Road Trips: Vol. 2, No. 3 - Wall of Sound (2 CD + Bonus Disc) [Live]

Grateful Dead (Author) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Live
• ASIN: B002EA18PK
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #348,004 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the spectacular Wall of Sound, we invite you on a sonic excursion into back-to-back shows from June of '74. Propelled by the heart-thumping power of the Wall, these shows capture the band during a period of heightened intensity and brilliant musicianship.

Disc one finds the Wall of Sound towering over the State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa for a Thursday, June 16th show that's loaded with beautifully inventive jams and inspired transitions. Amazing moments abound, like the 29-minute odyssey of "Playing In The Band" that blissfully dives into space and brings us back again. Disc two picks up two days later at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. This legendary setlist includes a brain-melting jam that rolls from "Weather Report Suite" through "It's A Sin."

Once again Jeffrey Norman has worked his magic on the soundboard masters so we can experience all this classic Dead in crisp-and-clear HDCD. The set also comes with an essay by Dennis McNally and of course photos of the band - and their mighty Wall of Sound.

Track listing:

Disc 1 - State Fairgrounds, Des Moines, IA 6/16/74

1. China Cat Sunflower

2. I Know You Rider

3. The Race Is On

4. Eyes of the World

5. Big River

6. U.S. Blues

7. Playing In The Band

Disc 2 - Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY 6/18/74

1. Loose Lucy

2. Eyes of the World

3. China Doll

4. Weather Report Suite

5. Jam

6. Other One

7. It's A Sin Jam

8. Stella Blue

Bonus Disc

1. Morning Dew (6/18/74)

2. Around and Around (6/18/74)

3. Deal (6/16/74)

4. Greatest Story Ever Told (6/16/74)

5. Truckin' (6/16/74)

6. Nobody's Jam (6/16/74)

7. Wharf Rat (6/16/74)

8. GDTRFB (6/16/74)

9. Sugar Magnolia (6/18/74)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars my first Dead concert is finally an official bootleg!, January 27, 2010

By 

R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" (a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Road Trips: Vol. 2, No. 3 - Wall of Sound (2 CD + Bonus Disc) (Audio CD)

Wow, I didn't really think it would ever happen, but here it is -- the June 16th, 1974 show at the Iowa County Fairgrounds in Des Moines. My girlfriend and I drove 8 hours from Chicago to be there. We had just graduated from high school. What an adventure! The speed limit was 55 MPH in response to the OPEC oil embargo, and there was a recession. But I was barreling along I-80 at 80, well above the previous limit of 70 so we wouldn't be late -- the Dead were waiting on the other end!

We sat about half-way up the stands facing the Wall of Sound. I remember that at points the music would drop off to ppp, but we could still hear the guitars -- Jerry, Bobby and Phil -- like they were close enough to touch. Interesting, despite the vast sound array the mix was off -- the vocals and drums were too low. But the guitars -- wow, incredible!

This Road Trips release is both exciting and annoying. Of course I would really like the entire Des Moines show, but this is only part of it. Disc 1 is from Des Moines, while Disc 2 is from Louisville two days later. And the *really* annoying part is that there is a bonus third disc that is now quite expensive to acquire. The 2-disc version can still be had cheaply directly from Deadnet, but for the 3-disc version we are now over a barrel. Given my personal experience, I had to locate a copy. Disc 3, the bonus disc, is nearly all Des Moines material, six more songs, including "Truckin'">Jam>"Wharf Rat" and "Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad." The Louisville disc features some nice jams leading into "The Other One" and then from it into a great closer, "Stella Blue."

Despite my affection for the recording of the show I attended, I can't say this is the best available 1974 show. That would be Dick's Picks 31, recorded August 4-6 in Philly and Jersey City. But this is quite good, it certainly captures the sound and some of the current material of the time, the songs from WAKE OF THE FLOOD and MARS HOTEL. To me at the time, it sounded like SKULL & ROSES with a jazzier edge provided by "Eyes of the World" and "Scarlet Begonias" especially.

And it brings back memories of the summer of '74!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the Best Road Trips So Far, June 23, 2009

By 

Bluesnat1 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road Trips: Vol. 2, No. 3 - Wall of Sound (2 CD + Bonus Disc) (Audio CD)

If you like Dicks Picks 1 and Dicks Picks 12, you will probably really like this release. The jam from WRS through Stella Blue is fantastic and shows what the Dead were capable of. Plus you get two Eyes, 1974, great wall of sound, great everything. Epic Playin'. No "filler". Even if you don't have any Dead yet, this is a great purchase for twenty bucks. I don't know if I'd start here, but its definitely essential listening.

Now, personally, I'm starting to like this road trips series again. The format of this release reminds me very much of DP 1, with disc 2 being the disc that, to my ears, reaches much farther into outer space. Especially during this time period, and with the wall of sound (Keith on the keys is represented nicely in mix), the Dead really do sound like the soundtrack for space exploration. Hold on to the edge of your seat. I'm not sure when (or if) we'll make it back.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great but..., September 18, 2010

By 

Dark Star-The Other One (The Bus To Never Ever Land) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Road Trips: Vol. 2, No. 3 - Wall of Sound (2 CD + Bonus Disc) (Audio CD)

Both 6-16 and 6-18-74 are great shows so why isn't this getting five? Well, because 6-16 and 6-18-74 are great shows. The fact is both shows had so much great music that there's still a lot of hot music missing from this release even with the bonus disc. These shows were pretty long and you could have simply made a two cd set of each show and still have more than enough to fill up a bonus disc. Better yet, forget the bonus disc and just make it a four cd set!!! Even the more "traditional" styled songs stood out on this run like Beat It On Down The Line from 6-18 where Jerry throws in My Old Kentucky Home during the guitar solo. Still, what is here is top notch but I do wished that they had released more of it.