Live/Dead is the first official live album (and fourth overall) released by the rock band Grateful Dead. Recorded over a series of concerts in early 1969 and released later the same year, it was the first live rock album to use 16-track recording. In 2005 the tracks "Dark Star", "St. Stephen", "Death Don't Have No Mercy", "Feedback" and "We Bid You Goodnight" were released, in their original sequence and with a new mix, on the respective February 27, 1969 and March 2, 1969 discs of the Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings box set (the first 1:34 of "Dark Star" can be found on the previous track, "Mountains of the Moon"). "Feedback" and "We Bid You Goodnight" were also released on the triple disc, highlights release Fillmore West 1969. The album was met with very positive reviews, with Village Voice critic Robert Christgau writing that it "contains the finest rock improvisation ever recorded" and Rolling Stone magazine's Lenny Kaye saying it foreshadows "where rock is likely to be in about five years". In his ballot for Jazz & Pop magazine's 1970 critics poll, Christgau ranked Live/Dead as the third best popular music album.
When I heard all those stories about people following these guys around for years, I really didn't think it would just be a bunch of blokes noodling on guitars and doing silly voices. Most of the material here either felt completely aimless or like a bad rip of other, better artists. Not free-form or experimental enough to be interesting, not structured or melodic enough to be engaging. One and a half. Fave track: Feedback
My inner dialogue… Upon seeing this as today’s album: oh no A minute into the first song: maybe I will like this, it’s kind of cool 9 hours later and the first song is still going: No.
i don’t give a shit, life’s too short to try the Grateful Dead again
Fuck me what a slog. I tried to imagine myself on a lawn at a music festival, with a little half tab deep inside me, and I decided I'd only hate it more. The one song that connected with me was 'Death Have No Mercy'. It's hard to imagine anyone in a Grateful Dead audience enjoying this more than the band themselves, who for the majority of this are off on their own tangents with sprawling guitar solos and out-of-time drums. I straight up don't understand how this can be referred to as psychedelic, it doesn't leave any space to go on your own journey. 1.5/5 for the sporadic moments on this album where it all comes together and does create a little piece of magic.
I went into this with an open mind. I'm not a Dead fan, but they seem like cool guys, so I saw this as a chance to fully engage with their live music, and I hoped that I would finally appreciate this band that is beloved by so many. That did not happen. This is actively bad music. Everyone raves about their jamming, but they are a terrible jam band. First of all, no one is playing anything remotely interesting, there were clams all over the place—especially by the bassist, and worse still, none of these guys are listening to what anyone else is doing, so it's like everyone is playing a different song. (And not in a good way, like Ornette Coleman or Ascension-era John Coltrane.) What's more, there's no fire or passion. This is the limpest, blandest, hackey-sackiest music I've ever heard. The fact that these tracks were not taken from one concert, but were instead hand-selected from a few different shows blows my mind. Like seriously? These were the best takes? Good lord. Please, people. Do not listen to this music. If you want that jam-band spacey vibe, there are so many better live albums out there that will slake that thirst: Happy Trails by Quicksilver Messenger Service, At Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers, or Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970) - It's About That Time by Miles Davis. Those are great albums. This one is just not good.
I turned this on with every intention of giving it a chance. Three minutes in, out of respect for myself and my sanity, I stopped. This band managed to seal the deal in that short amount of time. From the tones of the instruments to the meandering disjointed playing, I cannot abide.
Yawn
Can someone please inform the Grateful Dead that they don't have to be boring when they're playing music? I really feel bad for the audience, this must have been terrible to sit through.
I did not enjoy this album. If I wanted to listen to good improvised blues rock I'd listen to Cream. This is over bloated, boring crap. 1/5
Annoying drugged out hippies!
Of course I have to give this a 5! This album shows the Dead at their wildest and while it's no Europe '72 it does have a few Glorious moments. The St. Stephen-Eleven-Lovelight suite is exceptional and made me jealous of anyone who got to see this lineup of the band in their prime. An entire album side of just "Dark Star"? Wow. I would totally understand if anyone takes off an entire star for "Feedback". This is probably a 4.5 because of that but what the heck.
Groovy 🤟🏽
Very chill for a jam rock album, i appreciate that.
Too unstructured for my liking, dragged on.
(Granted this is a live album so it might not be as great as studio ones) But this was the first exposure I've ever had to Grateful Dead, and with the amount of hype, "dead heads" I know, and how much praise is heaped onto the band, I expected the music to be a bit... better? It's nothing terrible, but I feel like I've heard this exact style and musical ideas so many times in this list, nothing stood out whatsoever.
fine, not my cup of tea.
Okay, the middle track, which has more singing and is 15 minutes long is enjoyable, but the rest of it is interminable jam band noodling. Never trust an album where the artists are enjoying it more than the fans.
Maybe if my formative experiences with psychedelics were soundtracked by The Dead, I’d have more patience for their nonsensical noodling…but they weren’t…and I don’t.
One of their weaker albums ..
I just keeps going and going and going. Half the album is the band tuning.
Fucking MID
Meandering crap. Endless noodling. Make it stop.
What the hell is this.23 minutes of mindless soloing followed by nonsense lyrics.I hate this the songs have no hooks,they’re too long and they’re not even musically interesting.I can’t believe this but I think it’s worse than GENESIS.At least those guys were weird with it.The drummers really good but he can’t save this wreck.THERES A 7 MINUTE LONG “SONG” OF FEEDBACK THIS ALBUMS A 0.
At one point I self classified as a Dead Head. This listening experience brought on an epiphany—what if it’s not the music I liked but the soft cotton skirts and the hippy boys? Indeed. If I’m being honest with myself there was always something unsettling with the devout Dead Heads. Yeah I love the songs Box of Rain and Terapin Station but those jams…ugh…meet me in the parking lot where I’m buying a flowy skirt and some mushrooms. Andre and I were recently at a bar with Dead Head friends and a Dead cover band was playing. It all came back when our friend got up to do that Dead dance… that uncomfortable feeling—-CRINGE. I looked around at the zombie dance groove these folks all partook in and ugh…Super cringe. And that’s how I felt listening to this live album…vocals are off, those “jams” make me feel like I’m drowning, flowy skirts and hippy boys ain’t my jam.
Scant song-like moments and the late attempt to experiment can't save this recording as an official live document. Violent disagreement with the Dead.
Worst album ever.
10/10 jazz rock is a flawless genre I think one of those songs was in 11/8? perfection!
The Dead never die.
Masterfully made prog rock/acid rock tracks with range of impressive instrumentals, including an organ solo on "Death Don't Have No Mercy". 'feedback' the weakest track imo but still earns a 5/5 for me.
Gotta give it a 5 to help counter all these 1s, yes it's weird early Dead but it still far superior to random 80s pop band
Jam rock psicodélico, mayormente instrumental. Me ha gustado. Venga, vinilo.
I was never a deadhead for some reason, Not quite what I was expecting from a band that was once one of the loudest in the world. Reminded me of Man but more "mellow" if you know what I mean. Would I buy it - probably not, but I would definitely listen again.
I am a big fan of Grateful Dead, especially their music that feels so free and improvised yet somehow still so composed and premeditated. This album has elements of that, however I don't think it's the best live album that the Dead have to offer. Still enjoyable to listen to, but it has its ups and downs. I like the bluesy feel throughout, and the layered instruments (multiple guitars, drums, organ, bass, vocals) all working in unison. I experienced a few "get on with it" moments while listening to periods of songs that felt like they took forever to evolve - I believe the jam band genre gets this criticism quite frequently. Fave tracks: Dark Star, Death Don't Have No Mercy
I’m not really a jam band person but the Grateful Dead are very good and the solos are great
This album was hugely influential and remains one of the highest regarded live albums. However, the jam rock format is dated and many of the improvisation sections are overlong. There are moments of brilliance scattered throughout, but the listener definitely needs to be able to sit with moments that don't really go anywhere. Having said that, I am consistently amazed with the Grateful Dead's ability to to deconstruct a song, and send it to truly interesting places before bringing it all back together. They were certainly tapped into each other in a special way.
Started off really slowly and experimental and I wasn’t sure what the heck I was listening to. But then it felt like it came to a nice place. Place of psych rock haha, so that works out. I’m still not super keen on live recordings though Saved songs: St. Stephen, Turn On Your Love Light, Death Don't Have No Mercy
Effectivement parfait avec le pétard du matin
This is it: the transition from jazz and blues and psychedelic rock to jam bands in recorded form. Utilizing the new 16 track recording, to capture a lot of the finer details of and emotion of a live show
Much much better than American Beauty. World's greatest jammers (King Gizz will take the crown eventually but they need the context of history behind them more)
Is this the best live album on the list? Best track: Turn On Your Love Light
grateful dead man what can i say
This is the one. This is what a Grateful Dead album is supposed to sound like. It's everything that the Dead are known and loved for. They've always been a musician's band and that's super evident here. It's so easy to get lost in the layers and transitions and the interplay between the instruments. I really enjoyed it.
Eerste livealbum van de Grateful Dead, toentertijd opgenoment met state of the art opnameapparatuur. Tracklist bestaat uit lange versies van nummers zoals Grateful Dead dat wel vaker deed op concerten, waaronder enkele covers. Niet heel toegankelijk, maar zit wel erg goed in elkaar. leukste nummer: St. Stephen - Live at the Fillmore West Het nummer "Black Star" werd legendarisch door de lange solos live - tot wel drie kwartier lang - en het feit dat het niet vaak live gespeeld werd. Voor Deadheads werd het een heilige graal om bij een concert te zijn waarin het nummer werd gespeeld.
Definetely a great live record, arguably one of the best ever made.
Great live album.
"Live/Dead" is the first official live album (fourth overall) by American rock the Grateful Dead and a double album at that. It was recorded over a series of San Francisco concerts in early 1969 and to mitigate debt accrued from their previous album "Aoxomoxoa" and fulfill their record contract. They wanted a more representative version of their live performances. It also was the first live rock album to use 16 tracks. The album received positive reviews with critic Robert Christgau commenting that it "contains the finest rock improvisation ever recorded." High praise from a guy that I rarely see something completely positive from. Slow guitar, percussion and bass start their epic 23-minute "It" song "Dark Star." Honestly, this sounds like their tuning their instruments for a good long time. The song picks up and sort of gets a groove. Jerry Garcia in total jazzy improv mode. The vocals come in at the 6:00 mark. Is this an acid trip? About patterns of life? The start and end of life? Maybe all the above. The song continues with chaotic guitar, guitar interplay, improv and feedback. Yeah, what a journey. The second side kicks off with "St. Stephen." Hey, we have a melody here with the guitar. Prominent organ. This is more bluesy. St. Stephen was the first matyr of the New Testament and was stoned to death or is this about Stephen Gaskin, a 60's counterculture figure who formed a community. I'm saying both. The song transitions right into "The Eleven." This is fast pace. The rhythm and percussion stand out. Unique time signature. More blues-based guitar and even more trippy lyrics with fantasy and nature imagery. Imagine that. Side three begins with Ron "Pig Pen" McKernan on vocals on the Bobby Bland cover "Turn On Your Love Light." They do a great job fusing R&B and jam band. And, they do another unique cover with Blind Gary Davis' "Death Don't Have Mercy." This is their most bluesy song with organ. It adds a gospel vibe. Jerry bringing it on the vocals. And, why not end with nearly eight minutes of feedback on they do that with "Feedback." I'm of a fan of irritating noises but this takes right to the limit. The album actually ends with a 30-second a capella song "And We Bid You Goodnight." This album has incredible improvisation, pyschedelia, blues, jamming and guitar interplay. Each songs raises the intensity as the song progresses. I would have to give the slight live album edge to Europe 72' but this is really good. I wouldn't say this is for the casual music fan but any of the jam band and even jazz fans will appreciate most of this. And Deadheads? Well, you're already there with this.
Not sure how this one made the list when "Europe '72" (or "Skull & Roses" for that matter) didn't. I doubt this album is going to win over any new fans. That being said, I really like licorice. 4/5
Kinda sad I missed the tour
Just the noodliest thing.
listened to again truly great live jam album
Not a huge Grateful Dead fan but this was enjoyable. Maybe I need to experience more of library.
Read the negative reviews first and expected to hate it. Then I listened to it. This is an amazing album. Just goes to show you not to follow other but make your own mind up. It's pretty 'jammy' and really good for chillin- there's some fine musicianship on show here too: these guys were at the top of their game. One of the best 60's rock albums - certainly considering it's a live album too and not studio recorded.
one of the best live album
The first Grateful Dead live album, even before their two famous studio albums. It propelled them to fame and showcases their insane ability to improvise. A double album with just 6 songs, it's very easy to digest and leave in the background. Still very early in their career, and also dated by jam band standards, a lot of ideas don't work or tend to drag on too much. We start off with the jazzy groovy "Dark Star", one of their most iconic songs, and certainly mind blowing for a lot of first-time listeners. It's a fantastic introduction where they mess around with a lot of techniques, including abrasive distortion and atonality. You never know where the song is going, but you're excited to see what happens next. "St. Stephen" is our pop song, "short" and catchy with plenty of cool moments. Gets quiet, gets loud and explodes, has a satisfying coda that jumps straight into the next song. "The Eleven" is an acid rock instrumental (with some vocals for a minute), very groovy and entrancing. Love the consistent flow and high energy, good teamwork all around. Awesome transition to the next song. "Turn On Your Love Light" is a fun bluesy dance song. Good mix of loud and quiet moments. "Death Don't Have Mercy" is an ok song (a bit Beatlesesque) but doesn't offer much. "Feedback" shows has several psychedelic attributes and is a forerunner to space rock music, but it's pretty bland and not very satisfying. Pink Floyd was doing much better distortion work at the same time. Their later live albums show they could do better, but the first four tracks show they have so much to offer. The last two tracks do drag down the overall quality. But very enjoyable and a good introduction to the Dead, jam bands, and the power of live recordings in general.
I am a definite fan if live concert albums and this is one if my favorites. I particularly enjoy them if the bands just hang out and jam for the crowd. Dark Star by itself is reason enough for this album to make the list.
Cool guitars. Easy listening. Great background music. Those guitars were talking. Would revisit for vibes
First time with Grateful Dead and very unimpressed at first listen but a few listens more and I started to get with the vibe - a fascinating rock jazz psychedelic fusion. Sure, a little meandering at times, but there’s a genuine buzz in the interaction between the musicians and between the band and the crowd.
amo la musica de abuelo que tomaba lsd en su juventud
The Dead are always best experienced live. Pretty neat that they apparently got someone to invent the microphone splitter required to record them while playing a live show, to the benefit of all live recording since. I'm not the type of person to give up my job and follow the dead around while they're on tour, but I will jam out to these tracks any day. Fav Tracks: Dark Star, The Eleven, Death Don't Have No Mercy
Time has not been this album's friend. It was leading recording technology at the time but over 50 years later it's hard not to think "Could've fooled me" Dylan and the Mothers kicked off rock and roll double albums a couple of years before this and by 1969 a double LP seemed to be the thing to do. Zappa's double also had a side with only one song although this practice didn't hit its stride on studio albums until the prog rockers. The Dead decided to have two songs that each took a full side on this album. This hasn't aged well. The Allman Brothers did the same on their live at the Fillmore East album a couple of years later but the Allmans had Duane and Dickey trading licks so were better equipped to pull this off; even with the two of them, those sides of that Allman Brothers' album sound a bit tired these days. This album shows us that Gerry can play and validates the Deadheads complaints about how far down he is on the various lists of greatest guitar players. Regardless, time has made sides with just one song tedious. Experimenting with noise was what the cool kids were doing in the late 60s but the experimentation with nearly 8 minutes of noise on "Feedback" is terrible even when compared to other late 1960s experiments like "Revolution 9" or VU's "White Light / White Heat." At least there's not a 5+ minute drum solo.
This is the best and worst of the Grateful Dead. A lot of discordant sounds like people playing difftsongs at the same time. The feedback track was completely unnecessary. That said both St Stephen and Love Light we’re fantastic!
I don’t think it’s out of line to give this a 3. I respect the musicianship and there’s a lot to like in this (dark star and the eleven were highlights), but jamming loses a lot of its charm when it’s recorded, and the dead lose a lot of their charm when you’re sober. Is an 8 minute song if feedback really necessary? I’m sure this would wonderful to see live but as an album listening experience it left a lot to be desired.
To Marty's chagrin I've never been a huge deadhead but I do appreciate them! That being said I feel like a different live album would have been better suited for this list. Nothing to dislike, just nothing exactly blew me away? Eminently listenable just not as memorable as others I've heard from them!
Átti ekki von á miklu, og þetta var svo sem ekki mikið. Langar djammsessionir og lög sem renna saman í eitt, en þetta var samt ekki leiðinlegt. Allt í lagi. Næsta plata.
I would describe myself as a fan of the Grateful Dead generally. They have some flawless albums, but they also have some duds - for me this one sits somewhere in the middle. Plenty of appealing musicianship throughout and good vocals, but even I have my limits with their jams. Listening to this did prompt me to go back and revisit to some of my other favourite live stuff they recorded. Fave track: St Stephen
PREFS : Saint Stephen, The Eleven, Turn on Your Love Light MOINS PREF : Feedback
Pop-rock sesentero con abundancia de instrumentalización. Guitarrero y en ocasiones psicodélico
Tocan una masa, cantan muy poco. Se vuelve eterno por partes, pero hay calidad.
Unusual album. It started as psychedelic rock with some pretty awesome passages here and there, very interesting stuff, so atmospheric, no need for drugs to trip. Then a bit of interludes, and we're off to Elvis Presley impersonation? I was actually thinking that somehow the album finished and something else started. Very surprising, took me off-guard for sure. And finally another slightly psychedelic song with a long noise outro, which was not as fascination as the song in the beginning. Overall impressive record, a bit all over the place and pretty long, I think it would work much better, if they would split it into two albums. But not a bad start for my first listening to Grateful Dead.
Quel plaisir de reprendre le générateur sur cet album après un super week end de 4 jours !
Je m'attendais à un véritable défilé de clébards tous plus dégueulasses les uns que les autres, il n'en sera finalement rien. Tout juste un ou deux saint-bernards, et bien brossés qui plus est.
:'( I really thought I'd like this more.
The Dead are kinda like rimjobbing. It seems like a good idea at first, but the more time you spend on it, you realize it stinks.
It was so good to get this album this week. I'm listening to a favourite podcast at the moment and the latest episode is on The Grateful Dead. They are one of the 60s bands that has passed me by, somehow. I enjoyed this but I'd love to check out some of their studio albums. They are way more blues rock than I thought they'd be
Interesting live album. The Grateful Dead are one of those iconic bands that people almost make a pilgrimage to see. A bit before my time and I've never really jumped onboard though.
Sure, it's an early and important artifact, but it's not early as interesting, rich or enjoyable as the later records, including the live ones. Perhaps the editors didn't want to go down the rabbit hole of Dick's Picks, from the vaults, etc. but this is not even in the top 5 of live records that got broad release. One gets it, but this is a lazy choice given that it's almost primitive compared to all that was to come. Consider how later versions of "Space" and "Epilogue" are vastly better (plus weirder) than the "Feedback" here. And later bangers are much more richly textured and tuneful (and less bangy-clangy) than "Love Light."
Long mostly bluesy jams, some a little psychedelic (and 7 minutes of feedback to ignore - helpfully labelled “feedback”). Not bad.
This album worked as some really nice background music for me with some really stellar guitar work. Think I would have enjoyed it more high as a kite.
Lotta noodlin'. Never got to see them live. I kept saying "next time". And then there wasn't a next time. One of my life's regrets.
Most fans of the Dead I’ve encountered have this weird thing about them. They don’t love music as much as they just love the Dead. That fact has always kind of soured me on these guys for some reason. Now, I’ve listened to my fair share of their live stuff over the years, and if I had the change to see them back in ‘69-‘72, oh absolutely I’d have been there. Garcia is undeniably one of the greatest talents in psych rock history. But boy oh boy do these songs just go on and on. I think for me it’s almost easier to not think of these as songs, just an extended jam of some buddies who have good chemistry. In which case, this album kicks. It’s like a nice piece of warm toast that you save half of for later, then come back to it and it’s a bit stale.
This was an interesting album to sit down and experience. Dark Star might possibly be the longest song (of one single part) I've heard so far on the list. The transcendental, "tune-out to it" feel of this one felt very much like the same feeling I get from some jazz music. Honestly it seemed like jazz on an electric guitar. "Jazz-rock", I guess. It was an interesting live album for sure, I'm not if I'll come back to it again any time soon though - Dark Star was cool but I wasn't so invested in the other tracks here. Favourite: Dark Star
I could smell it.
I mean, with all due respect, I couldn't possibly be unbiased to a Dead live album. I had a coworker who, when given control of the radio, would only play shit like this. So it's soaked into my conscious at this point. There was one time, he and I were speaking on hologram performers (a la Tupac). He said to me, "Y'know, if they did a one night only Jerry hologram... I might go." Brian, you would've killed someone for a ticket to that. Anyway. Favorite track: "Death Don't Have No Mercy"
Guitar noodling! And lots of it! I’ve mostly only listened to a few studio albums by Grateful Dead but they stretch out and jam much more live. Like the Allman Brothers live album we had a while back, this is perfect music to put on in the background while cooking. Bright, cheerful, pleasant music. Wait, “Feedback” is really 7+ minutes of experiments with guitar feedback? Surprised that one made the cut for the live album. Gets kinda cool in the second half of the song though.
This drug infused elongated jam session proved surprisingly effective background to my weekend afternoon book reading… But yeah, Grateful Dead isn’t my jam.
Gillade Dark Star en massa o sen va de lite neråt tbh... death dont have no mercy va o helt bra
Juu dehär e en trea for suuure
I may have related this before but I mostly discounted the Dead until a close friend turned me on to a few tracks that, while not making a superfan out of me, did open my eyes to their value above the whole traveling hippie drug festival thing. I'm not hugely impressed with this live collection. A lot that strikes me as akin to noodley jazz scales with slacker instrumentation, a good chunk of lazy blues meandering, and the not quite 8 minutes of feedback can absolutely go stuff itself. Can't deny some standout sections that truly capture a band perfectly in sync and jamming on a shared frequency with their audience.
So of the pysch stuff was a bit much for me but when it got more bluesy I loved it.
This was quite intense psychedelic rock which though I enjoyed elements I did find it quite dense at times. Some of the drawn out sections I probably struggled with for the same reason as jazz, sort of that meandering... Which I bet I like at times but it didn't always hit the spot here but overall I thought it was very good. Hard to rate
Just way too damn long, but I'm not a fan of the Grateful Dead so this may be best for fans. Definitely captures their essence though and it sounds overall very nice. Ironically enjoyed "Feedback" the most.
I'm one of the odd Dead fans that actually prefers the studio versions.
Strikes me as "fans only" material, not "hear this before you die" material. Three strikes right off the bat - live album, long album, and long rambly jam tracks. However, it sounds like the importance of this album is that it captured their live performance sound, which is fundamental to why they have such a strong fanbase in the deadheads. On another positive note, it also strikes me that, although the tracks may be rambly, they're not noodly - their skill is evident within the improvisation.
Ihan jees instrumentaalivoittoista menoa 3/5
Oikein nautinnollista. Vinskana voisin pyöritellä useamminkin.
17th July 2023 Listened a day late on the drive to London. Worked from home and had Mary-Ruth, Stephen and Freddie over for supper. Jazz, blues and folk riff freely off each other for an hour.
Is actually a great album in the 2/3's of it where they aren't doing overly self indulgent jamming
This might be a hot take but I don't really enjoy live albums. Doesn't do much for me to listen to some dudes riffing for 23 minutes in my living room. Having said that, the music wasn't bad, it just didn't pique my interest. Probably wouldn't listen again unless I was looking for random background music
The Dead have some great shows. I don't know why this one was selected. It's alright but is FAR from them at their best.
The same old discussion with live albums again and I'm sure this must have been a very cool experience to see live but for somebody who isn't a Grateful Dead fan, this provides little to nothing tbh. The songs are sometimes quadrupled in length versus the studio recording and often just filled with jamming