Live / Dead

In a nutshell: kick out the jams I'm sceptical of live albums on this list. The sound quality is variable as years go on. And it's so hard to capture the vibe the audience felt the night the concert was recorded. Which is partly where Live/Dead is unconvincing. The guitars are sharp, sometimes the drums. The vocals, not so much. It jams longer than necessary. Deadheads and psychedelic rock affectionados should love it. For me, it loses direction quickly. It's not that I don't like meandering jams (I like Khrungabin and I don't mind jazz). Maybe it's because I'm not *with it*. Or not high. Overall: 3/10

not my type

boh non mi sta a dire niente..

Mi piacerebbe dare un voto ma mi sono suicidato dopo le prima canzone

Ma è legale aprire un album con una canzone da 23 minuti? La risposta è no.

Holy hell what a boring slog. Never listened to grateful dead before. Never want to again. There were a couple moments when something got interesting but when it did I was so mind numb I couldn't remember to check which track and which minute it happened.

Noodle noodle noodle. I knew about the myth of the Dead long before I'd ever heard them and I was a bit surprised. It wasn't what I expected at all. It's fine, for them. For me it's just a bit aimless. Fun fact - they played their first UK gig at a festival in a village on a farm behind my house a month before I was born.

A live recording of a jam band does not really work for an album. The Grateful Dead are very famous and I want to give them a decent chance. About 10 minutes into the first "song" I started to get a bit fatigued listening to it and then some discordant noises made me skip to the next one. The music itself was eh okay but I'd rather listen to planned out songs rather than 4 people randomly playing stuff independently. I'll give one of their studio albums a chance.

Maybe I wasn't stoned enough.

I respect them but don’t love their music. Pretty cool how this album was recorded live for the first time using a splitter between the PA and the recording equipment though

There are a few Grateful Dead songs that I appreciate, like 'Terrapin Station' for example. Other than that I haven't listened to them that much. Grateful Dead have quite the fanbase and cult following, and if I understood it correctly it's much due to their live shows. I have to say that I don't really see it in this record to be honest. I think jamming and noodling, when done correctly, can be really thrilling live, but it just doesn't lend itself that well for a studio record in this case. There are also a few quite long segments that just doesn't work at all for me, like 'Feeback' for example. In the end I end up a bit disappointed in this, resulting in a 2 star rating.

I'm really not a fan of jam bands and jam albums, this was no exception. Any one part of the album is quite good but the endless jamming is just not for me. I see why people like it though.

Well, it's better than American Beauty at least. Still wouldn't personally base my entire personality around following these guys in a Scooby Doo van, but more power to you, 70s America. Better jam bands out there.

Okay, I thought this band was supposed to be entertaining? But it was a 23 minute song of noodling.

This is so boring. I didn't finish it :< Giving it 2 because it seems like they're good at what they're doing but it is not Pleasant To Listen To

Nope

I'm a middling Dead fan, and this was kind of a struggle to get through. Starting off with a whole side of Black Star was a strange choice - a few minutes in, and still wondering when the song was going to start. The recording quality left much to be desired. I prefer some of their later-70's live recordings, where there seemed to be a lot less self-indulgence and vague wandering.

The middle songs were alright. But it all sounded too long and too boring. Why is there a 8 min feedback song....

Live/Dead, then. First track starts nicely enough, but seventeen minutes later it's still going. It's so far all over the place that there are obviously and naturally good parts and bad parts but it's so fucking long and it's prog dressed up as rock and it's another example of overindulgence not delivering quality. Gets a 2 for the listenable parts but this isn't music to be encouraged imo.

Not really for me, this. Far too long (a 23 minute first track!!!) and self-indulgent - I don't mind something going on a bit if it really has something to say, but none of these tracks really do, although a few of them do have the odd good bit. 2/5, far too bloated.

Aimless noodling. When they get around to actually playing a song, it's generally good - but unless you've got a spliff on the go, this album is completely pointless.

Absolutely not.

Not for me, but I can see why others dig it.

Never heard the grateful dead before but they have such a huge reputation, well known for being trippy in all senses but also strong musically I thought. That's despite them getting basically no airtime but I figured the drugs were to blame for that. It is psychedelic but more than often than not it's all over the place to the point of shambolic. The couple of more sensible tracks are alright, a bit doorsy, but dark star in particular is 4 people playing separate sections of incoherent nonsense. It's almost experimental jazz but it's clearly not intentionally like that. I doubt anything sounded like this back then so probably hugely influential on the bands that made this sound coherent. It's a live album too where I imagine they are at their craziest. But I sincerely doubt I'm dead head.

Not really what I expected. Hadn't listened to the Grateful Dead before, presumed they were early psychedelic/hard rock. It is just a bit boring and middling. I didn't mind it live (it certainly sounded live, not always in harmony). A bit disappointed.

I found out something listening to this album, I like The Grateful Dead's studio albums but I find their live stuff enjoyable for the first couple of minutes and then I get bored. Their is probably nothing wrong with this album, musically it's great but just for me it's meandering and boring

I guess they need to include some Dead on here, just not sure how this was the choice. It punctuates why people don't like them and doesn't go deep enough into how good they really are.

A bit long.

joa, kann man mal reinhören, ist aber nix für dauerhaft; für damals vermutlich sehr fortschrittlich

Do they have monitors or are they just playing along with what they *think* the other guys are playing? Feedback almost made me drive off a bridge.

This is akin to jazz for me - I can appreciate (and marvel!) At the ability to improvise for so long as a group. That's just so crazy to me, since I can barely get through playing a whole song even when I have the music in front of me. As cool as that is, it just isn't something I want to listen to. 2/5

I already listened to this, it sucks.

You had to be there live, I wasn’t. That was about an hour of five or six stoners tuning their instruments and singing off key. Or maybe the drugs in 69 were just so strong that any noise (including Feedback)sounded like music. Rough one (1.6*s)

I knew there'd be some Grateful Dead on this list and I went in with open ears since Jon has been to some shows. I can def appreciate the improv-jam format but I think other people/groups/bands are doing it better. The Dead's formula seems almost too easy and this album felt a bit limp and maybe even phoned in. How were these the best takes from so many different concerts? It completely lost me on "Feedback" and I only reconfirmed what I already thought. Meh.

I can see myself in the 60s, at a Dead concert sprawled out on a blanket smoking weed and drinking beer. If I'm not in that exact scene though, I'm not that into it. The band doesn't really make separate songs...they just jam. It's impossible to have the same concert repeated by these guys cause the songs are sooooo long and improved. Probably why Dead Heads would travel with them and get a different show every time. When they start playing "Feedback", that's your cue to leave. Knew they would get an album on the list for shear fan following...1.75.

I'm not the biggest Grateful Dead fan (more of a Phish phan) but recognize their place in music history. Jam bands aren't everybody's cup of tea but I've always passively enjoyed them. While I don't necessarily think that Live/Dead specifically is a strong album it's a pretty solid example of what to expect from a jam band show. Even if it isn't in your wheelhouse, I do think you need to get exposed to a jam band at some point before you die (even if it's just to confirm it's not your thing). Jam bands are a whole vibe with their own culture and identity that goes beyond the music. I can take or leave Grateful Dead but I throw on Phish more often than I think most people expect. I can't outright recommend Live / Dead but overall I'd say this album belongs on the list. There is plenty better you can do, but plenty worse you can do from this list. 1.91 stars

Good lord how high do you have to be to enjoy this. 2.16

UGHHHHHHHHHHH: The Album

Mostly deeaadd...

Impossible to fathom the devoted appeal to Dead-Heads of the time or even more latter day fans. I've really earnestly tried with these guys, and just none of it ever sticks with me. Also unlike plenty of other artists I don't care for, the Dead don't seem to have really been influential... not to an important degree. The first 7 hours of this LP are passable, I mean it's jazz influenced psyche noodling, it's directionless and contains no fireworks at all, but it's fine. As you move into the second and third weeks of your first listen to this it really starts to drag. Listen to "Caravanserai" by Santana instead. It has more atomosphere, is far better played and has tunes and proper singing.

Groupe connu de nom uniquement, jamais écouté. En général j'aime beaucoup l'improvisation, mais le premier morceau Dark Star est vraiment long et assez peu inspiré. Pour une prise de contact c'est un morceau difficile. St. Stephen fait une transition vers The eleven (+) que j'ai plus apprécié, la partie improvisée y est bien plus intéressante, avec une ligne de basse vraiment bonne. Les deux morceaux suivant sont plus standard, des (trop long) blues parmi d'autres. Et que dire de Feedback ... Donc album difficile à noter ! =>2.5/5 pour la découverte.

Swerved them 844 times but I suppose an album by the Dreadful Grate was inevitable eventually

I love the dead, but this is excessive...even for them. Self indulgent repetitive solos that go literally nowhere. You have to be high to enjoy this. Wish I smoked before listening.

Did we get any Grateful Dead that isn't live? It's funny, I feel like they are one of the few bands that can get away with it since a lot of their magic came from their live performances. That doesn't mean I'm letting them get away with it. I'd give this album a 3 star but will be giving it a 2 for the live aspect as this is a wasted spot. Killer sound, killer cover.

I actually like the Grateful Dead but this isn’t what I would recommend to someone listening for the first time

OK, sure. This checks all the boxes and is an album with an important history and cultural milestone, it belongs on the list. However, it kinda sucks. I think that if I'm being completely honest with myself, I only ever listened to the dead when I was in a social circle that liked them and being able to relate and speak to their music was the best way to score free drugs. 2/5

the dead are basically just the kombucha girl gif for me

Jam bands meh

I dunno, didn't seem too special as a live album

No thank you, sirs.

I didn’t like this. The first and last tracks were basically just like a lot of uncohesive jamming and the last one was literally just feedback. Middle songs were average, I didn’t mind two of them. Fave Track: The Eleven Rating: 2

Kinda Boring with super long tracks

Never really listened to Grateful Dead before. This one is......fine, but honestly not super mind blowing to me. Maybe it's because I'm not super well versed in their previous output, but this didn't do much for me.

Really, really boring. The most interesting track on the album is the 7+ minutes of feedback titled… “Feedback.” At least I know what to put on the next time I run out of melatonin.

This is the second live album from an old rock band that is too long and includes 20+ min jams that I have gotten in this list. Please no more.

In theory, I see the appeal of all this cool improvising and these funky sounds. In practice, it’s just way too meandering and long winded for me as an album.

My buddy Steve who plays 17 instruments and I with my one-man-band setup including a heel-operated bass drum strapped to my head, high out of our minds on LSD be like.

Goddamn the Dead Apparently we just passed the anniversary of Jerry Garcias last performance with them a few days ago and August is like a holy holiday for Deadheads between Jerry’s birth and death dates (I forget but approx 1st-10th). Just saw something earlier this morning about it actually. So when a Dead album popped up I was psyched. And then this. Goddamn the Dead. This band has always stymied me. I love em. I respect em. Jerry and Phil and Bob are all immense talents. Robert Hunter (their primary lyricist who is not in the band at all) has written some amazing and powerful songs. And the Grateful Dead played the shit out of them in every improvisational way possible. My Mother loved Touch Of Grey and was furious that they slaughtered the National Anthem once. Liked Friend of The Devil and hated 20 minute noodling jams. Loved when my band covered One More Saturday Night and thought the Dead were just a bunch of drugged out hippy hangovers that got fat and were “never really that popular”. I watched the remaining Grateful Dead members with Trey from Phish sitting in as their “final” shows with all of my friends and it was so emotional and powerful. Even on a tv in a living room it was bordering on transformative. The Grateful Dead changed the music business forever with their touring model, their parking lot scene, their encouragement of fans taping shows and they will never get the credit they deserve for it. They single handily held off the “man” for dozens of years and let their art speak to anyone and everyone who wanted to hear it. And I LOVE about a dozen GD albums or more. And I LOVE much of their improvisational style. But this. This is the first Dead album I ever heard. And I hate it. I guess hate is too strong a word but it’s just a bunch of nonsense. Dark Star and St Stephen are amazing songs but these versions are meh to me. At least they end the show with 7 minutes of cacophony…. That mercifully ends with And We Bid You Goodnight, which has always been one of my favorites. All in all don’t give up on the Dead based on this- I did for almost ten years and was sorry I did.

Wer es mag.

way much to psychedelic for my taste. they have some nice songs but this album is just a mess imho

I’m not really a dead head and also don’t love live albums so you bet your sweet canary I found this album pretty boring. The improv rock jazz is fun for a few minutes but when it’s a majority of the album it leaves me wanting more. This just doesn’t seem great but then again when you have millions of fans who beckon to attend your concerts maybe in the idiot. 5.0/10

I know people that will fight you over this band. Aside from a couple of their studio albums I find their work unappealing to me. This live album, which I've heard before, seems like some guys just noodling around with no structure or plan, just jamming as they moved along.

I was surprised by “turn on your love light” but I really didn’t enjoy the extended jams

The last album I got before this one was a CCR record, and in the course of reading about that one I stumbled on this quote from John Fogerty: "I didn't like the idea of those acid-rock, 45-minute guitar solos. I thought music should get to the point a little more quickly than that." Pretty funny then that I got this album the next day, which is probably the purest form of what he was criticizing. While I can understand the appeal, and there's some interesting stuff on here, I'm with Fogerty on this one.

Menee enemmän jamien puolelle ja taso vaihtelevaa. Pieninä annoksina jaksaisi nauttia, mutta levyllinen kerralla on överiä.

Pitkäveteistä

This was OK, Lots of instrumentals. The album has great guitar playing but nothing was exciting on the album. Favourite song: St Stephen Least favourite: Feedback Album artwork: It is a cool cover

Look, either you like jam bands or you don’t, and I’m pretty sure I’m in the latter camp. Still, the Dead aren’t untalented musicians, and I fully acknowledge the historical significance of their work.

eh

2/5 This album is a mess, and not a very good one. I'm sure there's a great song in the jam, the endless aimless ramble of Dark Star, with a catchy riff and clearer vocal performance, but the randomness of the sometimes pleasant and sometimes annoying arrangement doesn't do it for me. I feel guilty and stupid for not taking anything particularly positive out of 23 minutes. Then the groovy St Stephen kicks in and that is forgotten, and the actual tune is amazing, but it is neglected and left behind for bad vocals and forgettable change-ups. The Eleven returns to the boring inconsistent mess of guitars found on the opener, and with them a feeling of frustration and incompletion, before a bit of repetition comes in, only for a completely banal chord progression with no feel. Turn on Your Love Light reminds us this is a band who play music, and is a fun little rocker played and sung with passion. The song can be strung out and still maintain its charm and groove to an extent, but that extent is unfortunately breached by the 15-minute runtime, even if it finishes strong. Death Don't Have No Mercy is pretty chill until it isn't, and is just ok at its best, and once again confusing and random at its worst. I feel like I am on a completely different wavelength to this band as to what plays and feels good. A strong finish cannot make me enjoy all 10 minutes. Feedback begins intriguingly, and deserves credit for being a unique psychedelic experience which continually introduces new sounds, holding deeper feelings. The album's closer is a fantastically sweet and calming ballad, as if hoping to distract from some of the mind-numbing performances heard previously. Dark Star 1.5/5 St. Stephen 3/5 The Eleven 1/5 (LEAST FAV) Turn on Your Love Light 3.5/5 Death Don't Have No Mercy 2.5/5 Feedback 4/5 And We Bid You Goodbye 5/5 (FAV)

Why are these guys back again. Author’s favourite genre

This album started out quite interesting, hooking me in with the unusual blend of jazz and rock. However, it didn’t take long before I started to zone out, until ultimately I found myself looking forward to the end. I did want to like this, but it just didn’t do much for me in the end. There just wasn’t enough to keep my attention in the end.

More like ‘500 albums to listen to before I gratefully die’ It’s so tedious

Some solid jams breaks, but just not my thing. Never been able to get into the Dead.

Live, not lively.

Live and in person a Dead show is pretty mind blowing. Listening to the dead for me personally is like Listening to 10000 cats screeching

Okay, did not listen to all of it - a bit long

Nothing Special

Maso. Muy denso.

Muita viagem que começa interessante e se perde.

Sorry, this isn't my thing. Improvisation needs a bit more structure than this, in my opinion. I'm sure people at their concerts in the 60s and 70s really enjoyed their drugs though.

Kind of fun kind of shit

This live jam seemed just like one long continuous song. A bit repetitive. I'm not sure what the Deadheads are going on about.

Ekki alveg minn tebolli. Hjálpar ekki að þetta er læv, væntanlega með allri sýrunni sem var í boði.

Ég þekkti John Perry Barlow sem var einn af textahöfundum Grateful Dead en þrátt fyrir það hef ég ekkert mikið verið að hlusta á þá. Tónlistin þeirra er vanalega mjög fín og þægileg í hlustun. Þessi plata er samt full af einhverju sem hefði alveg mátt sleppa (til dæmis var Feedback afskaplega leiðinlegt lag). Svo eru engir textar á þessari plötu eftir Barlow þannig að ég hef ekki mikið á samviskunni að lækka hana niður í 2 stjörnur því ég mun ekki setja hana á út af þessum tilraunalögum.

Embodies everything I already know but the Dead.

Boring, long, repetitive

I'm sorry to say but this is one of the most dull experiences I've ever had to displeasure to listen to. I want to get into Grateful Dead but this was an absolutely horrendous entry point for me, and I really hope this doesn't bode well for the rest of their discography. I'm giving this a 2 instead of a 1 because while it may have bored me to no end, it's better than boring me and being terrible (like a certain pebble named Robert Ritchie). I admit there's talent in this but I just do not care for portions going on for ten plus minutes. I'd rather a solid three to six minute song than a fifteen minute slog with some interesting concepts here and there.

It’s a rather dull 2.5 that I just can't bump up to a 3. Maybe it’s just because I’m not familiar with Grateful Dead, but this is basically just a 73 minute jam session that’s completely inoffensive to the ears. Boring? Eh, maybe a little. It never really perked up my ears, but I never felt outright bored or annoyed by the soundscape, it just sort of existed. It’s not a bad listen, but it’s not something I’d recommend unless you’re looking for ambient and almost relaxing background noise. There’s not really any standout bits here, and for a live album, I heard almost nothing of a crowd. It’s a rather forgettable album, but it’s not a 1 because there is some decent energy throughout, and I’d be lying if I wasn’t at least nodding my head along a few times during the few points where everything just seemed to be in perfect sync between the band. A dull 2 feels about right. Right around a 5.5/10.

You kind of know what you're getting with the Grateful Dead. A lot of the mild jammy stuff is fine, and actually there are some short vocal parts that are entirely listenable. Unfortunately, there's also far too much noodling and some annoying electric guitar as a wind chime in a unpredictable wind that tires pretty quickly. And given that we have 10, 15 and 23 minute tracks, there's plenty of reason to be tired.

💩

Best Song: Turn on Your Love Light. At least some of the musicianship is groovy here, and stays focused long enough for you to actually get into it. Worst Song: Feedback. I'd be hard pressed to even call this a song. This is awful. And based on the Spotify listen count, even Deadheads agree. Overall: I just don't understand what the point is in recording a jam band. I'm sure it "feels good" to be there live, but why go through the work of preserving this on wax? It feels a bit like lying down to do some cloud watching, but then taking pictures of the clouds. Who is going to look at the pictures? Just let the ephemeral be ephemeral.

Enjoyed a couple minutes of their Turn on Your Love Light cover. Generally this album I’d be ok with in the background at low volume, but not playing full blast.

I typed “utterly boring” on yesterday’s album, hit enter, and got shown the dead Cosmic punishment Peace love and boredom

Très longues chansons, instrumental pratiquement à 100%. Ce devait être bon en live en 1969 à San Francisco, mais en 2026 à la job c'est pas la meilleure affaire. On dirait des tests de sons avant un show.

I like st Stephen and there were some ok moments but mostly this is just bad. Grateful Dead has some great songs but the jams on this aren’t even that good. If I want to hear jamming I’d rather listen to good musicians do it. Vocals are pretty bad

I can’t imagine hiring a babysitter to go see the Grateful Dead and then they play 10 minutes of feedback. Also, is everyone silent at these concerts? Or does live mean something else? I’ve never liked jam bands

Crazy how a live album can dash all enjoyment for a band. All these songs are way too long and meander too much. But the title Live/Dead is creative along with the band themselves so I'll give it that.

I love the Grateful Dead’s studio albums but my god they are insufferable live. 2 stars because they are talented musicians.

Not a huge Dead fun but enjoy some of their jams. This is not one of them.

HL: “St. Stephen”, “The Eleven” Entering my villain era, 2nd two-star this year 👀 For real, I’m not sure why the acid-washed likes of The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter, Oar & Soft Machine’s 3rd get a pass from me and this doesn’t. Maybe my own expectations got in the way, and I was looking for a finale besides a blues dirge & 8 minutes of guitar feedback to make up for the lengthy noodling beforehand. Maybe in the future I’ll get something out of “Dark Star” to understand why it’s so acclaimed. I can’t bring myself to relisten to the whole thing just yet. April 25, 2024

Pas vraiment mon genre

It's jam band sh*t. Not bad by any means, but it serves better as background music or would be a good time live, but it can really drone on. 2.5/5

A few fun minutes in Turn on Your Love Light. But a few good moments does not a great album make.

tucker carlson's favorite band

Disrespectful of my time 1.5

An ok live album, just really slow and drawn out for the most part. Best: St. Stephen Worst: Death Don't Have No Mercy

1001 albums has been brought to you today by the words "bored" and "shitless". It was probably good in its day, and as a live recorded album, it was testimony that these guys could play. I struggled big time to listen to this album, it took several goes. I've always considered the Grateful Dead very overrated. Nothing memorable here, just extended jamming sessions wrapped up and presented as a set of tracks worthy of bundling into a live album.

Finally getting around to this one. Ok. First song is 23 minutes of guitar noodling. 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. I’m convinced now, that deadheads are just in it for the drugs, cause it’s clearly not about the music. Maybe a head full of acid would help? Really disappointed. After generations of hype, I thought there would be more music to their music. Can’t really hang your hat on anything here.

oke da git e noodly sach. aaah sie singed. aso de jerry garcia spielt scho seehr cool gitarre. isch jo cool dass sie improvisiered aber ich finds etz nöd sooo spannend. ok ich checks langsam wenn mer guet zuelost passiered konstant sache aber mer chunt mit. oke zweite song, fangt geil ah cooli melodie. sie singed chli weak? the eleven anschinend 11/8 takt? ghörs nonig. ah moll jetz scho aber find de viel weniger cool als de letst. turn on your love light fangt fast chli salsa mässig ah? aaah isch e cover. findi no noice. jo und s solo vom jerrerdawg goht slightly hard und d gitarre und de new orleans groove hinedra au. und nocher singeds au no recht nice, sehr gospel. groove immerno cool aber de guy redt sit 5 minute i los dir nöd zue sorry bi nöd ide schuel. death dont have no mercy isch no schö so als slow blues dings aber s trotted chli lang vor sich her. aber geg de schluss wenns wieder chli meh high energy wird isch geiler. alles schwingt irgendwie mit, mer ghört d snare ruusche und so. findi geil. feedback isch fr fr no cap afoch feedback bis etz (zwei minute) oke vier minute. haut afoch öpper en schlüsselbund uf de bode?? hets de track brucht??? find da zementiert s zwei. het vlt es 3 chöne sii. and we bid you goodnight isch huere herzig. lupfts fast wieder chli.

There's not a whole lot going on here. I don't hate it but I don't find it very interesting to listen to. Will I listen to again: 0%

Good live recorded tracks

I was pleasantly surprised at home much I enjoyed American Beauty, the studio album from The Grateful Dead in 1970. This album was actually what I had expected to hear when I first saw I was going to listen to a Grateful Dead album. Long jams that went on (and on and on) - not really my thing. I think I'm content to have listened to this once in my life, but don't really see myself wanting to delve any deeper here.

Nothing special

Live/Dead Wasn’t looking forward to this. The first song is 25 minutes. Fucking hell If I was a kid in the late 60s SF, off my tits on acid and smoking weed all day I think I would have loved this and the Grateful Dead. Hard 55 years afterward to appreciate this. Some decent grooves amongst all the noodling, and some nice guitar sounds. The vocals don’t sound great though. The lyrics, earnest mystical stoner nonsense, but with a certain amount of vaguely charming guilessness. The first listen through I didn’t mind it at all, it soundtracked doing work pleasantly enough. It started to become a bit tiresome by the 2nd listen and then I stopped halfway through the 3rd listen as the whole thing was becoming tedious. Life is too short to spend another 1hr 15 minutes listening to it. Not that’s it’s actually that bad actually it just all feels a bit futile. I had it on loop to listen a few times and couldn’t tell what was the last track and the first track. It’s all one long noodle with some bad words. I didn’t mind St Stephen, but struggled to pick much else out. The song Feedback. Why? If you like the grafetful dead then I’m sure you’d love it. If not then it just passes you by. Never listened to the Grateful Dead properly, not sure this will tempt me to, although I probably should try American Beauty one day. Don’t think I’ll start listening to their other 166 released live albums. Some grooves here and there, some good bits, some unlistenable, but overall quite a tedious endeavour ⭐️⭐️

Nott try interested in guitar solos

They first song was longer than my will to live...vibey tho

This was not my jam…

Too jamey

Never found the love for The Grateful Dead, sounds sacrilegious I know.

Could have been great, but songs are far too long without enough structure for my tastes

I really dislike live albums, and I find the Dead to be kind of a bore.

As a dead fan, this selection - the only album on this list - is a joke It's not even a top 20 live album, let alone a representation of their thirty plus year career. For that, a concert from the 70s would be needed. Their masterpiece is their 77 Cornell show, but anything between 77 and 84 would be a better entry. can list ten albums that are more deserving, including working man's dead, American beauty and terrapin station.

Grateful Dead ratings will unfortunately always suffer from the fact that it was the band my family played *nonstop* when I was a kid. They're too ingratiated with memories of long boring family road trips for me to listen objectively. With that being said, it was a pleasant-sounding album, and in the moments when I forgot who I was listening to, it was fun.

this is an album that's a jam session, from start to finish. it's super emblematic of the grateful dead and their music style. they were just a bunch of guys playing music and experimenting with sounds. their live shows were clearly them having a good time! that's exactly what music should be. that being said, i don't know if i needed a joint to enjoy this, but i was extremely bored.

I found the album name to be clever, and I really dug the album art for some reason. But that's about where my "love" ended. This album is basically just one giant psychedelic jam session. But I'm using the word "jam" here liberally, as nothing about this is a jam so much as it is just some guys dicking around on their instruments. It is just kind of a drawl that goes on and on, a lot of which is nearly incoherent. What they're playing just isn't even good or interesting, and if you're going to "jam", that's kind of a requirement in my opinion. Also, the fact that this live album isn't all one "cut" and basically just handpicks songs from various live shows kind of detracts from its legitimacy as a live album. Just overall not an impressive album, or an impressive representation of a band that has been deemed legendary (like it or not).

Имат къде къде по-яки песни....

Couldn't really get into this

Did not dig this. Spotify describes them as the "archetypal jam band" and it feels like it. Like sitting in on someone else's workshop session. There are good bits but not worth the time in my opinion. Maybe they have some more focused songs on other albums and maybe this creates a great vibe live but not for me in this form. Standout Track (..?): The Eleven

Put the Dead in the company of TSwift and Zach Bryan - perfectly good music often ruined by the outcry of their hive mind fan base. I would get my kicks telling a Deadhead to get a job, hippie! As for the music, Jerry is great at guitar but the whole noodling around for 23 min thing gets so old so fast

i tried. but i have never really understand the appeal of the dead.

Can't really imagine spending my life following this around on tour those people have stronger wills than me

Elements where you start thinking it's not bad and then it derails again. Not for us.

I "kind" of get it. There were times when I was digging the flow and vibe of what they were putting out so I could see how people could possibly love this stuff but there were other times when I could totally understand why some people think the Grateful Dead suck. This might be one of those albums that grow on you with repeated listens but I'm not interested in sticking with this long enough to see if it happens.

The first fifteen minutes is them tuning up. It's important in the context of the pantheon of music but I think there was a reason everyone was tripping balls at their concerts.

Nope

How many Grateful Dead does it take to turn on the light bulb? I don't know, but do I know it takes them 15 minutes. 💡💡

Lots of noodling

They need a producer to rein in their excesses.

I wish i liked them. But i don't. It's like background jazz.

I know it's a jam album, but I don't get this jam. A bit too noisy and disorganized.

Jos tämä tosiaan on improvisaatiota, saa siitä pelkiltään yhden tähden, koska kovin hyvinhän tämä pysyy kasassa! Kivoja melodioita joten kivahan ne on kuulla uudestaan ja uudestaan ja tauon jälkeen uudestaan. Eli kääntöpuoli: sairaan pitkä ja ei meinaa lähtee kuin ajoittain

Haluanko OIKEASTI oikeasti osallistua mihinkään näistä orgioista uudelleen? Tällä hetkellä luulen, että en. Tai toivon.

what

Of all the dumb live albums on this list, this is probably the worst. Even if I were a Grateful Dead fan I'm not sure why I'd rather listen to this than one of the countless other bootlegs out there.

If I were to sue the Grateful Dead, or their estate, for the 75 minutes I lost listening to this self-indulgent, pointless drivel, what do you think my chances of winning would be? Seriously though, I just don't get the appeal of the Dead. I've always been a classic rock/blues/psychedelia kind of guy, but the Dead never resonated with me. 2 stars.

I’ve enjoyed a couple of Grateful Dead’s live albums before but this one is not good. The first couple of tracks seem really aimless, there are a couple of better ones towards the middle, but then the 7 minute track of just feedback towards the end was the final straw

Isn't the whole thing about the Dead is that you have to SEE them perform live? In person? On acid? So my inclination is to brand this as a memento for anyone who went to a Dead show. I saw the Dead in the Gimme Shelter movie, where they peaced out after being informed that the Hell's Angels were picking fights with members of Jefferson Airplane. That's as close as I ever came to seeing them live. This album suggests I didn't miss much. But I enjoyed Gimme Shelter from the comfort of my living room. Got to see The Flying Burrito Brothers with future Eagle Bernie Leadon, Grace Slick in all her Jefferson Airplane glory, and a German Shepherd get up on Stage with The Stones. The Dead blew it. They could have influenced the Hell's Angels. Apparently they were friendly with them. Shame on Garcia and company for sticking Mick Jagger with the tab.

Very jam heavy. Not much substance, either. It was still good background noise, but it didn’t make for a good listening experience.

Not really my style

I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't hate it, but again, it didn't 'grab' me at any stage. In fact, I remember thinking "this first track goes on a bit" and then when I checked we had actually reached track 4! I guess that is the best analysis I can provide my experience - it was all a bit monotonous.

Niet iets waarvan ik spijt heb er niet live bij te zijn geweest

Ehhh it's ok, but doesn't do much for me.

not my type of music, but good late 60's album

There was no need to put this album on this list. Almost no reason to make the album in the first place. I’m sure it was a fun concert to be at, but if you asked the attendees if they thought that concert was to go down in history as one of the best of all time, they’d probably say, “Meh. Was alright, but nothing special.” if they were being honest with themselves. It was alright but barely escapes getting a one. 2/5

I FUCKING HATE JAM BANDS

Dorky cacophonous stoned noodling. Fucking hairy hippies.

I felt this was all a bit directionless and rambling.

Likes: less twangy than American Beauty. Dislikes: TOO LONG. 25 min versions of songs?! This is why I never listened to the Grateful Dead. This is and the fact that I never did enough drugs.

Not my thing

Føler ikke jeg behøver lytte til mere end 2 af de 7 numre på det her live album for at beslutte mig for at det ikke er noget for mig. De er et berømt jam band og den første sang varede 23 minutter. Ikke for mig.

Turn on your love light was a bop. other than than really slow album. I just cannot get into the Dead man. I really want to like them too

I want to give this 1 star just for the song feedback. I've never listened to a full Dead album before but it was okay. I was put off by the 20 min intro song, but most of the other songs were just ok.

Felt like an unnecessary show of ability, there was no song that sounded cohesive

Although i’m admirative of psychedelic rock, i’m less of prog rock and that album is closer to prog than psychedelic. I admire the improvisation, the quality of the musicians but is just way too long and sometimes cahotic for me, like 75 minutes with 7 songs is a lot. But i never listen to greatfull dead and this album will kot be my favorite but i might listen to other of their work and i understand why it have gain a lot of acclaims

If I had, in fact, died of boredom while listening, I would've been grateful. I can only assume that's where they get their name.

Not a huge fan and this album did nothing to make or break that opinion.

Al een flink aantal keren geprobeerd into deze band te raken, maar gewoonweg niet te doen, wat een eindeloos gepriegel.

Mjah, iets te jammerig naar mijn smaak

Boooeeehhh get of the stage!

Eine der großen Impro-Bands. Sehr jazzy, bluesy, rockig, progressive; mir aber zu wenig straight, sondern sehr wild und experimentell.

Live / Dead 2 / 5

Talented musicians but truly no reason for a song to be 23 minutes long. Don’t need to say anything about Feedback either, that speaks for itself

Feedback? Really? 4/10

Hmmmm okee vind andere albums leuker deze nummers zijn way too long

I mean... it was fine. Better than silence but not something I'd seek out.

I cannot emphasize enough how baffling it is that this album starts with 23 minutes of the worst jam band noodling I've ever heard in my life (seriously, nobody is paying attention to each other, every instrument is off doing it's own thing the entire time), and ends with 8 minutes of feedback. The four songs in between are actually all right, but I can't in good conscience recommend it, because why would I want to subject anyone to the bookends? It's probably a four star record if you skip tracks 1, 6 and 7, but I'm docking it for having the audacity to waste my time.

Track #1: buckle the fuck up, this song is 23 minutes long and starts with random string plucking that starts to resolve into a pattern of some sort. Here we go. Not for me. Totally fine but no fun to be had for me. Gave that “feedback” track a solid chance but it’s the only track I skipped.

Given how famous this band is for their jam sessions on stage, this really, really sucked. It was bland, boring, and uninspired. Seriously sounds like amateur night. SO DULL.

Too many long songs

très inégale comme album. Il y a peut-etre 1 toune que j'ai vraiment aimé. Je pense qu'il fallait probablement être là poura pprécié à ca juste valeur et être dans le meme trip qu'eux... 2.75

I just don’t really get the hype

Very little to get excited about with this one. Dead Heads will love it, the rest of us don’t get it…. 2/5

I want to understand the Grateful Dead but I just haven’t figured it out yet. I hoped this album would help me but no such luck. The musicianship is hard to argue with but it is impossible for me to figure out why a song like Dark Star really has to be over 20 minutes. It was hard to pick what song to put on the playlist because they are all kind of interchangeable so I just went with the shortest one because o know I’m not going to want to listen to a song that is 15 minutes very often.

It kinda just sounds like an extended bland jamming session, not like something that's thought through or especially interesting.

Not a grateful dead fan. Songs are too long.

I tried. Made it about three songs in and it felt like I had already been listening for an hour. I do, generally, like the sound. So that's something!

This was probably really great if you were on acid and there also

I've given it a lot of thought and honestly after weighing the two options, I'm going to go with dead.

Didn't really keep my attention, seemed to just go on for ages

Is this really the band that people followed around religiously? I suppose I could see how it’d be fun in some of the later tracks (aside from feedback, which was also bad) but the early tracks were half hour long slogs that I found nothing good in at all. It’s not deserving of a 1 star but I still got barely any enjoyment out of this album whatsoever.

Listening to this live Grateful Dead album here in this year of our lord 2023, I'm reminded of the first time someone sat me down and had me listen to a live recording of this band more than 20 years ago, and the words that echoed in my head then as clearly as they do now: "Why in the fuck is this jerk forcing me to listen to this garbage?" It's fine if you like the Grateful Dead, I just don't get it and I'm pretty sure that I never will. I've given it a chance. I've given it 100 chances, it still sounds like a bunch of people with nothing meaningful to say noodling around a guitar for a half hour so that hippies have something to listen to while they do drugs and pretend to be more enlightened than the rest of us. I'm already so sick to death of this, and I just finished the first song. It's 23 minutes long. I thought I'd listened to multiple tracks, but it's hard to tell, since all of their songs sound the same. It's like if you took prog rock, and stripped away everything interesting that they were doing musically and lyrically, leaving a miasma of pointless notes played over and over until the acid finally wears off and you realize that you're in your mid-40s with no vocational skills and a broken-down VW bus full of dirty children with names like Magnolia and Dew Drop and Camshaft 2/5 I will never forgive you for making me listen to this band again. Never.

I'm conflicted; on one hand I find that going to a jam band's concert would drive me nuts because they're doing that... just jamming and as a concert goer, I'd want to see them perform actual songs I recognize vs. mindlessly playing their instruments. But on the other hand, I can see the appeal of watching musicians play. That being said, I'm firmly in the first camp; what a load of nonsense this was. 3/10.

haluan tykätä tästä mutta en pysty. liian tylsää jopa meikäräisen standardeissa. tyhjää kitaranrämpytystä joka jatkuu ja jatkuu eikä vie mihinkään... ilmeisesti huume hörhöilyä (its illegal btw...criminals) ei kuitenkaan ykkösen arvoinen, on hyviä kohtauksia myös. disrespectfullia kakkosta tälle, pitäisi olla paljon parempi mitä on death d0nt have no mercy

I hate live albums

I don't have much to say. I wasn't really intrigued by it.

No wonder some many people got high in 60’s. Soul destroying.

Liian vänkyrää. Ei toimi tällänen räpellys mulle 2/5

Didn't really get into it

Some ok jam rock here, but it definitely dragged on a bit for me. The first track taking up a whole third of the run time was insane, and the track 'Feedback' was unlistenable. 'St Stephen' is my top pick, as it's a bit more lyric-focused.

Not high enough

Tried to clear my cache to not be biased when listening to this but it didn't really work. I find their music to be pretty boring and redundant. They are kind of the reason why I grew up writing music instead of jamming music. When I sit on my couch and watch TV and grab a guitar, this is the music that my hands make. They play the major pentatonic scale up and down the neck in the same comfortable key and without regard for anything besides my fingers moving in familiar patterns until I'm tired of listening to it. That's what I hear when I hear the Grateful Dead. It's so straightforward, comfortable, unprovoked, and just not what I like. The first track takes 12 minutes before you even get to any tension and then it ends with what sounds like a bunch of dudes just playing their instruments in isolation and then the recordings pasted together. I took some sips of the Kool Aid but I still don't like it. I understand the value of this being one of those sorts of sounds that you put the record on and then do something else but even then it still doesn't jive with me. In that scenario, 9 times out of 10 I'd rather listen to either jazz or some other classic rock where I know some of the songs and can pick and choose where my brain can give some focus to.

There are some really good blues riffs and momente shining through every now and then again, but overall they are just so buried under overlong and seemingly aimless meandering. Also "Feedback" must be a cruel joke, akin to Finnigan's Wake. I guess you would have had to be there to appreciate it, otherwise I can't think of a reason why one should waste their precious time on earth with this.

I was surprised by this. I really did not enjoy this, and I was expecting too. A lot of it sounded like they weren't really trying to make music.

Man, that first song had me kind of hopeful that maybe the rest of album would be decent, but nope, not really. Overall, pretty boring album. Glad it's over with. My favourite song was Dark Star.

Live, improviserende, psykedelisk rock, lange numre, en stemning

Coincidentally the podcast 'A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs' released an episode on Dark Star while I was listening to this. The podcast makes the Grateful Dead sound interesting - if fact, seems like dull hippy noodling to me of the worst kind. The podcast says that you can't really appreciate the Grateful Dead unless you hear them live, while you're tripping. But you could say that about any band? Saved from my first '1' rating by the Feedback son.

Yeah, endless nurdly jam band stoner nonsense - struggled to find a song or melody

Enjoyed parts of this, but the long songs did my head in. Wondering if there are more accessible Greatful Deas albums

You know those jokes like "beware people with tattoos; they're proof they can sit still while being stabbed for hours"? This is the musical equivalent of that. I'd be extremely wary of someone who can sit through this whole thing happily, haha. I cannot do these prolonged jam sessions, it’s just not for me. I gave each song a fair play time and then skipped to the next one. All in all, I listened to an hour of this. The only song I didn’t mind was “Turn on Your Love Light” but even it started to wear on me after about 8 minutes.

Every now and then, on a Saturday afternoon, some mates and I get together for a jam. We're all late 30s-mid 50s, so we generally play a few songs from Metallica/Slayer/ACDC/Motley Crue etc, then at some point we get stoned, decide 80s heavy metal is too intense and start jamming on a late 60s Hendrix or Black Sabbath tune. And you get so stuck into it, you don't even realise it's been half an hour and you're on your 3rd solo spot in Hey Joe. Of course it's SUPER fun and we always have a good laugh at the end but I'd never record and play it back, let alone sit around clear-headed on a Monday morning and listen to someone else do it. The one thing that really sticks out about the grateful dead is that they didn't seem to be good musicians. The extended jamming is nothing special and the actual songs are outright bad. Soooo many bum notes and parts where they're searching for the key. I know the bar was lower back then, but it was still the age of Clapton and Hendrix, both doing something similar to a wayyyyy higher standard. This sucks by any measure, really. 2/5.

Un disc del moment. Per disfrutar en ple viatge de drogues psicodèliques a finals dels '60, preferiblement en algun local directe a San Francisco. Tantes décades després, en ple s XXI, sona com una letargia del passat. Jams inacabables, pesades, amb un so ja molt superat

Not only is this boomer rock to the Nth degree being a Grateful Dead Album it has almost completed the triforce of my most hated things in music: live music recordings, and songs longer than 6 minutes. The first fucking track is 23 minutes long! I can tell this wouldn't be bad if it was just a regular recorded album. The one redeeming quality is that you can't hear the crowd in the background of the recording. Sound quality is still shit tho even on my dinky laptop speakers I can tell. This is an immediate 2

For all their fame and influence, I have never listened to a Grateful Dead album. The most impact they’ve had on me is eating Cherry Garcia ice cream. That whole, psychedelic jazz, rock, improvisational, instrumentals, extended solos stuff interspersed with feedback, is not my thing. Although I do appreciate the talent and the seminal works, I can’t say I feel I’ve missed anything. But I have now listened to one of their albums, thanks to this project. I still prefer the ice cream.

Don't be a coconut

ce fut interminable!!!!!!!!!

Had some good moments... The Grateful Dead still haven't clicked for me. Maybe I need to listen to the right performances. As an album, this one is not amazing. Inclusion of Feedback was a bad call.

Just too much meandering. Some cool moments, but not enough to make it worth a second listen.

I'm not sure if Live and Greatest Hits albums should be on this list. And given that this is hella looong and improvised to boot, I wasn't too keen on it. I think that you also have to be a dead-head and fan of this group to appreciate it.

Not really my cuppa tea.

It gets one star for being the first at something. The other four are on hold until I hear music that has a bit of substance to it

Something this project is making abundantly clear is that I am not a jam band guy. Improvisation and stream of consciousness is fine for rehearsals and even live shows, but for actual albums, I’m not interested. Yes, popular music is overly wedded to the 3-4 minutes verse-chorus-verse-bridge-verse-chorus format. But the answer is not to meander with no sense of purpose or coherence for 20 minutes. Artificially imposed constraints can be good for art, actually.

Más allá de que sea en vivo, no pueden durar 10 minutos en promedio cada “tema”. Poco dinámico para escuchar

Tedious and uninspiring. Live album not the best showcase for this band's abilities.

Just not for me

I guess if my choices are live album or dead, I'll take live album, but it's a harder decision than you'd think. What does Wiki have to teach us about this album? "The title has a double meaning. It refers both to the band (the "Dead") playing live, and is an oxymoron, contrasting the two words in apparent contradiction." Fascinating... I mostly know Jerry Garcia from his work in the ice cream sphere, but now I will know him as a guy who made a live album with a 23 minute song. This is like jazz but with some old timey singing and double the length. I think it'd be fine if all the songs were 3 minutes, but they are very much not, so its noodlyness annoys me. Language observation: I may have said this already (forgive me), but the notion of a "lovelight" comes up a weird amount in songs, and although wiki tells me it's indeed a long-attested word, I never hear it in modern day writing/speech (outside of music). Very Low Lowlight (the anti-lovelight): 'Feedback' !! (was gonna give this album a 2 until I got to this one, really one of the worst songs possible)

My life would still be the same even if I hadn't heard this album 🙃

No comment

I made it 17 minutes.

The band and this album is vastly overrated. If you want jam/noodling on this list, it should be an album from a different band who is much more accomplished from a completely different decade. After multiple decades of dipping my ears into the Grateful Dead, I am convinced by this point that the Grateful Dead don't belong on the list at all. Or if they do, it should only be their best album, which is IN THE DARK from 1987.

A track called ‘Feedback’ that literally is 8 minutes of feedback? Yikes.

I had the pleasure of being in the White Mountains of New Hampshire this summer and while there I saw a combination restaurant motel that was entirely Grateful Dead themed. I also just the other day saw the beloved Philadelphia Flyers mascot in the same style as the bears that they use. Imagine my horror, as I learn this massive institution fucking sucks ass. They’re awful. The first song lasts 20 fucking minutes and nothing happens. There’s no hooks or memorable movements, or anything. Just guys fucking around. Why anyone would see this live, baffles me. I’m at least going to work. I’m doing something. But I guess you go to these things to be high and also an idiot so fuck do I know. And then!!! They sing! And they fucking suck at that too. There are high schoolers bungling through bad musicals that sound better. Fuck this band and fuck their inexplicable popularity.

Grateful it's over.

what a waste of thought. i hate live albums with a burning passion, and for a band whose music always struck me as lackluster, it just left a lot to be desired.

Hard to get into

Sorry, but I do not understand the whole Deadhead thing. To me, a cult band needs awesome songs, and I did not find any of those on this "iconic" live record.

I would have been grateful to be dead so I didn't have to listen to this

Never listened to the grateful dead, and I'm not stoked it's via live album. I'm generally disappointed by live albums. This is a meandering jam session where no one plays with each other. What a mess. Like letting a bunch of dudes dick around on instruments for the first time in their lives. 1*

When I started listening to this, I was just glancing at the track titles and saw "Feedback". I thought, "That couldn't possibly mean they just play a bunch of feedback, right? It's just a title?" They did play a bunch of feedback with some instruments, it was not just a title. This album is another in the "play a bunch of bullshit and call it psychedelic rock" genre. I was gonna give this a 2 cause it sounded okay but since this album was 72 minutes of this same-sounding shlock it's actually a 1. Favorite Track: Turn On Your Love Light - This one sounded the most like a normal rock song.

nah

# Album Name: Live/Dead # Artist: Grateful Dead # Rating: 1/5 # Comments: Rubbish. I dont mind a bit jam but this is extremely long, repetitive and boring # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No

*sighs* won't be needing this anymore: *throws entire stockpile of Cherry Garcia in the trash*

More noodling than a Vietnamese restaurant

Just the blandest cultural appropriation.

Oh, my god this is awful. Why is it on this list? Why should anyone listen to this amateurish nonsense? I'll never understand the appeal of the Dead.

Whaaaaa??? This be garbagio.

Gave up at 13 minutes in, fairly certain they were still tuning

It is my understanding that seeing the Dead live was "an experience" and you couldn't fully appreciate their genius through studio albums (don't capture the magic) or even in their live albums, but they're supposed to come closer to "the experience." I listened to a multi-part podcast about Grateful Dead ("A History of Rock Music in 500 songs," highly recommend) and learned a lot about this band, including the fact that at one point, they were actually all decent musicians; they devolved into whatever this was, both by choice and what I can only imagine is the result of lots and lots of drugs and booze. I don't think you should have to ingest drugs to get through an album. I didn't have any drugs, and I couldn't make it through this album. Jeezus do I hate these vocals. These meandering noodles. the whatever the fuck "feedback" song called "feedback." Stab me in my ears this was boring.

The 'Dead are capital wankers and noodlers, but their live albums just aren't for me.

I dont get it, they sound mediocre at best and amateur compared to their contemporaries. How tf do they have this big of a following?

Not a fan of jam bands but with some jam bands like The Allman Brothers or Widespread panic you at least get great musicians plying their craft. This sounded like amateurs noodling on instruments.

Really wanted to like this after seeing their house in San Francisco. This album was an easy 1/5. Wouldn't listen again, was too long and felt like a jam session with no coherent songs.

That was so tough to get through. 1/5.

Neither good songs nor interesting improvisation, plain awful. Must be one of the most overrated bands and albums of all time.

Imagine putting your life on hold to follow this bunch of crusty fucks around for years listening to this shit night after night.

Went in with an open mind as not familiar with their work. It was a struggle on first listen, after persevering I did get it but can’t see myself going back as found it a bit meat n potatoes 1.5/5

Damn hippies

I've tried to appreciate the Grateful Dead on a few occasions as, on paper at least, they're right up my street, but there's just so much of it and it all kind of sounds the same. This album, and to be honest, I'm no fan of live albums, seems to start with what felt like a 25 minute noodly warm-up which was completely lost on me. They might as well have recorded their bus trip to the venue, it would have been just as interesting. The whole album seems to bend space and time. Each time I checked to see how much was left, there were about three days remaining. I'm worried I may have missed my kids' birthdays. If you're a fan of the Dead, this record probably epitomises everything that's great about them. Maybe I just don't have that gene. Personally, I came away feeling like I'd been lobotomised.

This is the embodiment of prog I guess? If you're a good musician I don't think it means you have to play for 23 minutes to show me. So dull it makes me want to tear my ears off.

For me, unlistenable.

The Grateful Dead feels like a massive prank that the boomers have played on the younger generations. Every time I hear a grateful dead song I think, no way does anyone actually enjoy this music for real... there's just nothing there. No soul, no substance, and the band can't even decide on the same song to play. everyone's noodling around on their instruments and not particularly well. it feels like I’m standing in the middle of a guitar shop while middle schoolers holding their first guitar try to play Smoke on the Water and Iron Man. There are flashes where it clicks, especially 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. And while this album is probably a 2. Anything positive I have to say about the album is completely counterbalanced by the fact that these guys made me listen to feedback for 8 minutes straight at the end which equates to roughly 11% of your total listening.

I tried. I couldn't get through it.

The most overrated band in history. Absolute garbage.

I liked some parts but there was way too minutes where not much was going on, and felt unnecessary. The feedback song is a bizzare choice to include

I can only assume this excruciating album is on the list because as a live Grateful Dead album it represents the experience of seeing them live which I guess the Grateful Dead live is considered a quintessential experience of 20th century music. Having never seen them live myself I was curious about this album but now having listened I can say I have the opposite of FOMO. GFMO. Grateful for missing out.

I really really wanted to like this but 20 minute meandering songs with no real hook and fairly boring solos were just not for me.

No just no

Just dead

No jam bands please

i prefer silence

just jammin and groovin. holy crap this album is long as heck wow I was going to have this be 2 stars but feedback was so offensive that I turned it off. what the heck.

too experimental

The Grateful Dead must only have one good song and it automatically followed this album up when it was over.

Probably great but I couldn't make myself care so 1 star it must be considering I only lasted 1 song.

Der er måske 2 tracks der halvdelen af tiden er gode bluesrock numre. Resten af albummet udfordrer mig lige lovligt meget. At lave et næsten 8 min. langt nummer der udelukkende er feedback fra en guitar kan vist kun tilskrives 1/3 fascination af et forholdsvist nyt instrument, og 2/3 syretrip.

definitely not my style

Not my style Loved the cover art though

Grateful Dead must be about the most overrated band to have ever existed. This is appallingly bad from start to finish, it's like a band tuning up, and failing to do so, rather than actual music. This is the sort of album I might expect from a kindergarten group of kids who are handed musical instruments and have literally no idea how to play them. It's just utter shite, and it's also over an hour of utter shite, so it gets one star from me.

What absolute nonsense, genuinely annoyed that I wasted over an hour listening to this.

Don’t like them very much due to an interaction they had with my friend’s mom at their hotel back in the day so I don’t listen to them.

Like many in Britain, I have never knowingly heard any Grateful Dead before, despite how significant they obviously are in the US. This fell some way below my expectations. Even the track of feedback was boring

No está mal, supongo... Reconozco que parecen buenos músicos, pero al menos acá no es del todo apreciable. No encuentro la gracia en poner un álbum de música en vivo en este listado, siendo que no es posible apreciarla de igual manera en persona que escuchándolo desde mi casa, más cuando presenta tanta improvisación. Espero no verme nunca más forzada a tener que atravesar temas de +10 minutos, porque se vuelve insoportable y pierden completamente la gracia cuando no parece que haya conexión entre las distintas partes de la canción, y ni hablar de la falta de cohesión entre las distintas canciones en general. Pensé en ponerle un puntaje de 2 estrellas, pero el disco se me hizo tan insoportable de atravesar que un 1 refleja mucho mejor mi experiencia.

I can appreciate on some level pretty much any kind of music. But despite many attempts at the Dead, I am forced to conclude that people who like this have some sort of defect in the part of their brain that processes music.

Sorry Deadheads, but there is virtually nothing interesting about this slog of an album. It actually baffles me it was recorded at a concert with homosapiens, because it sounds quieter than a studio. Out of curiosity, is the track length difference between the opening, and closing tracks the biggest disparity in album history? Believe it, or not, figuring that out is more interesting than this album. Live, or dead? Unfortunately, neither. If it was dead, at least we would bask in silence. If it was alive, we would actually hear something. It's on life support. Favorite Track: "Turn On Your Love Light".

I won't mince words. This is terrible.

It's just a long jam session and for like 90% of the time you had to be there to enjoy it. Live jams almost never capture the feeling in that moment which makes it feel random and often boring. Feedback was probably cool in the moment but listening back on a album it really is just random noise. It is a surprisingly good quality for a live recording but this was not a good live album.

Almost tolerable.

I legitimately felt annoyed listening to this. There were bits here and there that were okay, but only for a few seconds at a time. The longer it went on, the more annoying it got. I feel like albums like this are really only meant for people who are already fans.

I hate life albums and most of this album is just instrumentals and for God sakes, an 67 minute long album with 7 tracks?!?! And the first one is a whopping 23 minutes long and people think Metallica has long runtimes on songs!

What a pile of self indulgent twaddle. On the plus side it’s quite impressive that they can play so well with their heads so firmly up each other’s arse. Not quite the worst album I’ve ever heard but really not far off

Annoying

Least favorite band of all time?

I didn't like this album. The only reason it's not lower is because it has some decent guitar work and there are some moments where it feels like the get into a decent jam. I'm not a fan of live albums in general, but this one really annoyed me at some points. Between the off-key caterwauling, derivative ad-libs, and a full track of feedback that I'm supposed to sit through like I'm not begging for the whole thing to be over, it was more pain than pleasure to listen to. Yes, I've heard and like Grateful Dead music before this, but this is not the one for me. I hope if I have to listen to another live album from them that it's a little more tolerable, but I don't think I can ever listen to this one again unless it's by accident. 1.5/5

This was boring and sometimes even hurtful to listen to. Too incoherent, too long, too uninteresting. I still listened to this live album till the end. A big NO.

Turgid

This was a struggle….

Make it stop, FFS…Right down there among the bottom of the one stars. Tom.

Painfully long, dreadful music and woeful vocals. The opening track being 23 minutes long felt like a sick joke, but the rest of the album follows suit with the only exception being St Stephen, which at least tries to resemble a song. Overall a pretty awful 1.5/5.

What an awfull day for my hearing

I’m not a Deadhead