Customer Reviews

Grateful Dead: Beyond Description (1973-1989)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The sound quality on these "new" transfers done by RHINO are absolutely incredible.
I recommend this set as a worthy purchase even if you already have the earlier cd releases. After hearing the first box done by Rhino I was anticipating this one for a long time.

Remasters have become very popular, but not always are they done with the highest respect for the music. This package eliminates that factor and you come away with a satisfying new experience.

Rhino is currently the king of remasters!
Other remasters don't come close to the perfection brought by a Rhino HDCD transfer. I am so pleased to hear more than ever before the music behind the distortion of analog hiss.


thank God for Rhino
and
the Grateful Dead

Absolutely incredible remastering of these tracks. I am
listening to Shakedown street as I write on a Conrad Johnson
tube amp with an HDCD player and really good loud speakers.

This is an amazing job by Rhino. Rhino is always pretty cool
but on this one you can tell the engineers wanted to do a really
good job on the mix. It is clean as hell

5 stars and that is before the 10 star bonus tracks which are
too many to mention. Terrapin Station with Catfish John. Dang it
buy this thing

On Terrapin they added some reverb. I keep coming back to this disc. I really thought the analog mix was great but this HDCD rendering is amazing. Why can you only give 5 stars this is better than that. Respect was paid to the Dead by Rhino. I want some Rhino stock. Rhino rules

This twelve-disk box set of the second half of the Grateful Dead's recording career is a glorious triumph of the spirit of the band. As with most of the Dead's studio efforts, the albums themselves are an uneven affair. But the shear scope and meticulous detail of the set override any musical inequities. 1975's Blues For Allah is the best of this set and rivals American Beauty as the best Dead album. Combining with 1973's Wake Of The Flood & 1974's Grateful Dead From The Mars Hotel, it was their best run of albums in their career. "Franklin's Tower", "King Solomon's Marbles" & the title suite standout from Allah, "Here Comes The Sunshine" & "Eyes Of The World from Flood & "US Blues", "Scarlet Begonias" & "Ship Of Fools" from Mars. The subsequent three studio albums, 1977's Terrapin Station, 1978's Shakedown Street & 1980's Go To Heaven have some good cuts, but the overall quality pales next to the other disks. The band took a seven-year recording hiatus, but returned with 1987's superb In The Dark. People often mistakenly dismiss this album as the Dead going commercial, but that is unfair. The album is strong from top to bottom and includes one their best songs, "Throwing Stones" and their only top ten single, "Touch Of Grey". It was also their lone top ten album. The band couldn't sustain the commercial and creative success and unfortunately their recording career ended with the poor 1989's release Built To Last. There are two excellent live collections, both from 1981, the acoustic Reckoning and the amazing Dead Set. Beyond Description is a must for all Dead fans as the albums are all remastered for the first time and the sound quality is amazing.

As I wrote in my review of The Golden Road, I am new to the Grateful Dead. Prior to this year, I only heard "Truckin'" and a few songs like that on the radio and I thought, "Ugh. Spacey music for Sixties drop-outs and wannabes."

But the more I got into "jam bands" like Phish, Umphrey's McGee, Particle, moe., and others, the more the roads led back to the Grateful Dead.

So two months ago I bought The Golden Road and started to listen with an open mind. I wanted to know what I'd been missing, if anything.

Holy crap! I missed a lot!

I was immediately hooked by The Golden Road -- especially by the live CDs in that set. Like all jam bands, the Grateful Dead excelled on stage. The studio albums are okay, but bands like the Grateful Dead were able to demonstrate their chops on stage.

I was so blown away by The Golden Road that, two weeks later, I bought Beyond Description.

As with The Golden Road, Rhino did a fantastic job with these CDs! Phil's bass lines are now right there where they belong. And the vocals are crisp and clean.

Also, as with The Golden Road, it's obvious Rhino approached this material with reverence, for the sound is just one of the outstanding elements of this package. Everything here is first rate. The box is first rate. The two booklets that comes with Beyond Description are first rate, loaded with pictures and information. (As with the booklet that came with The Golden Road, I poured over these for hours and hours, enjoying every word and photo.) Even the price for all of this was reasonable.

Beyond Description is a different sounding Grateful Dead. A different era. In many cases, their CDs sound more polished. In some cases, even a bit disco-ish (considering the era in which they were recorded that's undestandable). But I like what I hear. Maybe more than many -- more critical -- Dead Heads do.

For example, I like Blues For Allah, Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street and other albums that some critics have panned. They're not American Beauty or Live/Dead, but they're still part of the Grateful Dead canon and, as such, are worthy of my time and attention.

I know seasoned Dead-heads will see my review as being shallow, lacking in critical thinking or knowledge of the finer points of this or that performance. But all I can say is that I approached this box set as a music lover first and foremost. I approached it with an open mind. And now my mind is made up: the Grateful Dead were an extraordinary band that (I think) too often suffered under its own fame. They became caricatures of themselves. And that's why people like me misunderstood who and what the band really was. I didn't take them seriously.

As with The Golden Road, Beyond Description strips away the larger-than-life persona they assumed and allows those of us who are late to the game hear what they had to offer the world.

I wholeheartedly recommend Beyond Description to anyone who loves good music. Forget what you think you know about Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead and just sit back to listen to these CDs. They'll tell you everything you need to know.

In the early 90's I was a super-shy teen who innocently discovered the Dead... In hindsight it was most likely because of their vibrant artwork and graphics that attracted my artistic eye. I naively bought albums at random and played them thru headphones while I plowed through a stack of comic books and escaped the tortures of a difficult but typical adolescence. It was an open minded era of innocence and gentle escapism. Some of the albums I loved were Built to Last, Blues for Allah, Terrapin Station and Go to Heaven. I was not a "Dead Head". I did not see them live or adopt "popular opinion" of serious Dead heads to try and fit in... just an open minded artistic kid willing to enjoy some mellow tunes circa 1991.

The remastered sound, packaging, bonus materials, attention to detail and genuine "respect" given to these re-masters here is superb. They are also in my opinion fantastic purchases for their unit price. This is a collection to get lost in and simply enjoy. Play the heck out of it while you go about and don't compare every track to American Beauty. I do not think every album collected here is "brilliant" btw, but then again not every Miles Davis remaster I own is Kind of Blue from start to end either and I love them all.

If you are curious about this set and looking for advice to consider before jumping in because of it's price, I would go for it on this one. With an open mind it is a rewarding experience. Enjoy the Dead for what they were at this career stage and like what you like...

Consisting of the second half of the majority of the Dead's officially released recorded output (not counting the slew of post-Jerry barrel-scrapings), Beyond Description is a worthy successor to Rhino's 2001 'The Golden Road' boxed set, even if the albums inside it are no match for the ones contained on 'Golden Road'.

It doesn't take a tie-dyed, patchouli-smelling Deadhead to realize that the 10 albums represented in this box detail the decline of the band. In fact, any casual listener can hear that though the quality remains (maybe even increases), the ingenuity of the Dead suffered greatly in the 1970's as they morphed from a band into an industry. So as you might expect, the earliest records in the box are the strongest, and they get worse by degrees from there.

Wake of the Flood, Mars Hotel and Blues For Allah are the real treasures here. All three are classic Grateful Dead albums that no Deadhead could live without and no peruser of the back-catalog should miss. Each one provides a solid listen and even some of the Dead's highest highlights. Blues is certainly one of the strongest LP's the group ever released, and 'Stella Blue' from Wake is maybe the greatest song they ever laid down in the studio.

Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street and Go To Heaven are The Grateful Dead's attempts to incorporate 70's arena rock and disco sensibilities into their sound, and the results are about what you'd expect from a distillation of The Dead, Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, the Doobies and the Bee-Gees... Mostly crap. There are a few great moments, but what you have to wade through to get there is at times unlistenable. It's hard to believe that the band who put out American Beauty is the same one that covered 'Dancin' In The Streets' on Terrapin...

They get you back, however, with Reckoning and Dead Set, the Dead's pair of fine 1981 Double live LPs (each squeezing onto a single CD); one acoustic (Reckoning) the other electric (Dead Set). Definitely the band's last five-star albums, both are indispensable, and the producers of Beyond Description really did the fans a service by expanding both albums to double CD sets with a full extra disc each of extras from the same period. One of the high-water points of this box. You may find yourself lost in these recordings for some time.

The Grateful Dead's pair of final studio albums are a mixed bag. In The Dark benefits from the band having taken seven years to put out any new material, and Built to Last suffers because the band didn't take enough time perfecting it. It comes off as the hurried sequel to In The Dark that it was, and it became the last studio album the group ever dropped. Both have their moments, but each one pales in comparison to the Primal Dead of the band's past.

Despite being comprised of lesser elements than the first box, Beyond Description shapes up as a fine follow-up. The only major problem being the exclusion of the Steal Your Face double live album from 1976. It may not have been the greatest live album the Dead ever put out, but it was an official release (with a great cover) and its deletion from the box is inexcusable. Revisionism seems to be the flavor-of-the-month in the USA lately, and the Grateful Dead ride the trendy wave by erasing one of their lesser albums from the catalog. If the goal was to scrap the worst LPs they ever made, it's a wonder Shakedown Street and Go To Heaven made the cut.

Early in most Dead collectors history, they would forego the band's studio albums and seek out bootleg live material. This collection has two benefits. As a completist collector, it gives one the satisfaction of having ALL the Arista "albums". "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie" has been returned to the Reckoning CD that was left off of earlier pressings. "My Brother Esau" is included on "In The Dark" which wasn't on all releases at the time either.
I personally bought this set for the bonus tracks added to each disc. There are some tasty cuts on here. One of my most treasured fillers on a live tape was Phil's demos of "Pride of Cucamonga" and "Unbroken Chain" acoustic. And here they are with no generation loss. "Distorto" is a thrashing instrumental version of "Crazy Fingers". "Hollywood Cantata" is "Music Never Stops" but with the Robert Hunter lyrics. There are many grooves and jams and check out unreleased songs like "Ascent" and "Equinox". Bobby's acoustic demo of "Weather Report Suite" makes me rethink my earlier Bobby bashing and recognize not many rhythm guitarists can stand next to Jerry for all those years. And the bonus material for both Reckoning and Dead Set are two entirely separate discs from the era.
So listen to the bonus material and treat your ears to a refreshing session of "new" Grateful Dead music.

Grateful Dead: Beyond Description (1973-1989)

I would imagine that the task of summerizing a carreer as vast as the Dead's as being quite the job... buy what a job they've done. The sound quality is fantastic, the packaging is every bit as crisp and brilliant as the original lps, and the bonus tracks are the icing on the psychadellic cake. The bonus tracks (an extra disc worth) on Dead Set are particularly satisfying, capturing the band in peak form and in a different light than the 72 era dead... Also included are several studio outtakes including some fantastic acoustic demos as well as finished songs. If you have the older issue GD catalog, sell them and buy this set... its worth every penny, and babe, that aint no lie!

NOT QUITE AS GOOD AS THE FIRST BOXSET, THE GOLDEN ROAD.

This boxset consists of the 10 Grateful Dead albums from 1973 to 1989, plus two bonus CD's. Covered are:
Wake of the Flood
Mars Hotel
Blues For Allah
Terrapin Station
Shakedown Street
Reckoning (with bonus CD)
Dead Set (with bonus CD)
Go To Heaven
Built to Last
In The Dark

Interesting to note that Steal Your Face was not include in either of the two Grateful Dead boxsets (this one or Golden Road). Apparently the band did not think much of that album.

Each each album has bonus material added to it, to get the total time as close to 80 minutes as possible. The bonus material is hit and miss. On some albums, it is new and refreshing music. On Dead Set, the bonus CD is better than the original. On other CD's, it is just alternative takes, or live versions of the same songs as the original album.

Each album comes in a very nice cardboard sleeve. However, they don't have the extensive liner notes like the CD's in the Golden Road had. But there are two booklets included, one that talks about each album.

The CD's have been remastered with HDCD. The sound quality is excellent. Some of the original CD's, like Dead Set were poorly done. But others, like Built To Last had great sound from the beginning. To fully enjoy HDCD, you need a player that designed for the enhancements. But, supposedly, HDCD will sound better even on a standard CD player.

Currently, these remastered versions are only available in this boxset. If you want to get one of these albums individually, you would either have to buy the original CD used, or a very expensive Japanese import. In either case, you wouldn't get the bonus material.

The first 3 albums, Wake of The Flood, Mars Hotel and Blues for Allah are fantastic and rate up there with any Grateful Dead studio album. Wake of the Flood is my favorite Dead album, with a breakout performance from Bob Wier.

I have always enjoyed Terrapin Station and Shakedown Street. They may not be classics, but they contain some very good songs. The song Terrapin Station is an oddity for the Dead. It is actually much better and longer on the studio album, then any version they have done in concert.

Reckoning and Dead Set are live albums taken from 1980 shows. Back then, the Dead were doing an acoustic set at their shows. Reckoning is the Dead unplugged. It has some very nice versions of rarely played songs. Although it does drag at times. Dead Set is the electric album. It has some nice tight but energetic performances. But only about half of the songs are anything special. Each of those albums contain a bonus disc, that includes music in the same vain as the original album. In the case of Dead Set, the bonus disc is much better than the original.

The last three discs come after the Grateful Dead became famous for their concert tours. This was the time that Dead became the top grossing live act in the world. Previously, the Deadheads knew who the band was, but now everybody knew. These CD's are hit and miss. They also have some of the worst bonus material in the boxset.

If you already have most of these albums, you might not want to shell out the bucks for this. I don't know if the bonus material and improved sound quality are worth it. If you don't have these albums, and you are any type of Grateful Dead fan, this is a great boxset to get.

Where was I when the Dead was alive and well? During the late sixties, seventies, and early eighties I suppose I was too stoned to appreciate the raw, gritty, and courageous musical genius of the "Dead". Only a few years ago I bought "So Many Roads" and quickly became addicted to their music as an old man in his late fifties. After this serendipitous discovery I then bought "The Golden Road" and was estatic when "Beyond Description" was released, purchasing it and all of "Dick's Picks" and additional live performances on CD and DVD. I cannot add much to the eloquence of other reviewers except to say that I truly believe you will never become disappointed that you purchased any of the sets or music previously mentioned, and your children and grandchildren will probably fight over who gets the "Dead" music some day!!! By the way may I suggest that you visit the "Dead" at [...]. Happy listening!!!