of my favourite versions, and the run on the second disc from Playing in the Band to Good Lovin' is like the Dead of old. Give this a chance, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Edit of this review(5/18/05): After owning this album for a while and listening to it more, I feel that my original review, while accurate, was a bit generous. I would now give the album four stars instead of five (I'd change it, but I don't know how). There is some filler or songs that sound kind of cheesy, such as Far From Me and Lazy Lightnin' (although the Supplication jam is very good). In all, this is still a great album with the highlights for me being the ones I originally mentioned, but it's not perfect.

This album has not left my cd player in months. It is simply amazing. Although I am a big fan of the earlier dead recordings, my favorite era of the dead is the late seventies, early eighties shows, when their catalog of tunes was getting huge. With this release, there is no sense in buying their studio album Go To Heaven, as it takes all the notable tracks and improves them greatly. This is a mostly Bob Weir album with stellar versions of Lightning-Supplication, Sailor-Circumstance, and Althea. Not to mention a slightly rare Peggy-O. This album is unbelievable and I HIGHLY reccomend it to anyone!