Grateful Dead - Live/Dead

First off I am a huge Grateful Dead fan. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to see The Dead play live, my fandom occurred after the passing of Jerry Garcia and the subsequent disbanding of the group. Needless to say I have been living The Dead’s music vicariously through album purchases, tape and CD trading and now music streaming. Live/Dead is a landmark album for The Dead as it was their first live album release. Anthem Of The Sun was released a year prior to Live/Dead but I am not counting that as an official live release because it was a hybrid studio/live venture. The Dead live is where the magic lies. An argument can be made that the best live version of any Grateful Dead track will outperform the studio counterpart. The Dead have released many a live album since Live/Dead including many complete shows through the Dick’s Picks Series and other one off releases. No matter how many complete shows I have accumulated over the years nothing can quite compare to Live/Dead, which is a compilation of live tracks, recorded early in 1969. At one time I had in my possession most of The Dead’s live recording from 1969 but Live/Dead always had a special place in my collection being the first live performance I heard from The Dead from that era. Included in Live/Dead are the staple tracks from that era Dark Star, St. Stephen, Turn On Your Lovelight etc. All can qualify as top performances of those tracks ever performed by The Dead. The band is young, fresh and full of life in Live/Dead and it features the ultimate Dead lineup including their original lead man Ron “Pigpen” McKernan who I feel was the original heart and soul of the band even beyond the adored Jerry Garcia. Pigpen’s vocals really shine on “Lovelight” which in my opinion is the highlight of the album. The man’s voice had so much soul. Seek out any Dead performance 66-71 for the proof!

 

I have owned 2 copies of Live/Dead. I had an original Warner Bros. CD, which I traded in when Rhino released the new HDCD remastered version. To my ears I find minimal difference between the 2 redbook copies. The Rhino wins for more elaborate packaging. The HDCD layer adds nothing to this recording. If you have an original Warner Bros. CD, there is no need to obtain the newer Rhino copy, there is not much gain either redbook or HDCD. Overall the album is a must have for any Dead fan or rock fan in general. It is one of the top official release live albums I have heard for both content and sound quality.


 Track List

1. Dark Star

2. Saint Stephen

3. The Eleven

4. Turn On Your Love Light

5. Death Don't Have No Mercy

6. Feedback

7. And We Bid You Goodnight