Other Mixes By Rob Conroy
CD
|
Single Artist
CD
|
Mixed Genre
CD
|
Mixed Genre
Cassette
|
Single Artist
Billy Sunday & His Shotgun Ragtime Band (Disc 1)
Artist | Song | |
The Grateful Dead | The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) | |
The Grateful Dead | New, New Minglewood Blues | |
The Grateful Dead | Viola Lee Blues | |
The Grateful Dead | Born Cross-Eyed | |
The Grateful Dead | Dark Star | |
The Grateful Dead | That's It for the Other One: Cryptical Envelopment/Quadlibet for Tender Feet/The Faster We Go, The Rounder We Get/We Leave the Castle | |
The Grateful Dead | St. Stephen | |
The Grateful Dead | Mountains of the Moon | |
The Grateful Dead | The Eleven | |
The Grateful Dead | Dark Hollow [live at the Fillmore East, 2/13/70] | |
The Grateful Dead | Uncle John's Band | |
The Grateful Dead | High Time | |
The Grateful Dead | Dire Wolf | |
The Grateful Dead | Black Peter | |
The Grateful Dead | Box of Rain | |
The Grateful Dead | Friend of the Devil | |
Comment:
This is the first of a three-disc, chronological set covering the seven years (1967-74) by this band that matters to me. Although I really can't stand much of anything that they or any of their side projects did (live or studio) from 1975's Blues for Allah until the present and absolutely detest the uber-lame jam band culture that they spawned, I absolutely *love* their early work. Despite the fact that I have plenty of live shows from this period, for the purposes of this mix, all of the versions here are the "standard", officially-released versions from that time.Feedback:
I like a few of their singles off AB & UJB, but I do think the "scene" gets in the way of my enjoyment of their music. As a cosmic convergence, my quad buddy Steve (the Wad) happened to be in San Fran the weekend Garcfa died. He and his brother, in true punk spirit, set out as their goal to get a hippie to spit on a gimp. So Steve launched into a barrage of insults and jokes about deadheads just to piss people off left and right. Although he never actually got spit on, one chick did slap him. The only joke I remember though (or that he remembered through the haze) is the one I have posted before, what do you call a deadhead who just broke up with his girlfriend?
well, rob, you already know my stance on this band, so i won't get into that - however, i commend you on your passion, as always
Nice S.A.M. Rob. Uncle John's Band and China Cat Sunflower are particular favorites.
Well, for the period you covered, I think you hit most of the studio highlights. I might quibble a bit around the edges (i.e. trading some of the Weir Ace material for, say, "Cosmic Charlie" or "Sugar Magnolia" or Garcia's "The Wheel"), but otherwise I'm with you.
I do have two bigger disagreements. First of all, I think Blues For Allah (the atrocious title suite aside) is one of their best albums, perhaps second only to American Beauty, and I'm hard-pressed to tell why you dislike it so (certainly "Franklin's Tower" is among their finest studio tracks). Yes, they took a decided turn for the worse after that (though I find a couple tracks to like on most of their later subsequent albums), but I wouldn't slight them entirely.
Second, while I understand the tendency among many of us to slag "uber-lame jam band culture," I'll be the first to admit that some of the best times of my life were spent at Dead shows. Whether this was musical, cultural, social, or (most likely) chemical I can't say, but however crappy they may have been in the later years, Jerry's death made a major dent in my happiness level that's never quite been replaced.
I do have two bigger disagreements. First of all, I think Blues For Allah (the atrocious title suite aside) is one of their best albums, perhaps second only to American Beauty, and I'm hard-pressed to tell why you dislike it so (certainly "Franklin's Tower" is among their finest studio tracks). Yes, they took a decided turn for the worse after that (though I find a couple tracks to like on most of their later subsequent albums), but I wouldn't slight them entirely.
Second, while I understand the tendency among many of us to slag "uber-lame jam band culture," I'll be the first to admit that some of the best times of my life were spent at Dead shows. Whether this was musical, cultural, social, or (most likely) chemical I can't say, but however crappy they may have been in the later years, Jerry's death made a major dent in my happiness level that's never quite been replaced.
this will be an education for me. of course, they're an institution in the sense doowad mentions, but it'd be nice to try to push the Grateful Dead bumper-sticker mania out of your head and listen to their music for its own sake.
an education for me as well...
I'd like to know what all the hype is about, but never dared to ask a Deadhead.
Fell in love with a Deadhead once... Caused me to buy a few of their albums including their 3 LP set entitled Europe '72 which I still possess (survived me parting with most of my records during a recent move).One of my favorite experiences was attending a performance by the Jerry Garcia Band at The Warfield in San Francisco in the early '90s. Another was a free concert in Golden Gate Park, where The Dead performed (along with CCR, The Airplane, Santana, and Crosby, Stills & Nash) for the 20th anniversary of the Summer of Love.Looks like a fine compilation and I look forward to seeing the rest of the collection.