If someone were to ask me what were the Grateful Dead about and how good was their music......I would have them listen to ''Steppin Out''...... I have followed the Dead since the mid 70's and this is some really good stuff here. The ''Band'' was right on on these disc's and the sound quality is actually very good |
Steppin' Out is not a remaster, of course, but a first-time release. |
The England set is fabulous. Good sound and great music. I have not heard the remasters though. |
The remasters sound great! These are the remasters originally released in The Golden Road boxed set, now available individually for the first time. Fantastic HDCD sound, lots of bonus tracks, excellent liner notes.
Steppin' Out is astonishingly good. It's from the same tour as Europe '72 and includes some amazing jams. There are a bunch of songs that wouldn't have been included on Europe 72 because they'd been on Live Dead or Skull and Roses, but these versions are all-timers. There's also some great Pigpen stuff. My favorite track is a ripping version of "Sitting On Top Of The World" with a Garcia solo for the ages. Sound quality is superb. It's one of the best Grateful Dead releases *ever*. |
Most of the Dick's Picks series have very HQ sound given the fact that they were taken from live tapes. I would draw your attention to Dick's Picks Vol 3 May 1977 from Pembroke Pines, FL. This recording was made by the famous Betty Cantor-Jackson.
A commercial release of note for sound quality is "Nightfall of Diamonds", recorded at the Meadowlands.
The MFSL LP of "American Beauty" is also worth having if you can get your hands on a copy. |
The Dick's Picks series of live Dead is indeed one of the best things to ever happen to the cd format. As Slipknot stated, Volume 3 is great!
Danlevy, I've been waiting for the individual remasters, especially American Beauty and Workingmans Dead.
When did they release them? |
The best studio Grateful Dead recordings are those included in "The Golden Road" box set. These disks are truly amazing. The included bonus tracks are relevant on each disk. the individual liner notes are worth the price of the box set. They are the best recordings that I have ever heard in HDCD. They are wonderful in a non-HDCD player, but they are that much better in an HDCD player.
The Dicks Picks series are also well recorded. Some of the shows that they choose are, in my opinion, questionable. As Slipnot mentioned, the "Betty Boards" are the live shows to look for. My suggestion is to find a quality copy of my personal favorite, 05/08/77. This is the favorite of many. I have seen quite a number of bootleg CD's of differing quality. Maybe someone on Audiogon knows of a quality copy.
HAPPY LISTENING AND HAVE A GRATEFUL DAY! |
want great sonics...get the pizza tapes.
want great jams...get 3/23/75 --it was a dead benefit show w/ merle saunders. bootleg only. its the whole blues for allah album, but is just heavenly for the jam. better than anything i've heard, and i've heard a few thousand sets...
rhyno |
I was blown away by the double CD "Ladies and Gentleman" the one with the Tie die swirl cover.Sonics were to die for.Interesting that it came out not on GD records but Arista.Guess the tapes off the board come out on Arista whereas the "Picks" were non-board,non multitrack issues.If anybody knows how this is decided fill us in.
Chazzbo |
I wish they would have continued the "from the Vault" series. These were supposed to be multi channel recordings vs the stereo recording of the Dick's series. Think what could be done with those today with the multi-channel formats available. |
Chazzbo, Dick's Picks is for two-track masters. The Arista releases are all multi-track masters.
Bundy, the "from the Vault" series *has* continued...they just don't call them that any more. "Steppin' Out", "Ladies and Gentlemen...", "Nightfall of Diamonds", "Hundred Year Hall" are all multi-tracks that fall under the "from the Vault" criteria.
Greh, the first batch of Rhino remaster releases came out on Tuesday of this week. |
Also, the contract with Arista has now ended, which is why the remasters are from Rhino. |
Would love to see som Dead SACDs! It's too bad there's no high-rez format (yet) that can preserve a set without cuts to switch discs. Until then, the Dark Star->Other One->Lovelight from 2/13/70 will remain a two-disc affair :) But they're doing good work at GDM, and Arista/Rhino. I'm glad they keep pumping out the vault releases. Now if they'd just put out the 10/8 and 9/89 shows... |
The remasters are on Rhino because the remastered albums were originally released by Warner Brothers, which owns Rhino. Nothing to do with the Arista contract. Rhino, however, *is* rumored to be negotiating with the Dead for rights to the Vault. |
danlevy et al, thanks for the tip. i bought the remaster of the 1st dead album yesterday and it made for some GREAT driving around. can't wait to play it on my cd player in the house where i can really hear the thing! ahhh, morning dew...i do believe the album never sounded so good.
having re-read this thread, my next purchase will have to be "Steppin' Out". |
If you like the Pizza Tapes, you HAVE to get "So What". It is recorded in the same studio and by the same person as the Pizza Tapes (Dawg Studios and Dave Dennison). The imaging on track #2 "Bag's Groove" makes me shiver every time I hear it.
I have all of the Dick's Picks but its sooo hard to pick a fovorite. The Bears Choice from the Golden road boxset is realy cool! Also, the So Many Roads Box set has some amazing recordings ( I think Dick picked these tunes out too).
Enjoy! |
For all you Jerry heads, check out "How sweet it is" Great dynamics, Groovin John Kahn, soul-riddled Hammond solos, and of course Jerry Nirvana...Throw it on a SET, close your eyes and enter Jerryland..
If "like a road" dosen't make you cry...well then you just ain't human!!! |
The co-producers of So Many Roads were Steve Silberman, David Gans and Blair Jackson. They're the ones who picked the tracks. It's an excellent set.
And, yes, "How Sweet It Is" is a marvellous release. The "Tears of Rage" is just gorgeous. |
Danlevy, look on page 51; Dick picked them too :) Either way, it sounds great! The last track on disc 5 works on so many levels. |
Does anyone have any thoughts as to what things to consider when buying a system to play primarily the Dead? |
kevins
get a great 16/44 dac. don't worry bout SACD or hirez, as most of your dead will always be 16/44 (bootleg CDs). also, get a transport w/ 2 digital outs and a standalone burner (as opposed to a PC based cd burner). i've burned a few thousand discs on my rig, and w/ a good 16/44 setup, they all sound great.
otherwise, get speakers that sound great on jazz. you don't need legacy-esque 4*15" per side to make the dead sing...but you do need clarity and speed.
best
rhyno |
ryno, can you name a few good dac`s |
depends on what you want to spend. i've heard (or heard of) great things from entec 1.1 or higher (not entech, 2 diff brands!), audio aero, ayre cx-7 (cd player, but could be world class w/ a few parts). of course some of the higher up wadias and MLs are nice too. and wavelength too.
rhyno |
