tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post4887984497164631684..comments2024-03-26T23:10:34.814-07:00Comments on Grateful Dead Sources: April 1971: Boston Music Hall & Fillmore EastLight Into Asheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-76052251284298894322021-07-10T10:45:00.011-07:002021-07-10T10:45:00.011-07:00Nice that Boston Phoenix archives for the key year...Nice that Boston Phoenix archives for the key years are up on internet archives now. I hadnt noticed that 4/71 Landau piece but I saw a lot of the concert ads. Such a great month in GD history. Also nice to see more LIAGrateful Secondshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16866611234014012885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-41252844276008136092021-07-09T07:08:23.031-07:002021-07-09T07:08:23.031-07:00Landau always was an insufferable stuffed shirt wh...Landau always was an insufferable stuffed shirt who considered "rock improvisation" an oxymoron. He wrote a hatchet job on Cream that was a key factor in their breakup. For much more astute analyses of the Dead's strengths and weaknesses, see various writings by Robert Christgau.<br />It's ironic to see Landau slag the audience, since he later became Springsteen's manager. The last time I checked, "Boss" fans weren't too critical of their man.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195590583641426943.post-28569904417246026392021-07-08T20:02:09.144-07:002021-07-08T20:02:09.144-07:00These pieces were reprinted in Landau's 1972 c...These pieces were reprinted in Landau's 1972 collection It's Too Late To Stop Now, in the chapter "White Rock: Three Dog Night and the Grateful Dead." I don't know the original publication dates.<br /><br />Most of the Dead's live reviews from those days were positive (if not raving), so in contrast it's nice to come across such a negative review. Landau hated the Dead; about the only thing he found to praise was Garcia's guitar playing. From first to last, they're awful. He mentions only their lame & inferior cover songs, and complains most of all about their terrible singing, though he doesn't like the "uninspired" jamming either. They're just boring slobs playing atrocious bland butcheries to idiot audiences. (He admits that a show might have 20 solid minutes, but doesn't say what part that might be.) And who would listen to this band anyway? Doped-up dropouts. <br />So it's a very entertaining read. I'd love to see the letters from Phoenix readers writing in to defend their band, demanding he see the Dead again! <br /><br />Of course there's some truth to his complaints - later critics would also be bothered by the weak singing, detached attitude, hours of 'warming-up,' indiscriminate audiences, and so on. Needless to say he's also quite mistaken. The other two reviews I linked of these shows are more typical responses: "incredible," "powerful," "packed and ecstatic audience," "they brought the house crashing down," "the entire house was dancing." <br />But Landau sneers at the Dead as "elitist favorites" who can't move the masses - he says the mindless, "ritualistically cheering" audiences really "seemed to realize it wasn't happening" underneath the mania. He knows the Dead won't last - they're just too dull & terrible to keep drawing fans who care about music. "How long can they go on?" Light Into Asheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06943335142002007213noreply@blogger.com