Customer Reviews

Grayfolded 1 & 2

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!.

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.

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.

I'm going to be the odd one out here. I'm not a Grateful Dead fan; they do nothing for me. However, I'm a big fan of John Oswald's experimental plunderphonics, and a fan of ambient music and prog rock (amongst other things).

Approached with no knowledge of the source material, Grayfolded is an intriguing slice of ambient noodling. The edits work almost subliminally; it sounds like it could be an actual live performance, except every now and again there are hints that something isn't quite right.

It's a long way from the savagery of Oswald's "Plunderphonics"; it's almost a transitional work to his "Aparenthesi", which assembles almost an hour of a single note from environmental sounds and musical textures.

So like Eno's ambient music, there's enough going on here that your attention can be satisfied, but not too much to prevent focusing on other things. Recommended.

Dark Star through the ages- a unique way to listen to the Dead performing one of their most hallowed songs over multiple shows-simultaneously!! The disc is one seamless continuation of music culled from many different shows, in which the producer layers show on top of show, creating a new take on and old favorite. The disc follows a general structure of the original, but is distinctly different as a piece of music. It's very cool hearing tracks from '89 blend into '69, by way of '73, '90 and '70 in the mix as well. Some may enjoy the disc all the way through, although it can get a bit repetitive. But many sections are incredibly cool that any DeadHead will enjoy. This is probably for the most Deadicated of fans, the ones who already own large quantities of live Dead and are on the bus, and are looking for something new with their favorite music. Great for watching fractals by!

"Plunderphonics" is a term used by Oswald to describe his digital construction of Transitive Axis and the subsequent Mirror Ashes, both culled from numerous versions of the Dead's classic "Dark Star." If you want a structured Dark Star, get Live/Dead or one of the many live shows available with a Dark Star on it (Oklahoma City '73 is nice).

This is really more closely akin to that portion of the second set when the Dead would venture off into unknown territory for 20-40 minutes a la Drums>Space. I always loved Space, while for some people it was an excuse to go to the bathroom or go get a beer or soda. If you liked Space (especially, uh, under the influence), then I think you will like these two CDs. Transitive Axis is 60 minutes of "flutter" and, in my opinion, doesn't really quite go anywhere, compared to Mirror Ashes, which is why it's four stars, not five. When he released Mirror Ashes a few years later, Oswald opened with Dark Star briefly warping back on itself in a few seconds, and then flows into a 14-15 minute version (from 1970? I can't recall, darn it!) that is essentially untouched. It's a POWERFUL version of Dark Star and the reason I recomment Mirror Ashes first. After the opening segment, it goes far off into space before coming home and wrapping up in a soft fade to silence. IT IS FIVE STAR STUFF.

I picked up Transitive Axis first, then when Mirror Ashes was released it was a double-CD, so I gave T.A. to a friend and bought the double CD. At the time, it was $20 or so, making these downloads a true bargain!

I've ripped my CDs and have them backed up as 320 kbs and 128 kbs mp3 files. (The 128 is for my iPod so it doesn't eat up so much memory.) I want to ensure that I ALWAYS have this music available. There's times when I want a plan, old "Good Old Grateful Dead" show from start to finish, but late at night when I'm having trouble drifting off to sleep, Mirror Ashes and/or Transitive Axis are both joys to help me go to the Space we explore when we sleep.

Essential owning for any fan of the Dead, and anyone who likes experimental music.

If you just like the down-home, country-sounding aspect of the Grateful Dead's music, this probably isn't the album for you. But if you love the spacy, swirling, improvisational aspect (think "Dark Star" on Live Dead), this DEFINITELY is the album for you. Pick a quiet night, settle back in your favorite chair with your earphones and a nice buzz (from whatever), close your eyes, and feast your brain! RATING: 5 "DARK" STARS!

The only problem with the Darkstar from 1969's Live is it's too short. This disk solves the problem by being just Darkstar. Okay, it's not pure, it's an amalgamation but who cares - its chock full of Darkstar goodness.

I'd give this five stars, but I'd save that for a Dead show...like a Dick's Picks or full show. However, this album serves as a testament to Dark Star, which in my opinion is the greatest song of all time, at least I'd say it's my favorite song. The Dead being the greatest musical assemblage of musicians show how over 25 years they transformed this piece, and where they could go with it, and what it's potential was. It's a [good] tune, all around and is THE signature Grateful Dead song. What more can you say?