 |
The Grateful Dead 's music in the mid-1980s was, famously, quite a mixed bag. Whether you are a longtime Deadhead or just getting into the Dead, I would recommend shows from their best periods: 1968-1970, 1972-1974, 1977, fall 1979 to mid-1982, and 1987-1990. During these years, any show is likely to be amazing, with excellent performances of every song, and often reaching astonishing peaks of perfection. This 9-2-1983 show from Boise, Idaho is not from this period. So what is there to find during the not-so-great years? For example, for the Dead the period of 1983-1986 is known as "the dirty eighties". More and more, Jerry's addiction was dragging him down--which eventually forced him to clean up his act (for a while, anyway). And you can hear it, unfortunately, even in one of the better shows selected from this period, like this one from Boise. So a show like this has its pros-and-cons. The bad part is mainly Jerry messing up lyrics, sometimes badly! For example, in "Help on the Way" he says some garbled things--you can hear him realizing, in real time, that he is lost, but quickly filling in the gaps with sound-blobs instead of fully formed words. After the jam in "Help on the Way", I swear he comes in with something like "uh...Oh, Help on the way...". But I can forgive it. He was lost in a sick solo, not to mention a haze of acid and Persian heroin, and almost forgot to come in with the chorus vocals. By the way, that's one of the main attributes of this show: absolutely beautiful harmonized singing. When Garcia, Weir, and Mydland all sing their hearts out together, it is gorgeous. And some of the best examples I've ever heard are in this show right here! Listen for it, you'll hear it. And yes, in between those choruses there are verses...where Jerry sometimes biffs the lyrics. But his guitar is darting all over the place, creating brand new melodies at every turn, and spiraling out funky, deft, insanely complex jams during the instrumental sections. One of my favorite things about the dirty eighties is that sometimes they would play songs fast and hot. Certain mid-eighties versions of certain songs rock really hard! So this show has moments of deep happiness, and also moments of deep sadness--I could get into a whole thing about the searing Jerry solo that erupts during this show's "Looks Like Rain". And I could get into another whole thing about Bob's voice blasting out way too loud in the mix during this same track. See, it's a mixed bag! But if you know what it is you're looking for, this show is fantastic.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Wonderful concert recording top notch.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Great Stuff!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in CDs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on CDs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
