Customer Reviews

Truckin Up to Buffalo July 4 1989

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While I am neither a Deadhead nor a Dead Detractor, I do appreciate good music done by great musicians. With so much exterior baloney and cultural hoo-ha surrounding the Dead, a lot of people forget how hard they worked at becoming world class musicians. They succeeded. What comes across more than anything on this wonderfully mastered recording is the amount of energy that they had this night. When complimenting the Dead, everyone singles out Jerry's Guitar, Bob W.'s vocals and rhythms, or the two drummers working as one. Myself, I tip my hat to Phil Lesh. He anchors it all while retaining a great sense of melody on an instrument that many take for granted. Listen to the way he walks up and down during Row Jimmy. At some points he is going the opposite direction of Garcia and they still blend perfectly. Other times he takes the lead. He propels the song forward until it assumes its own direction. It is beautiful and expressive bass playing. Rhino is to be commended for the work they have put into preserving the live legacy of the Dead. The packaging is a crack-up.

1989 for the Grateful Dead was the top of the mountain. They had never been more popular and their playing was top notch. Jerry was in great shape and playing like he never had a coma and the magic was all there. Sadly, the fourth keyboardist Brent Mydland would die more than a year later (July 26, 1990) giving the nickname to the keyboard chair the "Hot Seat" by the other bandmembers especially since this was not the final departure for the keyboardist after Bruce Hornsby left in 1992.

But look on the bright side folks. This is prime Grateful Dead. The songlist may not be perfect (not as good as Nightfall of Diamonds from that same year) but the playing is superb

Being a Deadhead myself (or just a Deadhead wannabe) I can safely say that this is a wonderful release from the "Greatest rock and roll band that ever was."-Bill Graham (not the preacher, the 60's and 70's rock promoter who died of helicoptor crash in 1991). Grateful Dead newcomers. I say welcome to the happy land of the Grateful Dead and buy this one if you wish. It will convince you of the greatness of these gods and make you light a candle on August 9.
(...)

This show is taken from the Dead's last great run. Everything came together after the resurrection of Jerry and everything comes together in this show. The mix and mastering are great. It seems like every instrument and voice are at the right level and the effect is pleasing. Personally, I do not like Brent's "I will take you home" (maybe it's too gentle for me to handle), but these CDs are filled with so many great renditions of Dead songs that I'll take it!

A decade after the passing of Jerry Garcia, the Dead finally has released a document of the band's live experience that does the band a solid.
The video quality is crisp, the camera angles and shot selections are in harmony with the action on stage, and the sound is nearly perfect. On top of these technical and artistic decisions, the show itself, in terms of song selection and musicianship, is a gem.
Garcia, often slighted for his indifferent appearance live, is at his animated best, and what he lacks in vocal range, he more than compensates for in soulful delivery, much like the late Ray Charles.
On this night, Garcia's playful mastery of the six string is on full display. His solos might be too economic for those devoted to his 60s-era psychedelic odysseys, but his playing speaks volumes within a few bars. "Bertha" is a fluid, chicken pickin' delight, and his fat, funky, behind-the-beat riff on "Cold Rain and Snow" inspires him to kick up his heels while admiring the rhythmic alchemy of his cohorts.
The rest of the band fires on all cylinders throughout. Phil Lesh is amazing, providing aggressive bottom at just the right times while traversing the fretboard with elastic ease. Weir's chordal coloring is just right in the mix, and his vocals are consistently strong, while Kreutzmann and Hart are locked in with precision, power, and taste.
Brent Mydland shows why he was a favorite foil for Garcia, in constant communication with the band leader, ripping tasty riffs, especially on his Hammond B-3 organ. Mydland would die within a year of this performance, making his lullaby, "I Will Take You Home," that much more poignant.
If you love the Dead, this DVD is a must have. If you have always been curious why this band was hailed as iconic, like Zeppelin and the Who, this is an excellent window into the "why."

This is one of the finest performances of the Dead's later years and today, August 9, 2005 is the tenth year anniversery of Jerry's death. Make it a good one with this wonderful set.

I was this concert, and it was amazing! I would go back to the year 1963 and do all the traveling again. I would follow the grateful dead for the rest of my life if I could, i kid you not. But this concert was awesome, and during the song "looks like rain", it actually rained! i was at just about every dead show for 30 years, and it never rained when they it. definetly get this, it is a must have for anybody who even half likes the grateful dead.

I'm no Dead-at-all-costs fanatic, though I appreciate the band, Jerry's evident musicianship, and have a dozen or so live releases, most of the studio albums, and a bunch of the excellent reissue series of Jerry's solo live and studio work.

This is definitely one of the best live shows of the latter period. Jerry's voice and guitar are in fine, efficient (for Jerry) form, the band is energetic and lively, the set list interesting. I agree with the reviewer who noted the rythmic and harmonic sophistication of Phil Lesh's bass on this gig -- just listen to him on "Terrapin Station" or the beautiful "Ship of Fools."

Although Dead fans have heard "Row Jimmy Row" many times and in many different settings, I found this one particularly poignant and touching, coming as it does on the 4th of July and near the end of the long strange trip this amazing American musical, cultural, and spiritual force took us on.

I was right in front of the stage at this show. The best sound, of course, isn't right in front of the stage, but I was always fascinated by watching Garcia and Lesh's fretwork up close and personal. Fortunately, Rhino has released this 2-disc set and I can now experience the music in a way I was unable to back in '89.

In retrospect, this was a great show. I think that, at the time, I was disappointed at the set list. The Dead had a prodigious repertoire of country and blues standards, as well country- and blues-inspired songs that they wrote themselves. This material made up over half of this show. I liked their "jazzier" material (for lack of a better term) and their ballads. Of these, only "Terrapin Station" and "Row Jimmy" appeared. [I don't count "I Will Take You Home" as a favorite ballad, because it's nauseatingly treacle.]

What about the music? Listening to it, I realize that the show was much better than I imagined. Garcia just SHREDS "All Along the Watchtower"... some of his best pyrotechnic playing ever. "Row Jimmy" is emotionally powerful, and the "Terrapin Station" from this set is the one I use to practice my bass line. It's a classic rendition of the song, light and lyrical at the beginning... wildly explosive later on. A lot of the material is just fun stuff... like "Bertha", "Greatest Story Ever Told", "Man Smart, Woman Smarter", "Not Fade Away" and "US Blues"... but the band is SUPERtight and the solos are, by and large, spot on.

[Note: The "Playing in the Band" reprise-- which, strangely, is the only part of that song that appears in this show (thus, reprising nothing)-- also has a nice jam in it... though nothing like those extended ones from days of yore.]

So, looking back, it was a fun show with a lot of energy and some great Garcia virtuosity. OK... Garcia's voice is a little painful in "Ship of Fools"... but wasn't it always? This is from 1989. Garcia and Weir's voices weren't what they were in the early 70s... and the weren't even great back then!!! What's impressive is how much tighter the band was than in the 70s... despite how much Deadheads reminisce about that era. Even with the tighter format and presentation, there's a lot of improvisational freedom... and not just from Garcia. Did Phil Lesh ever HAVE a bass line, anyway? Neat stuff.

How about the CD set? First off... the sound is EXCELLENT. Crystal clean and no caffeine. The tracks seem to be cut at the right places, by and large. The cover is fun and colorful, with raised lettering. The insert has some great pictures of the boys... and the liner notes are informative, though the style of the writing is the typical Blair Jackson crap... full of nostalgic platitudes and general silliness.

You don't buy a Dead album for the liner notes, however.

What's my recommendation?

If you don't have it, buy it. [If you have it, why are you reading this review? Go listen to it.] It's a lot of Dead for $25. It may not satisfy the hardest of the hardcore Deadheads, because of the set list and the rather short jams. But even the hardcore Deadhead should recognize how much fun this show is... so don't buy it if you don't like having fun.

Superb! Good song list,strong vocals,esp.Jerry and Brent.Jerrys guitar work stands strong,and one of the few recordings that has Phils bass properly mixed so the listener can enjoy one of the best rock bassmen of all time!This recording is not just for the loyal Deadhead(ME!)but a nice intro.to the later Dead for the general listener.

One of the band's great 80's concerts and it's also available on DVD. This is both worthwhile on cd and DVD. Many of the songs on here are near definitive vrsions from that year. Starting with a blowaway Bertha -> Greatest Story thru the pounding US Blues encore. The only weak spot is I Will Take You Home and that probably because I've never really liked that song