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...and from the "while you're in there" department,,,

Star Lake Way to Go Home has some great ensemble singing and a rippin jam.

Talking of laying bare of musicians' souls, Vince's swansong performance of "Golden Days" in Chicago with, among others, DSO Alum Hazdra, while lacking about 44,900 people, is a very tender memory indeed.

Thanks David.

:)

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"I'm assuming people have headphones at work or computer speakers and a woofer at home. One almost has to invest in a computer audio system nowadays. I think it's eminently worth it and you can get good ones for some great prices."

If anyone is looking for computer speakers these kick ass if you can find them...real wood in the sub...

http://www.amazon.com/Altec-Lansing-PowerCube-Computer-Speakers/dp/B00004XREC

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Here is a fun assignment for anyone who wants a glimpse into the history of the ballad So Many Roads.

Go here and listen to the first time Garcia had a rather large vocal BURST in this song. It made everyone that night take notice rather abruptly as the emotion that had laid dormant in this song ready to spring to life, did just that. It's not like my buddies and I didn't think this was a great song from the start, but this was the first one where we (those of us who were there) took a figurative step back and thought this may just be one of the big ones.

We were all inside to start a summer tour (!) at Richfield coliseum in Ohio in 1992.

http://www.archive.org/details/gd1992-06-08.sbd.miller.89981.sbeok.flac16

And then, maybe a day or two later, go here to listen to this one, that happened just weeks later, which travelled around the world by word of mouth, the second it was over.

http://www.archive.org/details/gd1992-06-23.dsbd.miller.32491.sbeok.flac16

These two versions marked the beginning of this song's legend. The difference in tempo is kind of interesting, given their proximity to one another, but after this version in Pittsburgh was finished, followers of the Grateful Dead knew that anything could happen when you heard those openings notes...and some amazing things did happen in the few years that remained.

Until the last one, at the last show, became a vehicle for a musician to lay his soul bare in front of 45 thousand fucking people, about which the band's bassist has said now that even he, standing there on stage, looked on in awe.

I'm assuming people have headphones at work or computer speakers and a woofer at home. One almost has to invest in a computer audio system nowadays. I think it's eminently worth it and you can get good ones for some great prices.

I'm on such a so many roads kick lately. AS I am ballad man, SMR may be the most underated of them all. Jerry had a way with it, as Stone pointed out:

Here is my soul, do want you want with it...

give me more almighty stone....

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I'm assuming people have headphones at work or computer speakers and a woofer at home. One almost has to invest in a computer audio system nowadays. I think it's eminently worth it and you can get good ones for some great prices.

The best, cost no object way to go is to invest in one of the "music servers" (a new breed of high end audio gear that now exists for the home) but a laptop and a $2 stereo mini plug to RCA cable will do just fine. Assuming one already has a decent stereo, why invest in vastly inferior speaker systems made for computers when you already have good sound elsewhere in the home?

At work, of course, headphones are the way to go. I hate headphones, but that's just my little pet peeve. Can't use ipods, etc for just that reason.

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Not rip the train of the great discussion track, but after to listening to a copule shows I would like those interested to take a listen to a couple tracks.

The first is 1/22/78. This is the great 'close encounters' show.

http://www.archive.org/details/gd78-01-22.sbd.popi.4974.sbeok.shnf

I probably don't need to say that this show is a monster - you already know this quite well (and if not, give it a listen). Of particular interest to me is the Jack Straw. While there are likely even better renditions than the one here, the last 2 mintues caused me to go unexpectedly off of the road on a stretch of road right near my work. I mean WOW!

A couple of days later I happened upon the final JK show with DSO.

http://www.archive.org/details/dso2009-12-05.rodent6

While I find myself mostly listening to post JK stuff, this one has an obvious sentimental quality so I gave it another spin. Good start, good listen. Then I get to the Jack Straw. I am giving it it's due driving down the same stretch of road and then.....BAM!....As this song peaks I am thrashing around in the car and almost wreck at the same point where I went off the road a few days earlier. Sweet, sweet Deja Vu.

I just gave these tracks a listen again and found the homestreaches in both songs to be eerily similar. I know they are the same songs and all, but the tempo and track they get on are remarkably similar (save for the somewhat drastic difference in sound quality). Give it a listen.

I know that a great deal of standout Jack Straws and opinions of the best versions vary somewhat wildly. Anyone that cares to give links to some all-time versions for both GD and DSO is encouraged to do so.

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I'm on such a so many roads kick lately. AS I am ballad man, SMR may be the most underated of them all. Jerry had a way with it, as Stone pointed out:

Here is my soul, do want you want with it...

give me more almighty stone....

Been heavily into Dead doing Dylan myself lately. It all has a way with the soul too, and shares the searching through Bobby and Phil.

Second the almighty stone suggestions request.

Not much of a headphones/ear buds guy myself either...

That last run of DSO JK shows was an interesting period for sure...I blame a lot on the Canadian girls.

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Been heavily into Dead doing Dylan myself lately. It all has a way with the soul too, and shares the searching through Bobby and Phil.

Second the almighty stone suggestions request.

Not much of a headphones/ear buds guy myself either...

That last run of DSO JK shows was an interesting period for sure...I blame a lot on the Canadian girls.

Musical heaven on earth = Beyer DT-770 headphones....super comfortable and extraordinary sound....

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why invest in vastly inferior speaker systems made for computers when you already have good sound elsewhere in the home?

Because your main computer might not be in the same room as your system.

It's really not that much of an investment and with having to listen to the sound or a potential download or studio stuff from Itunes, I think it's worth it. I have the Harman Kardon sound sticks and they are all I need when listening to the stuff I listen to on the computer (mp3 and the like).

I was just without my computer for a bit and when I got it back, the biggest relief for me was that I could hear decent audio again for computer streaming/youtube/itunes etc...well, that and the porn. :)

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Been heavily into Dead doing Dylan myself lately. It all has a way with the soul too, and shares the searching through Bobby and Phil.

Second the almighty stone suggestions request.

Not much of a headphones/ear buds guy myself either...

That last run of DSO JK shows was an interesting period for sure...I blame a lot on the Canadian girls.

The only two songwriters that do it, Dylan and Hunter.

Agreed, JK had a way, I got that soul wretching with DSO, not so much with Furthur.

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Here is one of note because it has, hands down, the best ending solo in the history of this young song.

It has a shaky false start and has warts all around it but it's in the GD Hall of fame (in the modern ballad section) because of the solo.

It hints at places this song could have gone.

Shoreline '94.

Here's an aud version in honor of John A!

http://www.archive.org/details/gd94-09-18.nak300.ladner.10069.sbeok.shnf

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Musical heaven on earth = Beyer DT-770 headphones....super comfortable and extraordinary sound....

Sound quality of good phones is undeniable - I just wind up moving around too much to be good with them...

The only two songwriters that do it, Dylan and Hunter.

Yes. The older I get the more I feel them each to be a lyrical Prometheus, bringing us the words to the Music of the Spheres...

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Musical heaven on earth = Beyer DT-770 headphones....super comfortable and extraordinary sound....

"Sound quality of good phones is undeniable - I just wind up moving around too much to be good with them..."

Understood Chuck! Wouldn't want to end up like David Carradine.. :)

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Musical heaven on earth = Beyer DT-770 headphones....super comfortable and extraordinary sound....

"Sound quality of good phones is undeniable - I just wind up moving around too much to be good with them..."

Understood Chuck! Wouldn't want to end up like David Carradine.. smile.gif

cheers.gif

See you good folks soon!

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Here is a fun assignment for anyone who wants a glimpse into the history of the ballad So Many Roads.

Go here and listen to the first time Garcia had a rather large vocal BURST in this song. It made everyone that night take notice rather abruptly as the emotion that had laid dormant in this song ready to spring to life, did just that. It's not like my buddies and I didn't think this was a great song from the start, but this was the first one where we (those of us who were there) took a figurative step back and thought this may just be one of the big ones.

We were all inside to start a summer tour (!) at Richfield coliseum in Ohio in 1992.

http://www.archive.org/details/gd1992-06-08.sbd.miller.89981.sbeok.flac16

And then, maybe a day or two later, go here to listen to this one, that happened just weeks later, which travelled around the world by word of mouth, the second it was over.

http://www.archive.org/details/gd1992-06-23.dsbd.miller.32491.sbeok.flac16

These two versions marked the beginning of this song's legend. The difference in tempo is kind of interesting, given their proximity to one another, but after this version in Pittsburgh was finished, followers of the Grateful Dead knew that anything could happen when you heard those openings notes...and some amazing things did happen in the few years that remained.

Until the last one, at the last show, became a vehicle for a musician to lay his soul bare in front of 45 thousand fucking people, about which the band's bassist has said now that even he, standing there on stage, looked on in awe.

Just finished an 8 miler with 6/8/92. Not a bad show overall, but the so many roads, wow... on to pittsburgh....

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Stone, I think 9-18-94 and 10-1-94 are the two best SMR's that I have heard to date. To me, this song has always been about that strong and passionate vocal finish which Garcia fucking nails in those two versions. Not a big 90's guy but So Many Roads always gives me an excuse to listen to 92-95 shows. Can't wait to check out those two 92 versions. Thanks.

As someone else said, SMR is probably the most underrated Garcia ballad. It's a shame too. I guess it just gets overshadowed by so many other great ballads that came before and being that SMR was debuted in a not-so-popular era of the dead, it probably doesn't get the exposure it deserves. Oh well, c'est la vie...

Edit: Just listened to first two versions Stone posted... holy fucking shit... ease my soul. Thank you so much. :cheers:

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The first is 1/22/78. This is the great 'close encounters' show.

http://www.archive.org/details/gd78-01-22.sbd.popi.4974.sbeok.shnf

Thank you for this post... Is "close encounters" a theme from something or was Jerry's few minutes of playing by himself titled that because of how wild and alien it is?

I feel as though all the Grateful Dead shows of Oregon were great, Pacific Northwest is a beautiful place.

I've been listening to and playing Loser a lot lately. Have found a few particularly awesome versions:

The 4.12.78 from Duke University as mentioned before as well as

a nice up-tempo version.

The real gem in my search was this:

JG teaching David Crosby Loser... sounds as though Phil is there too, as well as a cello player. The harmonies are haunting...

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Thank you for this post... Is "close encounters" a theme from something or was Jerry's few minutes of playing by himself titled that because of how wild and alien it is?

As Chuck was saying (so perfectly), it's a movie released in 1977, with Richard Dryfus and Deborah Winger (an actress you probably don't know :( ) and was directed by Spielberg. It was right after he did Jaws, which would make those the coolest back to back movies of all time by a director.

Garcia apparently was an extra in this movie (!) and liked the final outcome, like many, and played around with the main theme written by John Williams, who I am pretty sure also penned the theme to Jaws! I think it first turned up at the famous 12/29/77 show, or as many refer to as simply: "12/29"--- before the Bertha opener.

Then he did some pretty crazy shit with it in Eugene after probably the most sinister Other One to ever see the light of day after the year 1970. Garcia bends and bounces these crazy, obese (I guess you can call them) notes around Phil's insane replies (even for Phil!)...it's really not to be believed. After that, Garcia finds the Close Encounters theme and the sky opens up into what must have been a pretty scary new world for the people in attendance. And after THAT, he SLAMS into the chords of a ST. FREAKING STEPHEN with his band so close on his tail it's ridiculous.

He also played with the theme during the Space of the Deer Creek 7/15/89 show into a fairly disastrous China Doll and then during the Space at an Alpine Valley show a few days after that (7/17/89, the set made famous by the Downhill from Here release).

There could be other sightings in the form of a tune up or during Space but if there are, they are escaping me (or I never knew of them in the first place).

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