Customer Reviews

History of the Grateful Dead, Vol. 1 (Bear's Choice)

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

 

 

One of the things that has always been interesting for me is how Dead albums are viewed when first released and then how differently they're looked at by newer fans over the years. I was raised around the Dead and was about 4 years old when this album was first released. I remember growing up with this album (as well as all that came before it) and it always surprised me how those first generation Deadheads never really cared for this. When Bear was picking the songs for this release, he wanted something that would pay tribute to Pigpen and also feature songs that, for the most part anyway, hadn't already appeared on an album and went back to one of his favorite run of shows 2-13 & 14-70 Fillmore East late shows in New York City (Dick's Picks 4 features more from this great run). Originally it was going to include some pre Dead tunes. While others seemed to not really pay much attention, as a kid, I loved it.

The first side showcases Bob and Jerry's acoustic outing with Bobby's singing on Dark Hollow was/is tear jerking and when Jerry joins in, it's something else. This IS REAL country here and not that phony laid back pop emotionless junk but really heartfelt. I've Been All Around The World is Jerry at his playful best and Black Peter always put me into a trace. The second half featured the electric Dead backing Pig. Smokestack Lightnin' is full of twists and turns. Thundering along in places and very quiet in other places. I love the sound of the guitars and very full of drums. Hard To Handle is straight up rockin'. Years ago, I used to be able to do a good Pig imitation and this was the song. The bonus songs are also great, Good Lovin'(from the early show, 2-13-70) rocks out at a nice clip. The second Smokestack (2-8-70 Fillmore West, San Francisco) shows how different the Dead could take even a basic blues tune in the very next version. Big Boss Man (2-5-70 Fillmore West) blows away the Grateful Dead (aka Skull & Roses) version. Sittin' On Top Of The World (2-8-70 Fillmore West) is again, execellent. I should also point out, that untill Reckoning was released in April 1981, this was the only place that you could officially get acoustic Dead and until the vaul reases starting in the early '90's, this was the only place you could get many of these tunes on record.

The album was originally released in 1973 and is taken from concerts in 1970. The original LP was 47 minutes long. The bonus material puts the CD right at 80 minutes. Sound quality is very good. Some of the material is very interesting and has a distinctive sound.

The first tracks are stripped down acoustic numbers. I especially like Dark Hollow (I think it is the best thing on the CD) and Wake Up Little Suzy. The acoustic numbers have a nice bluesy feel to them and make this CD worth getting.

The rest of the tracks are electric, and I don't think they are that special over other Grateful Dead live material. I think Black Peter goes on a little too long.

Smokestack Lightning is your typical 18 minute PigPen driven song. I think he has better songs, like Turn on Your Lovelight.

The bonus material is OK, but does not make it worth buying this CD if you already have the original. Another 18 minute version of Smokestack Lightning is included. It is slightly different than the first one, with less vocals by PigPen, letting the music come through a little more. It is a nice contrast, and proves that the Dead rarely play the same song the same way twice. But, I don't think it is different enough to include. I hate it when different versions of a song are included on a CD. I like to listen to a CD all the way through and it takes away from the experience when you have songs repeated.

The one great bonus track is Sitting On Top of the World. There is a nice, jazzy guitar solo, that is different from what I have heard before.

The full title of this CD was History of the Grateful Dead, Bear's Choice, Vol 1. Other volumes were planned. This was the last Dead album on Warner Brothers records, so something must have been dropped into the transfer to Grateful Dead records.

Rhino records has done a wonderful job in reworking the Warner Brothers albums. The sound quality is excellent, and HDCD technology is used (it is supposed to improve sound quality, even on standard CD players). Bonus material has been added so that every second of the CD is used. The CD's come in nice cardboard cases with multi page booklets. (Note that the re-issues of the later Dead albums don't include the nice packaging).

A lesser known release from The Grateful Dead: "Bear's Choice" is one of my favorite documents of live GD. This mixture of acoustic/electric Dead is from the famous Fillmore East shows of 2/13/70 & 2/14/70.

The acoustic side: Things are off to a great start with Pigpen playing some blues on: "Katie Mae." Pigpen, it should be said, might have been a little out-of-place in 1970, as this wonderful tune would have sounded so perfect in 1933. You are not going to find this gem on any other recording, it is here, and it is one of Pig's finest moments. Next up is: "Dark Hollow" and as I have heard many versions of this classic American recording, this one is the best of the bunch, Bobby & Jerry, are in charge of this and really having big fun, another great track that always reminds me of my time living in The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

"I've Been All Around The World" is my very favorite song on this record, Jerry turns in the best performance of this classic that I have ever come across...Blue Ridge Mountains, again! The Everly Brothers hit song: "Wake Up Little Susie" get's the Dead treatment next, and it's all in good fun, the boy's were loose in NYC, and we get to enjoy the results. The closer of side one is: "Black Peter" and it's a longer and slower than it's studio cousin. "Peter" has about the greatest refrain found in any GD song: "See here how everything leads up to this day"...Jerry, really get's inside this song, and it is very powerful.


The electric side: This second half of the record belongs to Pigpen, who could really steal the show from his bandmates in the early days. "Smokestack Ligthnin" is a blues-romp that Pig had performed for years, the boy's give Pig some really fine backing and jam for about 18 minutes here on this timeless gem. Jerry, has more than a few moments on this, this is great: 'Cosmic' Dead. "Hard To Handle" is another Pigpen showcase, and the closer for the original album.

The Bonus Tracks: A sixties style GD: "Good Lovin' has been heard on many other Dead recordings, this one is short {8 minutes} but, it is a fine version done in the early {pre-Disco Dead.} "Big Boss Man" always sounds good to me, and this is up there with the version found on; "Grateful Dead" as one of the very best versions...great, put's it mildly.

Another version of: "Smokestack" makes an appearance next, but I'd rather enjoy to hear a version of: "In The Midnight Hour" in it's place. The last extra track is: "Sitting On Top Of The World" and it's a fine addition to a wonderful collection of early Live Dead.

This is what The Grateful Dead sounded like at the close of the 1960's and the dawn of the 1970's. A very over-looked record from the group. But, it is one of their very best records.
4.5 Stars!!!

if you never heard the vinyl pressing of this you will probably like this cd. the fillmore east performance is good material from a night when the band was in exceptional form.

i have had this this on vinyl for 30 years and it has always been one of my favorites. my issue with the cd is the remastering. while the sound quality of the cd is good (because the master recording was good to begin with) i don't like the remixing that was done. when listened to back-to-back with the lp it doesn't hold up as well as i'd hoped.

the acoustic material translated fairly well although the vocals were pushed back a bit and the guitars brought up a bit too much. it sounds clear and is a good example of the acoustic first set common in those days, but suffers some when compared to the more balanced sound of the lp.

the electric set didn't fair as well. i'll focus on one example. my favorite song on the original album was the fantastic version of hard to handle. the way it was played that night it had a funky quality to it that was worthy of james brown. in the original (vinyl) mix all instuments have an equal presence. you hear jerry, but you also hear everyone else equally well. those who know the dead know that when the magic happens every instrument is playing an improvisation and as such is a lead. everyone is equal, supporting, and playing off each other, regardless of of the fact that jerry is getting the "solo." such is the case with this recording of hard to handle. the cd remix pushes jerry's guitar to far to the front and, while jerry is great, you lose the sense of the dynamic interplay the band is famous for by making the guitar too dominant. that is, by pushing jerry to far forward you lose a lot of the magic by making the rest of the band take a supporting role. sadly,on the cd this tune suffers most in translation although the same can be said for the smokestack lightnin' from that set.

the extra material is interesting but is not of the quality as the original material. it was a different performance on a different night at a different venue (fillmore west, a week earlier). decent, but not a night when the magic was there. maybe the drugs weren't as good that night, i don't know. it would have been nice to get more material from the original show rather than part of another (weaker) performance, which to me feels tacked on to fill space.

all in all, i think i'll give away the cd and keep listening to my 30 year old vinyl.

With all due respect to Pigpen, who is featured here, this isn't the strongest collection one could collate of their material. But - it's not bad either. The band's two versions here of "Smokestack Lightening" may not be the GD at their best, but they are the GD in their prime and they do have SOME quality to them. "Hard to Handle", always a hard-charging number, is nice. Side 1 doesn't quite move me, I don't really get the concept here, but I can't say that there's no good music here.

If I had one question for Bear it would be - why no live "Easy Wind" here? That was an underrated number that Pigpen could hit out of the park.

The bonus material is really bonus material, not just some old out takes. This one is worth putting in your collection.

one of the 1st albums I bought when I first got into the Dead. Lost it some where in life great journey and I missed listening to it. So, when I found it on Amazon I was stoked and immediately purchaced one of my all time favs. Long live the Grateful Dead and thanks to Amazon for making me greatly pleased...

When it really comes down to it, fans shouldn't write reviews. Amazon is clogged with useless accounts of when fans first discovered something, or how much they loved something as a kid, or how great everything is by their favored artists. Sorry, but even Vladimir Horowitz, Duke Ellington, the Beatles, Billie Holiday, Richard Thompson, and Madonna had off days - Madonna probably more than the others on this list.

Bear's Choice is a nice accounting of the Dead at the Fillmore East circa February 1970, with focus on their departed singer/keyboardist Ron "Pigpen" McKernan. Divided into an acoustic first side and electric second side - did this influence Neil Young six years later for Rust Never Sleeps? - the album contains only one original Dead song, an extended "Black Peter" from Workingman's Dead. The covers show off the Dead's eclectic interests in Appalachian Mountain music with "I've Been All Around This World" and "Dark Hollow," 1950s rock and roll with "Wake Up Little Susie," Texas blues on "Katie Mae," and 1960s soul with "Hard to Handle." The acoustic numbers are all uniformly pleasant, and the Dead stretch out in their unique fashion for the electric side. The bonus tracks are all electric, all covers again of Jimmy Reed, the Mississippi Sheiks, the Young Rascals, and a second version of "Smokestack Lightning" from a show at the Fillmore West a week earlier in San Francisco.

However, virtually none of these covers have anything on the originals. Although excellent instrumentalists, most of these songs are about singing, and the Dead's vocal chops simply aren't up to them. Garcia is quite eloquent with Robert Hunter's words, and the group enthusiasm makes up for shortcomings somewhat on "Good Lovin'." Their studio singing in 1970 surpassed their live efforts, but on this album Bob and Jerry prove conclusively that on stage they aren't Phil and Don Everly. Pigpen acquits himself well enough on Lightning Hopkins' "Katie Mae," but he's completely out of his depth on "Smokestack Lightning." To be fair, he's up against a stunning performance by Howlin' Wolf on the original 1956 recording, one of the greatest rhythm and blues singles of the entire decade. "Hard to Handle" is a great song, but especially in the hands of Otis Redding on the 1968 record.

Superior concert Grateful Dead exists in abundance, notably Live/Dead, Skull and Roses, the excellent So Many Roads box set, and numerous installments of Dick's Picks, Road Trips, and other vault issues. As a memoriam to McKernan, this album works well, but this choice is for the hardcore, not the casual fan.

February 13 and 14, 1970 at Bill Graham's Legendary Fillmore East. This was a great album. I loved the acoustic material, especially the legendary late great Pigpen McKernan's redition of Katie Mae. This is a great Live Dead album and a great intro to the greatest band that there ever was.