Customer Reviews

To Terrapin: May 28, 1977 Hartford, CT

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Okay , I'll admit it. The Dead are one of my all-time faves. Writing an impartial review from the perspective of owning over 1,500 Dead discs is a tough challenge. However , it is from that vast collection that I can relish in a release such as this.
It would be 2 more months before Terrapin Station the studio album was set for release on July 27 , 1977. The boys (and one girl) were in Hartford on closing night of a grueling tour. Fans were treated to many faves , and what would soon become staples of the Dead shows in years to come. "Terrapin Station" , "Estimated Prophet" , "Samson And Delilah" are all heard in their infancy stages.
Many felt these same songs (especially the title track) were subsequently overblown on the studio release ; not here. Stripped down and performed with remarkable energy.
And a 20 minute "Sugaree" ? Geez , this band knew what a live performance should be.
So , I finally can put the audience recording of this historic show away in the archives , as I now proudly own history in HDCD.
I can't imagine if you are reading this review that you might be unfamiliar with what the Dead stood for. Maybe you are curious about discovering what all the fuss is about. This would be a great place to start.

The debate over the greatest year of live Grateful Dead music, will just never end. Some folks believe 1969, will never be bested, others are crazy about those ultra-long jammed out years: 1972, 1973 & 1974. Modern Dead Heads, will toss in 1985 & 1989-90 as peak years, of a band travelin' down a long, long road. My favorite year of live Grateful Dead music is: 1977.

The spring tour of 1977, began on: 04-22-77 at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pa. and ended at Civic Center in Hartford, Ct. on 05-28-77. Twenty six shows: Boston, Springfield, Passaic, New York City, Buffalo, St. Paul, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, Richmond, Baltimore, New Haven and even some place called: Barton Hall at Cornell University, in Ithaca, NY on May 8th.

Tapes of all the shows have circulated for many years now, and they have become keystones to a proper GD tape collection. The third installment in the: "Dick's Picks" CD series, was lifted from this tour at Pembroke Pines, Florida on: 05/22/77. Atlanta, also made the cut for a big "Dick's Picks" set from the great Fox Theater shows of: May 18th & 19th.

So here, we arrive at the last stop to Terrapin; Hartford, Ct. And these three CD's, are the reason that those turtles can't stop dancing! With the killer one-two punch of: Bertha>Good Lovin' we begin the journey into this big night of music. "Sugaree" is a: dance/trance epic of over 19 minutes of controled fury, as it builds & builds, teases & expands, slides & snakes, all tied to the beat that is relentless. The: "Row Jimmy" featured here, is my personal favorite, of zillions of live versions I have heard, it is so unique and fresh sounding here, that it is now like a brand new tune.

But some real magic happens in the second set with: Estimated Prophet>Playin'>Terrapin Station>Drums>Not Fade Away>Wharf Rat>Playin' that is a non-stop sixty seven minutes of beauty, that deserves to be heard. Phil, drops: "bombs" in all the right places, Jerry, sings and plays an 11 on a ten-scale. Donna, hits all the notes perfectly, Bobby, sounds like he is on a mission, Keith, gives one of his best performances well...ever! And the beast that is: Billy and Mickey, is one big beast here. Tension, dynamics, control and exploration are all found in this hour-plus of musical nirvana. This is one of the greatest second sets, that this band ever played in a thirty year career....we got magic here on disc number three!

The art of this package by Scott Mc Dougall, is wonderful! The discs within also contain his art, as an added touch. The paper packaging, is a problem as discs one and three are not easy to remove and could be damaged when you try to do so. Disc two, tends to fly right outta the sleeve...so be ready for that. So, yes the packaging is not so great, but the music herein, should find a home with any one the enjoys a rockin' good time and lot's a moon-lit terrapins, heading down that long road on one more Saturday night.

This is one of the best sets of live Grateful Dead music, that you are gonna come across.
FIVE STARS !!!

I've had a copy of this show for years, but this release's pristine sound makes me appreciate the inticacies of these beautiful songs even more. 5/28/77 sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of all the great spring '77 shows, but trust me, this one's a monster, and shows the Dead at the peak of their powers.

The first set contains very strong versions of Bertha, Jack Straw, Minglewood, and an absolutely breathtaking Row Jimmy. Jerry pours his heart out here, the notes just dripping from his guitar. Wow. Not to mention what could be the definitive Sugaree, at almost 20 minutes long. Three separate and totally unique jams throughout, taking you on a journey only the Dead can provide. Of course Candyman is always a treat, and this time is no different, with some great vocals from Jerry, Bob, and Donna.

The second set speaks for itself: Estimated Prophet>Playing in the Band>Terrapin Station>Drums>Not Fade Away>Wharf Rat>Playing reprise, with some of the most fluid playing of '77. It's amazing how tight they are, even when in deep, exploration mode. By the time you start freaking out due to the intensity of the set, they bring you back to Earth with rollicking versions of One More Saturday Night and US Blues, capping off a near-perfect 3 hours of music.

If you loved Dick's Picks #3 or #29, or the Grateful Dead in general, then you can't pass this up. This would also make a perfect introduction for a newbie, as it strikes that perfect balance between head-bobbing, catchy grooves and deeper exploratory jams. Amazing sound, amazing playing, 5 stars! Now, time to get back to building that time machine of mine.

This is one of the most energetic, harmonious and tight Dead shows I've ever heard. And the sound quality is superb.

I haven't listened to the Dead much lately, mainly because I grew bored with the setlists, but this CD has re-ignited my enthusiasm. Bobby sounds absolutely pumped. Jerry's at the top of his game. Even Donna sounds great (a concern of mine when selecting Dead shows), enhancing the harmony with her backup vocals. You can tell they're all having a blast.

Combine this amazing performance with superb sound quality and a cool booklet insert, and this CD should not to be missed.

Overall a stellar release.

I've downloaded a lot of fantastic sounding Dead shows from archive.org over the years, and in the pursuit of better and better sound, I've amassed a very respectable collection of official live releases (Dick's Picks, From the Vault, etc.) as well.

Many of the official releases have really good sound quality, but this just blows them all away.

1977 is pretty unanimously regarded as one of the Dead's strongest. Many of us have already had this show and heard it time and again, but I know I speak for a lot of people when I say these CDs bring out that magic feeling of listening to it for the first time all over again.

The level of detail that is revealed here is nothing short of mind blowing.

The setlist is awesome for Dead veterans, but I can also confidently recommend this as a great starting point if you're just beginning to explore the great mystery and wonder that is The Grateful Dead.

There have been so many "releases from the vault" from the Grateful Dead's illustrious career that sometimes it is hard to tell one is really, as in REALLY, worth it, but this one surely is one of them.

"To Terrapin: Hartford '77" (3 CDs; 21 tracks; 172 min.) brings the last show of the Dead's Spring 1977 tour, and the band is at the top of its game. In some corners of deadhead fandom, the era with the Godchaux (keyboardist Keith and vocalist Donna) is not the best of the Dead, even suspicicous, but I'm not one of those. I've always had a weak spot for that era, and it couldn't be more vindicated by this release. CD1 starts off with a delicious 30 min. Bertha>Good Lovin'>Sugaree. CD2 contains a lot of shorter songs, including a delightful "Brown-Eyed Woman". CD3 brings the best of this release, an hour-long journey starting with the then-new "Estimated Prophet", then morphing into "Playing In the Band" and on and on, just fabulous. The set ends with an exuberant "One More Saturday Night" and the closer "U.S. Blues". Wow. This is an essential live CD release for any Dead fan, period.

I just came back from seeing the revived/revamped Dead at the Forum in LA and the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View on its 2009 Spring tour, after a 5 year lay-off, and I am here to tell you that my expectations were surpassed, and then some. Over those two nights, the band played a number of songs found on this release, including Bertha, Sugaree, Good Lovin', One More Saturday Night, and Wharf Rat, but a bunch of other jems like Viola Lee Blues, Slipknot! and a Rolling Stones cover each night. The band sounded really tight, and came across interested and engaged. It's great to see the band back on the road, playing great, and I hope that they will continue touring. Meanwhile, "To Terrapin" is HIGHLY recommended!

I love the Grateful Dead. They're one of my favorite bands. I'll say that right off the bat so you don't think I'm a hater.

I've got a ton of official Dead live releases and 10 times as many (or more) nonofficial live bootlegs. 1977 was a good year for Dead and May was the best month of that year for live stuff. That said, this show turned out to me to be a disappointment: The soundboard recording is not terribly mixed well, the band doesn't play all that great (screwups all over the place) and the playing isn't as inspired as other shows from the May 77 run. This may have been a show Deadheads were itching to have released, but to my ears there were other May 77 shows that are much much better than this one.

There are many more wonderful Dick's Picks or vault recordings to go after well before getting to this one. For the newbie, steer clear and go get the classic first week run of 5/7, 5/8 and 5/9/77. You'll thank me later.

BTW, I have no idea how anyone in their right mind can give this show a perfect 5 stars. You should know better. And the 20 minute Sugaree that toots everybody's horn on these reviews? Sure, it's the longest Sugaree ever--but is it the BEST??? That's what counts...

Love the Dead, I just don't love this particular night all that much. 1977 gets overhyped sometimes. 1971-72 is better, but that's a different argument altogether...

I have been a Grateful Dead devotee since the early 70's, but upon receiving the announcement of "To Terrapin" I was very skeptical. It just seemed like the same old Grateful Dead with many songs I did not particularly like. However, wanting a new CD to listen to in the car, and swayed by some positive Amazon reviews, I finally ordered it. I have seldom been so pleasantly surprised by an album. The Dead are crisp, full of energy, technically strong, imaginative, and totally together. Many Dead concerts and albums were uneven; brilliance interspaced with the tiresome, but everything on "To Terrapin" is great. Sugaree is wonderful, but so are Jack Straw, Brown-Eyed Woman, Terrapin station, Playing in the Band, and actually everything else. I thought Jack Straw, Brown-Eyed Woman, Good Lovin, and Samson and Delilah were some of my least favorite Dead songs, but it is as if I heard them for the first time and loved them from the start. The Grateful Dead were incredibly "on" that night and I am thankful for the chance to experience it.

Won't add to other reviewers' essays; just want to register my amazement at the incredible fidelity of the recording. Unlike the Dick's Pics, there's no "caveat" on the box re the iffy sound quality due to poor quality late 1970's tape stock. Perhaps this date was recorded on a different brand or lot of tape that did not suffer from the loss of oxide problem. Or maybe they "baked" it correctly and then transferred it to a modern medium immediately. Regardless, the result is truly amazing. Great live recording for '77 or '09.

Though I never considered myself a deadhead, I've been listening to the Grateful Dead since one afternoon in 1964, when I first heard them jamming in the gym at College of Marin. They only got better with the years. And to me 1977 to 1981 or so was their peak years--a period I've always thought of as the Terrapin years. This album is aptly named, since it was pretty much the Dead's introduction of that song, along with a few other tunes from "Terrapin Station." Judging by the popularity of Dead records over the years, it seems that Grateful Dead music of the early 1970s is most popular with deadicated fans, but It's hard to beat "Estimated Prophet," "Samson & Delilah," or "Passenger," all of which appeared at that time. Another reason to like that period is the presence of Donna Godchaux's rich voice with the Dead (as well as with Jerry Garcia on his classic "Cats under the Stars"). For those like me who have only a few Dead concert recordings, this one is hard to beat, as are "Dozin at the Knick" and "The Closing of Winterland" (which I listened to live on the radio that New Year's Eve in rainy Monte Rio). Both contain great versions of "Terrapin Station." Despite the condescending snobbery of those Deadheads who prefer the group's earliest output, I have always felt that the Dead continued to develop and improve their sound and music over the years, well into the '80s. For what it's worth, this old-time fan wholeheartedly recommends "To Terrapin," as well as their other late '70s and their 80's output.