Reviews (page 4 of 7)
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
I've never really given The Grateful Dead a chance. I really enjoyed this album, so maybe I need to change that! 4.5 - I will round down.
Pretty decent
I'm not a deadhead but it's alright.
So are you supposed to enjoy it when a live show goes from overly long but not bad jam sessions into an extra long series of random noises that just eventually kind of ends.
Good live album, I like the grateful dead though always have lol
This a lot more listenable than the first Grateful Dead album I got but that was a low bar. This album is just a collection of live freestyle jamming. Which sounds interesting if only the music itself was actually interesting. It feels like everyone is doing their own thing and none of it is particularly exciting
Cannot not listen without my hazy Santa Cruz nostalgia for the Dead--this one was always on rotation, and the spacey psychedelic explorations stay rooted in rock and song and are just excellent. Jerry's guitar tone is brilliant and Lesh is all over the place. Great record.
So according to the Apple music I am really into what they call "Jazz-rock". Had heard parts of this album in passing but never in one listen. There were fantastic moments where the groove just hit and you saw what they were doing....then we came down from the high and just kind of wallowed in noise. Would listen the first half again.
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.
I have always “not been into The Dead” despite never really giving them a chance. This album vindicated my past beliefs. I just don’t like long noodle jammy stuff. Turn on Your Love Light was decent, the rest left me cold — Feedback in particular was a real dud.
i mean yeah it has its moments but its also really fackin long so it better have em namsayin
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
The band and album names suck. I thought the album is over, but it was just one song! Then it was actually not so bad....as a background music. And then "feedback" song sucked so much, so I give this album 1 star less then I wanted.
I know of the Grateful Dead’s live reputation, and I’m sure they’re amazing in person but the 1st track bored me then 7 minutes of feedback followed by a 30 second goodbye ‘thing’ would piss me off as a fan, but the grateful dead’s fans were all probably on drugs so it doesn’t matter, still sadly I’m sober 2/5
In common with Frank Zappa I have never quite got what the fuss is all about with Grateful Dead. A lot of their music is a mish mash going around in circles with very few melodies. In other words just a random noise with no substance as is illustrated here with the contents of this live album. However, and this is a big one, I was recently alerted by Steven Wilson in his excellent podcast The Album Years of the existence of Terrapin Station album. The title track is excellent and could and should be regarded as a Prog classic and is the exact opposite to what I expected and described above. As Terrapin Station came 8 years after this album it has no bearing whatsoever but I mention it only to highlight that good things do come from the most unlikely sources. 2/5 17/10/25
Honestly not a huge fan of Grateful Dead. I like some studio singles of theirs that aren't overly long jam sessions, but thats about it. So a live album thats basically all jamming is honestly not doing a single thing for me. Honestly bores me. Technically it's good, and the sound is pleasing, but it's just not my thing.
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
By 1969 the Grateful Dead were approaching the peak of their powers. They were still straddling the bronco of their experimental exploits but were beginning to seek out a more solid, amiable terrain in which they can lay their roots. Live/Dead captures this jumping off point well, allowing the band to be documented for who they truly are. Through peaks and valleys, from soaring start to muffled finish, Live/Dead is the quintessential place to start if one wants to understand the Dead and their exhaustive live escapades. Don't feel daunted by the length of the songs, for it is only part of the strange trip. Either consume it or let it consume you; regardless one won't walk out the same.
Dated irrelevance.
Too much jam
Influential for creating the worst genre of music ever…
File it under “I just can’t stand this s$*t.” I know a ton if you love it but lord almighty it drags on and on.
If self indulgent masturbatory instrument interaction is your thing, this will be right up your strasse. For the rest of us we are left to contemplate what it would be like to be there, not on drugs, while the band wanks on for 20 minutes.
nae, detta var mest gittarrunk bara
Nothing but a terrible and painful jam session. The only thing that sparked some joy was to hear the Treme theme song. But that's a cover anyway so no extra points given.
4?
So this is why Phish sucks.
Really wanted to like this, but it was like nails on a chalkboard. A 23 minute opening song that takes forever to built then goes nowhere, another track that’s literally just called feedback is a 7 minute slog of guitar feedback. None of the musicians seemed very good or like they were even listening to each other. Painful
**a strange album. Only two tracks with vocals. Some tracks with just wierd sounds/noises
Bra album mye artige ideer. Overaskende bra produksjon på dette. Gode vokaler blir litt lange sanger noen ganger, men det er ikke noe store greier
Dead studios albums are great. Live albums are a struggle.
ok, here we go. when i saw that today’s album was going to be a live grateful dead album, i cringed. i mean, i’m a sucker for a live album, but a live album by this band was going to be a beating. jam bands aren’t really my thing. as i have stated before, if a song is over about six minutes, it’s usually too long, in my opinion. the first song is OVER 23 MINUTES. hell, the vocals don’t kick in until just over six minutes. now, don’t get me wrong, i think that the guys in the grateful dead were great musicians… however much of the album just comes across as band members improvising over and over, ad nauseam. it’s often as if they don’t know how to end a song.
This had a moment or two but why does anyone HAVE to listen to this?
4.5
classic Dead
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.
“Feedback” was an absolutely unnecessary track.
Ya know, I think I might get it now. The Grateful Dead cover a lot of ground here; gospel, prog rock, blues rock, soul, rock and roll. And all under the same banner. They lose me the most with the meandering lulls and builds, but they inspire with diversity and unapologetic patience.
Feedback made me feel like I was having my brain scratched, other than that 5/5
Pretty good, favorite song mightve been death dont have no mercy. (Also first time listening to Grateful Dead!! Woo-hoo!!)
Sometimes psychedelic rock means you’d have to be tripping to enjoy this. This album could be the epitome of that. I have wanted to like the Grateful Dead at various points in my life. However that has never occurred while I was listening to them. “Dark Star” is a 23 minutes slog that starts as a song until they change their minds. One of the biggest issues with this record is how the band never allows anything to rise to the surface, or sink to the bottom. Very little in the way of dynamics. “The Eleven” is famous for its 11/8 time signature which is the time signature that you arrive at when everyone solos at once. Easily, the best track in this is “Feedback” which like “The Eleven” is not a title so much as it is a description. The most remarkable thing about this band is how much mileage they got out of being awful.
I just found out that I'm not a Deadhead. This live album is way too long and dull. I would've given "Live/Dead" 3 stars if the songs didn't go on forever. Maybe I'm too sober for this album. At least the songs sound nice. 2 stars for "Live/Dead".
Sweet Lord. I know that the Grateful Dead have their own committed following, and are a vibe all on their own essentially, but this did not click. Don't get me wrong, the entire middle of the album ranged from good to great, but the beginning of the album was a meandering 23 minutes (intentional I know) and ending with nearly 8 mins of literal feedback. The name of the song is Feedback but I didn't know I needed to take it literally! It was trending towards a 3 after a rough start but they solidified a 2 in the end.
Awful.
I nearly tapped out half way through Dark Star, an amorphous blob of a jam. It got better from St Stephen onward but still not really my bag!
Maybe it would be more enjoyable if you knew the shorter version of the songs so you could hear how they build off those. Do these songs even have shorter versions?
It's all fine and dandy if I had a whole night to sit and trip out and listen to the Dead. Not terrible music, but just not what I'm into anymore. 3.5 / 5 because the music is really good, but not my jam.
Ok I hate hippies now
If it makes you sleep even on LSD, then it must be very boring.
It's still incredible that they had the courage to release this live performance over two discs. The band might have fun while playing, it's still a poor and tasteless performance to my ears.
izrazito dosadno, neka kvazipsihodelija s kantri/folk utjecajem, ne znam dal se ovo može dopast neamerima. predugo
Ok
> the Beatles The dead are talented but...I fucking hate jam bands.
3.5 Grateful dead was known for their impro on live and this album is no disappointment on that aspect. Even if I don't really know their music and this album was a bit messy, I really enjoyed the guitar vibe
2.5. Found it too unstructured and meandering on first listen. Was more tolerable after getting to know it a bit. More suitable for background music for me.
First listen
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
I don't think I'll ever "get" the Grateful Dead. This album is supposed to represent the live Grateful Dead experience, but the improvising just doesn't seem that great. That said, songs like Dark Star and St. Stephen are ones that are kind of drilled into my existence from how much these Dead records were played around the house when I was little. But I will still never choose to put this on for anything other than nostalgia reasonse. 2/5
Man, this was boring. I liked American Beauty, but this was a chore. Lots of jamming, but the jams aren't very interesting? 23 minute first song is a choice. 1.5/5
3/5
What America means to me
Not for me - I’d never listened to this band, but I knew the Grateful Dead had a large following (“deadheads”) and are considered very influential, so I was excited to listen. This album unfortunately was excruciating to get through and not a great listening experience at all. 1 star is generous.
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.
"IVE BEEN LISTENING TO THIS FOR AN HOUR AND IM FIVE TRACKS IN??" - me, 8 minutes ago
What was it about the bloody Fillmores that inspired all these bands to record interminable jam sessions? Were they constructed entirely from weed or something? Occasionally an actual song would break out, but that's insufficient compensation for having to sit through 23 minutes of fluff on track 1 (let alone the 8 minutes of guitar feedback). Grateful Dead have had two shots at impressing me now, and they've blown them both. 1.5
An incredibly unique live album for the time.
I’m a big fan of the Grateful Dead. Do I need a 23 minute long version of Dark Star with several minutes of droning feedback in the middle? No. I understand the point of freeform improvisation, but an album delivers a song in a clear and concise way that gets the point across. Generally that’s my preference as a listener. There’s no song in here that I would rather listen to over the studio recording.
About an hour of random guitar riffs and pointless lyrics followed by 7 minutes of the most unbearable screeching you’ll ever hear. Not good.
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
3/10
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
I actually quite like a lot of Grateful Dead, but this was unbearable to listen to.
This album started of very strong with a cool, blusey improv-type thing going on. And then 1/2 through the first track, it became more—experimental, shall we say? And then it never really recovered. There's some cool moments that keep this from being a flat out 1, but I guess it's just not for me.
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
I am a King Gizzard fan and I can see why they are compared a lot. But one thing King Gizzard does a lot better is make their jams interesting. This 20+ minute song had less ideas going on in it than a 1 minute punk song. This album wasn't bad, it was just boring. High 2.
So yesterday I had Pink Flag by Wire - a relatively brief album of snappy art-punk songs of about 2m duration. Today I get this noodly album from the Grateful Dead with long jam-style workouts that completely fails to get my attention long enough to pick out what they are noodling on about. Basically this music just sinks into the background. I get that The Grateful Dead are massively important in rock history, but really this album is self-indulgent claptrap - and it seems from the Wikipedia review that it was only really made (and made cheaply) to generate some cash to pay of debts to the record company. I wouldn't be sad if I never hear this again..
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.
Kind of felt like walking into your local historic instrument shop - least they have the excuse of tuning loudly and not knowing what the other musicians are playing!
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
Live/Dead is often held up as a landmark in capturing the Dead’s live sound, but it is a tough listen if you are not already invested in their jams. The album opens with “Dark Star,” a sprawling 23-minute piece that drifts between moments of beauty and long stretches that feel meandering. The musicianship is clearly skilled, but the lack of structure can make it feel more like background noodling than something you want to sit and focus on. There are flashes where it clicks, especially in the interplay between the guitars and rhythm section, but just as often the energy dips and the songs blur together. It is easy to see why fans love it, since it showcases the improvisational side of the band in full force, but for someone coming at it fresh it feels indulgent and inconsistent. Live/Dead has historical importance, but as an album experience it struggles to hold attention all the way through.
Oddly Relaxing
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.
Lekker langdradig, maar zeker niet verkeerd
Didn't finish and probably would like the later tracks better than the opening "Dark Star," which I found atonal and too meandering.
That's pretty terrible, being a live jam is the only excuse
This is going to be the worst review I ever leave, but I swear to Thor I normally like the Dead. When I was in college, Cracked was a huge thing. One of the authors on Cracked who wrote about music had a massive hate-on for the Dead. I didn't understand why at the time, but this album opened my eyes. The whole thing is long instrumentals followed by the type of muttery vaguely florid nonsense that people lazily making fun of the Dead do. Partway through I realized this could have been released as a parody album unchanged. There is an entire 7 minute track of feedback (titled Feedback, of course) as the second to last song. I'm going to keep enjoying Touch of Grey and Uncle John's Band, Ripple, Box of Rain, etc, but I am NEVER listening to this album again.
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.
I didn't hate it, but I think I've realised why the Stooges and MC5 invented punk rock in 1969. Presumably, to counteract this sort of thing. Boy, it did go on. The best I can say is that some of the noodling guitars sounded... pleasant. But it was a bit of a snooze. My brother is a huge fan, and he tells me I'm at the beginning of an exciting journey, as there are probably around 100 live GD albums to listen to. Thanks, bruv.
This would have got four stars had it not included a track called Feedback which lasts for seven minutes.
10/10 Favorite: The Eleven
If you don't understand how amazing Grateful Dead music is, then you don't understand music. 4.75
Never have given the Grateful Dead a fair shake, and I enjoy lengthy jams (Allman Brothers, Neil Young) so I thought this album being my Day 1 generated on this 1001 album run was some type of fate. I don't think I will ever understand the Grateful Dead hype if this is what it sounds like. Long, uneventful slogs of songs with like maybe 5% of their runtime actually being interesting, with the occasional cool line, riff, improvisation. I'd be bored out of my mind if this is what the average Grateful Dead live concert sounded like - no wonder everyone was on acid. It's not offensively bad, or awful. It's just boring.
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
Not for me, not into completely freestyle improvisation.
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.
This is a solid collection that leans into the jam band element of them that is my fav part of the dead - low 5
1/2
Grateful Dead: Live/Dead: This shit is really boring. There are some decent sounds, but they go nowhere and it just DRAGS. It makes it really hard to listen to the entire album. I have no idea how people enjoy this, honestly. Some parts of this album are just pretentious garbage, and even the better parts sound like if other 60s bands just dragged out their songs for an absurd amount of time. I really do not care for this. 3.5/10
like many others I figured this was going to be a good time to sit down, dive in and actually listen to the Grateful Dead. I'm pretty sure all I had ever heard was "Touch of Grey" because of the music video. 5 minutes in and I already knew that this absolute assault on my auditory senses could quite possibly be the final push to send me over the edge into a rage I've always known was building up inside of me. If there were any living things near me including a puppy or a baby, they would have been punched directly in the face if it were the only way to stop this music. I love music. I love all types of music. From Norah Jones to Slayer. From Wu-Tang Clan to Paul Simon. I would so much rather listen to my dead grandparents having sex than listen to a single fucking note of this band. I hated every agonizing second of it. I am glad that I went through it though. I know now that my tolerance for bullshit has inched up ever so much. The next time I am ever in a life or death situation I'll know that there is nothing I can survive. Why? Because I have listened to an entire Grateful Dead album and didn't kill myself. Like a soft queef of patchouli right into my ear canal. Fuck this band and their god awful fans.
some good tunes
First time getting the Dead and have been dreading this day. I cannot for the life of me like this band. I’ve tried for years and given them plenty of chances to “hook me” and win me over and still nothing. All their live performances sound like “alright guys let’s just mess around for 20 minutes or so and that’s the song”. Nothing but confusion listening to this. I’m even as what one would consider a pothead and I still don’t get it. They’re not the worst musicians but man is this over-rated. 2/5.
they are the original jam band and this album proves they continue to hold that crown.
Haven’t listened to much Grateful Dead, I keep trying to get into them. But maybe better to just stick with the BMFS train at this point. I thought Dark Star was a bold choice to start the album off with a 23 minute song. Every time I felt the song going somewhere it got turned back down or mellowed out, rinse and repeat for another 10 minutes. The end of St. Stephen flowed into The Eleven so well, I thought it was the same song. The Eleven really jammed, I enjoyed it. Wasn’t too repetitive and drums were killer in the track. I enjoyed the shouting part in Turn on your love light and then how the song decrescendos before slowly building back up again. Feedback was not my favorite track, sounded exactly like that. Maybe interesting if you’re tripping, but that’s about it. Album had a good closer. Overall it was a good album, but not what I expected for this monumental jam band.
Not super into it
Zzzzzz 😴😴
Sounds like one very very long song
Thought doing this project thing would help to clear up some misconceptions that I might have about some bands. This album did not do that. First track is 20 minutes of noodling, doodling guitar playing that goes round in circles, never gets anywhere. It sounds like an improv jam where no one is paying any attention to what anyone else is doing or playing. 2nd track was better but it was also an anomaly, soon reverted to someone masturbating on a fretboard.
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 don't really get it. Maybe one day, but not today.
yikes
Absolute unlistenable piece of shit. Sounds like ass from top to bottom. Sloppy and unnecessary long (at least, for whom that are sober). Not for nothing the fans of this band are described as a sect. Don't want to listen to this never ever again, even under torture.
Didn't finish. Sounded mostly like they were just noodling. Maybe I just dont get TGD...
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.
Couldn’t finish, no
There are not enough drugs in the known universe to make this enjoyable.
Never really got the Grateful Dead thing. I understand their live shows are what give birth to the culture/legend surrounding the band. But I've never known how to engage with them. An album that begins with a 23min song may not be the right place. That said, it's nice to listen to people jam while I work.
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.
Nice guitar work, but not my favorite music. Maybe it would be better after dropping some LSD?
Don’t love it, don’t hate it
Somewhere in this album is a good live album but it just goes and goes and goes. Gets old 2*
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.
Never heard this band before but heard of them. Didn't expect such sophisticated rock n roll jazz. Would have been amazing live but instead they passed the time driving on an over cast day in Western France
Meandering but enjoyable
I can get down with a bit of self-indulgent guitar shit like the next 70-year old but this is too long, and too much the same.
The least I've enjoyed any piece of art ever. Just a group of individual musicians sounding like they are tuning up, completely out of sync with what the rest of the group is doing. Good rule in life is that if drugs are heavily encouraged to enjoy a type of music, that music probably isn't very good.
Some absolute solid guitar work....and it was live too, what talent. To have watched them perform this must have been mesmerising. Incredible stuff.
Yeah no, I can do 8 minutes of jamming.. But 1.5 hours of it.. Impenetrable. With some good bits
Live/Dead - What a beautiful, primal thing. Words can not quite capture the essence, you must absorb the acid-fried interplaying improvisational fury to know it. The musical danger of a band who could disintegrate and fall apart at any moment, but never seem to do so. The rawness of unpretentious musical exploration. Something fresh, exciting, and uncharted. Tapping into the cosmos and transmitting it to our mortal antennae. Repeated listenings welcome, and it can sound like a very different album depending on where your focus falls. “Dark Star is going on all the time. It’s going on right now. You don’t begin it as much as enter it. You don’t end it so much as leave it.” If you’re on the bus, chances are you already know and love this one. If you’re not, drop your preconceived notions of the Dead, jam bands, all that crap, and give it a real chance. Bathe yourself in the album (loudly). Maybe it’s not for you, like all those sucker MCs spewing vitriol in the top reviews (why does this album make you so irrationally angry?). Maybe it’s not for you YET…our lives are long and perspectives change; their career is long and different periods have different sounds (72-74 or 77 might be more palatable) - and I encourage you to test the waters again one day. This is Dead towards the end of the “primal” phase (the loud, direct, experimental, psychedelic, bluesy times), before more folk, country, and jazz influences infected their sound. Maybe IT IS for you, and the lightbulb in your head shone as bright as the fucking sun. Listening to music may never quite be the same again. That’s what the Dead can do for someone it clicks with, and what it’s done for me. As Jerry said “People who like the Grateful Dead are like people who like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice”. I really fucking dig this licorice, man.
Wasn't really my thing
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.
Oh cool live at the Fillmore. It’s also at SF? Strange that this is an album as it isn’t recorded at the same sesh. Still good though. Enjoy the jammin. 4 stars.
This is my first Grateful Dead exposure. Not a fan of everyone playing over each other for 20 minutes.
Chaotic
I'm sober, and I'm pretty sure this isn't music made with sober people in mind.
It's the Dead. Live! : )
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.
As hard as I try, I just can’t get into the dead
Very good
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
The Jamler This album is really fucking cool
3.7
firstly i am a serious live album lover. you see, stop making sense and oasis's knebworth '96 are two of my fav albums of all time. secondly... i just cant stand long instrumental jams! so im probably in hell today. cause the album runs a little bit longer than 75 minutes, and guess what... there's this track that took up the entire side. and its noodling at its purest with almost no redeeming quality. so if the album name is a multiple choice question, i'd rather choose dead over live while listening to this. 1/5
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.
I don’t have a big problem with the Dead, but it is more noodling than I care to listen to
Not really a Dead Head.
I think it'll take more than one listen to really get into the Dead, but obviously skilled musicians making great music.
Jeez, this is some dire stuff. "Dark Star" is a 23-minute track in which everybody forgets they are supposed to be playing a *song*. On "St. Stephen" the multiple colorless vocalists are no substitute for one good one. On "The Eleven" the everyone-soloing-at-once adds up to absolutely nothing. The band suprisingly manages to put together a coherent riff at the beginning of "Turn On Your Love Light" before it devolves into a mess of cruddy singing and drum improvisation. It's on this song that the Dead commit the biggest sin - they drag out a snappy two-and-a-half minute number into an insufferable 15 minutes. That ain't rock 'n' roll, boys. Let's see, where were we? Oh yeah, side 4. "Death Don't Have No Mercy" and neither do the band as they plod through this track with lots o' go-nowhere noodling and poorly recorded vocals. The penultimate cut on this already self-indulgent set is "Feedback" which is a non-song consisting of (yes, you guessed it) guitar feedback. In the hands of someone like Neil Young or Jimi Hendrix this might have been an exciting idea but here it just flops around like a dying fish.
3- Stars (7/15)
There's good stuff here, but I don't think it's better than their actual studio albums.
2-3
Was all set to give this a 3 because I don’t like live albums, but this was really good and if anything I liked it better than some of their studio albums.
I really liked it. Don’t think I’d seek it out again, but don’t understand why the Grateful Dead gets so much hate and also why they have such a following
This is not the best live Grateful Dead album — of the mass marketed, readily available albums, I’d give that honor to the Europe ’72 double album. But this version of St. Stephen is powerful and commanding. And this performance of Turn on Your Lovelight is maybe the greatest live jam on a mass market offering. Starting the album with Dark Star is a losing proposition. It’s great fun at a show, but is not a good intro to an album for anyone other than insiders. Great performances don’t always add up to a great album. This is a 2.
live albums of bands I don't know can get in the sea
That was unpleasant and weird. Maybe I haven't done enough drugs?
Some nice music. Some of it gets boring.
I was ready to give this a 3. Nothing that impressive to me, lacks structure in most of the instrumental sections, but certainly not unenjoyable. Then “feedback” hit. It’s not often that one song can sway a rating by a full star, but 7 minutes of literal feedback did the trick!
I think I hate hippies
You know what makes for good listening, going from a coherent song to just having all the musicians play over each other for 15 minutes. I am grateful their music careers are largely dead.
Varmasti kovimpia livelevyjä. Ei edes kuulosta liveltä kun tuotannollisesti niin kovaa kamaa. Pitkäkin
01) Dark Star - 5,0 02) St. Stephen - 5,0 03) The Eleven - 5,0 04) Turn On Your Love Light - 5,5 05) Death Don't Have No Mercy - 5,0 06) Feedback - 4,0 07) And We Bid You Goodnight - / TOTAL: 4,92 (49/100) One. Endless. Song.
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.
Glimrar till här och där men på det hela rätt färglöst, ibland uselt och framförallt jävligt långtråkigt.
There are two kinds of dead albums and this is very much the other kind. It takes a special kind of crazy to open an album with the side-length epic Dark Star - especially in 1969 - objectively very possibly the most unusual opening track to a major label rock n roll album ever - and I'm here for it. All of it.
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.
Messy blues with soul replaced by muscular drug infused wig out then stumbling into navel gazing.
Once I saw “Live/Dead” I shuddered. This is the type of album I’m afraid of during this type of project. Even though I surround myself with “jammy” people, I never understood the jam band hype. Alas I did listen and felt that Turn on Your Love Light and The Eleven were good jams. Dark Star and Feedback were tough.
Gotta give it at least a 4 to help counter all these 1s (one star off for Feedback). Yes it's weird early Dead but it still far superior to several of the random 80s pop bands that somehow make the list. 4⭐️
1.5 stars. I like a lot of psychedelic stuff so I went into this expecting to like at least some aspects of it, but the vast majority of it just did nothing for me. It's cool that this album was groundbreaking in terms of live recording, and I get that the Grateful Dead's live shows were the main attraction rather than their studio recordings, so it was cool to get to listen to the 'real' experience. But so much of it was just so boring. I don't need a lot of structure in a song to be able to enjoy it, but I need *some*. And if we're just going to be jamming for 20 minutes, fine - but the jam needs to be interesting and exciting! The second half of this album was a bit better for me but as a whole, I can't say I particularly enjoyed it.
"St. Stephen" was okay. "Dark Star" and "Turn on Your Love Light" were interminable, and I *like* jam and prog. The Dead have just never clicked for me.
Did not resonate with me.
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
I like some Grateful Dead songs but sitting through this album felt impossible. It’s full of long, meandering jams that blend into each other. You need serious patience or some chemical help to enjoy it. The 8 minute long “Feedback” that was literally just guitar feedback was the final straw for me. I love acid rock and psychedelia but this leans too far into jazz noodling for my taste. The band clearly thrived on the live experience. But as a listening session? You feel every minute. Maybe give it a spin if you want a deep dive into Dead history. Or if you plan to light up and let the world melt. For straight listening, though, I’d pass. There are better ways to spend your time. Best song on the album was “And We Bid You Goodnight”; mercifully, it was only 35 seconds long and ended the album.
Really nothing special about this, but I don’t think it was as bad as most of your reviews were making it out to be. I’m by no means a dead head but still not terrible, just long and drawn out and repetitive
# Playlist Track - St. Stephen # Notes - The kind of experience that doesn't really translate well from the stage to a record. Never ending solos, long moments where the band is clearly chilling and enjoying. As a listener, you just feel left out. - 2 stars and one of them is because of the awesome cover.
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.
Meh. Good background noise. Mostly noise.
The Good: We are confronted with a riddle… The Bad: We aren’t given the answer to the riddle… The Ugly: Turns out that it was all a joke… It never dawned on me, but the band-name, is that a reference to “we are all depressed”? We don’t want to live, we’d rather be dead… gratefully? Be it as it may, this album could have been buried with the dead… What a total waste of my time. There’s nothing special about this album, there’s nothing in it that has opened my eyes and converted me in a Dead-Head. Live albums tend to suck, and this one is the suckiest of the all. 1* for being a total piece of crap
Lite utdraget kanske men ändå bra
I used to know two guys, brothers, the biggest "Deadheads", dismissive of any other music, and e.ve.ry.time those two - or either one of them - was around in a night of partying or whatever, they got everyone into some unnecessary, potentially violent, stressful shit situation. ☮✌ Peace and Love ✌☮. Anyways. I finished track three now and the most interesting bit in this so far was 35 minutes and 47 seconds ago: a brief moment of me as the 𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰 𝘋𝘪𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰 𝘗𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 meme, recognising a guitar lick I've heard before, in a small excerpt on the soundtrack of "Zabriskie Point". I'm pretty confident this will have been the most interesting experience in all of the 73 minutes. 34 minutes later: Yup. To get the lowest possible rating, an album needs to truly piss me off one way or the other and this one doesn't (even) quite achieve that, but it's damn close. To quote a fellow reviewer: "hackey-sackiest music I've ever heard." (★★★★★, from me, for this. Incidentally, the aforementioned guys were pretty keen on playing hacky-sack; no I am not making this up.) Bad, not good, NEXT!
I think that you had to be there.
4.0 Yep. That's very good. I think I've been underwhelmed by their appearance(s?) on this list so far so it's good to find something that explains the cult status. Imagine it being 1969, this drug has come out that no one has ever heard of before, there's very little pop culture or knowledge surrounding it, you take it and watch this performance. I mean that is probably on my fantasy bucket list of experiences to experience. Easy 4*
So as mentioned in my review of American Beauty, I've never got the Dead, even though I've definitely tried as I love other acid rock banks like Jefferson Airplane, the Doors and Hendrix. The Dead's usual twangy near country sound has always just seemed kind of bland for me. And I've even listened to some of their live albums and still wasn't sold. Their sound just didn't seem to match their whole marketing and legend for me. This is all to say I went into this album with low expectations. I even procrastinated it on my 1001 albums list--I got this one like a week ago. I'm happy to say that I finally found some Dead that sounds pretty decent. At least the first live segment, Dark Star, sounds psychedelic and spacy rather than boring country rock. Maybe they were on the right drugs for this show. Turn on Your Love Light is great as well. 4/5
Mozart for music lovers with brain deficiencies. Jam band bros would make up my personal version of hell. Rating: 1.3
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
Non, j'suis désolé, j'suis pu capable après 23 minutes de gossage qui sait pas où il s'en va sur sa guitare désajustée, j'ai d'autre chat à fouetter
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.
I like Dead but this wasn't great. Maybe it's one of those "you had to be there" things...
It was not my style
I hate the grateful dead so much. I can't physically listen to this. If I could give this 0 stars I would.
LOL it’s my first day using this app and I have to talk about “Dark Star” I like the Dark Stars that are more spooky sounding personally. This one has a lot of energy and veers off in cool unexpected directions but not the “definitive” one for me. I like Dark Star when the next song feels like you’ve emerged from a spaceship on some new planet (“Stella Blue” or “El Paso” for example), and I don’t get that here. Jerry’s voice in the early days has a nice Roky Erickson-ish twang to it. “The Eleven” goddamn, that stood out the most to me this time. The late 60s garage/blues version of the Dead isn’t my favorite, but that track is really loose and unstructured and exciting in a way that’s unique to this era.
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
What did the Deadhead say when the acid wore off? "Hey, this band sucks!"
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.
Overblown. Pretty sloppy guitar work to boot. The Dead are certainly a band worth remembering, but this album does not stand the test of time in my opinion. Maybe this captures their live sound, but based on this recording I'll probably opt to stay home.
Not one of thier est
Expected to hate this but it was ok
Meh never got into them
I really just couldn't get through it. I like instrumental jams but I think the reason I don't enjoy the grateful dead is weak songwriting
4/5 I don’t know what kind of prejudices I had against the music of Grateful Dead, but whatever they were, they were proved wrong. This live performance oozes of musical talent, and beeing a big fan of instrumental tracks, the tracks on this album were a joy to listen to. With all songs being particularly long, it’s the perfect ’put on in the background for a hood mood’ album, and I’m really happy to have listened to this cool blend of rock/blues.
Not my cup of tea. I'm not the biggest Dead fan but this isn't my jam at all. 2/5
ugh. I understand that all musical taste is subjective but this is trash. Great news though, this is a poorly recorded version of trash. Wish I could zero star some of these. One star is REALLY being generous.
Like 4 hours at an all you can eat Chinese buffet, I’m tired of these fucking noodles.
Now I know how Schrodinger's cat felt
Hate that it is a live album, but at least it was a good one.
decent songs but they were long as hell, wasn’t that engaged, not for me personally
Although I can appreciate GD as one of the most influential bands of the 60s and 70s, it’s hard to stand those endless soundloops of a live performance when it’s not live in fact
There are more precious releases of this band. For example „Shakedown Street“,
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.
Was hoping for something more interesting. I can get into a long jam but nothing here grabs my attention. Overlong and hard to finish, will not be back to this.
Muy hippie para mi
Blimey, this was tedious. As it's a live album, I'd say maybe you had to be there, but I'm pretty sure that if I had been there, I'd have got bored and left.
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.
Det här är ju inte riktigt min musik och dessutom live. Dock kan jag förstå de som gillar det här.
could not finish
Seems like I've never understood the appeal of The Grateful Dead, but I wanted to be open minded and use this live album to learn. The first track is just 23 minutes of aimless noodling, and only bearable if you're totally stoned - which I suspect is the state that most of the audience were in at that concert. It didn't get better from there... I still don't understand the appeal of the Grateful Dead. For me, it might remain one of life's great mysteries. 1.5/5
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.
It's just...so long. I don't understand who is out here listening to this on the regular. Hardly any lyrics, pretty middle of the road instrumentals, and just doesn't really sound like a live album either. Not worth a listen.
It's fine, not a particularly exciting live show. But that's also their reputation, as the original jam band.
I get that I'm the wrong generation for the Dead. I just don't get the appeal. Probably because I was sober.
Not for me. 1/5
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
No one will ever convince me that the Dead are a good band. I cannot listen to this aimless wanky hippy shit. 1/5
Pretty good.
I love their studio work, but for the life of me, I can't tell one live album from another. Please make it stop!!
Not the greatest dead but yall need to chill
I am more of a fan of studio Dead than live Dead and there’s parts of this album that reinforce that and others that make me question it. “Dark Star” feels meandering and self-indulgent with a lot of noodling that doesn’t feel cohesive. It probably sounds good if you’re tripping on acid. But then “Turn On Your Love Light” is a jam-filled blues number with much more energy and focused direction. Giving this four stars because while it isn’t the most seminal album, it’s worth listening to so that you can understand what the Gratful Dead playing live were all about in their earlier days. I’m sure Deadheads will say there are better ones and maybe you should start there but this is a great picture of a particular sounds during a particular time.
They know how to live album.
There are moments of greatness on this album interspersed with long periods of stupid noodling
I really enjoyed this, more than I thought I would. I never really enjoyed the Grateful Dead, or cared much for jam bands, but there was some really good stuff. I think the extended jams seemed sort of uninteresting at first but they were relaxing and cool, and made the climaxes all the better
4.5
Ikke dårlig spelling, men litt masete vokal. Klarte ikke fokusere.
3.9 2x cool live album, catch up 6/2/2025
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
2/10 If I had a gun put to my head and I was told to name one positive and memorable thing about these tracks. I’d be on my way to the clouds because how am I supposed to get anything out of this record. Sure it sounds okay, but over an hour of unless guitar and drum loops aren’t going to save this bore. It’s unfortunate because I had high hopes after American Beauty, but I can see I was wrong. Favorite Track: St. Stephen
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 finally know what music is playing at those neighbourhood gatherings where people sit around bonfires and whittle spoons.
You either love or hate the Grateful Dead. While I usually don't like live albums, this is a band whose legacy is primarily related to their live performances. This was a solid example of their live sound and performance, and a good listen when you are in the mood for 20+ minute jams.
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.
Can't stand 'live' music. Especially old shit like this.
++: Dark Star, The Eleven, Turn On Your Love Light, Death Don't Have No Mercy, Feedback, And We Bid You Goodnight +: St. Stephen 9,7/10
The Dead don't do it for me. I've never liked them. I get they are trying to be the rock answer for experimental jazz, but it's really not engaging. Imagine being at a show and they play Feedback... almost 8 minutes of noise. Horrible.
Guantanamo music.
So tedious
If I had to choose, I'd say definitely 'Dead'. Very basic jam band who clearly took the wrong drugs.
That was a struggle. I did well to make it the end of the opening 23 minute track. It's not exactly radio friendly breakfast show music. It got s little better with some of the more bluesy numbers. But I did feel like I was trapped in some weird West Coast late 60's cult.
Fuck it. I just managed to dodge Ella Fitzgerald's because I had an epiphany that I'm going to grow a spine and simply refuse to bend over to it's chore of 3.5 hours, I'm not going to lose my spin again for 1 hour 15 mins of the 'best jam rock album of the psychadelic 60s' - and live to boot. I have listened to over 1001 albums, so fuck you. Mission Accomplished. And fuck the Grateful Dead. It's two more albums and it's over and I'm going to have skipped two records.
The Grateful Dead are an acquired taste for sure and a 24 minute Dark Star isn’t the song you want to play for a first time listener. But once you’re hooked, they’re so good. They’re more than just a band, they’re a way of life and culture that is stronger than ever 30 years after Jerry’s death.
Ok finally some Grateful Dead. I've never really given them much thought other than their popular tracks because I'm not a fan of their style. I've been told to give them more of a chance, so I was glad to get the opportunity... then I rolled my eyes when I realised it's a live album. I don't mind it. The first track, I mean, more than 20 minutes long? I gave up with that one, too noodley nonsense. There were a couple of good bluesy tracks, but usually too long and full of unnecessary jamming. Quality wasn't bad, but live albums are just a no for me.
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
Alive/Asleep. Yet another live album that sounds like a bunch of stoned uncles tuning their guitars for 75 minutes.
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.
Good live album
I respect the musical ability, I just don't care for noodly jam bands.
If I have to listen to this again before I die, I will be gratefully dead.
Bastante insufrible, lo único que me ha gustado de verdad es la portada.
4.5 this
Poderia ser mais curto! Fora isso, é um disco até que comfy. Jam rock psicodélico final dos anos 60. Agradável. Por ser um disco ao vivo e de improviso, ele tem alguns momentos que tu fica meio "???". É perceptivel o nivel elevado de substancias toxicas consumidas na produção desse LP. Nada contra stoner rock, até curto as vezes, mas sei que o gênero tem coisa muito melhor a oferecer do que isso. 2/5
This is what I would imagine my band would sound like if I started one with no musical skill or ability.
I generally liked this but it dragged on and on and on and on...
3 out of 5. For the most part I enjoy the direction where the Grateful Dead's jams go.
Well, which one is it?
Never really been a "Deadhead" or anything of the sort. In fact, I believe this is the first Grateful Dead album I've listened to. I always assumed Grateful Dead were more...hardcore I guess? What I was treated to instead was duller, more light rock, and plenty of improvisational jamming (which is to be expected in a 60s/70s live rock album). It just stopped being entertaining at a certain point unfortunately. Perhaps this is another "you had to be there" scenario, but I don't really care. I can only rate based on my listening experience.
I like the Dead, and I liked this record, but it wasn't the right time of day for it, if that makes sense.
The title is cooler than the album.
If there is ONE THING my old hippie friends all insisted on when they learned I hated The Dead, it was "You have to hear their LIVE recordings!" Well, turns out they were mostly right. While it certainly didn't make me a fan, this is probably the most interesting recording of theirs that I've heard. Still not my thing, and I'm OK with that.
Not my thing. If it was all pleasant-sounding jamming then I could put it in the background and call it a 3-star, but there were enough dissonant parts that I don't feel inclined to hear it again. The worst track was "Feedback", but there were some annoying parts in other tracks.
If this challenge has taught me one thing, it is that 90% of the time I'd rather just listen to a studio album than a live album. If you take the music from a live show out of the show (with it's accompanying visuals and criwd energy) what feels spontaneous and exciting often becomes self-indulgent and often undermines the appeal of the original song. Even the Dead, whose shows were purportedly amazing (even sans chemical augmentation) suffers the same fate and I wish I was just listening to one of their studio albums.
Jam bands are just not my thing and unlike Allman Bros Band, this didn't even feel all that competent - like I needed to be on drugs to enjoy it and they were definitely on too many drugs to actually give a skilled performance.
4/10 - I’m just no a big fan of an hour+ of mostly guitar. It wasn’t bad but it was not good. I don’t understand all the hype for them
Long and a lot of noodling. There were some nice parts though
It's been a minute since I listened to some Grateful Dead and man they don't sleep on the improv riffs on this album. Not that it's always super good, some of it just sounds like it's playing a couple of tracks at the same time that just happen to include.
Let them boys jam, they're pretty good at it