Grayfolded 1 & 2 [Import]

John Oswald, Grateful Dead | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 15, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Swell/Artifact
• ASIN: B00000E127
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,994 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Novature (Formless Nights Fall)

2. Pouring Velvet

3. In Revolving Ash Light

4. Clouds Cast

5. Through

6. Fault Forces

7. The Phil Zone

8. La Estrella Oscura

9. Recedes (While We Can)

Disc: 2

1. Transilience

2. 73rd Star Bridge Sonata

3. Cease Tone Beam

4. The Speed of Space

5. Dark Matter Problem/Every Leaf Is Turning

6. Foldback Time

Editorial Reviews

1995 Canadian release featuring the deleted 'Grayfolded Vol.1' & an hour long mix of 'Dark Star' comprised of bits fromover 100 performances of the tune in conjunction with the25th anniversary of it by John 'Mr. Plunderphonics' OSWALD.15 tracks total on two black & white picture CDs in a doubleslimline jewelcase. The music is performed by the GratefulDead; the production is by John Oswald. Released on theSwell Artifact label.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time Travel, December 10, 2002

By 

William Wood (Sydney, New South Wales Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Grayfolded 1 & 2 (Audio CD)

For Dark Star fans(and I understand there are a few of us)this is IT(so far).
Almost two hours of the Dead doing what they did best,improvising.This is John Oswalds "version" if you will of the ultimate Dark Star.He has taken over a hundred hours of tapes from the Dead Vaults ,all of performances of Dark Star and compiled ,segued and overdubbed a symphony of the Dead.The most amazing thing is that although this set covers a thirty year timespan it sounds so perfect and so cohesive that it defies logic.It is as if we owned a time machine instead of a compact disc player as we hear Jerry Garcia in 1971 duelling with Jerry Garcia in 1991.This is the most exciting music I have heard since I bought the King Crimson ProjeKCs box set.
You know you need this set!.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy Illusion Dream, March 27, 2002

By 

rubidium84 (Ft. Calhoun, NE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grayfolded 1 & 2 (Audio CD)

A lot of people in other reviews say that this disc doesn't sound like the "real" dark star as played by the Grateful Dead back in the '70s. Well, it's not. This is a JOHN OSWALD album - NOT a Grateful Dead album. What Oswald did was use parts of the Dead playing "Dark Star" to create his own piece.
And what a piece he created. Nearly two hours of seamless music, and all of it sounding like the paintings of Jackson Pollock, or the ultimate pipe dream. My favorite moments are the end of disc 1 and the beginning of disc 2, especially the feedback solo on "The Phil Zone". And how about the transition from "73rd Star Bridge" into "Cease Tone Beam"? Great stuff.
In some pressings of disc 2, there are three minutes of extra music hidden before the Multiple Garcias shout "transitive nightfall of diamonds". To find them, start the disc and as soon as the CD starts playing, hold down the "Reverse search" button on your CD player. The thing that shows the time will start counting backwards until it shows -3:02. When it does, release your finger and listen.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is something else, but a good something..., February 23, 2006

By 

G. Sharik "gnshar01" (Athens, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Grayfolded 1 & 2 (Audio CD)

Let me start off by saying that Greyfolded is NOT what you might think it is...the ultimate Dark Star. It is far from it. That said, however, it is a work of intense complexity, dexterity, and an amazing knowledge of the material. It was put together in much the same way that Anthem was done; that is, from various live performances of the Dead, except that Greyfolded is done so to the nth degree. As others have noted here, it is performed with an "orchestra" of the various Grateful Dead bands across time, faded in and out to often devastating psychedelic effect. There is even a chart at the back of the booklet showing where all of the differing performances come in and out. Greyfolded is like an alloy of these performances, producing a final product with its own properties.

Since Grayfolded is its own work, it is not the happy Darkstar that I like to bliss out on for 20 minutes at a time. However, it is nearly 2 two hours of intense Darkstar-based music and sounds, all performed by the Dead according to the meticulous arranging and puzzle-fitting efforts of John Oswald. For someone out there looking for the ultimate Darkstar, go elsewhere. However, if you want a really interesting experimental GD extraganza, pick this up! Because this doesn't deliver the ecstatic punch that Darkstar delivers, I only give this record 4 stars out of 5. However, this IS still an amazing work.