Customer Reviews

So Many Roads: 1965-1995

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The first CD and the fifth CD are interesting more for historical reasons than for the actual quality of the music. The second, third, and fourth CD are solid music all the way through. The Eyes of the World will give you goose-bumps. Anyway, if you're a serious dead-head you're probably going to end up buying this at some point, so it might as well be now. Also cool: Multiple songs that transition into one another are organized on single tracks here, so you can put in all five discs, hit shuffle, and have no fear.

Is this the best yet from the Grateful Dead? Tough to say, because "So Many Roads" is a slice of Grateful Dead music from over three decades. Who knows what else they've got tucked away? What "So Many Roads" offers is a listen to the band from their pre-Warlocks days throuogh Jery's untimely death in 1995. For the uninitiated, this album is a piece of American music history, expressed only as the GD can do it. For devotees, it is an extensive collection of those special moments--soaring, glittering highs, crashing lows, unexpected twists of melodic beauty--that kept us going to shows: the band's raison d'etre. Unlike other boxed sets touting "Three previously unreleased songs!" this one is almost entirely unreleased material, and it proves that 35 years later, they can still surprise even the most devoted Deadheads. If you're going to own only one GD album, this is the one. (This, the 15-to-date full concerts in the Dick's Pick's series, and a handful more. And some live shows on tape. And a video or two. I swear, I don't work for them. . . .) Enjoy.

I am a big fan of The Grateful Dead, but I don't know if I can be classified as a "Deadhead" cause I only saw the band four times and really only love a handful of their songs, compared to true "deadheads" who have travelled the country seeing as many shows as possible and love almost every Grateful Dead song recorded or played live. I saw the band in the eighties and enjoyed the concerts very much, but even then I knew that I was not seeing the group in their prime and that there must be better versions of the songs I was hearing recorded on bootleg tapes somewhere. Now, with the excellent recordings available (like the wonderful "Dick's Picks" series) I know that there were many "peaks" during the Grateful Dead's thirty year history, and the last five years was not that great a time as a whole despite a few fine moments. I think this series would be much better if the songs chosen were spread out more evenly, instead of TWO CDs focusing on the last five years (so what if there are some unreleased titles, they are not that good!) when ONLY ONE SONG IS LISTED FOR 1973 ("Watkins Glen Soundcheck- 7/27/73) AND NOTHING FROM 1977! The two years of 1973 and 1977 were great years for the band and produced some of the best concerts preserved on tape! Anyway, I still enjoyed this collection, but felt like it was an uneven distribution of material, which is a shame because it gives an unclear picture of how the band sounded year after year and misses some great moments.

I once thought that the Grateful Dead deserved a better epitaph than this. While I saw that it was full of unique musical ideas and moments of greatness, I also felt it was full of extraneous moments that are of interest to obsessives only. After living with the box for a while, though, its internal logic exposed itself. Initially, I hoped for a `greatest hits' collection of sorts and felt some disappointment to discover otherwise. Since a five-disk collection takes some time to digest properly, it wasn't until some time passed that I recognized how much better this collection is than any collection of `best bits'.
If ever a band could use a box set, it's the Grateful Dead. If ever a band could use a box set that disseminates their career and culls highlights from all time periods, it's the Dead. A box that includes the best tracks from "Aoxomoxoa", "Live Dead", "Workingman's Dead", "American Beauty", "Europe `72" and "From the Mars Hotel", along with highlights from other albums, plus selected versions of live tracks chosen from their endless catalog of live tapes would be a beautiful thing. THAT is what I once thought the Dead deserved. I also believed that is what Deadheads wanted, if only to convince nonbelievers of the inherent greatness of their chosen icons. That isn't at all what this box set provides, but after a few listens, I began to determine the intelligence in its design.
"So Many Roads" combines historically relevant outtakes, rare studio recordings and the occasional definitive live track, resulting in a collection that is as frustrating as it is fascinating. Disk one of this five CD set summarizes the faults and the highlights. It starts with a healthy amount of early tracks where the Dead resemble an ordinary "Nuggets"-era band; the Chocolate Watchband crossed with a touch of Van Morrison's Them, perhaps. Some are good, some aren't. Bob Weir's screaming punk-like vocals on "You Don't Have to Ask" are simply awful, while the energetic, fresh version of "I Know You Rider" is just as simply incredible. Pigpen's showcase, "The Same Thing," takes time to develop, but transcends all expectations before it finishes. Just as the punk-blues mood sets in, gears shift and suddenly, the disk morphs into the remarkable looseness of a twenty-five minute jam. A rather direct and poignant "Dark Star" transforms into "China Cat Sunflower", and then "The Eleven", with a grace and inquisitiveness that made the 1968-1972 Grateful Dead one of the most interesting bands in the world.
By disk two, the Dead had already lost most of their youthful impetuousness, replacing it with curiosity, attempting to bind themselves to something intangible, something like infinity. After Pigpen's death, assertive energy was substituted with exploration. With Keith Godchaux on keyboards, it became more and more apparent that the Dead really do sound better if you're stoned. As the timeline proceeds, so does the level of exploration, and casual fans will have difficulty sticking with disk four's collapsing, free-form version of "Playing in the Band." Disk four also makes it rather apparent that the Dead never really improved their vocals much. What did improve, though, was the level of expression that they could muster with their voices. Whiles notes cracked or soared out of tune, the emotional center grew more and more focused.
Brent Mydland is well -represented in the latter-day work. I once considered this guy to be a bland honky-tonker incapable of serving the Dead's needs, but "So Many Roads" proves otherwise. Besides showcasing his powerful vocal style, it also proves that he had a touch not unlike Billy Payne of Little Feat (if EVER there lived a keyboard who should have played with the Dead in their prime, it's Billy Payne). Disk six is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Momentum is scattered, direction is lost and a sense of impending dread resides over the proceedings, lending each song a sense of destiny that is unshakeable, and often profound.
While chronologically accurate, "So Many Roads" lacks any sense of coherence that an ordinary fan would crave. People looking for "Blues for Allah" would grow impatient with the band's early harmonica blues-based forays, and vice-versa. But, it is important to note that Deadheads aren't your typical fan base. This box was not created for neophytes but for those who are already convinced. If you want an introduction to the Dead, don't start here. This is where you turn after you have absorbed some of the band's history and legacy. At that point, the relevance of the tracks chosen for "So Many Roads" are more likely to sink in. Hearing Jerry Garcia sing "Days Between" simply won't have the same impact on a newcomer as it will on a connoisseur. "So Many Roads" contains little that is revelatory, because virtually everything that the Grateful Dead have played has already been exploited in some way, but discoveries can still happen virtually anywhere on this collection. Listen to the fluidity of Garcia's guitar on "That's It for the Other One." "Check out the intuitive weave of "Beautiful Jam." Listen to how the band brings "Terrapin Station" to life from its still-born studio version. Remarkable. The more you listen, the more you understand. A- Tom Ryan

I had low expectations of this CD set based on customer reviews and the uneven quality of past Grateful Dead live outputs. I expected a few great jams mixed in with some live greatest hits, rarities and oddities. But, this was done right and lives up to its potential. Someone did a fantastic job of going through all the archives and picking out some of the best live perfromances from throughout the years. The mix is varied and never gets boring. I was able to listen to the whole thing in one sitting.

I was especially worried about the earlier material. I figured that I would listen to the first disc once, hear a bunch of historical rarities and raw tunes that were never good enough for an album and never want to listen to it again. But even the material from 1965 is strong and has good sound quality (by '65 standards).

Since this is taken from 30 years of archives, instead of just one concert, there are almost no low points. Some people may be disappointed because thier favorite song or favorite year isn't represented. There was about 1 tune per CD that I felt was a clunker (To Lay Me Down and Believe It or Not) and the last part of the final CD doesn't fit in with the set. But, those are minor complaints, considering how strong the bulk of the material is. In most cases, the version of each song is the best on record (check out the amazing rendition of The Other One).

Probably the best thing about this set is that most of the versions of the songs are very different than what is available on other live albums. Unless you are a fanatical trader of Dead tapes, you haven't heard most of the songs played this way.

This is a Jam album. Most numbers are over 10 minutes. With a few exceptions, it is electric and high energy. If you want greatest hits, or acoustic music, this isn't the right album. But for those that think the Dead is at their best when they are jamming, this is a must have.

What a long wait it was. How can someone possibly release an anthology of the dead and include something that everyone will like? Easy:first and foremost Dick Latvala was involved (and who knows better what we want than him?) second David Gans, Blair Jackson and Steve Silberman together went through thousands of shows and talked to hundreds of people to find out what was the best, the most historical and the most beloved songs of The Deads' 30 year career. No easy task. Everyone has their own personal faves, but rest assured; they are probably here. Within the 5 discs and almost 7 hours of music you will find rarities, rehearsals, out-takes and songs that for one reason or another never made it to an official release. Nearly every choice here is in a never before released form. From concerts to practice. Sure, there is a few songs I would've included, but I can not complain. Listen to 'Dark star jam> Spanish jam> U.S. blues and you will understand. Jerry is gone, The Dead as we knew them will never be again. Thank you soundboards, tapers and followers for the memories that we will always have. Peace and Love.

AFTER RECENTLY RECEIVING THIS AS A GIFT I WAS THRILLED TO DISCOVER THE EXCELLENT JAMS THAT TAKE PLACE ON THIS SET. THE SET SERVES UP A WIDE VARIETY OF THE BANDS MUSIC THAT WOULD PLEASE THE PALETTE OF OLD HEADS AND NEW FANS ALIKE. HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: THE OTHER ONE,DARK STAR, JAM OUT OF FOOLISH HEART(WITH BRUCE HORNSBY), LIBERTY AND SO MANY ROADS. THE SET DOES HAVE A COUPLE NEGATIVE POINTS- FIRST I DONT BELIEVE THAT PIGPEN IS REPRESENTED FAIRLY.ALSO THE ONLY SONG THAT APPEARS ON THE SET FROM BRENT MYDLAND DOES NOT ADEQUATELY SUM UP HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BAND. LASTLY IT WAS IN POOR TASTE TO ALTER "SO MANY ROADS" (ON CD #5) FROM ITS ORIGINAL FORM. THE SONG WAS EDITED AND A VERSE AND SOLO WERE DELETED. AS WE DIE HARD FANS KNOW. THIS IS A HUGE NO-NO. WE NEVER MANIPUALTE JERRY'S SOLOS. OVERALL THE SET IS A MUST HAVE FOR THE RARE FOOTAGE IT CONTAINS. I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOURS AS MUCH AS I DO MINE.

During the last few years of the Dead's touring career, my buddies and I would sit in the parking lot and speculate (fantasize?) about the new tunes and how they might appear on the studio album that we all anticipated. It never happened, of course, and a great many fans were disappointed over the missed opportunity to hear those 1990's "new" tunes on album (even if we could get them on tapes). With the fifth disc of this box set, we finally get the goods. The rehearsal or studio cuts of "new" tunes like Weir's "Eternity" or the Garcia/Hunter "Days Between" are perfect--tight, imaginative, exporatory, everything you would expect from the Boys. They nicely round out what is a monumental collection of Dead material. More than a nice introduction for new fans or an important addition to old-school collectors, this box set is evidence of one of the last truly authentic American bands, and of what music, in the deepest and most complex sense of the word, can and should be about. This is no Limp Bizkit or Backstreet Boys transience. This is art, and art lasts.

I have about 700 shows on tape and was cynical about buying this at first, since a lot of the stuff on this I already have on tape, such as the Warlocks demo and a bunch of other stuff. But, Dicks Picks #15 (Elizabethtown, NJ, 1977) blew me away, compared to the tape I had of an FM broadcast, so I figured I'd give this a try. Boy am I glad. This box set blew me away! It's compiled in chronological order and there are many tunes where jams are lifted out of second sets, but you don't get a sense of any abrupt transition. This whole package is great, and clued me in to the fact that the second CD on Dicks Picks 13, which was so short, is short because there's a Scarlet>Fire hidden on it! You gotta fork out the bucks for this or beg for it for Christmas. It's just awesome and the closing tune, So Many Roads, from 7/9/95, the final show at Soldier Field, will make you cry and miss Jerry all over again.

This is a fine collection of Dead material, but on the whole I'd recommend going with some of the Dick's Picks disks to get a better "Dead Show" sort of sense of the music. While there are a lot of great cuts on So Many Roads, the fact that they're all chopped up (i.e., the tunes don't blend into each other the way they did at Dead shows, at least during the second sets)seems a bit artificial to me.

Also, regarding the Watkins Glen soundcheck, I (and about 150,000 other people) happened to be present for that. The Dead came out the night before the big Watkins Glen show and when the crowd started getting all frenzied said "Don't get excited, we're just going to do a soundcheck." They then proceeded to play 3 hours of the best music I've ever heard - so the term "soundcheck" here is meant to be a bit tongue in cheek I'm sure.