Customer Reviews

Two From the Vault

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is probably the best recording to ever come out of the Grateful Dead's vault.If you are new to the dead and have only heard their radio hits like Uncle John's Band or Casey Jones, and buy this, you'll get in my opinion, their best. Oh yeah, the last 2 songs are great, but this is what the Grateful Dead were known for. The first disc opens with classic blues sung by the greatest frontman in the history of rock and roll, the late Great Pigpen McKernan (1945-1973) "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" is the name and it lasts for 14 minutes. That's what the Grateful Dead usually did to the songs, jam. I have to say now that the Grateful Dead were obviously the greatest band ever. Yes, I am a Deadhead but it's pretty plain to see. They could play pretty much everything. This was recorded back on August 23, 1968 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA and is classic prime psychadellic dead.The jams on this gem are priceless and the songs really show that the Grateful Dead were already sprouting out to other genres, especially in their great cover of the Vietnam protest song Morning Dew. I definatly recommend this to a Grateful Dead newcomer and if you are I say WELCOME! WELCOME to the wonderful world of the Grateful Dead. It is clear to me that you have a great taste in music.

Far and Away my favorite live recording from the Dead. For almost a year, this was the only music in my car. I (like one of the other reviewers here) must have listened to this album hundreds of times...a real tribute to what an incredibly close-knit group of musicians this really was, and this was when the band was still in its infancy. Pig Pen is really one of the great blues vocalists of the 60s and 70s; of all time if he hadn't self-destructed. Dark Star/Saint Stephen/The Eleven on this disc is is some of the best live music ever recorded. Death Don't Have No Mercy will chill you to the bone. A complete and brilliant The Other One...and it all ends fittingly with the power being shut off during Morning Dew to stop the show. I get the feeling if they hadn't pulled the plug, the guys would still be playing. If your a casual Dead fan, this album will introduce you to what the Grateful Dead were all about. I'm sure the Deadheads at this show still haven't come down thirty years later. Buy this album and see what all the fuss is about. Worth ten times what you'd ever pay for it.

I'd give the first CD 5 stars. In spite of a few slips (like the opening vocals of "The Eleven") the songs are well played and engaging. It also gives an early, early picture of "Dark Star," in which you can see the roots of what was to become one of the great psychedellic extravaganzas of all time. Disk two is weaker. It has a great "The other one," and fair versions of "Lovelight" and "Morning Dew," but "New Potato Caboose" stumbles and mumbles and lacks direction (though the version on "Anthem" is one of my all time favorite dead songs).

This is what is known as "Primal Dead." 1968 was a landmark year for the Dead. This is when the real unique music making for them started to take place. The Dark Star is simple,short and lacks the exploration that would take place in just a few months, The St.stephen is rushed and not yet fully developed. However the Eleven, Death Don't Have No Mercy sequence is great. The jam between the two songs is as intense as it ever got for the Dead in their 30 year history. The Eleven is compared to the Live Dead version by some. In some ways it is even better than that version. The intensity just explodes. Pure improvisational excellence unmatched by any group then or now. This passage of music will never be duplicated in it's technical exacusion or imagination. Listen and you will believe. The second disk contains what is probably the best New Potato Caboose ever. This is a very difficult song to play with it's unusual chord changes. The Dead played this song for only a year or so and this version is definitive. The version of Morning Dew is cut when the power goes out on stage. Pigpen also sings excellent versions of Good Morning Little School Girl and a rousing Lovelight. If you ever wanted to dance to "Hippie" music now is your chance with these two R&B cover tunes. The sound quality is excellent considering the original source was from what I understand quite bad. The Dead pride themselves on Live recordings, and this release proves that point. This is not your typical FM pop music. If you wonder what alternative music was like in the late 60's get this and you will realize it still holds up as not just alternative rock music, but just great music period.

I was formally just a casual Grateful Dead fan, being introduced to them through Phish (most people have this happen the other way around). However, after listening to Two From the Vault, especially the Dark Star on the first disc, my appreciation for this band's brilliance instantly skyrocketed.

This was my first ever dead album I bought in 1994. I have played this album so much, I think I wore out the cds. I have come back to buy new ones cause mine are full of skips. Everytime I listen to this album, I always get happy. I am listening right now as I have found it, dusted it off and am enjoying.
There is a lot of really really good dead and this is at the top of the list for the era. Just PURE listen pleasure. BUY IT! SPREAD THE DEAD!!!!!

I have had this CD for almost a year now and I must have listened to it hundreds of times. There was a one-week spread, for example, when I heard the entire CD One at least once a day. For beginners, I am a huge "Dark Star" fan. This version features a vigorous guitar line and tight, brilliant improvisation that would rival anything in music today. When Jerry slows into "Death don't have no mercy," after an intense "The Eleven," I am reminded of how much soul and passion he had. That CD alone is worth the price.

Although I listen to that CD regularly, I have listened to CD 2 at just as intense of a pace. Every song is awesome. Take the astonishing "New Potato Caboose." In this song, we here a spacey, unpredictable opening, as Jerry and the band explore and experiment. Then, Phil takes charge in a beautiful bass-lead performance. He starts in a steady pulse, building precisely and mathematically like a good Beethoven symphony. Then, he poors on the real fire as the jam goes into five minutes. Suddenly, out of the blue, Jerry starts in, with a creative and soul-moving solo. And that's just the first half of the song!

By the end of the CD, you'll want to start it all over again. Wonderful.

Step 1: Drop Tab. Step 2: Wait 60-90 minutes. Step 3: Cue up disk #1. Step 4: Explode.

If you are a Deadhead, if you collect their live recordings to any degree, you need to own this set. The sound quality is a revelation, setting it apart from just about anything else from this era. Warner Bros recorded these two shows (Shrine Auditorium 8/23-24/68) to 8-track, but the tape was considered unusable for many years, until Dan Healy and Don Pearson managed to digitally synch up the tracks and re-mix it in 1992. From a performance standpoint, it is a must-hear also. The playing is tight and enthusiastic, and the group sticks their harmonies consistently. "Schoolgirl" kicks things off with Pigpen's harmonica, organ, and swagger on full display. "Dark Star" here is a primitive two-chord jam, but it's tight, even if Pig's contributions to the song can't equal what TC or Keith would later bring. Then things really get going - "St.Stephen/Eleven/Death..." is beautiful, the complete "Other One" is #*@$ing brilliant, Phil's bass sings on "New Potato Caboose", "Lovelight" is downright orgiastic, and a churning, electrified "Morning Dew" gets ended a few seconds prematurely (the band was shut down by the police). Truly a memorable set from the Dead.

These discs are not for the faint of heart. I bought this when it came out expecting something akin to One From the Vault which I fell in love with instantly. I was terribly disappointed. It wasn't until years later that I fell in love with the late-60s Dead which IMO is a totally different beast than mid-70s, 80s, and early 90s. Of course the songs are long- there's only 4 per disc for crying out loud. But almost every song is a tight jam. If you want to hear Sugar Mag, go elsewhere. But this has become one of my favorites.