Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Live/Dead captures the Grateful Dead at their experimental peak, though whether that peak is a summit or a sheer cliff depends entirely on your patience for the "long jam." The album is a polarizing masterclass in psychedelic exploration, moving from the cosmic, jazz-inflected wanderings of "Dark Star" and "The Eleven" to the gritty, blues-driven soul of "Turn on Your Lovelight." While the drumming is undeniably sharp and the haunting atmosphere of "Death Don't Have No Mercy" rivals the gloom of early Pink Floyd, the album’s indulgent runtimes and the abrasive, avant-garde noise of "Feedback" make it a challenging sit for the uninitiated. It is a vivid time capsule of 1969 ballroom culture—perfect if you want to lose yourself in a sonic trip, but potentially tedious if you’re looking for a concise, memorable hook.
Nie wiem za dużo nie posłuchałem niestety, ale nie było to raczej nic szczególnego.
I guess you had to be there.
I like the Dead at their best. This is not that though. I’m glad that they got the jams down eventually but it’s clear that they don’t have it down here. Disjointed, poorly mixed, and admittedly I don’t love Dark Star as an opener either.
This mostly makes me feel like we’ve made Industrial Revolution-level advancements in jamming since the 60s. The four actual songs on this album aren’t enough to justify the double album.
Love Grateful Dead but I cannot believe they listened to "Feedback" and thought it would be good to add to this album
Number: 133 Date: 05/17/2026 Artist: Grateful Dead Album: Live / Dead Year: 1969 Style: Psychedelic Folk Rock Familiarity: Familiar (3) Rating: 2 Before: ======= I had friends that were really into them and even went to a couple of shows in the late 80s and camped out at one of them. It was OK but I never did really get what the appeal was. I'm was much more of a punk rocker myself and just could not relate. During: ======= 2 Dark Star 3 Saint Stephen 2 The Eleven 3 Turn On Your Love Light 3 Death Don't Have No Mercy 1 Feeback 1 And We Bid You Goodnight ----------------------------------------------------- 2.31 WEIGHTED AVERAGE (accounts for song lengths) After : ======= They were obviously a very important American band, but imo their significance comes more from the cultural phenomenon they created than from the music itself. So this album a little difficult to rate for suitability and impact. Apparently Live/Dead is considered the most faithful representation of what their late‑’60s concerts actually felt like, so I gave it a 4 for suitability. But musically, I don’t think it was that different from what other bands were doing at the time and had limited impact on the music that followed. 2 my personal rating 4 suitability for this list 2 impact ----------------------------------------------- 2.7 composite rating
Ужас как долго.
there are some good parts between...something the chances that i love a live album from this decade are actually nearly non existent
It was chill but live jam albums are tiring. No highlights
3/10 Overall a decent listen but I'll probably never listen to these 8-23 minute songs again.
Shoutout Nitrous for allowing people to enjoy this pinnacle of mediocrity.
whole lotta noodling goin on. there would be like 30-40 seconds where I'd be feeling it, and then it would be back off into the noodly murk. the presence of vocals seldom improved the situation. there are a couple rockin minutes of "St. Stephen" and "The Eleven" that I dug. I also enjoyed some portions of "Feedback" and the simplicity within noise. I can't hear the vamp from "Turn On Your Love Light" without thinking of the Blues Brothers movie, "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" a lot of Deadheads talk about the freedom of their live shows, and I'm sure that's liberating for a lot of people in-person with the community around you, but the only thing I was compelled to do after hearing this album was to never spin it again.
This album was not for me. It went on forever, and ever, and ever...
He spent his entire summer drifting from venue to venue, sleeping in the back of his van, heating cans of Beefaroni over a campfire, and searching the trash-strewn grounds outside arenas for pocket change that might fill his gas tank just enough to get him to the next stop, wearing the same filthy clothes until they practically carried their own shape. Body odor, shaving, and haircuts were no longer priorities. After enough nights pressed against the stage and enough hours lost in clouds of purple haze and feedback, the music itself stopped sounding like separate songs; it became one long, shapeless jam that only paused long enough for the band to catch their breath before tumbling right back into itself again. Somewhere in the middle of it all, he quietly wondered what kind of life would still be waiting for him once the tour finally ended. I can’t believe people traveled all over the country following Grateful Dead on tour just to hear them play the same fucking song for an hour and thirteen minutes. That’s the first impression — and maybe the only impression — I get listening to their first live album, Live/Dead.
The Dead have always been considered a live band by most people. After listening to this I can't understand their allure unless you have a copious amount of drugs flowing through your system. Jam bands bore the shit out of me. There are some Dead songs that I find enjoyable, but this...... this is just garbage coated garbage with garbage filling. Most of these tracks are a cornucopia of madness because each member is playing a different song all at the same time. The rest like "Feedback" are just noise with no inkling of becoming anything more. When he does sing, Garcia's vocals sound like he's having stomach spasms and is about to vomit at any moment. Just not worth the time lost.
Very boring dad rock.
Ugh… painful
Not for me.
Aw shit. Refreshed page lost my review. I’m not rewriting it. I got more expansive, but the gist was that this is not as good as their fans think, and the Dead aren’t good enough to pull off the improvisations they do. I can listen without drugs to 4x side-long tracks of Miles Davis, electric in the 70s, but that’s because he wouldn’t let any musician of Grateful Dead calibre anywhere near his stage; shit-hot or forget it. The summary was that it’s “ok” and I’m sure that’s the worst insult a deadhead would want to hear. Santana are better.
The first track was so bad it made the second track sound like a masterpiece. I didn’t like the second track. The Eleven was tolerable but I felt the jamming went on too long. Turn on Your Love Light marginally better. Death Don’t Have No Mercy my favourite. But overall just not my thing. Despite my head I’m not a head. 2.
Confession. I didn’t finish it. I found this very, very dull.
Zuhause, Gerstetten, Deutschland Nicht meine Tasse Tee.
Love the Dead and the Dead live. This recording is tedious though. Several much better live recordings out there. Rarely do I hear the Dead come on and look at my watch. I did while listening to this one. Do like the rendition of St. Stephen though. Overall, mediocre at best. Not sure why THIS particular recording ended up on here (give me Barton Hall, Cornell ‘77 or Without a Net, or one of the many other mindblowing shows).
One of my favourite songs of all time is «Anesthetize» by Porcupine Tree. That song is 17.46 minutes long, but it is so good because of the theme changes, the buildups (and downs) something is happening all the time… The first song of this album is 22 minutes long, but it feels like an eternity because it’s just the same thing over and over again. After that song I had another 50 minutes or so of aimless jamming to look forward to. I kind of lost my will to live… I think I would enjoy it more if it wasn't live.
First track starts off cool, then turns into an almighty slog to get to the end of it, which funnily enough sets the theme for the rest of the album. First of all, the absolute audacity to start a live album with a 23 minute song. Secondly, if you’re going to do that, make it vibrant and interesting. Unfortunately this album falls flat on all fronts for me and fails to hold my attention long enough to enjoy any of the tracks. It gets some points for the instrumental work being decent at points, and that's being generous.
Listen, I get the genius of these guys, but this album was mostly random strumming. Maybe if I was very high, the almost 8 minutes of feedback would maybe seem like more of a must listen than it ended up being.
Robert Christgau said this album "contains the finest rock improvisation ever recorded". I think I agree, and it also reminds me of this one time we went over to some friends' house. They had a pizza oven and were making home made pizzas for us. I myself cannot eat gluten, and they lovingly prepared a gluten-free option for me. It was made with care and the ingredients were best in class. They asked me how it was. I told them this was the finest example of a gluten free pizza I've ever eaten....then after a short beat, added: which puts it slightly below a Domino's pizza that has been sitting on the counter all night. That's how I feel about rock improvisation....even if its the finest example ever.
A live album that takes 15 minutes to get going, lasts for hours, and can only really be described as unremarkable. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ ★★☆☆☆ (4/10) Total reviewed : 299 Already owned : 68 Purchased : 15 To buy : 3 Nope : 213
Sometimes, I’m shown an album and my first thought is, “Oh no.” This was one of those times. My mood about this was not improved by the first song being a million years (or twenty-three minutes) long. I realized that I was being a bit sore about this and tried to get a better outlook on it. I realized that it was no worse than any random band playing at a festival. So there’s that.
I cannot handle hippies or the Grateful Dead I'm sorry .
Rambly psych rock
It probably goes crazy to just be able to make stuff up like this with the homies and play it and have it sound half decent. I liked a little more than I thought I would but the positive bits don’t outshine the excessive length and directionless nature of this album. It won me over enough to see the appeal but this genre is really just not for me.
First time listening to Grateful Dead in any meaningful capacity. There’s a lot of times that I’m enjoying what I’m hearing, but a lot of other times that it’s a bit of a mess. I’m ultimately left with not wanting to revisit this particular album but the right one might hit for me.
Random thoughts: * I swear I like the Grateful Dead but this one was a slog to get through. * there was so much to get through to get to something recognizable. * I gotta think there are better Dead albums to have on this list * This one seems like you had to be there and you had to be on acid to really get this one.
Welp, this was the first time listening to the Grateful Dead, and the experience was exactly what I thought it would be. I guess if you listen to the Dead it has to be a live album, but I’ve said it before - they shouldn’t be on this list. This album was pretty miserable. The only thing that made it better was not having to be at a live show with all the Dead Heads.
2/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-grateful-dead/live-dead-17/ Too. Much. Jamming.
Forgettable..
Grateful Dead do nothing for me. I am left freezing cold by their 'cosmic' meandering.
A Grateful Dead live album is going to be a "love it or hate it" proposition and I'm not sure there is a way around that. The listener either really likes 23-minute songs and extended jams or the listener does not enjoy 23-minute songs and extended jams. For the history of music, does there need to be a live album from the Grateful Dead included in this book? No matter my thoughts on the music, there is a compelling argument one of the most popular live bands of all-time (and a band that the studio cannot appropriately display the virtues of) probably should have a live album as part of the 1001 albums to be heard before we all leave this mortal coil. If you are looking for long jams with a 7-minute song that is just feedback, then this is the album for you.
There are at times some cool riffs and groves but they are few and far between. In between those moments are a bunch of musicians noodling in a manner closer to jazz than a jam band. You have to be high to like this because it’s honestly not great. They might be iconic but it doesn’t mean that they are great.
I might just be getting a little impatient in my final days of this project, but I really struggled to get through another double album. A jam band double album. A LIVE jam band double album. With an 8 minute long track of random feedback sounds. Is this the worst thing I've heard in the past three years? Not at all. But I just felt really bored for a lot of this one, which is one of the worst experiences I can have in this challenge. Bad but interesting is always better than boring. The Grateful Dead had a place on the list already, this was fair. But they really didn't need this one too. I get that they have a rabid fanbase and I'm happy for them that they have so much material to choose from. But it's just not my cup of tea.
So it's just an hour and thirteen minutes of noodling huh
Just not for me. Found it to be a slog to listen to with some parts here and there being enjoyable, but not a cohesive performance
un tanto ruidoso
I do not like the Grateful Dead. I find them boring and pointless. Jam bands can be fun in person, or on enough drugs to where you’re just feeling it, but nothing on this album was noteworthy to me. It was generic and just felt like one long song. Also, as I’ve said before, I don’t like live albums, so this was a doomed experiment from the start. I will say, I’m giving it a 2 because this was fine as background music. But gods is it boring as an active listening exercise.
Never fully dug The Dead. There's nothing on this that I liked. Nothing awful, just ... dull.
I am guessing this band had such a following because the live shows were a drug induced communal event. This recording doesn't showcase any of that. An hour of disjointed aimless noodling. Most of it sounds like everyone is playing something that doesnt mesh and then every once in a while it lines up and is really good for like 2 minutes then off we go on our separate ways again.
Comparatively listening to Dead live sets is usually preferable to their studio output, but this collection is not essential. I'd say spin Cornell 77 instead, but you could find better examples of this Dead era without much effort. Pro tip: do not add a 7 minute Feedback track if it's not 7 minutes of cool Feedback.
From Mr. Show: "I know my best friends used to charge me 35 bucks to listen to them dick around on guitar."
I've tried to get into the Dead many times, and they do have a few gems, but this album feels like a meandering stoner practice session
You can only listen to this when you're high - when you play it sober it's just a recording of someone "what are you doing playing Grateful Dead sober? Go get high"
DNF Its not unlistenable, but i totally have no interest in continuing this album.
No standouts
It was alright I suppose... I'd hate to see a whole concert of it though...
I put Live/Dead on as background music and got annoyed after 5 minutes or so. Later in the day I focused on listening and at times even enjoyed what I was hearing. I'll never listen to this again though.
This was an opportunity to listen to a group that many hold in high esteem (one that I have never really explored). I left this massively underwhelmed. This was a compilation of live sauntering jam songs.
First, I will say that if I attended a concert and had to sit through 20 minutes of “Dark Star”, I may have walked out. I’m not much of a fan of drawn out jamming, and this album is full of it. I am not the biggest fan of the Dead anyway, but I just didn’t think this was a very good album…a lot of waste in it. Two stars.
The instruments are fine. The singing is just stupid. why is this an hour and 13 minutes? It just sounds like one extremely basic song. Why is this band popular? I'm mad I had to listen to this.
I mean, I guess I respect how this album helped create jam rock. But the songs meander (of course), significantly overstaying their welcome in comparison to the innovation/experimentation they offer.
I just...don't get the appeal
All fine- not memorable
Live albums suck. I remember liking Grateful Dead more than any of the stuff in this album, so I'm not giving it a one, but if it were a band I'd never heard of I'd probably give it a one. silly of me.
This album is a lot like golf. Absolutely boring to spectate, but kinda fun when you’re actually there doing it. Maybe more accurate, this album is like drugs. Hearing about someone’s trip is often underwhelming and hard to connect to. But doing drugs? Hooboy. This probably smacked if you were a white 20 something in the crowd, high as all hell. As a headphone listen, it is a bad test of patience at best. I had brief moments of enjoyment with “Death Dont Have No Mercy”, but that’s it. Almost a 1/5
Ugh, a live album. I will say this one did not really sound like a live album so I'll give it more than 1 star - very chill - I get why people are so into these guys.
This is what I thought Grateful Dead was. Awful jammy jazz rock. And a song called Feedback that’s just feedback. Wonderfully creative, guys. Robert Christgau can suck one for this recommendation.
Not for me thanks
Got on the bus in 91. The band, culture, and community are an enormous part of my life to this day. Doesn’t change the fact that this album kinda blows. It’s a solid representation of what ya get sometimes, but not the norm.
I guess that I see the appeal, but I do not find it appealing.
Over an hour of random noodling that goes nowhere.
I've always been aware of the cult following of the Grateful Dead. I knew it was their live music they were famous for rather than their studio work. I was quite excited to give this a go, and was left utterly disappointed. As a fan of prog rock, I'm used to long songs that have virtuoso elements to them, this was not like that at all. There is some talent here, but for the most part it felt like several guys just turning up with their instruments and playing whatever they want individualy with complete disregard for whatever else was going on around them. A 7 minute track called feedback that is just feedback! Absolutely ridiculous, but kinda funny at the same time. I know they are a jam band and not prog rock, but the fact they have 2.7m monthly listeners on Spotify and Kimg Crimson only have 1m is absolutely mental to me. 2/5 It's not quite a 1, there was one bluesy track that was ok that shows they can play, but the rest was over indulgent nonsense that I guess you had to be there with a shitload of drugs for.
#851. If I paid money to see this live, I would be upset. 2/5: not grate
Lowkey meandering.
A bit overrated and sounds all the same
Live/Tedium. Would prefer this if it were the Hateful Dead. Make it more Screamo. Get some Pantera riffs in. As jam records go it’s easily more classic and essential than the bloody Quicksilver Messenger Service that’s on this list but I would still rather pay to see a half-dead Shakatak. At least they would keep Night Birds to under fifteen minutes.
Ah, the first track is a chore to listen to that spoiled the rest of the experience. Not the ideal introduction to the band I suppose
Another pointless list entry. Difficult to see anything new that this live offering brings. Long and plodding version. Probably good to have been there but really the recorded albums are more interesting.
So much jamming.
This was the musical equivalent of a long postponed dentist trip. Painful and overlong. Turn on Your Love Light clocks in at just over 15 minutes, only has two chords and throwaway lyrics, and made me want to lose the will to live. No issues with the musicianship but I'm far too sober to get a vibe out of this.
i feel like this is an album that doesnt really take itself seriously cause i dont see a lot of elements that make an album great on this besides its chill but maybe i wasnt in the mood for this but i was just bored at times.
From all the Dead I listened to this is probably the only stuff Id tell people not to listen to.
Ab und zu okaye Ansätze, ansonsten langweilig bis nervig (insb. natürlich "Feedback").
Habe noch nie verstanden, wieso diese Band so fanatisch abgefeiert wird. Diese Live-Platte hat noch weitere Fragezeichen hinzugefügt. In der Mitte sind ein paar gute Psychedelic-Songs, die auch in spannenden Jams ausarten, aber alles nix, was man anderswo nicht schon besser gehört. Aber dieser 23-Minuten Soundcheck "Dark Star" soll laut Wikipedia der Holy Grail der Dead-Fans, den man unbedingt live erlebt haben muss. Ich kann da beim besten Willen nichts Spannendes dran erkennen und das anschließende "Feedback" ist dann nur noch anstrengend. Ich bin froh, in einer Zeit zu leben, in der King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard deren Rolle eingenommen haben. Deren Songwriting ist wesentlich interessanter.
Fing ganz interessant an und fiel dann irgendwie stark ab.
Never really got the hype for Grateful Dead. They're okay.
Ok 2/5
In un determinato mood ci sta, ma ieri non ce la facevo
This album was recorded at a live performance in 1969, which means that a live crowd had to sit through the first "song", which was 23 minutes of noises... Anyway, the crowd was probably mainly on drugs and probably didn't have anywhere better to be, so it probably wasn't that bad, and given that the rest of the songs were pretty alright, it's not that bad overall, it's pretty chill.
I kind of hate to give this a 2, it has its moments and I do respect the free form improvisation and how they basically created the idea of a "jam band. There are plenty of Dead songs I like in their later eras. But like the Quicksilver Messenger album, there's just too much aimless noodling here. Some cool moments but they are a little to few and far between. I've never gotten the 2 drummers thing and hard to see where that's really super evident in the music here. I dunno, maybe on another more careful listen I'd find more to like but didn't really find myself eager to go back through it.
Some good moments, but the long meandering stretches just got boring
I was pretty bored by the third song
Not for me ta, too much widdly Jazz. Perhaps good if off your head
Sounds just like any random pub band in the 80's to me. Shite.
Best track - St. Stephen
another review i can use to scoff at live albums being included on this list! dope.
Worse one yet👎👎👎🤬😡👿
Is a small bit of structure too much to ask for? This meanders endlessly
This music was made solely for people who enjoy amplified cricket farts. I get why the word on the street was that everyone was high when they went to a dead show. Jammy noodling for extended periods of time would be extremely taxing if you had to stand and be lucid. I’m not sure that I can think of another act where the urge to lie down is so great. I’d normally Telly you about the songs, but I can’t. I’m in a fucking trance and I hear screaming near me. Oh wait. That’s the sound of my own voice. I’m screaming. Seagulls seagulls 2/5
I like The grateful dead, I own both working man’s dead and American beauty and they are both great albums. I love their Americana sound im not keen on elongated live jams. Absolutely not for me
Some parts were okay. But a dull, interminable slog of an album to actually get through.
A bit too long winded and noodly for my liking. A cool vibe and would have been amazing live as an experience but not gripping enough for me to love it
4.5/10
Why would you ever listen to this band noodle for an hour straight on songs you’ve never heard before when you can listen to American beauty which literally came out a year after? I get that live performances are what made the band famous, but I much prefer them when they’re playing songs and not twenty minute solos.
it felt empty something is missing
My opinion is immediately low due to the 23 minutes song. The other song sounds good, The Eleven caught my good ire crimson king y'know. 1 good song covered in 6 tons of crap
ok I guess...
I've never felt called to check out the Grateful Dead and this album did nothing to make me understand their mystique and cultural footprint. It sounded good, but I need more intensity if I'm going to listen to noise.
"Feedback - Live at the Fillmore West San Fran 1969" has been my first skipped song in 616 albums. In my defense, this music was not created to copyedit corporate bylaws to. Not sure how i feel about putting a Grateful Dead song as the final hurdle that stands between me and being allowed to embrace death. However, this was, on the whole, way less annoying than cultural osmosis made them seem.
and you know the thing is, I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy the Grateful Dead if I saw them live (maybe less now with John Mayer) but I just don't get it at all via recordings. This felt interminable and without direction (I know, I get it, that's kind of the point, but it doesn't land via recording imo) 1.5 rounding up because at least I could kind of do things while half-listening to it and there was nothing to jar me out of what I was doing
If I was in the mood for an hour and a quarter of musician noodling, this would be an ideal album. However, I rarely am, and this seems like a waste of my ears. Nope.
I’m not on enough drugs to appreciate this. Individually they all sound great, together it sounds like they’re all playing a different song.
Grateful Dead live gigs must have sounded amazing if this recording is any indication. I enjoyed some of the jammier parts but the blues noodling was just a little bit too Clapton-adjacent.
I had heard this before, and so I knew what to expect - a self-indulgent hour of improvisation from the Dead. It's fine if you like that kind of thing, but I can take it or leave it.
Uuvuttavan pitkä livelevy. Vaikka tältä levyltä löytyy hyviäkin hetkiä, en vain taida pitää Grateful Deadista. Löysää hippirockia.
I have heard of the Grateful Dead before and I understand they are very very good. However I didn't enjoy this introduction to them. I think if I heard this live my opinion would be different, but listening to this was boring. Lots of incessant noodling around, felt like I was getting nowhere. I'm normally a fan of guitar parts but this just felt meaningless. I imagine I'm missing the point. Some parts were enjoyable - Favourite was Death Don't Have No Mercy. Listening to a few of their other songs now, I think they remain a band worth listening to. Perhaps just not this album. 2/5 for the decent ones.
Shit sux 2/5
Yikes, from never having heard Grateful Dead before to two albums in the space of a few days, and I can surely say I won’t be searching them out again. I can’t imagine this would have been terribly exciting in the flesh, however I guess the audience were off their faces. I went and did the hoovering during the second run through when Feedback came on. Something is stopping me giving this a one and I’m not even sure what. There are some glimmers in there I guess, maybe enough for an EP? Onwards and upwards. I’ll take Britpop any day over this
I expected more, but was pretty disappointed. This album kind of wanders around aimlessly. I didn't find anything profound, which I expected with how renowned Grateful Dead are.
I don't get why I needed to listen to this. I didn't like it.
Not a huge fan of live albums. I love hearing music live, but this doesn't have the same effect. I'm also not a huge fan of the singing. The band plays really well though.
This is what I feared the other Grateful Dead album we did would be. The first track in particular was really just tuneless purposeless meandering. Not a fun time.
I'm not a big jam-band fan, and not really a live-album fan either. I can definitely see why someone already a big fan would love it, but it's not for me. Not adding to my collection.
I'm sure they are having fun playing their instruments together but nah that said I was prepared to hate this and I didn't entirely. it was a fine, if sometimes tedious, way to spend a little over an hour. (I can't really complain about "Feedback" like everyone else because I have listened to too many type o negative albums and that would make me a hypocrite) not adding to collection
Not really my cup of tea.
I couldn't tell if this was bad or if I just couldn't appreciate it because I don't know any of the original music. 2/5??
Just couldn't get into it.
Man, that was tough. I don't mind songs/albums that don't have much vocals to them, but the instrumental has to be actually good for that to work. There were a couple decent sounding moments that prevent this from a 1.
..
oof. I like a good jam. I like extended jams. I like really long songs. But a 23 minute jam with limited variation gets tedious. 23 minutes of Miles Davis or Coltrane? Sign me up. 23 minutes of this? No thanks. "Turn On Your Love Light" is both a highlight and a primary example of what's wrong with these jams. The extended solos edge toward something you'd hear from The Allman Brothers. But The Allman Brothers extended jams from this period were far more interesting, I'd much rather listen to 15 minutes of the Allmans doing this song. For the most part, this album didn't actively annoy me but didn't make a case for why I should give The Grateful Dead another chance. Toward the end of the album, however, it was really wearing out its welcome. 2 stars
I like the Grateful Dead, I like a few of their early songs. I even like a couple of their studio albums. I like it when album size or desired airplay time constraints make them distill a song down to an essence of how they will play it live. I was once told if I don't enjoy Dark Star (which I don't) then I am not a DeadHead and I agree. I can listen to Jimi Hendrix noodles around all day, I can enjoy King Crimson as they do their version of improvisational, jazz based rock, but Dark Star seems like a good opportunity to check out the merch, watch girls dance or maybe get a beverage. Listening to the remastered version only solidified this for me. This is a groundbreaking, poetic and historic album I don't enjoy... except for Death Don't Have No Mercy, which is a good song.
The album that arguably legitimized pointless noodling and inspired dozens of copycat jammers. Unlike the tight, focused performance of albums like "Workingman's Dead" or "American Beauty", this is The Grateful Dead at their most meandering and unfocused. There are moments of interest, and the live feel is captured well, but on the whole this just seems unfocused and often boring.
Not enjoyable
I like the few songs from Grateful Dead that I know, but this I could not finish.
I really don't understand the appeal, half of the time it was almost offensively detached improv and most of the other half was boring
I'm just not a jam-band kind of person
Background noise is fine I guess.
Not nearly high enough for this on a Monday. Not sure how much that would have helped though
Started to have some more appreciation for Grateful Dead after seeing Dead & Co. live but this album kind of reminded me why I never really listened to them. Some good moments but overall not for me. A solid 2.
Dang, even though I have some appreciation for the Dead having seen Dead & Co one time (lol), this album just doesn't hit for me. I'm sure I'd dig a 25 min song live at the Fillmore West in the 60's. Not the same without the ambience. Gotta round down on this one. 2.75/5
First listen. 2 It was hard for me to get into this, especially with the first track being Dark Star. I did like St. Stephen and The Eleven, and I guess the "feedback" track was interesting. I also think I'm rating this a little higher after listening to the A History of Rock Music in 500 songs episode about the Greatful Dead, since I think there's some aspects of this release I appreciate more with the context. At first I was leaning around a 1, but it's not really that bad, but it has some interesting parts.
Not of importance.
People seem to love or hate the Grateful Dead. I’m not a fan.
It's a good idea to include a live album by the Grateful Dead -- when most people think "The Dead", they think endless concerts across an almost constant touring schedule. That said, the players are solid, but they might have gone with simple instrumentals, without the bad singing. And the band should have left off "Feedback" ... annoying as hell.
Meh
See, when Hendrix was noodling non stop on his guitar, and he didn't stop for 10 minutes, I didn't mind that. This though, it just bored me. I never understood the hype they get.
The combination of freeform noodling, extra long tracks and feedback tracks, while not always a problem for me, kinda left me cold.
I’m a jazz guy, so dudes noodling around for extended periods is not a dealbreaker. But this bored me to tears, absolutely nothing going on here
My cousins were Grateful Dead fans. I think it was more about the drugs than the music. This album does not change that perspective for me.
Why is this album so long?? Maybe being a live album of a jam session explains why. However, it still is incredibly long and boring. Main reason I feel is so lengthy is because I didn't find anything to be interesting except for the song 'Feedback', because they just decide to play noise. All the other songs feel to me like bland improvisation that never achieves any point. I truly don't get it.
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
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
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.
Too much jam
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.
**a strange album. Only two tracks with vocals. Some tracks with just wierd sounds/noises
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?
“Feedback” was an absolutely unnecessary track.
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.
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?
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
> the Beatles The dead are talented but...I fucking hate jam bands.
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.
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
"IVE BEEN LISTENING TO THIS FOR AN HOUR AND IM FIVE TRACKS IN??" - me, 8 minutes ago
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.
3/10
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Not super into it
I don't really get it. Maybe one day, but not today.
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.
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*
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.
Yeah no, I can do 8 minutes of jamming.. But 1.5 hours of it.. Impenetrable. With some good bits
Wasn't really my thing
Chaotic
I'm sober, and I'm pretty sure this isn't music made with sober people in mind.
I don’t have a big problem with the Dead, but it is more noodling than I care to listen to
There's good stuff here, but I don't think it's better than their actual studio albums.
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
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.
Glimrar till här och där men på det hela rätt färglöst, ibland uselt och framförallt jävligt långtråkigt.
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.
"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 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.
Meh. Good background noise. Mostly noise.
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.
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 like Dead but this wasn't great. Maybe it's one of those "you had to be there" things...
What did the Deadhead say when the acid wore off? "Hey, this band sucks!"
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
Not my cup of tea. I'm not the biggest Dead fan but this isn't my jam at all. 2/5
decent songs but they were long as hell, wasn’t that engaged, not for me personally
Muy hippie para mi
Det här är ju inte riktigt min musik och dessutom live. Dock kan jag förstå de som gillar det här.
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
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.
I love their studio work, but for the life of me, I can't tell one live album from another. Please make it stop!!
Ikke dårlig spelling, men litt masete vokal. Klarte ikke fokusere.
I finally know what music is playing at those neighbourhood gatherings where people sit around bonfires and whittle spoons.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
Yet another interesting sounding album that ends up taking the bluespill and becoming unbearably boring
I like the dead but I’m not into the whole jammin out type genre
Good god, this was a slog. So much noodling. The first track nearly killed me and I don't know why they placed it first as it seemed (to me) to be the weakest. At least some of the other ones had a hint of a melody.
I’m sorry… I’ve tried. These guys just bore me. And I enjoyed the appropriate drugs once, so I get it. I should like this, but I don’t.
I wasn't feeling it.
The Dead play this musical trick where they jam for what seems like an eternity on some atonal, arhytmic introspective self-indulgence, and it rewires your brain into an uncomfortable musical space, when suddenly they randomly land on a tune of some sort: simplistic, even immature, as if a child were in charge. And then the tension of the previous ten to fifteen minutes is released and you get a big dopamine hit. Boom. Very clever. Some of the stuff can be hypnotic, for sure. Some of Garcia's guitar is interesting, and you can spot that unique tone from miles away, very iconic. And I'm just going to leave it there because I'm trying to keep it positive. I don't love it, but it deserves a place on this list.
Can't fault the playing Can fault the self indulgence
[three minutes into the first song] “Huh maybe I like the Grateful Dead?” [six minutes into the first song] “Ok let’s wrap this up.” [there are still eleven minutes to go in in the first song] Listened to the whole thing, but that was the experience.
Bit too rambling for my tastes
Far too experimental to the point where it was basically just noise at times - so I didn’t get any enjoyment out of it.
This ain't it
Not for me
Overall: 4/10 I'm impressed by the musicianship on display here, and I'm sure it would have been an incredible experience to witness this live. However, almost 60 years later, I just don't find myself enjoying this. It's overlong, overindulgent and, quite frankly, boring. I found it hard to get through and I certainly won't be checking it out again. Great musicians though. Fav Song: The Eleven Least Fav Song: Dark Star
There are moments of interesting spread throughout this hour, but they don't quite make up for the fact that this is over an hour of jamming. 2.5/5
Not a deadhead Only stand out was a 36 second song (truly beautiful though) “And we bid you goodnight”
Groovy, but get to the fucking point already.
I like the Dead and I am very much in the minority that probably prefers their studio stuff, especially albums that came from 1971 on, so this really did not do much for me at all. St Stephen is really the highlight and this wouldn’t come close to being my favorite version
There’s guitar noodling, and then there’s whatever “Dark Star” was in 1969. I have always been real meh about the Dead and this doesn’t make me love it that much. Not that there aren’t some decent moments, here. “St. Stephen” and “Eleven” work really well together and the “Feedback” jam is a real high point, gorgeously weaving noise in melody. But man this is a slog to get through.
Pre-listening thoughts: oh piss off Post/during listening thoughts: yeah dude a 23 min opener is almost rude. Let me just tune my instrument for five minutes (and then again for 8 more, and we’ll call it a whole separate song!) and then we can start playing, and yes we have to include this segment on the live album! WHY! This reminds me of that Hawkwind album (except not quite as egregiously terrible). Live psychedelic rock may just not be for me. Maybe I need to be high for this? Questioning why Lindsay Weir went to be a groupie for these guys. 3/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no Fav tracks: And We Bid You Goodnight (thank god it’s over!) Least fav tracks: Death Don’t Have No Mercy, FEEDBACK (like if I was in the audience I would be throwing tomatoes.)
I reckon this'll get pretty good when they finally finish tuning up. Probably not the best way to be introduced to the Dead
When I first saw a Grateful Dead album I was definitely disappointed. I've tried listening to them many times over the years, often with little success. As a fan of psychedelic music, stoner rock and the genres surrounding those sounds, you'd think I'd love these guys, but I just don't get it. I've read books about the times they came up in, dove deep into the culture and even "opened" my mind to the "experience". I still just can't with the jam bands. As far as Dead albums go, I didn't hate this one. It dragged on for too long and meandered way off course too many times, but this is all par for the course of the Dead. Maybe I'm just tired, maybe the world is just crashing down a little too hard, maybe I just need another cup of coffee. Anyway, this one was ok. 2.25/5, but I'm rounding down.
Never been a dead head so I find it difficult to get into jam bands which is strange because I do like jazz and that's a true definition of jam band.
Typical gd
I will never understand the appeal of Grateful Dead as a band. They have a couple of songs that I do not mind listening to, but for the most part I would rather not listen to their music. Enjoy your jams Deadheads, I'm not saying no one should listen to this and I'm happy you find joy in something, but it's not for me.
was pretty meh about this
Better than unalive Dead.
Idk it was pretty good. An easy listen if I were on the smoke
This was just a little underwhelming for all the hype that surrounds this band. I don’t really understand why they’re such a big deal if this album highlights their talents. I am completely unimpressed and un phased. Like I don’t necessarily strongly dislike it or anything, but I just don’t get it…
I'm rarely moved either way by the Dead. Like "Dark Star" seems nice in/at any particular 1 or 2 minute point but it *never.goes.anywhere* - the world's longest intro to a song that never arrives. And yes that's a/the cliché with this band but that doesn't mean it isn't true. Apply to virtually all the songs. Man it's so disappointing that they made a song in 11/8 boring to me. And honestly who the hell is listening to those last 8+ minutes.... "Feedback?" what a prank - I thought Sabbath's "FX" was the biggest prank by a major band on an album but apparently they couldn't hold a candle to the Dead. I guess digesting the GD is more akin to channeling a mood rather than expecting "traditional" song structure, etc. I know this intellectually yet any time I hear them I think I expect some dramatic bridge or breakdown. They're always instantly recognizable which is probably the ultimate goal for any artist - that individuality. I could see maybe enjoying this as background music. Just for me trying to actively listen it's just too much. Or no...maybe I should say it's not ever enough. It's just bland and completely and utterly unfocused - never approaches danger or even passion? It's fine if you like this but it's .... limp. 5/10 2 stars.
Very much not bothered by this. I've never got what the guys was all about. Maybe there was a drought of good music in the ol' Americana dustbowl of the 50’s when your choice was a sticky black quiff or a washboard and a piece o' chewin' straw.
Now I like Hippy Jazz, but I also like Experimental Rock. But which is better? There's only one way to find out, FIGHT!!!
I'm dissapointed. I heard great things about this band but what I hear here is basically a long Jam session rehearsal. The ones you record and then check for ideas to turn into actual songs. But in this case, it was released as an album. Beats me why this album is so important. It's just sounds boring and disconnected to me.
I know they are a thing, but this album is not my thing.
It's just so self indulgent.
You know what you need to listen to before you die? A bunch of jackasses vamping on their guitars for twenty minutes at a time. Live!
Having praised American beauty … um. This is a record of a live performance by American psychedelic group grateful dead. Guess you had to be there. 1.5
I know that I should have liked it, but I didn't. Hard to find a good reason.
The first track which is 15 minutes long, is like a group of chimps have found instruments and they each stumble across different notes which kind of resemble music but none of it goes together. The album does pick up slightly in the middle but then deteoriates. A real tough listen overall.
2 not a huge jam band guy. You have to listen to 20 minutes of garbage for one minute of genius. Grateful Dead’s studio albums are much better
God damn that first track dragged. It came up a notch later bit it was a low floor.
Sounds like guitar center on a saturday
There’s no song structure. Feels aimless. Like they are still tuning their guitars. It’s kinda sloppy sounding. I’m all for deconstructing art, but this doesn’t sound like it was ever even written down. I couldn’t even call this jamming. Just guys trying to follow each other, with no leader. Maybe a head full of acid would help? I thought there would be more music to their music. Can’t really hang your hat on anything here.
I'm not a jam band hater, and I would never dismiss music because it chooses to improvise for extended periods. I love bands like KGLW and my first concert was Dave Matthews Band (lmao). Jazz and avant garde have always been genres I gravitate to as well. However, the entire 73 minutes of this feels so unnecessary. These are essentially basic, soulless blues songs, extended way past their welcome, meandering for far too long. The musicianship of the Dead is a highlight, but the compositions and vocal performances leave so much to be desired. I can feel that there are supposed to be those big jam "moments" on the album, like the slow blues on Death Don't Have No Mercy, or the extended solos on Turn on Your Love Light, but each of them fall so flat for me. I did not enjoy this at all. 4/10
Less a band and more a group of people playing on top of each other. At its best it’s technically gifted blues rock, at its worst it’s terrible jazz. Also the singing, when relevant, is often just bad.
Boh 76 minuti di strumentale non li concepisco
Too experimental, does not feel like a song.
I really like Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. After that you can keep the rest of their stuff. This album is brutally bad. That first track - someone should tell these guys they're not jazz musicians. And they absolutely destroy Death Don't Have No Mercy. If this is an accurate example of their live shows, I honestly do not understand what the hell all the Dead head stuff is about.
During the first six minutes I thought that maybe people were judging this a little too harshly, it was looking to be a cool jam album with some interesting arrangements. Then the rest of the album happens and it all just devolves into 6 or 7 people making random sounds that may or may not be in time and/or have anything to do with what the other people are doing. And mostly not. I don't get why people were so dedicated to this band. Actually, yes I do. Drugs. That's why. I'm sure The Dead thought this was incredible while they were whacked out of their minds on stage. But then you listen back to it and think "wow that's not even in tune". This album solidifies my contention that The Grateful Dead are the most overrated band of all time. 2/5 I guess because the first 6 minutes are cool and there are actually real instruments being played, poorly. And there are a few interesting parts here and there.
Woof
An hour and a quarter of aimless meandering. Feedback especially pointless. A generous two.
I’m rather indifferent by this. Mostly bored. Didn’t draw my attention. Should’ve know when it started with a 16 minute instrumental track.
It was slightly better than their studio album on this list but it is still just a bad album. It has no structure, they were just jamming but it sounded like they barely knew what they were playing. It was ok listening it in the background. I think this band was at the right time at the right place, I have always found them overrated and this album proved it again.
I think I'm still listening to the first song. 2.4.
No song should be 20 minutes long. Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 4/5
Now I love the Dead, and I love the Dead live... but this is the most meh live album of the Dead out there. There are so many better choices than this one.
Someone said "half an album of the band tuning" and yea I think that kind of nails it. What is going on here.
Not for me.
Well, it was OK, but just not that great, in my mind.
I guess you had to be there. I feel like at this point they represent more of a brand or lifestyle than noteworthy music. Feedback is painful. OK, what's next?
Never been a Deadhead. This didn't change that. I've seen Keith Emerson physically torturing organs and it was more enjoyable than "Feedback".
Look everyone knew it was gonna be an hour and a half of janky, ambiguous jam music. The Dead is a lot like Jazz. All improv, barely any structure and understated melodies with little repitition. Lets not pretend they are or would ever be Mozart here. But think of what this did for live albums and for music in general for a second. Right in the pits of the counter culture movement. This album and band showed up to destroy and dismantle the notion that music needs structure and rules. Hell no. And thus the Grateful spearheaded the jam revolution. As for live album relevance and innovation. This album pushed the envelope of what a live album should be, so open and full of space. Admittedly with music that can only be enjoyed while tripping sack. Not just prim and polished live albums. Instead raw, live and unique albums are acceptable. All that good being said Allman Bros live at filmore east blows this shit out of the water. 2 stars.