Grateful dead, The - Fillmore East 2/13-14/1970 - 1996

[Roland Bru]

The Grateful Dead is / are a unique band, that transformed popular music, changed the business model for pop music, singlehandedly invented the 'jam band scene', took touring to new levels, while embodying the 60's with their idealism and stupidities.

This cd brings together parts of the February 13 and 14, 1970 concerts in the Fillmore East, but was not released until 1995, which explains the strange subject line. This you will encounter often if you intend to seriously collect Grateful Dead music. Many concerts have been officially released, but most of it after the bands' dissolution in 1995 (after thirty years, and following the death of Jerry Garcia, singer / guitarist and nominal leader).

This album is also known by the name of Dick's Picks # 4, and is indeed the fourth in a long series (36 volumes) of mostly complete concerts by the Dead, initiated by Dead archivist Dick Latvala.

The Grateful Dead does not consist of exceptional players (although Garcia is a talented guitar player). On the whole they cannot sing, and, with a few exceptions, their own compositions do not stand out. Also, while they played a lot of covers, usually their versions are worse than the originals.

What makes them unique is their sense of adventurism. In a way the ooze musicianship. They don't play their songs note for note, the song gets played in that version that night, and that's it. The studio was not their forte, and you should focus on live cd's, where they could, and did stretch out. This concert is a nice example, and among 'Deadheads', one of their most famous concerts. It contains three songs (Dark star, The Other One and Turn on your lovelight) that each need 30 minutes to get their message across. Turn on your lovelight is actually a cover song that they could play, although without the Latin American overtones usually associated with this song). Dark Star and The Other One are two Grateful Dead originals, and both are signature tunes in the Dead canon. You may prefer other periods in their career (I would recommend you investigate 1972, 1973/73, 1977, 1989/90), but if you do not like these songs, the Grateful Dead are not for you, my friend.

These days, when all music has to be formatted, it's actually a comforting thought that, yes, there is a band that does not play it by the rules, that has more of a jazz approach to setlists and that's willing to take risks. When they fail, they often fail miserably, when they succeed, their music transcends (you) to another level.

I urge you to investigate if the Grateful Dead is something for you. Currently I have over 180 cd's by the Grateful Dead, so probably more reviews from other time periods will follow, but this concert is a great pace to start...