tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post2307953388938055257..comments2024-03-26T23:10:34.814-07:00Comments on Grateful Dead Sources: 1969: Live/Dead ReviewLight Into Asheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-19950811617793039282018-02-28T17:23:59.193-08:002018-02-28T17:23:59.193-08:00I added an album review from the Griffin, the stud...I added an album review from the Griffin, the student newspaper of Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. Live/Dead found an especially receptive audience in colleges, with many glowing reviews published in student papers. <br />I added it here since the writer responds to Rolling Stone's review (and, amusingly, says that "all hearers agree" with Rolling Stone). It's not very well-written (he copies a lot of points from the earlier review), but it's extremely positive, gushing over "the miracle of the Dead" and their "incredibly together" jams with "hard to comprehend" coordination. <br />It's said that seeing the Dead will take you back to San Francisco circa 1968, "the peak of the psychedelic-love revolution," among "all of the beautiful people that sent their message directly to every person under thirty." I've noticed in other reviews that already by 1970, many people were referring to a Dead show as kind of a time-travel experience which would whisk you away to the paradise of San Francisco back in '66 or whenever, the golden age which is now gone. <br />He'd definitely seen the Dead, perhaps more than once. He mentions that Garcia "plays a great steel guitar," so evidently he'd seen the New Riders. He refers to the Buffalo show a month earlier - "what has just been said is not enough" - though I wish he'd said more about it! There was lots of dancing and audience participation at that show, which he alludes to: "you feel every note until every muscle in your body is just itching to get up and dance, clap, just make any sound to try and move with the Dead." He also notes the big gongs onstage, which were prominent at the Buffalo show (various musicians and audience members all took turns on percussion there). <br />The way he describes a show is also interesting, how the band starts off "feeling where the others are at that night," and gradually take off and get everyone moving, "getting louder, faster, and harder," finally bringing everyone back to earth at the end. So, although it's a short review, it's written from deep experience with the band's live shows. Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-51024563408795180842013-06-04T07:01:36.884-07:002013-06-04T07:01:36.884-07:00One of the truly remarkable albums then and now. N...One of the truly remarkable albums then and now. Never get tired of listening to it and always hear something new each time its played. I agree that the level of music is in a class most bands will never achieve.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-28810827228089190782012-12-19T05:24:35.254-08:002012-12-19T05:24:35.254-08:00"each change made with care and a strange kin..."each change made with care and a strange kind of tact"<br /><br />That's a particularly fine description, and it summarizes the many amorphous feelings I had about the last third of the track into one simple phrase. Good stuff. Malbuffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03621888124290063027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-22778793596933633272012-08-18T08:48:06.242-07:002012-08-18T08:48:06.242-07:00"for most of the journalists who wrote about ..."for most of the journalists who wrote about them,they were just another weird S.F. cult band"<br /><br />I find that statement to be true of the coverage of the band right up to present day offerings.Most articles about the band are focused on things outside the music such as the "colorful" deadheads,the 60's or some such nonsense,very little time spent on how interesting and unique the music is.Lenny Kaye being a really fine guitarist in his own right seems to understand and appreciate the music on a proper level.jerlouvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-32116040462282336262012-02-21T22:12:29.349-08:002012-02-21T22:12:29.349-08:00Thanks for the comment!
The writer was Lenny Kaye...Thanks for the comment! <br />The writer was Lenny Kaye, who knew what he was talking about. <br /><br />It is always a treat to see a review from these early days by someone who really understood the Dead; for most of the journalists who wrote about them, they were just another weird SF cult band...Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-13964145393790361912012-02-21T20:26:44.350-08:002012-02-21T20:26:44.350-08:00Amazing to read a review of Live/Dead contemporary...Amazing to read a review of Live/Dead contemporary with its initial release. Live/Dead was the first Grateful Dead release to truly capture a representation of the band's playing brilliance. The album's style and flow are adeptly described in this review.<br /><br />What made want to post a comment was the last sentence of the review, with its prediction for the next five years in rock music. With the benefit of hindsight, I can say that this prediction was the only disagreement I have with the review.<br /><br />How very different current popular music would be if the industry had followed the lead of Live/Dead, as this reviewer was expecting. At least the Grateful Dead essentially remained true to their artistry throughout the band's existence.<br /><br />Thank you very much for the quality and depth of your blog posts!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com