1968
Here, the Dead followed the countercultural trend towards Jesus of the later 60s and early 70s, exemplified by musicals like Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar. But just what alligators have to do with the Lord, I am unsure. New Potatoe Cabooses though... This is what Dan Quayle must've listened to to become the fine mispelling Republican he is. Or was. 'Ave you seen him lately?
1967
Hay! This album rocks! It's very consisent with their live sound at the time: Rockin garage band. I know they're supposed to be a psychedelic whirlwind unlike anything you've ever heard before, but to me, they sound like a garage band. A really cool garage band.
1969
This record found the Dead doing lots of drugs and trying to sound like it they succeed but it is boring a lot of the time still stuff like Mountains of the Moon and Doin' That Rag are kind of cool looc fo dnik era gaR tahT 'nioD dna nooM eht fo sniatnuoM ekil ffuts llits emit eht fo tol a gnirob si ti tub deeccus yeht ti ekil dnuos ot gniyrt dna sgurd fo stol gniod daeD eht dnuof drocer sihT
9691
Aoxomoxoa
1969
Dark Star, St. Stephen, the Eleven. All good. But if you wish to avoid the Pigpen hoody-doo, eh. I like Pigpen okay but once you've heard the "Get yer hands out of your pockets! GET YER HANDS OUTTA YER POCKETS!" thing a million times you get tiredsomed. And then you have Feedback. A lot of this vast album is vastly great, but it seems like vast tracts of it are vastly skipple-worthy. Excuse me, but did you say Skipple?
197whocares
Yeah yeah Uncle John's Band it's great get it.
129548
Wharf Rat! Bertha! Not Fade Away > Going Down the Road Feeling Bad > And We Bid You Goodnight! Hooray! Buy buy buy buy if you THRILL to the sounds of live jammed-out roots rock with many boring patches but enough well-written tunes and good playing to make up for it!
197whocares
Yeah yeah Friend of the Devil it's great get it. It's not quite as good as Workingman's though: Attics of My Life sucks and who needs to hear Truckin again.
I'm dispensing with dates
It's got acoustic live stuff. I haven't listened to it in ages, so it can't be very good, can it?
1972, one would think.
Jack Straw! China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider! Other stuff! Hooray! See the above review! This one is longer and thus you have more time to be bored by it. The problem with the Grateful Dead live is they'll play a really good song and then a few shitty ones in a row to suck any life out of you that the really good song had inspired. I'm looking at you, Bobby Weir.
Sure, Help on the Way and Slipknot may sound too slick and vomity at first, but you grow to like them. And Franklin's Tower can make even the most hardened criminals weep tears of joy. The rest of it you won't listen to because the first three songs are the best by far.
This one is cool. Eyes of the World, Row Jimmy, and Here Comes Sunshine are great. It has some less-good stuff (I'm looking at you, Bobby Weir) but when more than a couple tracks are really good on a Grateful Dead studio album, you learn to kiss it.