Live / Dead

Not the Dead record I what put on this list. Not even the live record I’d include. But it was nice.

Songs are too long! Feedback hurts my ears - sounds like trouble with a microphone.

Overly jammy but has a certain something

I used to assume I wasn't really a fan of the Grateful Dead. And now I know that to be true 😉 Only joking, I was pleasantly surprised by this as Sunday morning spaceout mood music. If you let yourself relax into it, there's some outrageously good playing.

An important album in the history of the band as it captures the type of live performance that put them on the map. That said, as far as Dead Shows go this is a little too jammy for me. My favorite Live Dead years are the 71 to 76, but obviously there's great shows to discover throughout their history. I love the Dead but I'm more of a "radio edit" Dark Star person than a 20 minute live version person. That is of course unless I'm there in the moment, and under the influence of hallucinogenics and various other substances...

я всё время забываю какие они, в этот раз они максимально джем бэнд, ничего не запомнила кроме джемов)

Yet another live album that only really works if you were there. And even then, I’m not so sure. If you’re at the concert and, stoned and fueled by the energy and cheers of the other fans, can really get into it, it’s a fantastic, unforgettable experience. Even then, the recording can be disappointing. I wasn’t at the concert—I couldn’t have been, anyway :-)—and it doesn’t really grab me. I’ll probably only listen to it again once I’ve heard a lot more of the Dead and want to fill in the gaps in my knowledge. So, probably not. 3/5

probably a 3.5 for me; good music for background, being high or just being out in da sun

Nógvar góðir sangir, nógvar lítiðsigandi sangir á fløguni

Thinking I outgrew live Jam Band stuff. I enjoy the Grateful Dead's albums, and they have some very classic stuff for sure. The thing is, beyond the obvious technical ability needed in order to pull off these epic jams and play off each other so well, I just don't really get much out of it. It would be one thing to actually be there probably, or to have experienced something like this in person at one point or another, but just as a listener, I need there to be a certain amount of structure and intention behind what's happening. Which is why the album's best moments are during "Turn On Your Love Light" and "Death Don't Have No Mercy". On the former, the song's presence is felt the entire time even when the band jams out, therefore making this one feel like it has a point to me. The latter song accomplishes it's goal in wrenching out some rather dour emotions about life and mortality while the Dead jam out some rather deftly played blues rock. Otherwise, this thing is too meandering, and too dependent on factors I can't honestly connect to. The feedback track was also unnecessary. That kind of thing would be cool in person after having physically been through that past hour's worth of drug induced hullabaloo, but to me here at work mopping floors and counting inventory, it felt perplexing and rather annoying honestly. So yeah, it's just uh... not my speed.

Not bad. Just too long. Not really my thing.

don't have much else to say about this other than that it's fine. some nice guitar work in here but doesn't do a whole lot for me

The Dead is an acquired taste, unless you like drawn out songs or have a lot of time/drugs available. I know their hits, but like the covers of their songs better than the originals. The Tom Wolfe book The Electric Cool-Aid Acid Test gave an interesting look at their roots in Ken Kesey’s drug-soaked world, and showed how they rose to fame in the San Fran Jam-band and drug cultures, which at the time were not that separate. However, this album is respectable, but it presents as something that would have been better to experience and then reflect rather than experience in headphones, which is probably still preferable to heating with speakers and the family giving non-stop critique. The opening tracks Dark Star incorporated a lot by of jazz elements that, when isolated, showed the talent of musicians. However, and maybe it’s because I like a well structured song, the Bobby Bland cover of Turn On Your Love Light was my key track as it was (1) structured; (2) gave a window to clearly hear the musicians; and (3) is a classic blues song. Admittedly, I kind of got bored with even that about seven minutes in. The following song Death, with the bluesy interludes, felt like the high had worn off and I just wanted to sleep in the grass. Due to the roots of this album I am rating higher than I would on a personal level, which respectfully hasn’t changed much since I first heard them.

Not a fan of jam bands

I'm a big Grateful Dead fan, and yeah this one doesn't really do them the justice that they deserve. Some of these reviews are just flat out wrong, but it is hard to argue against the overall rating that this album has. As a dead fan, I'd suggest listening to Cornell '77 or MSG '81 if you really want to get a good taste of their real prowess. If this one turned you off completely to the idea of the Grateful Dead, then I get it.

I consider myself a fan of the Grateful Dead. They are admittedly a band whose influences have chiefly always been stateside, they never really broke in over here the way they did in America, but I have long considered them a band I enjoy and have owned some of their work physically as a core part of my collection. I have always heard them referred to as a "live band", a band who differs so wildly from the recording studio to the stage and are held up as being an experience best understood in the moment of a live show, which is of course not a luxury we can experience in this age. As such, I was happy to see this pop up as the next album for me to listen to. I can't say I see why their live side is held up to such a high regard. Perhaps this truly is the way to experience the Dead; in a field or auditorium decades in the past, with all the culture that comes with it, but strip that away and smash it onto two sides of vinyl and so much of that is lost. To my ear this album is akin to the worst excesses of the ever wonderful King Crimson: long dithering riffs that don't turn into much except the next riff, an unconventional lyricist who works well in a studio where takes can be redone that don't translate into phenomenal recordings on stage, and psychedelia overpowering the music. I would be wrong to call it a bad album, and I am glad to have listened to it, but I am never a particular fan of the reality of the live album compared to the sterile perfection of the studio, and I would take any of the Dead's extensive studio release over this other side of the coin. Worth your time, not worth a higher grade than 3.

De vorige keer brachten de Grateful Dead een soort reserve-Eaglesmuziek, live slaan ze aan het experimenteren, à la Jimi Hendrix maar dan minder virtuoos. Ik heb dit album meerdere keren geluisterd, en aan sommige stukken, ook de wat meer geestverruimende, kon ik goed wennen. Maar het beste is het eigenlijk wanneer ze het kunstzinnig geïmproviseer achter zich laten en gewoon lekker gaan spelen, zoals in Turn your love light of Death don't have no mercy. Maar dan moet er in 'Feedback' weer een bak gepiep en gekraak worden geproduceerd. Sorry jongens, dat drukt het cijfer naar beneden.

Als ze met het album starten is de band springlevend. Vrolijk jammend nemen ze het publiek mee het spontane jazzy leven in. En ondanks de spelerij, weten ze daarbij af en toe ook het blues-gevoel van het leven mee te geven. De inspiratie lijkt dan van meneer Hendrix te komen. Ondanks de knulligheden en dode stukken luistert het nummer erg makkelijk. Ik zou het op 4 sterren zetten. En dat is relevant, want na het nummer zitten we alweer op 1/3 van het album. Moet ik bij het eerste nummer toch ook nog even mijn terugkerende ergernis kwijt. Ja hoor, weer een paar scheurtjes erbij in mijn trommelvliezen door die feedback. Nou, als ik dat al moeilijk kan hebben, hebben ze voor mij nog een verrassende kijk op de dood in petto. De afsluiter heet zelfs Feedback. Grapje natuurlijk. Maar daar geef ik toch strafpunten voor.

Een beetje valsspelen, zo noem ik live-albums altijd. Veel artiesten zouden beter af zijn met een greatest hits of live-album in de lijst, maar niet iedereen krijgt zo'n notering. Als ik de wiki doorneem, dan wilde de Grateful Dead in de 1e plaats een live-album om aan hun contractverplichtingen te voldoen. Ik lees daar dan wat spanningen tussen de regels door. Waarschijnlijk hadden ze een contract getekend, toen ze niet bij hun volle verstand waren (lees: zo high als een garnaal), of iets te naief, wat op zich niet onlogisch is, want in die tijd regeerden de platenbazen natuurlijk. In de 2e plaats waren ze de eerste die 12 sporen opnamen en wilden ze op die manier hun live-geluid proberen op plaat te krijgen; blijkbaar hadden ze daar een goede reputatie. Als het album zo hoor, dan moet ik zeggen dat ze daar vermoedelijk aardig in geslaagd zijn. Het klinkt als een grote jamsessie, waar het plezier wel degelijk vanaf spat. Er wordt veelvuldig gepingeld op de gitaar. Ik heb daar eerder bij andere bands wat op af gegeven, omdat het soms wat te snobberig overkomt op me. Dit album heeft dat ook wel, maar omdat ze gelijk beginnen met jammen en ik de nummers niet ken, heb ik niet echt door wanneer ze oeverloos uitweiden. En dat is hun geluk, want daardoor vermaak ik me redelijk met dit plaatje. 3+ sterretjes, maar niet genoeg om af te ronden naar boven.

I don't mind the Dead. I don't mind long, drawn-out jams. I don't mind okay-ish live albums. But put them all together and it's not for me.

Fine but not my jam.

I've accepted at this point that with most of these live albums from the vinyl era, there are bound to be limitations, such as not having the full set from the performances. I've also accepted that the Grateful Dead are known for their long, sprawling, improvisational jams. With all that in mind, how did I feel after listening to their first live record, Live/Dead? Well, let me start by saying this record started strong. The 23-minute noodling fest of "Dark Star" was something to behold, as the band effortlessly swayed through several musical passages with the occasional feedback noise, engaging all the way through. From there, the psychedelic sweep of "St. Stephen," with Tom Constanten's prominent organ embellishments, was an intoxicating delight, and "The Eleven" was an instrumental behemoth in 11/8 time. It's evident that the band had fine-tuned this opening medley of songs by this point. Even their blues covers of Bobby Bland's "Turn On Your Love Light" and Blind Gary Davis's "Death Don't Have Mercy" were fleshed out into these eclectic, masterful jams that justify their extended runtimes. I figured I was fully invested in the album by this point. But then, there was "Feedback", a nearly eight-minute formless feedback loop. Now, I'm not against the notion of feedback incorporated into the music, as I've pointed out earlier on this very record. Hell, as someone who's come to appreciate noise rock, I can appreciate it when it accentuates an underlying groove or melody. But here, there isn't much of a foundation for the noise to go off of, outside of some occasional improvisational organ whirring and Jerry Garcia's light guitar plucking. Could it be argued that this is more of an atmospheric piece? I guess, but as someone who's also come to appreciate atmospheric music, there's usually some guiding purpose, a sense of direction to where the ambiance was heading. I don't get any sense of purpose or direction from "Feedback" outside of general noise, and noise for the sake of noise doesn't seem all that appealing to me. After that, the album closes on a short little traditional ditty, bidding farewell to the audience, and I'm left wondering what got cut that could have helped bolster this package, especially given how later live releases would encompass more of the Fillmore West 1969 performances. It sucks because I wanted to like Live/Dead more. The opening half was so strong, and for the performance to peter out like that hurts me. I know for many Deadheads, the first live album is often revered, and I can see the appeal in the opening medley of tracks alone. But at this point, there are plenty of other live recordings from the Grateful Dead over the years, more comprehensive than this release.

It was a fun ride. Feedback definitely lived up to it's name. I'm sure it sounded better live on LSD. 2.75/5.

Not bad.

I thought this album was going to be pretty rad, until they started singing. It might be just me, but they're kinda more interesting when they're jamming when no one is singing.

Grateful Dead always makes me smile. I do prefer the studio albums to the live ones, though.

3 stars. This one is fine. Not a big jam band guy though.

My first Grateful Dead experience - didn't hate it - didn't really get into it, but I can kind of see how people might if you were in the right state of mind / with a crowd. Will listen to more of their stuff, but not quite sure why people followed them around the country...

There is no doubt that this is a good album, and I'm pretty sure this must be great in a concert. However, I did not find it very exciting. In any case, definitely worth a re-listen.

It's alright jam band stuff. Nice to have on in the background but I've never been a big fan. More music you would go hear live.

"Hey Mackey, why don't you go to a Grateful Dead Concert?" "I can't man, Jerry Berry's dead!" 3/5

Although I understand there's something of a culture / cult of Grateful Dead followers and completists, they simply never made it here to Australia. They never toured, received little to no air play, had no hits and remain little more than a name. So I went into this pretty much blind. It does go on a bit. After an hour without a break you start to reminisce about the good old days of more modest, succinct records like Tales from Topographic Oceans. The level of playing is fine and the level of invention is often high, but when they're stretching out Bobby Bland or Gary Davis to 10 or 15 minutes you can't help wondering if it's entirely necessary. Not to mention that Reverend Gary Davis did it better. And be honest, the Feedback thing is a pretty much a bit of silliness. Possibly it seemed like a good idea at the time, although it might have been the drugs talking. I think if you worship at the shrine, or if you were there (or at a similar show) then it will seem like a life changing experience. But if you're coming at it cold, then it all seems a bit self indulgent and in need of a pruning.

This album seemed to drag a bit, it was quite experimental-sounding and I’m surprised that this was chosen over other Dead records (the other from the project I enjoyed much more). Dragged out a bit, maybe I got this on a bad day or waited too late in the evening. Overall 2.75/5, may have to revisit

decent, feedback track was skipped.

Well, in honor of Bobby let’s do some Dead. Have you ever talked to someone who is really into soccer or hockey? When they tell you the game was incredible- thrilling, intense and you ask what the score was and they say 0-1 final. Welcome to the Grateful Dead. The opening track is exactly what is right and what is wrong with the Dead. It’s about the process, not the product. The journey, not the destination, right. Well on the way you may get bored, you may get sidetracked, you may see something incredible and you may get there with every person who you traveled with recounting different opinions on what the trip was like. What a long strange trip it’s been, right Jer? At their worst they are terrible: noodly, out of tune, out of sync. And that is what makes those moments when it all hits sound so damn great- it’s always darkest right before the dawn. I challenge you to find a time when you can actually set aside 30 minutes- that you will just allow the album to go on around you and be part of the journey with the band. That’s what makes the Dead- and many other live acts- so much better and exciting and addicting than a pop star: they include you. You, the listener, are actually included because you may hear a snippet that half the band misses. You may miss the cue and be shocked when the drummer tightens up. You may feel the highs as if you’re up there playing with them just as much as you may feel the impatient ‘get on with it’ while waiting for someone- anyone- to steer the ship that seems aimless. You are emotionally attached and included as part of the experience. To this day I have to be in the mood for the Dead. This is honestly one of my least favorite live Dead records. They have better. And once again that’s the point. Sometimes watching a 7-3 football gar is more fun than a 28-24 game. I’ve played improvisational music and maybe that lets me hear it differently than someone who hasn’t- maybe it has nothing to do with it. Maybe you just have to be open to the experience just being an experience rather than it having to have a catchy hooky chorus to bring home the bacon and get played million times in rotation.

Not a huge fan but ok background music

It’s good as a background album. I’m not absorbed by it, but it’s not so boring that I forget I’m even listening. I just can’t get super into these bands which break into a 15 minutes jam sesh whenever they want.

So many bad reviews, just chill and listen

I was expecting to hate this, in fact I wanted to hate it after reading all the one star reviews but I was surprised. To be fair that opening track is absolute dog shit, it’s like some skanks had broke into a music shop plugged in a tried to play 6 different genres of music. Anyway I struggled through and when I started to hear actual coherent songs I thought, yeah that’s got something there. It did finish a bit weak though. I will probably go on to listen more of the dead on the back of this.

There is nothing really remarkable about this album to me. If you're a fan of the Grateful Dead, you will enjoy hearing your band jam and play some obscure songs. If you're like me a not a fan, there doesn't seem to be much here to get excited about.

This is an awkward one to rate. There's a lot to enjoy here, the core of psychadelic rock goes voyaging through a wide variety of unexpected genre influences, and some of the improvisation is pretty spectacular. But, ultimately, can I imagine myself sitting down and *listening* to this, hardcore, for the full length of a double album? And the answer is no, not really.

1969. Breakthrough album that represents what the Dead stand for. Live album with loads of jamin. But many of their other albums will outshine and give us something more iconic.

Aight

real background music

This is #day558 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to the first live rock album to use 16-track recording, yay. Now, this was a whole lot of late '60s jam rock, I must admit. Well, given the 75-minute runtime, it totally makes sense. Psychedelic, acidic, as time would demand. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day559.

For mye gitarjokking for min del.

I have never been a fan of the Dead. Some of their stuff is fine, but when they just start to jam/weedle on the guitars fooooorrrreeeevvveeeerrrrrr....I just tune out and it does nothing for me. I know some people really like it, and they are great musicians, but this is just middle of the road for my tastes.

Great background noise, some real good moments musically

3.5 down, very fun jamming

Altså bra, men mye instrumenter og må være i en vibe for det

I’m pretty inexperienced with Dead compared to their catalogue but I like jamming and I like long songs (big prog fan). The first song is that meme about Radiohead tuning their instruments though, it wasn’t even much of a jam it just kinda existed. The vibes are good on the rest of the album though

3.5

Unlike the Grateful Dead playing a song live, I'll keep this brief. This was okay. Probably would've gone higher if "Feedback" did not exist and they were slightly less jammy. 3 stars.

I get that their talented, but this is just excessive.

Need to get back to reading about these albums. My one complaint on the grateful dead is how meandery it is.

I appreciate that the Dead paved the way for Phish but there’s a lot more noise and cacophony than I might prefer

Has some good moments but it was a very long and drawn out listen

This wasn’t too bar. Honestly there were good parts and bad parts but I think it was better than the other Grateful Dead album I had. I felt like I got a better idea of why people like them from this one

Pretty good and interesting, though a bit over long.

not bad, but couldn’t finish the whole thing. jam bands give me a headache lol

alright I suppose

😵‍💫

Sehr schwierig die Bewertung. Stellenweise fand ich das richtig gut und ich mag lange Songs auch tendenziell. Andererseits wirkte es stellenweise auf mich wie ne reine Jam-Session,was ich nicht so spannend finde.

Ein unendlich langes Album bei dem ich den Großteil der Zeit auch die Jams genießen kann. Lediglich der erste Song ist mMn etwas zu ausufernd geraten ud bei Feedback frage ich mich ob das denn sein muss. Ich denke die Pionier Rolle in die Richtung des Psychedelisch Rock und der Jam Bands ist denen definitiv zuzuschreiben und ich denke auch, dass man in dem Rabbit Hole ein ganzes Leben lang versinken kann, aber das ist mir dann doch etwas zu viel. Aber gebe einen Bonusstern, denn ich bin der Überzeugung, Live wäre das absolut mein Ding und ich würde auch 7 Minuten Feedback feiern. Auf Platte streckt es sich dann etwas.

hahahah the reviews on this gave me a laugh. The Dead aren't for everyone and that's just ok. I find with a good joint, it's an enjoyable experience. Would I listen to this on the day to day? nope. but I don't think they wanted that either. It's beautiful music when not taken too seriously and certainly moreso with a little intoxication.

Not a huge jam band guy, but I could appreciate this even in the background -- or maybe because it was in the background? Couldn't imagine going to a concert that was just this.

Just last night I was thinking about how I don’t even know what the Grateful Sound sound like, and now I wake up to this? Coincidence? or my phone is listening to my thoughts?? Anyway. Hate live albums in general, but this wasn’t extra bad or anything. I actually quite liked the non-jammy parts.

The Grateful Dead are one of those bands that really divide listeners. Die-hard fans, especially the Dead Heads, treat their live shows as almost sacred, communal experiences that you truly had to be there for, high in the arena with thousands of others, to fully appreciate the magic. I've spent time with Live/Dead and plenty of their other live releases, but personally, I gravitate much more toward their studio work. The live albums, this one included, often feel dragged down by overlong tracks bloated with endless jamming and improvisation. Sure, stretching a strong song to 20+ minutes can work brilliantly if the material and the moment are right, but the Dead sometimes seemed to operate on the principle that longer automatically equals better. That approach shines in the right setting: you're in the crowd, maybe a little altered, riding the collective energy wave. At home, though? Sipping tea on the couch? Those marathon jams lose a lot of their spark and start to feel indulgent rather than transcendent.

honestly didn't hate it as much as i expected to

Good for a live album, great to listen to in the background 2. 75/5

Zu alt, das höre ich nicht.

I mean, it's ok. Yeah, some of their stuff is good but I've never been a Deadhead. I'd listen again but it just didn't hit me.

RIP Bob Weir This is a very nice album - I like the style and atmosphere

chills

Good, even sober.

If you didn’t like this album you didn’t understand it and should go back and listen again. The message behind this album is sublime.

If you're reading this before you listen to the album: Just skip Dark Star and Feedback. It's ok, don't feel bad about it. Just skip them. You're not missing anything. You don't need to listen to 30 minutes of that. Just skip them. The rest of the album is actually decent. Just skip them.

Good

Having heard a lot of bootlegs, I didn’t hear any standout's outside of St Stephen. Solid, not remarkable.

There was so much noodling on this album they could have called it, Live at the Pasta Bar. Enjoyable enough live album, I can appreciate how it could have been an awesome night for the Deadheads in attendance at the Fillmore in 1969. It's a jam album, actually a pretty decent one that I enjoyed more than I thought I would. St. Stephen flowing into The Elven was the standout on the album for me as the jamming on The Eleven pulled me in more than the rest. Not quite a 4 as it ran a little long but still good times 3 stars

Makes me feel like being kid and going to a restaurant that’s on the river/beach with an outdoor patio and bar because this is the music that plays

My first Grateful Dead album. It was a nice experience and I'll be checking out more of their stuff in the near future. I heard American Beauty is great so they'll probably be next. My favorite song from the album was Turn on Your Love Light which I was informed was a cover.

5/10… psychedelic rock / 60s / *1969

I have avoided the Grateful Dead for most of my adult life, mostly out of the assumption they were a lame hippy band that I wouldn't like anyway. Imagine my surprise when I kind of dig it. I'm no stranger to a long song, so that didn't bother me in the slightest. I actually don't mind the noodling as much as I thought it would, either. This listen actually helped clear up a lot of misconceptions I had about the Dead and the people who like them. I don't know that I would have followed them from town to town, or if I'd ever care enough about them to become familiar with the specific live shows throughout their career, but I'm leaning towards putting this album on again.

This isn't a great live representation of this band. Quite a few releases from this time frame are better, and quite a few unofficial releases from this time frame are better, too. I'm absolutely a Deadhead, have been since 1991, but I wouldn't hand this record to anyone who I wanted to expose to the band.

Probably a classic

Synes faktisk det var ret fedt, selvom der klart var dele af det der var for masturbatory. Giver mening at have et live album fra lige netop the Dead på, de er vel det klassiske eksempel på et band hvor fansene gik mere op i deres koncerter end deres plader. Godt nytår til Sandra, sendte en tanke ud til dig da jeg begyndte på det 8 minutter lange nummer som hed Feedback

Feels like this was a pretty swell show

there's some decent stuff on here but i am too sober for this album, i think. could have done without the combined 30 minutes of feedback and slow ethereal "jams"

Not what I thought it would be...I thought it would be terrible, but it was alright. Am I just getting old?

Better than Coldplay

A bit too noodly for my tastes.

I was never really a dead head, I dont have the attention span. No denying Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir? could play. A live album doesnt show the best of them. Thankfully it wasnt the gig with the 46 minute solo. Not too bad but jazz not really my forte

I enjoyed this, especially some of the longer instrumental, quasi-psychedelic songs. I especially liked The Eleven and Turn on Your Love Light. Was a bit existential about rating music in general today but I'll give this as much as a relative rating as possible. 63/100 Score and Rating edited 28/12/25 Score edited 01/01/26 Score edited 11/01/26 Score edited 28/01/26

its pretty average - not really anything bad just nothing especially good side note: amazing album cover 3/4 /5

Zoned out so hard while listening almost got in a car accident. Warning: do not operate heavy machinery while listening.

This one was solid, glad to hear Grateful Dead finally.

I have no doubt that this would be an awesome live experience, and there's some great instrumental work, but long meandering jam band stuff isn't really for me.

I had never listened to them, had only read some stories about them. It sounded like something cool in a live setting but a bit tedious on an album

Late 60s psych rock. First official live album. Loads of jamming. The kind of thing you put on when doing LSD. As ever, really not my thing. Gets better after first song.

I have heard of the Grateful Dead. But this was my first time listening to them. They were solid!

I don't like jam bands and I hate Americana so I was surprised that I didn't think this was terrible. It is interesting from an improv standpoint and from a recording and engineering perspective. I'm not super into it but I wouldn't be against hearing it again.

21/11/2025 I don't know how i feel about it being so long, it was good, just very annoying in parts. Spotify listeners: 2.3 million

Ikke for mæ. Veldig ikke for mæ med mindre det kan stå på i bakgrunnen og være relativt ignorerbart mens æ gjør nokka anna.

Hippie nonsense. I can sort of get into it for a while but grow bored with it, I need more drugs

Ok. Not for me though.

This is the band that effectively started the hippie movement? This band? Seriously? People actually spent their time travelling up and down the country to watch these guys play? The first song (which goes for almost HALF AN HOUR mind you), just sounds like they're doing a fucking sound check before actually playing. It only really perks up in the end, but it's nothing special. I imagine it was groundbreaking at the time, but it's just so dime a dozen now. Turn on Your Love Light was pretty damn good, though. Certainly listenable, but the runtime on this thing is just so long for what is essentially just a bunch of blokes jamming on stage without any real structure other than anything.

Listenable.

hmmm The Greatful Dead, I know they're like the staple hippie band but I could never really get into them. We'll give it a try. dude that first track was 25 min long!

Never really messed with Jam Band music before, my previous experience is The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East and the Jam side of All Things Must Pass. I thought those two were - to be frank - a lot better than this. This on the other hand felt a bit underwhelming. Maybe it's because people over-hype the Grateful Dead or maybe because it's just better when you're there in-person rather than at home listening to it, so it doesn't translate as well. Whatever way it is, this album didn't interest me that much. Highlight Song/s: The Eleven

I went into this with seriously low expectations after my last experience with The Grateful Dead, but this was actually some okay jam band music.

While this album is a good represetation of some of the great musicianship that the Grateful Dead could play with as a jam band, some of the tracks are nothing but bloated noise festivals where the band doesnt seem to be playing anything coherent at all. Maybe I am not appreciating it fully do to a lack of ilicit substances. The first song and the last song ruin it for the middle 4 songs which are fairly decent.

Great Songs: Turn On Your Love Light Good Songs: Dark Star, Mid Songs: St. Stephen, The Eleven, Death Don't Have No Mercy, And We Bid You Goodnight Bad Songs: Feedback

feedback woof, the rest is decent, my bias towards what they inspired and bands i do follow that cover the dead hit them with the 3

I’m in a generous mood. It has been a good background to cooking Sunday’s tea. I will never listen to it again.

Of all their live albums this cannot be the best. Volume changes make it a challenge to listen to without adjustments, and “Feedback” is not fun to listen to. I do appreciate hearing what their jams were like, but I wanted better.

Cool.

Llegamos al jueves con otra de las bandas que relaciono con mi época universitaria y con escuchar mucha mucha psicodelia y progresivo. De los proyectos musicales más conocidos, siento que es el que menos me gustó, así que me dispongo a escuchar éste disco desde otro lugar distinto: la curiosidad. Destaco algunas canciones pero no logran conmoverme del todo. Quizás no es la banda sino el momento. Gracias y hasta mañana

Pretty decent

I'm not a deadhead but it's alright.

Kind of appropriate to listen to this while 30,000 feet in the air. I can appreciate the Dead and this was not an unpleasant experience, but I confess to not really feeling them.

Pleasant, but I don't get the GD well. ★★★

unfortunately this is them at their most stereotypically annoying and it’s not their best live album

Not-particularly-intense psych album, just a mellow hour of drug-induced rock music Sounds nice enough

Yeah I quite liked this one, it's got some really long songs but it makes for a good album experience.

Day644 - i would call myself a grateful dead fan but this live album isn’t what i would call priority listening

Just sort of rambles. I get that that's the point, and it's exploring. But like... it's like watered down jazz.

Gear: 64 Audio Duo Artwork: 🧜🏼‍♀️⚰️🟥 Production (2001 Remaster): 🎧👂🧈 Music: 🍄🌀🪫 Ratinng: ⚰️⚰️(⚰️)/5

4?

I've never actually listened to the grateful dead. I was surely expecting something a bit more transcendent but I dont think it was as bad as the reviews would suggest. I wish it was one love concert album, the atmosphere is really lost in this compilation style.

Ok

Great musicianship. Didn’t know they jammed like this is 1969. Super jazzy rock, many times where the instruments were all doing there own thing on top of each other, but somehow being together at the same time. A solid listen

3/5

The moments when everyone is just doodling around, waiting for something to happen, are annoying. But then someone throws in an idea, everyone tunes in, and the jams are amazing. I especially enjoyed Stephen, Eleven, and Love Light — A LOT! Unfortunately, Dark Star and Feedback drag the album down.

An incredibly unique live album for the time.

Very disappointing that this record is on here instead of Europe '72, the true defining live document of the Dead (at least in terms of their contemporary releases). "St. Stephen" is an all-timer, and there are many other moments of greatness, but ultimately, it's still not their finest. 3.5/5

I like the Dead, but this seemed to go nowhere. To me it lacked cohesion. I love a good improv, but a decent part of improv is listening and reacting to everyone around you. This sounded like a bunch of individuals playing on their own, even though there are others around. Liked Songs Added: St. Stephen

A Grateful Dead live album? I bet this is gonna be long. Oh, it's only 7 songs. Oh. It's still an hour and 13 minutes. Buckle up. I've never been a jam band guy, but I've never been high at a jam band concert so who knows how I'd feel about them in their natural environment? This might be the first time I've listened to a full* Grateful Dead album, and I guess it went about as expected. They clearly had some talented musicians, and it wasn't hard* to get through for the most part. This didn't convert me, though. Similar to jazz, it's hard for me to appreciate jam bands beyond background music. 2.8 *I had to skip ahead on "Feedback." Honestly, fuck off with that. Pretend that this track is "art" if you'd like, but just because it's different doesn't mean it's good.

How does Bob Marly like his donuts... with jam in

It’s fine. GD is always pretty good, but I’m rarely in the moment for multiple 25 min jam songs

3.5 More bluesy than I expected.

I love the Dead, but I'm not sure why it's this album, and not Europe '72. That said, the version of Dark Star and St. Stephen on this are terrific, even if it ends REALLY spacy. 7/10

O que me cansa neste disco é que "a música rodopia, borbulha e parece perder a direção inúmeras vezes" (JiH, no livro 1001 Discos). Este universo hippie norte-americano carregado de blues e country não dialoga com minhas preferências musicais. Esperava muito mais, pela fama que precede a banda. Gostei bastante das opções vocais e algumas porções de guitarras e teclados, que foram prejudicadas pela péssima qualidade da gravação. Por fim um disco satisfatório apenas.

Didn't finish and probably would like the later tracks better than the opening "Dark Star," which I found atonal and too meandering.

This album is interesting but also strange. Why is Feedback a song? Not sure, but I kinda like it. Somehow. Side note, I have had 3 mostly instrumental albums in a row. Not quite sure how that happened, but it's interesting anyway. The other two being Jimmy Smith and War.

3,5/5 ei yhtään huonoa biisiä täl levyllä muttei superbängereitäkään. Tosi hyvää taustamusaa vähintään ja rokkaavampaa grateful deadia kuin aiemmin kuuntelemaan biisit

Grateful Dead has surprised me. This sounds like improv jazz but with guitars. I tend to find these kind of albums self indulgent. But this is enjoyable. The players are in complete harmony. I like that this sticks to a pyschadelic sound rather than blues (I like blues … but white jam blues can sound like blues with the soul ripped out). The Doors comparisons are valid. I also like the sung elements (not the strongest vocalist if being picky). All that said 1hr 13mins without any singles to break it up does test me a bit. Strong 3/5

I can see the appeal of The Grateful Dead. The band is a well oiled machine, in sync enough to provide an enjoyably loose performance with what sounds like a lot of improvisation. While I like the performance a lot, the songs themselves are merely “good.” I could have done with a killer The Doors-like single.

some good tunes

they are the original jam band and this album proves they continue to hold that crown.

I always felt the Grateful Dead live jams were overrated and this being the initial one proves it. When this was released they weren't very good musicians but they did improve over time. I do like Turn On Your Lovelight. It was pretty good in the 60s.

I love many Dead studio albums, I’m not a Deadhead though and the extended playing gets boring for me

I really want to like the Dead more than I do. Some of their songs sound too much like noodling in a practice space and not real compositions. Live albums are generally worse about this because it is about jamming and doing what feels right at the moment. In person that can be a lot of fun because you are experiencing something unique with others and you can watch it form. On record though it just meanders and turns into background noise. The musicality is impressive for sure but the guitars seem mic’d louder than everything else and I had to turn the volume down on my phone multiple times because the guitars were getting painful. Live sound is hard to get right but it seems like they could have leveled it out a little more on record.

This album, perhaps more than any other album on the list, is exactly what it is, no more, no less. And some of it I love, and some of the endless noodling I can leave. So an entirely redundant review, then.

TLDR: Happy for the exposure and easy enough to listen to, but very much middle of the road for me. This was a welcomed first album as I’m aware of Grateful Dead, but haven’t really given them a listen. Live music is best enjoyed live, but as far as recordings go the quality was there - the first live rock album to use 16-track recording! I appreciated the music, improvisation and feel of the album overall, but no particular songs stood out to me and I won’t likely seeking out more or listening to again.

Meandering but enjoyable

I can see why the hippies liked this band. The beginning mostly instrumental was too long for my liking, but the rest of the album was good and catchy. I liked how there wasn't a lot of crowd cheering like in most live albums.

A cool live jam album that for the most part, I enjoyed. This is one of those albums that you would put on in the background, but actually deserves to be listened to actively. Pretty complex at times, and lyrically pretty interesting. Good stuff, but ultimately not entering my regular rotation.

Album is fine. It was very jammy. Long songs but not annoying.

I've never listened to The Dead before. A virgin. It's very much what I thought it would be, summing it up as an extended jam session. I can see the draw of attending in person. I can imagine the communal feel is heightened at their shows.

I believe I can say this is the first time I have sat though an entire album by the Grateful Dead. Heard plenty of music over the years. I know the sound. This definitely highlights what they do well - and other things. And thos things - both good and bad go on too long. As best I can reckon - they spend a lot of time on 2nd and 3rd gear. They occasionally roll it over into 4th but never give you the push over the top that someone like Hendrix of Duane Allman. I don't mind 27 min of Whipping Post but. Dark Star feels like it meanders and never resolves. Moments feel akin to Bitches Brew but without the intention or innovation. And while death don't have no mercy and neither does the song. I tried. I do like and maybe even love And We Bid You Goodnight. And it's all still better than Pretzel Logic. I'm at 2.5 stars but going round up for 3 on account of the great cover art.

okay, i’ve been on a rollercoaster but i really liked a lot of this. surprisingly i enjoyed the feedback track. judging from comments i thought it would be horrible but it was very cool! if there weren’t two insanely long tracks i would’ve give this a 4. i just wanted those to end sooner rather than later even if there were nice parts in them. fave songs have been: st stephen death don’t have no mercy

No sé si me apetece hoy hartarme de ácido para disfrutar este disco. Lo intentaremos de otra manera. Realmente son grandes músicos. Pero todo es jam, no hay canciones y cuando cantan realmente no aportan nada.

3- Stars (7/15)

2-3

Some nice music. Some of it gets boring.

Varmasti kovimpia livelevyjä. Ei edes kuulosta liveltä kun tuotannollisesti niin kovaa kamaa. Pitkäkin

Enjoyed this more than I expected to. Death Don't have no Mercy was great, but the album did drag a bit at times. Overall enjoyable listen.

Utdragen, jammande gubbrock. Inte såld. Det blev väldigt mycket "bakgrundsmusik", svårt att fastna för något i de långa låtarna. Behagligt dock. Men inte mer än så.

I know many people's idea of the best (and perhaps only) way to appreciate the Dead is through their live performances, so I guess it's only fair to get a live album from them in addition to "American Beauty". But I'll admit that I groaned out loud when I saw it was well over an hour, as my tolerance for Dead-style noodling is *considerably* shorter than 75 minutes. But I'm sure many Deadheads are disappointed that we didn't get their whole discography. Not much to say about the so-called songs themselves (I mean, c'mon, calling a 23-minute orgy of meandering noodling a "song"?), other than this album was exactly what I expected and dreaded; to be fair, though, "St. Stephen" is better than the rest. On the other hand, it's probably a significant upgrade to the one Dead show I *almost* attended at RFK Stadium (DC) in the summer of 1993. For reasons completely unrelated to the Dead, I got as far as one of the tunnels into the stadium and could hear music playing, but then pretty much freaked out about life in general and never went inside. Apparently Sting was the opening act, and Jerry Garcia and he even sung "Walking on the Moon" together, which might have been interesting (in a better frame of mind). Probably for the best anyway, so that now listening to this album I don't have weird flashbacks or the urge to curl into a fetal position.

I've seen the Dead live a few times--enjoyed them though not a huge fan. So this seemed fine to me; I think I'm incapable of appreciating it more, and I'm sure this is unfair to them.

The Dead were never really my bag, but it's okay. I can appreciate what they're doing.

I really enjoyed having this on while I worked. I love an album that kind of just feels like one long song because the songs flow into each other and there's a shared sound throughout. however, i did have to skip one of them once it got to some repeating part of the song that was stressing me out. would listen again, will be listening to more dead, overall 3/5

Was fairly fun, not really my thing

I went into this with an open mind despite the fact that my ex was super into the Dead and I pretty much always hated when she played them and associate them strongly with her. but I was pleasantly surprised. I mean, I don't think it's good and I wouldn't intentionally seek out listening to this but they had some great moments and it was certainly a vibe. I could see how you would want to sit in the grass and trip at a show with this playing in the background

Grateful Dead live, you had to be there, and then, I suppose. I like the idea of bringing the live concert feel into your living room. Needs the presence of thousands of tripping hippies to complete that feel though.

Lite utdraget kanske men ändå bra

It was alright, the songs are very long though and I did start to loose interest a bit because every song seemed to go on forever

I've tried to get into the dead before and not had much luck. I kinda enjoyed this listen.

Would have been 2 but their version of whipping post was alright.

It was not my style

im GRATEFUL to be done listening to this. way too damn long, im not enough of a grateful dead fan to actually want to sit through hour plus long live album from them where most of it seems like meandering improv. not for me

Solid live album

I quite like the sound but I found it all merged into one long jam session and I couldn’t tell where one track ended and the next began. I feel like you probably had to be there, with a few beers and your friends and soaking up the atmosphere. It felt a bit ordinary to me on a stereo in my house in 2025.

Classic Dead--very jaunty and enjoyable as usual. Must confess I did not have any appreciation for them until meeting a woman on a dating site last year who is a huge Dead Head.

Not one of thier est

Expected to hate this but it was ok

Hate that it is a live album, but at least it was a good one.

This is one of those band's whose name I knew but never listened to. I assumed they were a punk band, which was wildly inaccurate. I'm listening to some of their studio stuff right now and it's pretty awesome. Unfortunately, these live recordings sound pretty terrible, despite the remaster. The studio versions of these tracks would for sure be 4-5 stars for me, right up my alley. But with this muddy quality it can never be more than background sound.

How many albums like this do they have?

This is mostly fine. There are some solid moments where the band really locks in. That said, several tracks drag on far longer than they need to, testing your patience more than rewarding it. And “Feedback” that’s not a song. It shouldn’t even be on here. A few bright spots, but overall a bit too meandering.

I haven’t ever been able to really get into the Dead, but maybe that’s because I’ve never seen them live while taking mushrooms.

2.6 I've never really seemed to get into the dead; I would assume that this selection would be a pretty good jumping-off point. It didn't convert me into a Dead Head but Turn Your Love Light On and Death Have No Mercy were the standouts to me. I think Phil lesh had a blown speaker cone at the Fillmore west show, either that or my car stereo does.

Grateful Dead is a complicated band. Their songs are ok, but not good enough for me to hear them at their length. At some point I simply get bored of a song.

Never seen the genre jam rock listed in the Wiki for an album but this 100% fits the bill. Really flows wherever the bands wants and only rarely finds a groove that stay around for some time. 6/10

Not the greatest dead but yall need to chill

They know how to live album.

There are moments of greatness on this album interspersed with long periods of stupid noodling

A good showcase of the dead at their craft. Not their absolute best live work but a good look into what fans love about them

Ha man. Some heady jams for sure. I am guessing this is probably the gold standard for official live releases for Grateful Dead? I have no idea. People love the dead, this was heady, the vocals were a bit rough, it was long, but heady. Solid 3 stars.

I have never been a fan of the Dead but this is actually not bad. It has some very weak moments when everyone just jams around and nothing actually fits together but overall it’s a good album.

un bon moment

I definitely an not a dead head, but this record surprised me. The first song is a slow burner and not a great lead song IMO. I enjoyed the next 2 songs much more. The blues on "Death Don't Have No Mercy" was pretty good. "Feedback" should have been a 1 minute experiment at best. Not the best way to close a record.

In general I love the Grateful Dead, but these rambling live albums are simply annoying

I haven't heard Grateful Dead in years, and am not familiar with this album, so this should be interesting. We start off with a 23 minute song! Ok, let's go!! I'm really liking the build-ups in this song. Also love that it takes 6 minutes for any vocals to start. I'm almost at the end, and I don't know what to think. I liked this. I think I did. I had it on while doing something else, which is maybe not the way truehard fans of Grateful Dead think this should be experienced. I also am not tripping on acid, which is maybe not the way truehard fans of Grateful Dead think this should be experienced. But hey, I did get some enjoyment out if this giant of a song. Is it the kind of thing I'll come back to multiple times? Probably not. But I've never been the biggest fan of wailing guitars. Hey, whatever. St. Stephen is more of an... accessible song? If a Grateful Dead song can be that. But yeah, it's good. The Eleven is probably my favourite so far, love the instrumentals here! This might me a good time to mention that I haven't been paying any attention to the lyrics. I don't think that's a major offense because it doesn't seem to be the most important factor so hey. Maybe next time. Turn on Your Love Light was definitely my favourite so far. Love the way it keeps building up, and the pay-off is great. Did not feel as long as it is. Death Don't Have no Mercy was good, I liked the multiple sections in one song, but the ones before were just better. Is Feedback gonna be 7 minutes of, well... feedback? Yeah fuck that And We Bid You Goodnight is great despite being 37 seconds long. All in all I really liked some parts of it and some others fell a bit flat. That being said, more time and being in the right mindset might make me like it more. Bu I guess that can be said about any album here. Oh well. Bye

Inoffensive twiddly guitar rock? Don’t mind if I do, but I won’t be banging it into the collection to be repeated ad infinitum that’s for sure.

I respect the musical ability, I just don't care for noodly jam bands.

3 out of 5. For the most part I enjoy the direction where the Grateful Dead's jams go.

Long and a lot of noodling. There were some nice parts though

Usually I like the Dead, but this album didn't work for me. I prefer when what they play is more "actual songs," less "just jamming for extended periods "

-the first live album I’ve heard by them and my second Grateful Dead experience overall. it was a bit hard to get into at first, just sorta sounded like random shit with guitars. I must confess I thought some of it was a bit of an impenetrable slog and I listen to free jazz.. -had some great highlights though. I was really getting into Turn On Your Love Light… maybe not my kinda thing but still really cool -Favorites are Turn On Your Love Light and Death Don’t Have No Mercy

Meh

3.5/5 Good jam band, but I'm not a fan of live music and there was nothing special

I will always love St. Stephen. This for me is the definitive version. I don't like this recording of "Turn On...", though. Dark Star is interesting, but does it need to be so long? All told, I think these could have been a four-star gig, were they performed all together (bar "Feedback"!), and if you were, let's say, in the right frame of mind!

I try really hard to go into each album with an open mind. I make a good faith effort to try to connect with each album, and to listen for things that make my ears and brain happy. I don't think I'm going to be able to do that today. The Grateful Dead were at the bottom of my list of bands I wanted to see pop up today. After accepting my fate, I headed to Wikipedia to do a little light reading about this album, and I saw that this album is SEVENTY MINUTES long. I don't want Jerry Garcia and his merry band of hippies taking up seventy minutes of my Saturday. I got home from breakfast with my family and pulled this album up on Spotify to find out that it was ONLY SEVEN SONGS! Every fact I learn about his album is worse than the last one. Next, I'm going to learn that this album was pressed out of the bones of orphans who died in The Blitz. Ugh, let's get into this one I guess. So, uh... turns out that this album wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Granted, "Dark Star" was a really terrible first song. I hated that it went on for what felt like an eternity, and it never went anywhere interesting. The guitar playing wasn't particularly good, and it felt like each member of the band decided to just do their own thing for nearly half an hour. Thankfully though, the lowest point of the album was out of the way early. “St. Stephen,” “The Eleven,” and “Turn on Your Love Light” were all good songs. They were a touch on the long side, but I was really happy to hear some really good organ playing, which is one of my favorite things to hear in sixties psychedelic music. The guitar playing was much better on those songs as well, and I enjoyed the overall sound on that stretch of the album. “Feedback” was good too, and even though it didn’t have the organ playing that I typically like, I enjoyed its experimental sound. Overall, this album wound up being fine, but getting through “Dark Star” was certainly rough. I can now personally vouch for the fact that the Grateful Dead were better live than they were in the studio.

Jammy, jazzy, but just ok. I don’t know much about the dead but wouldn’t call this groundbreaking.

I don't understand why Robert Dimnery has such a hard on for live albums. I wasn't there strung out on acid in the middle of a field, so I can't relate to the feeling of the day, or the flow of the jam sessions at all. So this album just decends onto boring acid induced noodling that has no structure. I get that Grateful Dead were a huge jam band beloved by many, but remove the drugs from the equation, and you're just left with a huge mess. I tend to like The Dead's studio albums, where structure and musical theory are applied and refined, but when cranked up on drugs and left to their own devices, they just flounder about and don't really achieve anything. Live albums are a real gamble, because they either go really well, and the experimentation that is always present on live albums hits, or, as in this case, they fail, and you're left with a steaming dumpster fire. It's a shame, because it's a blemish on an otherwise perfectly good blues rock band. Favorite songs: Turn On Your Love Light, St. Stephen Least favorite songs: Feedback, Death Don't Have No Mercy 3/5

Decent. Skillful noodling. I really like St Stephen on here, but overall the album did not do it for me. I like Grateful Dead, I’ve attended a concert of theirs (in junior high with my entire family), they have one or more albums that deserve to be on this list, but this album was not connecting with me for whatever reason.

I want to like the Grateful Dead but it’s just so hard

started out a high 3 but got pretty stale

They’re great musicians but I need more structure.

Prefiro Allman Brothers, mas não é ruim. Só o começo e o fim do disco que não são tão bons.

lots of jamming but little essence

uhhh. uhhhhhhhhhh. hm. i mean this was cool but impossible to distinguish any of the songs from each other and they were all like 15 minutes long. yeah. i mean it was good but so uhhhhhhh

3.5

Pretty chill, pretty good

I don’t think they picked the right GD albums for this list.

Grateful Dead...what an iconic group, and I was excited to hear an album by them to get the full vibe. I am not super familiar with them but knowing they have such a avid fan base I was excited to be pulled into their world. Wasn't super excited about the Live idea but thought maybe that would be an extra shining star because of people following them around so their live work must be amazing. In retrospect the live album just left it open to long drawn out songs that didn't go anywhere and no interaction with the crowd to improve the overall vibe. Dark Star was not how I would have started the album to draw a person in. It was slow, long and didn't really draw me in and make me want to continue. St. Stephen was good (would have made a much better start). The Eleven was not my fav but again would have been better then Dark Star, it was more improvising but at least it was exciting. I don't mind improvising a little, but an hour of it is just too much for me. Death Don't Have No Mercy was my favorite. In the world of improvising it is good maybe even great in this world. Then 7 minutes of feedback...why? Maybe this is them and their style, which means they are just not for me.

A jam without a centering substance is a jelly. So jammy it's jelly. I appreciate the band's ideas about live music (no two shows the same, extended jams and creative approaches to songwriting) and it's cool that they created a whole counterculture following largely due to their dedication to playing so many live shows. The music has it's moments with some great playing but overall not so much my thing. I guess you had to be there.

This album is really amazing when you’re high as a kite. I took that trip a few years back, and listening sober now, I hear the importance of going deep here. These jams are absolutely meant to lose your F’ing mind in. That’s the appeal of The Grateful Dead. If you’re not high, this is just background music.

I've never explored the Dead, so was kind of excited to have an excuse to do so today and see what all the fuss is about. I'm mixed on it. I really liked Turn on Your Love Light, they totally rocked that one and I didn’t care how long it was. Death Don’t Have No Mercy was pretty cool too. Did not at ALL like Feedback. That one just felt like noise, which was maybe the point but why. And the rest...overall cool vibes, but most of the tracks get too long and jammy. Like, some of the songs feel like ONLY a jam without a centering substance. But if I was at a music festival and feeling good, this would be great music to lay back on a blanket to and let myself get lost in.

Good one

nice version of dark star

rock bom pra deixar tocando de fundo, não é muito pesado. Muito marcado pelo estilo psicodélico à la Raul Seixas

I can imagine this being in people's record collection. As you flick through deciding what to play next. Ooh, The Grateful Dead live, shall I play this? Um..... nah. I know The Dead are renowned for their live albums but I prefer their late sixties studio albums. This is listenable with some great playing but a bit boring.

Im grateful not too be dead I suppose.

Didn't think I'd like this, but in amongst all the expected infernal noodling nonsense there were a couple of great tracks. (I also liked the tracks that sounded a bit like Zappa but it turns out that Spotify had been playing me some Zappa after the album ended)

For how much people talk about dark star on this album I just don’t get it. It was easily the weakest track on this album. It sounded like they were recording in separate rooms but the microphones were outside the rooms. It was clunky and not cohesive. So I was not looking forward to the rest of the album. But right after that is a three song run that really jammed and was a lot of fun. Those three songs are all I’d really return to on this album, but I would gladly listen to them again. The rest of the album is fine but a little too bluesy for my taste. I’m still interested in checking out more of the Dead, I’d probably just pick something from a little later in their tenure.

All noodling all the time. Five tracks in a four-side set - feedback is exactly that, a final goodbye....I find Dark Star a bit too Dead for me, but the other four tracks are pretty good.

Lots of great tunes

If you only listen to The Eleven, Turn On Your Love Light and Death Don't Have No Mercy it's a pretty good album

It was different, not what I typically expect from the dead

When they do their extended jams I can’t get into it. It sounds annoying. But sometimes I like when they play songs and I will always love Jerry Garcia’s voice. I prefer Grateful Dead, the studio band.

Grateful Dead mejor en directo que en estudio... pero claro, hay que saber que nos esperan minutadas de largos desarrollos y psicodelia. Dark Star es la joya del disco. La portada es de lo mejor, aún sin logo ni esqueletos, flores y calaveras que vendrán en unos años. Un disco muy influyente que les dejó a las puertas de la gloria, las que abrirían al año siguiente con su dos mejores discos

I listened to a lot of 60s dead when I was young, but don't tolerate nearly as well now. A year later they were so much more polished and cohesive. This one is particularly chaotic and not a pleasant listen. This not close to the Dead's best live release, that would be Europe 72, which would've been an easy 5 for me. Without a Net from the late 80s is also considerably better

Pretty decent.

I enjoyed it, the music is good But I'm not interested in live albums Fine. 3

Pretty cool album, a bit too experimental for me, but at times incredibly groovy. It it weren't for the incredibly dissonant screetchy sounds at times, I could see myself listening to this more.

Surprisingly good but why do I keep getting albums with 20 minute tracks??

Honestly, this was such a journey. My first thoughts were - this is *scattered* But you know what? As I kept listening I started to feel the authenticity of this type of music - the meandering feels like a very true expression of something. Though idk, it's not something I could listen to all the time. "Turn on Your Love Light" was my favorite track on the album by far. It had the kind of energy that seems to hold my attention even as the track moves into its 15th minute. 3

Jam album som förväntat, har bra moments men int helt min grej. Bästa låten: Death Don't Have No Mercy

JAM BAND!

There's lots of energy in the album. And the pieces are a times very powerful and complex. These are sometimes followed by slow and parts that drag on however, however the technecality of the instrumentals was top notch and in terms of sound quite like king crimson and other prog acts. Overal the album was a great piece of live music, which in terms of momentum was a little unbalanced at times, but very enjoyable nonetheless. Favorite song: The Eleven. Overall score: 7.0/10

The guitar work on this is great, but the album is so long and drags and begins to lose focus. I understand that is part of jam music, but it detracts from the album for me.

Good musicianship for sure but kind of a chore to listen to

Huge Dead fan here but a realistic reviewer. The Greatful Dead were a poor studio band and thrived on stage, as we all know. The obvious fix here is to release a live album, giving the masses what some have only heard about thru word of mouth. The problem here is that the Dead released, with Live/Dead, some of their least accessible material and that's saying something. St Stephen is the only track here with meat on the bone, and while the subsequent The Eleven is an exemplary version, and the preceeding Dark Star is contemplative and subversive, neither of these tracks are able to speak to your average listeners. This Lovelight contains 6+ min of Pigpen gaming over a drum beat and is very dull, sans the last 2 min of the 15min ordeal. DDHNM is a stirring rendition of a song nobody asked for, and feedback/goodnight is a s close to filler as one can get on a live record. Still as I write this and reflect on their 60's repotoire, I do realize that no normie was gonna stumble upon the Dead thru happenstance, hearing an intriguing live record, the show always was and always will be the centerpiece

I’m sure this rocked in person, but it’s a little too meandering to be a coherent album.

Lots to like, but the meandering jams lose me.

I know they were good but I could never really get into their music.

It seems like every year, a peer I respect falls head over heels for the Grateful Dead. I’ve been trying their music for years and just do not get the hype. This is fine, solidly fine.

That's not my taste in music. Very long-winded and monumentale.

This is great when you're in the mood for meandering psychedelia, and no one does it better. It's not really my thing, but it's great background music at least.

Never heard this album before. Although I don't consider myself a huge fand of the Dead, I did enjoy a lot of this album. The recording sounds great...I can't believe it was recorded in 1969. This is a "historic document" as it laid the groundwork for jam bands for the future. (Which probably earns them an equal amounts of blame and praise) The band sounds energetic and "young" and I enjoyed songs like Turn on Your Love Light a lot. Dark Star is famous for the Dead, but it really does sound like every meandering jam band song I've heard at a festival. In any case, the plusses are greater than the minuses for me, and I'm giving it a (strong) 3 stars.

Nobody in the band is listening to anyone but themselves so the end result is a pastiche of individual short musical ideas that don’t really go anywhere. I can understand that this is exactly the point of the Dead. Personally while it’s not for me it has helped me with my insomnia tonight.

Not my genre.

Ei ollut vieläkään punkkia :D Psykedeelistä blues rokkia livenä. Pitkät instrumentti osuudet ajoittain hiukan pitkästyttäviä vaikka ihan siistejä onkin. Feedback oli vähän turha, kirjaimellisesti pelkkää feedbackia. Parhaat: Turn On Your Love Light, The Eleven

If you know Grateful Dead in any way, you know exactly what you’re getting. I’m still not at all sold on the idea of this 15 minutes rendition of “Turn On Your Love Light”. I know that they can jam out some standout blues - this just isn’t it.

Chill and easy listening, though some of the songs meandered on too long. 3.5/5

This is good dead, but not great dead.

I never liked the vocals of the Dead. They make songs sound like nursery rhymes than anything else. ("St. Stephen," for example.) Still, their jams are effective. "Dark Star" reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd's "Echoes". I thought "Eleven" was pretty cool too. But things like "Turn On Your Lovelight" I could have done without. It just felt like a riff that went on and on. "Feedback"... I don't know if they could possibly reproduce this on stage WELL. It obviously would sound different each time. Still, it was interesting they kept it in. "Dark Star" and "Eleven" were probably the two I enjoyed the most, but that was half of the album. The rest... meh.

Seeing the very bad rates, I guess I'm in a contrarian streak because I liked it. I mean, for me grateful dead was bad dad country rock but this album was nothing like that, so yeah, I liked it.

Startet mit einem anstrengend langem (24 Min.) Song “Dark Star” und verlangt damit dem Zuhörer schon viel ab - aber es lohnt sich nicht die Skip-Taste zu drücken. Auch die übrigen Songs sind länger und sehr tiefgründig. Ein bisschen Door‘s („Death Don’t“)ein bisschen Lärmbelästigung („Feedback“). Alles in allem eine recht durchschnittliche Platte.

Live albums should not be included on the list. GD is perhaps an exception as their songs are live so different etc. This album was ok.

This is a quite unique live performance, I assume, so I can see why it is on the list. Some thorough jamming going on.

It shouldn't be understated the impact that Grateful Dead has had on the music industry. People love them, and people also hate them. But their model for creating and marketing themselves was something that had not been done until that point, and has yet to be replicated since. At least not on the scale at which they were running it. They are the most prime example of a work horse band. Fans of the group do not go around praising their work because of the studio recordings. It's the live recordings. The hundreds of hours there are of them, too. People made it their lives to follow the band around the country and catch every show. A feat which is near impossible now considering ticket prices. It begs the argument of whether we can really consider the Grateful Dead more of a band than a subculture or movement. Deadheads are rampant, and their "culture" has even invaded my own life. I own tie-dye Dead shirts that | never wear, and I got a Rolling Stone magazine about the band from my grandfather that I haven't read one page of. Yet I have never heard their music. I've actually attempted to check them out in the past though. But I just found it far too difficult. When a band has multiple series, spanning over 20 volumes each, of just live recordings, which are each one to two hours in length, I get overwhelmed. I actually like jam bands too. My favorite band ever is considered by many to be one. And the whole jam band thing really was the appeal of this band. Each night you could expect something new. I'm willing to admit that I admire this ability, and I know it's not something easy. To go on stage every night and play in a manner where you aren't sure what's coming next from either your band mates nor yourself is impressive. This was their first like album ever, and that chemistry between the members is definitely present. Their skill to take something like Dark Star, which is as short as 2 minutes, and expand it out to nearly 6 times its own length is wild. But especially considering how long this is, after a certain point I zoned out, and what I was hearing became background noise. I think that first song is really cool and engaging, but it is by and large the most interesting thing this album has to offer. Rating: 5/10

Ikävä laulu + Musiikki, mutta objektivistin tuska kolmonen..

I guess you had to be there? Best Tracks: St. Stephen; The Eleven; Turn On Your Love Light

Very jammy. Enjoyable throughout. Makes me want to go re-listen to the live Allman Brothers album, which I thought was a much greater blues jammy album. Torn between 3 and 4. I’ve given 3’s to albums I like more than this but also given 4’s to albums I like less than this

Not the biggest jam band fan here but some of this is actually not bad.

Different to what I thought, expected more psychedelic, weird sound. Definitely rooted in pysch, but I always thought theyd be much weirder. Did quite enjoy it though, long jamming riffs with The Doors’ keyboard. Lots of improv going on, worked canny. Probably give these another go

I've been meaning to give the grateful dead a listen for ages so was glad this came up. Not sure a live album is the best place to start though.... All style no substance comes to mind. So meandering. Kept imagining myself at these gigs and just standing around listening to these solos wanting something to happen! There were bits and pieces that I thought were good though and I hope there is a studio album on the list to really see what they're like. Heard a lot of good things about them.

A lot of this feels like floating. The live tracks stretch and bend, with loose, jazzy improvisation. It kind of feels like early Santana but slower, with more room to breathe. There are moments where it drifts too much, though. It’s good for background, but it’s easy to lose focus on.

Songs are good at first but go on too long, must be in the mood

I always forget that grateful dead are some wee hippies instead of original punks. This was fine fir what it was, just distorted self indulgence, not something I’d listen to again though.

20 minute opening jam track. I wasn’t very interested by what I heard in this live performance. Maybe I didn’t pay enough attention to it. Not a bad album. I did like the ending song. It was like a short campfire song. Standouts: St. Stephen and Turn on Your Love Light.

I wanna say I loved it, but I listened to it early in the morning and I was definitely not 100% in the mood for it.

This live album opens with what sounds like a band tuning up at a sound check, then bit by bit they all start noodling around a theme, someone randomly starts singing and before you know it twenty minutes have passed. I always thought that the Grateful Dead were a rock band, but this is closer to free jazz with extended improvisations. I can see the attraction of following them around to listen to this while getting stoned in a field somewhere. Hippytastic!

skillful noodles, fun, weird, but not really my shit

It's ok. It does meander quite a bit, but there are times where things really come in to focus. People compare it to a conversation, but I'd liken it to getting high (seems apt for the dead). For a large portion, you're just wandering around, feeling a bit strange, experiencing new sensations. But then, briefly, your soul is lifted up from the body. A transcendental experience. Of course, the focused moments never reach a height like that, but I believe that's what they were going for. The noodling really accentuates the good bits. Also, feedback is really cool, but I'm a fan of noise. Much cooler than the first track. Maybe the album would've been better if they started there.

A bit too much jamming for me

I've never listened to the Grateful Dead before, so this was a brand new experience. Making music out of pure jams is certainly an interesting approach, and very brave. However, good god. I felt like my ears were being personally attacked at first. There is some clear individual musical skill with the guitar playing on Dark Star, but there is no joy in an aimless jam that never ends. If you're going to make a 20 minute song, at least have it be a journey like Echoes by Pink Floyd. Anyway, I feel like the songs following Dark Star are much better, but still suffer from an aimless feeling at times. It deserves a three I think, especially with how much better it gets by Death Don't Have No Mercy.

A bit long, but pretty good

Very great full

I see that this is a very critically acclaimed live album, and it was ok, but it didn’t move me. I just haven’t been able to board the Grateful Dead train.

Oh boy, our second from the Grateful Dead and, of course, it's a live album. Granted, I know these guys are known for their live music moreso than anything in the studio - the Dead Head lore for concert tapes is crazy. This one's not bad though, I mean I wouldn't return to it because I don't like live albums (or the Grateful Dead) to begin with, but a couple tracks on here that I dug. It's all really long jam session tracks too, which is neat I guess. Decent album, wouldn't put it on this list personally but it's all good. Favorite tracks: Feedback, Dark Star, The Eleven. Album art: This one's cool, old English type font and design going on, and there's an image of a woman rising out of a coffin draped in sheets. Solid cover, not super memorable but I like it. 3/5

Good enough. Don't really feel the dead.

Nothing is bad about this record, but nothing is memorable either. I usually don't like long songs. It doesn't bother me on this record. Except Feedback. What the hell is that about?

That band sure is jamming.

me, listening to this album, reading this album's description on Apple Music about how a combination of an appetite for jazz rock in the late 60s and the Dead's own unique influences from a variety of other styles made this album stand out: 😃👍 me, listening to the feedback jam: 😠👎

Chill rock album and the recording quality is stellar for being a live album. Maybe a little bit to jammy.