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pauldo
Advanced Member
Username: pauldo

Post Number: 242
Registered: 6-2006
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 6:39 am:   Edit Post

I have always really enjoyed In the Dark the whole album is packed with solid material. I realize that there are Dead albums out there that I have not heard completely - hence the question:

If you had to recommend just one Grateful Dead album - which one would it be?

(Message edited by pauldo on August 20, 2009)
dadabass2001
Senior Member
Username: dadabass2001

Post Number: 1251
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 6:47 am:   Edit Post

Oof! Not fair, coz there's too many great ones...
Alright my personal fave is still possibly Skull and Roses (their second live album) no overdubs and Phil's tone is phenomenal!
Also a good blend of songs that became signatures for years.
Mike
smokinbear
Junior
Username: smokinbear

Post Number: 31
Registered: 11-2008
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 7:15 am:   Edit Post

American Beauty. Some of the best songs are on this alblum and Phil's tone is simply perfect for the mix. But in reality all of the alblums are great listening but to really "get on the bus" give archive.org a listen cause a live Grateful Dead show is really where the music shines.
pas
Advanced Member
Username: pas

Post Number: 201
Registered: 3-2003
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 7:15 am:   Edit Post

Europe '72
bassman10096
Senior Member
Username: bassman10096

Post Number: 1232
Registered: 7-2003
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 7:49 am:   Edit Post

Europe '72 edges out Skull and Roses simply because it has more music. Either would be fine with me and suitable to recommend to anyone.
sonicus
Advanced Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 254
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 7:54 am:   Edit Post

But you said JUST ONE! oh well_ I just can't follow directions , SORRY I could not pick just one _______
sonicus
Advanced Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 255
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 8:02 am:   Edit Post

Ok then will compromise a bit!

Studio work; WORKINGMAN'S DEAD
LIVE ; LIVE/DEAD
Love the "Dark Star" on that_
"The transitive nightfall of diamonds" has a new special significance to me.
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 8605
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 8:09 am:   Edit Post

Paul; if you had to play with just one string on your bass, which string would it be? If you had to live in a house that only had one wall, which wall would it be?

Ok; so I'll pick Mars Hotel. And since I don't like your "pick only one" rules, I'm not going to tell you why I picked Mars Hotel. So there!

Hee hee !!
pas
Advanced Member
Username: pas

Post Number: 202
Registered: 3-2003
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 8:41 am:   Edit Post

Dave,

I'm not sure I'm correctly understanding your somewhat cryptic query to me - perhaps you could clarify?
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 8606
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 8:50 am:   Edit Post

Hah! There are two Pauls in this thread! Sorry about that, I was responding to the initial post that asked that we recommend just one Grateful Dead album; thus my one bass string, one wall response.
pas
Advanced Member
Username: pas

Post Number: 203
Registered: 3-2003
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 9:00 am:   Edit Post

Stay between the lines Dave...the lines are your friends... :-)
elwoodblue
Senior Member
Username: elwoodblue

Post Number: 808
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 9:28 am:   Edit Post

Yeah, that's a tough one, like saying would you rather have water or air.

I love the recordings from Radio City Music hall 1980 .
phylo
Intermediate Member
Username: phylo

Post Number: 125
Registered: 10-2005
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 9:48 am:   Edit Post

Sticking to studio albums, it's Wake of the Flood.

For live albums check out Dozin at the Knick, it's more of your preferred late model era.
glocke
Senior Member
Username: glocke

Post Number: 633
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 10:29 am:   Edit Post

If I had to chose one dead album to live with forever it would be Europe '72.
terryc
Senior Member
Username: terryc

Post Number: 1002
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 10:47 am:   Edit Post

dave..apart from keeping us all in line I sometimes think you are on something and whatever it is can you send some to me(LOL)
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 8607
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 10:59 am:   Edit Post

Terry; your request has been filled and was shipped today at 1:58pm EDT.
dnburgess
Senior Member
Username: dnburgess

Post Number: 644
Registered: 1-2003
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 2:11 pm:   Edit Post

I'm not really a Dead Head - but American Beauty will always be special for me because we used to use the Mobile Fidelity pressing as a demo record in the hifi store in which I worked as a teeenager.
cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member
Username: cozmik_cowboy

Post Number: 540
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 2:35 pm:   Edit Post

Just one? I couldn't do it. Different Dead for different moods. I can tell you In The Dark wouldn't be it. If you want me to recommend one album for someone else, I'd need more info. Into exquisite songs? Working Man's Dead. Into full-blown jamming? Live/Dead. Can't decide? Europe '72 (Like Bill said, only because it has more music than Grateful Dead/Skeleton & Roses/Skullf**k). Looking for the flat-out best bass tone ever recorded? S&R. But the best advise I coukld give is don't ask for one - ask what order to buy them all in. (My actual current favorite is an audience recording of Alpine Valley '82, with John Cippolina & a percussionist name escapes me sitting in - it was great then & it's great now. And there was this girl in the next car in the parking lot.....my buddy & I still talk about her in reverent tones.)

Peter
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 8611
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 3:42 pm:   Edit Post

I agree with Peter. Your life will be more complete if you own several Grateful Dead albums.

Of course, I also couldn't just pick three.
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 4058
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 4:21 pm:   Edit Post

Pick one Dead Album? No way, won't do it, wouldn't be prudent. lol

Dave: Ugly Rumors?

As I write this, I'm sitting on the very western edge of the continent, about 100 yards from the Pacific watching whales swim by. Life is good.

Bill, tgo
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 8613
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 4:32 pm:   Edit Post

Life is indeed good, Bill!
Which rumors?
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 4060
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 6:58 pm:   Edit Post

Mars Hotel - "Ugly Rumors" in the mirror.
pauldo
Advanced Member
Username: pauldo

Post Number: 243
Registered: 6-2006
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 7:51 pm:   Edit Post

This is good - I appreciate the efforts in attempting to pare it down to "just one".

This gives me some idea of what to look for, as mentioned earlier I am familiar with alot of the 'greatest hits' from the dead. Currently I only have Terrapin Station and In the Dark - the later seems to get poo-pooed by some folks (not just here) in off site discussions with others they indicate it as a 'sell-out'. ?

Skulls and Roses and Europe 72 seem to be the best bets.

Peter - I was at the Alpine Valley show in 82!
Did I see you there? I was the guy with the real shiny eyes!
Don't remember too much from it(something funny slipped into my drink):-\ I do know it was really coooool.

Dave - D-string and North side wall (just because those neighbors are so loud!) :-p
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 8618
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 8:32 pm:   Edit Post

Bill; Hah!! I never knew that! (Or if I did, those storage cells are gone) So no, that's not why I'm recommending Mars Hotel, but deciphering record covers certainly works as a good reason, or at least it did back when record covers were big enough to decipher. We used to spend quality time with a magnifying glass and some Roger Dean covers. My guess as to why I'm so partial to Mars Hotel may be that when it came out I often resembled the folks on the back cover while listening to it.
tom_z
Senior Member
Username: tom_z

Post Number: 589
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 11:09 pm:   Edit Post

Paul - here's a link to a streamable live performance from 05-08-77. It's considered by many to be a peak performance in a peak year. The audio quality of the recording is A+.

http://www.archive.org/details/gd77-05-08.sbd.hicks.4982.sbeok.shnf

Enjoy!
jerryme
Intermediate Member
Username: jerryme

Post Number: 136
Registered: 1-2008
Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 5:00 am:   Edit Post

If it means anthing I have about 2000 hours of live Grateful Dead, and I only own two albums; American Beauty and Workingman's Dead

Colin
sonicus
Advanced Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 258
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 5:21 am:   Edit Post

I heard a tape from a 1971 show at the Harding
Theater . Phil was playing his Alembic modified Gibson EB-3. That was an awesome performance that day, I will never forget the fire and furry that I heard in Phils playing that day! You could sense the fire and hear his intellect going to work.I liked the sound that Bass had.
sonicus
Advanced Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 259
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 5:27 am:   Edit Post

I find that the live recordings from the late 1960's to mid 1970's to have a certain magic to my ears.



(Message edited by sonicus on August 21, 2009)
spose
Advanced Member
Username: spose

Post Number: 270
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 8:37 am:   Edit Post

the dead made albums?
heh..

my favorite is "If Only I could Remember My Name" by David Crosby(1971)
maybe not an offical "Dead" album, but read the credits!
pas
Advanced Member
Username: pas

Post Number: 208
Registered: 3-2003
Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 8:59 am:   Edit Post

I have that one...on vinyl, no less.
spose
Advanced Member
Username: spose

Post Number: 271
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 9:26 am:   Edit Post

pas,
the bass tones on that album slay me. What basses do you think are on that record? I hear early Alembic tones(with flats) from both Lesh and Casady. I want to ask Crosby first hand when he comes to my town next month.
pas
Advanced Member
Username: pas

Post Number: 209
Registered: 3-2003
Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 9:54 am:   Edit Post

It was recorded in '70, released in '71. I'm guessing that Lesh was using the "Godfather" & Casady was using the Guild Starfire with Alembic guts. I don't know about Lesh, but I don't think Casady was using flat wounds. I'm going to see Hot Tuna on 08/25...I'll ask Jack if he used flats in the last millenium.
afrobeat_fool
Member
Username: afrobeat_fool

Post Number: 67
Registered: 7-2009
Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 10:33 am:   Edit Post

Hey, spose. I'll be at that show next month, wanna jam? I know a monster drummer that lives in Eugene named John Mahalic. Groovy cat, studied alot of Indian drumming and can really groove..
My fave studio is Wake of the flood. First album I got of the Dead in 78' I was 9yrs old and my brother gave it to me with There is one in every crowd, by Clapton. I have a cool brother. He also took me to see the Who in 79 or 80 when there was a bit of a seating problem at the Cincinnati, coliseum, and he held me above the fray. Love you Ter.
spose
Advanced Member
Username: spose

Post Number: 272
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Friday, August 21, 2009 - 10:46 am:   Edit Post

afrobeat fool
I would love to jam!

contact me thru email to set something up.

alembicseriesoneplayer at yahoo
edwin
Senior Member
Username: edwin

Post Number: 458
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 2:58 am:   Edit Post

I think that If I Could Only Remember My Name was the EB3. I don't think the Godfather was ready until late '71. Jack probably played a Guild of some sort. Probably the one with the magnesium channels.

Ace is another great GD album. The Playing jam on it is just about perfect.
sonicus
Advanced Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 263
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 3:22 am:   Edit Post

As I recall Phils EB-3 had 2 GUILD / HAGSTROM pick ups installed . Alembic did some work on it .What other ALEMBIC modifications did it have ????? I really liked the sound of that Bass _ yes I have said that before !
sonicus
Advanced Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 264
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 3:38 am:   Edit Post

Hi pas ,
In that era for those Bass players popular flat wound strings as per your post might have been Pyramid Gold, Framus and Guild

Just may be_______
dadabass2001
Senior Member
Username: dadabass2001

Post Number: 1253
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 7:26 pm:   Edit Post

I loved all of those albums (and have /had them all as well)! Paul said only 1, but any of these will shake the earth. I think Phil's playing was most amazing (for the period) on Live Dead. Talk about lead bass! He and Jerry were two sides of a twisting, flipping coin! I still don't know how he got that almost sitar-like sound in the middle of "Dark Star".

You can see Phil playing the EB-3 on the DVD "Festival Express", plus a lot of other great bits of musical history as well.
Mike

(Message edited by dadabass2001 on August 24, 2009)
sonicus
Advanced Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 269
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 9:39 pm:   Edit Post

I still find as much joy in "Dark Star" and even more appreciation as a 53 year old , then as the first time I heard it when I was 16.There is always a new treasure to find.
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 4064
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 8:01 am:   Edit Post

There is much to be discovered within the transitive nightfall of diamonds.

Bill, tgo
sonicus
Advanced Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 271
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 8:23 am:   Edit Post

Their illumination will guide you safely to the gifts of the universe.
cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member
Username: cozmik_cowboy

Post Number: 543
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 2:40 pm:   Edit Post

That's a big 10-4 on the "Dark Star", Wolf - and may I recommend the version form Paris, 5/4/72? I forget if it was Jerry or Mickey, but I read an interview where one of them said they believed that "Dark Star" was always playing somewhere in the universe, and sometimes they tapped into it so we could hear.

Peter
sonicus
Advanced Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 272
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - 4:14 pm:   Edit Post

Peter ,Thanks for the link info!
I could not get the link to link so I looked at the URL on the server and found it at www. archive.org . Olympia Theater Paris 5/4/72 . I am listening on a separate computer that I use for this that has a good sounding sound card as I type on my email computer. They have not gotten to DARK STAR yet . I am enjoying the performance from the beginning .__

Wolf ____
benson_murrensun
Intermediate Member
Username: benson_murrensun

Post Number: 163
Registered: 5-2007
Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 - 1:46 pm:   Edit Post

I like the "Skull and Roses" album best - even though Mickey is not on it. I believe the original name for the album was "Skullfuck."
glocke
Senior Member
Username: glocke

Post Number: 639
Registered: 9-2002
Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009 - 9:09 am:   Edit Post

Speaking of the 1972 paris shows, the 5/3/72 show was probably the first show I ever heard of the dead (pn tape, i was 5 when that show happened). Still one of favorite shows, and contains some of the most pyschedelic jamming Ive ever heard.

http://www.archive.org/details/gd1972-05-03.sbd.masse.6453.sbeok.shnf
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 4070
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009 - 9:41 am:   Edit Post

So I rented a car yesterday while my Highlander is in the shop. The car had XM radio. I fiddled around and found the Grateful Dead station just as they announced they were going to play the entire show from May 25, 1974, at U.C. Santa Barbara. I was at that show! This XM stuff is pretty cool. I'm going to have to see about getting one in my Highlander.

Bill, tgo
benson_murrensun
Intermediate Member
Username: benson_murrensun

Post Number: 164
Registered: 5-2007
Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009 - 1:37 pm:   Edit Post

I know a guy who listens to the Dead channel all day long, every day, at work. I love the Dead, but enough is enough! Yikes.
briant
Advanced Member
Username: briant

Post Number: 367
Registered: 12-2004
Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009 - 2:36 pm:   Edit Post

I have tried unsuccessfully for years to find the allure in the Grateful Dead’s music. There was a dude I used to work with who is a rabid fan and he was always trying to convince me that they were the “best band ever” and would rave about how they were “amazing improvisers” with their long extended jams.

Not hearing it.

I challenge you – enlighten me.
davehouck
Moderator
Username: davehouck

Post Number: 8658
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009 - 3:32 pm:   Edit Post

Brian; scroll back up to Tom's post 589 and click on the link. When the player loads, scroll down to number 14, Estimated Prophet. Oh, and I hope you're not listening through laptop speakers; a good stereo or headphones would be helpful.

Of course it depends on what kinds of things you like. I chose this one because of, among other things, the composition. It's all in seven (although some parts are more easily counted in fourteen). I think the composition is wonderful; the different parts blend well. The mood that the song elicits is almost tangible; it puts you in a pretty interesting place. There is spaciousness. Phil's bass line helps set that mood, and moves the song through space and time in a rather unusual but very effective fashion. And Jerry's playing is very nice.

Edit: I thought I would add that perhaps it would help to not just casually listen; don't just play it as background music to whatever else you happen to be doing. Run it through a good sound system, turn the volume up, and turn the lights off, and just listen. Hold no preconceptions. Just be there with the music.

Let us know what you think.

(Message edited by davehouck on August 28, 2009)
lembic76450
Intermediate Member
Username: lembic76450

Post Number: 165
Registered: 5-2002
Posted on Saturday, August 29, 2009 - 7:34 am:   Edit Post

Dave,
I always found it easier to count some of the sections as 4/4-3/4 and others as 3/4-4/4. It seems like they reverse the chorus part. I really need to stop counting and just let it flow.
Oh, one album...

On a slightly different line...For you singers out there, is it just me or do most of the vocals, lead and harmony, seem to be sung by Jerry on "Workingmans Dead"?
benson_murrensun
Intermediate Member
Username: benson_murrensun

Post Number: 165
Registered: 5-2007
Posted on Monday, August 31, 2009 - 9:33 am:   Edit Post

I wasn't a Dead fan until a buddy played the "Skull and Roses" album for me. I found it to be different than the ultra-spacey stuff I had heard before; it seemed tighter and more rockin', which I liked. After that I started listening to other things they did and I got into the music that way. Also, there was that certain "je ne sais quois" (psychedelic drugs) that entered the equation for me at that time...
And yes, Dave, Estimated Prophet is a great tune, and stuff that's not in fours is always a little more interesting. BTW, I saw Rat Dog last night in Boulder. It was a tad disappointing because it was all well-known Dead songs (except for Easy To Slip), and I was hoping to hear some of that great Weir stuff like Lost Sailor, Saint of Circumstance, or even some of the heavy blues that band used to play. I guess you can't please everyone...

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