1. Grateful Dead

I am trying to recreate the amazing sidebar thread 'Intro to listening to the Dead!' that /u/sylvanriv started but they have since gone quiet. We really want to thank them for starting this! Since we cannot edit their thread, we are copying as much as we can and edit what we need. Please feel free to post additions!

'In a 1984 interview with a British fanzine, Zappa was asked whether he felt underrated as a guitarist. 'I think I shouldn't be rated as a guitarist!' Grateful Dead Legendary pyschedelic rock band formed in San Francisco in 1966. 07 - Blues For Allah (1975) #12 08 - Terrapin Station (1977) #28 09 - Go To Heaven (1980) #23.

If anyone feels like punching up the text in anyway let me know

There was recently a thread about how a lot of new faces are on the bus- possibly due to Fare Thee Well! This guide is designed to show you how to get listening to the Grateful Dead and maybe even find some favorite eras and shows!

Before we start on this, let's talk about the band. The Grateful Dead formed in late 1965, after originally starting as the Warlocks in May of that year. They changed their name after the lead guitarist, Jerry Garcia allegedly saw 'Grateful Dead' in a dictionary and thought it appropriate for a band name! They were originally a quintet, comprised of :

Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan - To many people's surprise, originally the de facto frontman of the group. Clearly a bluesman, he played organ, harmonica and sang, especially earlier in the band's career

Jerry Garcia - lead guitarist, de facto leader of the band post 1970 or thereabouts. His playing blended elements of all the types of music that he enjoyed, including bluegrass, blues, country, and 'barroom rock and roll'.

Bob Weir - Rhythm guitarist, and the youngest member of the band, joining at only age 16 in 1965. He was known for his use of eclectic chording and once described his playing as being like 'Pianist McCoy Tyner's left hand'.

Phil Lesh - Bassist. Known for his unique style of avoiding the root notes and playing a 'melodic' bass line.

Bill Kreutzmann - original drummer. One of the most talented and steady in the Bay Area at the time. This band originally had the sound of a blues band, and they played a lot of covers. In 1967, their sound began to evolve a little into something heavier and more psychedelic. That same year, Bill the drummer brought his friend Mickey Hart to join in the drumming role. Mickey became the second drummer for most of the band's career. Tom Constanten joined the touring band in November 1968, and amicably departed in January 1970, feeling that he was underamplified .. and in so doing avoided the curse of the Dead keyboard seat. He became the Dead's advisor/keyboard creative spirit, altering normal piano sounds by inserting combs, Dutch dimes, and a gyroscope into the body of the keyboard, as they recorded the masterpiece avantgarde albums Anthem of the Sun and Aoxomoxoa. In late 1971, the band gained a new keyboardist - Keith Godchaux. Keith was heavily jazz oriented and brought an entirely new sound to the band, and he also brought another member: his wife, Donna Godchaux, singing harmonies. Deadheads are notoriously divided over her singing. In 1972, Pigpen became ill from overconsumption of alcohol leading to liver disease. He died in 1973. Many claimed that the 'band would never be the same' and that the 'Grateful Dead was over'. However, they kept truckin' on and played some of their best shows between 1973 and 1977. However, in 1979 Keith and Donna quit the band, and the Dead searched for a new keyboardist, finding one in Brent Mydland. He favored organ, bringing a new, brawny sound to the Dead. They played more incredible shows throughout the 80s, but Jerry's health was declining. He'd picked up a heroin habit in the late 70s. By 1985, he'd quit drugs entirely but that didn't stop him from going into a coma simply due to poor health in 1986. In December of that year he was doing better and they put on their first shows since June. 87-early 90 is often considered a renaissance of the Dead, containing some of their best and most energetic playing. Unfortunately, all good things must end, and this did when Brent died in July 1990. The Dead frantically searched for a new keyboardist. They ended up picking Vince Welnick, mainly for his high harmonies- however, he wasn't skilled enough with their catalog of songs and they asked Bruce Hornsby, an incredible pianist who'd sat in with them on some shows earlier in the past few years, to help Vince adjust. He played grand piano with them until 1992. Unfortunately, Jerry was still the unhealthiest member of the band. He almost went into another coma in 1992, and although he bounced back, he headed downhill again in 1994. The Grateful Dead played their last show at Soldier Field on July 9th, 1995. Jerry checked himself into rehab a few days later and died of a heart attack on August 9th, 1995, just over a week after his 53rd birthday.

Archive.org contains nearly every Dead show ever played in web streaming form. To find shows, you can simply go to https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead and use the search bar to search by date. However, for new listeners, this may be quite a daunting order. Therefore, I'd like to give all y'all some recommendations (disclaimer: my own choices) for listening!

To download Archive shows, you can use a Chrome extension made by my friend /u/Phiive- it allows you to download a zip file of the whole show. It's called 'Grateful Grabber'. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/grateful-grabber/oaodbbeaklbdmjcghbkcfgmioafnjbfe?hl=en

Eras of the Dead- These are solely my choices and picks and therefore many other more seasoned Heads may disagree, but I hope it helps some of you!

Grateful Dead

1965-67 - This was bluesy dead. They were mainly a blues band and played blues covers, often sung by Pigpen. They did have a couple originals, including 'Cream Puff War' and 'Golden Road to Unlimited Devotion', but by and large they were a cover band. Jerry sounded more bluesy here than in any other era.

1967-69 - Here, the Dead evolved into their most psychedelic phase. Heavy hitters like 'Dark Star', 'New Potato Caboose', 'That's It For The Other One' and 'Saint Stephen' were brought in and jammed out and jammed together, often for hours. Some of the Dead's most famous music comes from this period.

1969-71 - The Dead phased in two new major sets of songs here. First, the country-rock songs off American Beauty and Workingman's Dead (their two arguably most famous albums) like 'Dire Wolf', 'Cumberland Blues' and 'Brokedown Palace' in late 1969 and then some of their classic 'Americana' songs like 'Loser', 'Wharf Rat', and 'Bertha' in early 1971. The Dead gained a second drummer in 1967 and this led to them gaining a truly original sound around this period. It was still heavy, but they started to play shorter songs in their sets as well, like the ones above.

1971-1972 - I like to think of this as the 'Early solo Bill' period. On February 19, 1971, the Dead played their first show without Mickey. He left for a few years to 'find himself' after his dad, the manager of the band, stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the band and ran away to Mexico. The band sounded (arguably) just as good with only Billy, and they played some of their best shows in these years. In April and May 1972, they toured Europe, playing many of their new songs such as 'Ramble on Rose', 'Tennessee Jed' and 'Brown Eyed Women', some of the most classic from their truly 'Americana' song selection.

1972-1974 - During these years, they gained a lighter, jazzier sound, in main part due to Keith and Billy's heavy use of hi-hat. They played incredible shows in this period, especially in 73 and 74. They introduced the 'Wall of Sound' in early 1974, which was the largest sound setup for any band ever used. It produced some of the highest quality sound ever heard in live music. Pay special attention to the piano, drums and bass from Dead music in 1974. Some songs from this period to look for are 'Weather Report Suite', 'Eyes of the World' and a personal favorite, 'Loose Lucy'.

1974-1977 - The Dead took a hiatus at the end of 1974, and many worried they were done for good. However, even during the hiatus they played shows, introducing new music off their new 'Blues For Allah' album, with songs such as 'Crazy Fingers' and 'Franklin's Tower', with Mickey back on the second drum kit. In 1977, the Dead toured generally smaller venues than the year before or the year after, and this in part led to 1977 being considered the best year they ever had. May of that year contained especially incredible shows, with shows in Ithaca, Boston, Buffalo and Hartford being considered some 'overall bests'.

1977-1979 - Their playing was still at a height, but Keith was going downhill. He was imitating Jerry's leads more and more, leading to the band's overall disenchantment with him. Not to say there weren't incredible shows in these years- especially early to mid 1978. He and Donna left in early 1979 and the band took on Brent Mydland.

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1979-1986 - I like to think of this era as 'early to mid Brent'. There was definitely a new sound, thanks to Brent on organ. In 1980, the Dead played a run of acoustic shows at the Warfield and then Radio City, their first in ten years. The acoustic music was definitely the highlight compared to the electric music of the run. However, the Dead did play some incredible shows in the early to mid-80s. They had a 'fatter' sound, especially Jerry. Jerry was also heading downhill into a sludge of heroin. He put on weight and his hair was greasy. He looked awful by late 1983 and especially in 1984. He started working off the drugs in early 1985 and the Dead played some absolutely incredible shows in that year, doing such things as breaking out the 'Cryptical Envelopment' segment of 'That's It For The Other One', which hadn't been played in 15 years. To many people's dismay, Jerry went into a coma in 1986, and many worried he'd die. However, he came back in full force at the end of the year

1986-1990 - These years are often considered a 'renaissance'. The Dead sounded awesome, and they played awesome. Jerry was on fire, especially in 1989 and 1990. They broke out many songs which hadn't been played in years, such as 'Dark Star', 'Help on the Way/Slipknot', 'Attics of My Life' and 'Loose Lucy'. They were overall at a high, according to Bob Weir. That is, until Brent died from a speedball overdose on July 26th, 1990.

1990-1995 - Often known as 'The Vince Years', these years contained better playing than many are willing to admit. Vince, the new keyboardist, played alongside Bruce Hornsby, the Dead's 'big guns' in the first couple years. Bruce and Jerry were creative foils for each other and they sound awesome together.Many are biased against Vince because the Dead gave him an electronic keyboard with electronic sounds rather than an organ or a piano to play, which led to poor thoughts on him because the sounds he put out were less than exciting on some days. Vince always said that he was distraught he was never able to play the grand piano or an organ like he'd hoped. The Dead played some incredible shows, especially in mid-to-late 1991 and mid-1993. However, they trailed off and by mid-to-late 1994 shows were the worst they'd ever been. With a few exceptions, it didn't really get better. In 1995, they played their last show, and in that August, Jerry died, bringing an end to the Grateful Dead.

Now, here are some of my show recommendations, a couple per era as seen above. To listen to these shows, simply go to the link and play them in the web player on archive.org! But first, let's talk about recordings. There are three main types- Soundboard, Audience and Matrix. Soundboard - these are taken directly from the board that is controlling the output from the stage speakers. These contain the highest quality sound, but often lack ambiance and the crowd vibes. Charlie Miller is a name to look for in soundboard remasters on archive.org.

Audience - these are directly recorded by audience members with microphones in the 'taper's section'. They are generally lower quality audio, but give a better sense of 'what it was like to be there'. Check out 8-6-71 for a great audience recording. 1980-81 also had some great audience tapes. Generally you'll see a microphone name such as 'Nakamichi 700' or 'Schoeps Mk 4' in the recording name.

Matrix - the best of both world. A dedicated person will combine a soundboard and audience recording from one show into a mix, which when done right gives a sense of what it would like to be there. Higher quality audio with crowd ambiance! The biggest name in Matrixes is Hunter Seamons - look for him on archive.org.