[2018-03-23] The Grateful Dead "The Best Of The Grateful Dead Live" 2CD set (Grateful Dead/Rhino)

Linda · **Posted:** Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:19 pm

Description
The Grateful Dead forged its legend on the road, traveling countless miles between 1965 and 1995 to perform a world record 2,318 shows for millions of devoted fans. The band's refusal to ever play a song the same way twice has endeared generations of fans, many of whom prefer certain live versions of songs over their studio counterparts, and garnered the popular phrase among Dead Heads: "There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert."

Made for die-hard Dead Heads and new fans alike, THE BEST OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD LIVE is the ultimate live collection, a two-disc set with recordings selected from the band's official live albums on Warner Bros. and Arista, plus a few tracks from their many archival live releases, beginning with "St. Stephen" - from the group's first official live album, 1969's Live/Dead - and ending with the poignant "So Many Roads," taken from the band's final concert at Chicago's Soldier Field in July of 1995.

"We wanted to follow up the 2015 The Best Of The Grateful Dead studio set with a live counterpart, and have focused our efforts on the band's primary live albums as well as some key tracks from archival concert releases," says band archivist and producer David Lemieux. "Just as there was nothing like a Grateful Dead concert, there is also nothing like a live Grateful Dead recording; it's no secret that as good as the Dead's studio recordings were, they excelled in front of an audience, and this set provides an overview of just how great the Dead were live in concert."

The live albums the band released during its 30-year career are the primary source for the collection, including tracks like "Bertha" from Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses) (1971), "Fire On The Mountain" from Dead Set (1981), and "The Music Never Stopped" from One From the Vault (1991). A testament to its ongoing popularity, the revered double-album Europe '72 (1972), is represented by no less than five tracks, including "Sugar Magnolia," "Jack Straw" and a searing rendition of "Morning Dew."

Other performances on the set were selected from the growing number of live releases that have emerged since the death of founding member Jerry Garcia in 1995. Some of those recordings include "Touch Of Grey" from Truckin' Up To Buffalo (2005), a 1990 version of "Eyes Of The World" with saxophonist Branford Marsalis featured on Wake Up To Find Out (2014), and "Estimated Prophet," which debuted earlier this year as part of Cornell 5/8/77, a recording of the Grateful Dead's mythic show at Cornell University in 1977, thought by many to be the band's greatest live performance.

All tracks have been newly remastered.

Tracklist
[CD1]
1. St. Stephen - Fillmore West (2/27/69) from Live/Dead
2. Bertha - Fillmore East (4/27/71) from Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses)
3. Wharf Rat - Fillmore East (4/26/71) from Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses)
4. Sugar Magnolia - Olympia Theatre (5/4/72) from Europe '72
5. Jack Straw - Olympia Theatre (5/3/72) from Europe '72
6. Truckin' - Lyceum Theatre (5/26/72) from Europe '72
7. Morning Dew - Lyceum Theatre (5/26/72) from Europe '72
8. Brown Eyed Women - Tivoli Concert Hall (4/14/72) from Europe '72
9. The Music Never Stopped - Great American Music Hall (8/13/75), One From The Vault
10. Estimated Prophet - Barton Hall (5/8/77) from Cornell 5/8/77

[CD2]
1. Friend Of The Devil - Radio City Music Hall (10/27/80) from Dead Set
2. Feel Like A Stranger - Warfield Theatre (10/4/80) from Dead Set
3. Fire On The Mountain - Radio City Music Hall (10/31/80) from Dead Set
4. Bird Song - Warfield Theatre (10/14/80) from Reckoning
5. Ripple - Warfield Theatre (10/4/80) from Reckoning
6. Eyes Of The World - Nassau Coliseum (3/29/90) from Wake Up To Find Out
7. Touch Of Grey - Rich Stadium (7/4/89) from Truckin' Up To Buffalo
8. Blow Away - JFK Stadium (7/7/89) from Crimson, White & Indigo
9. So Many Roads - Soldier Field (7/9/95) from So Many Roads

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0794SPYLK/?tag=imwan-20

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

Hope there's new material here; or if it's a best of the Warner live sets, I'd LOVE a hi-res edition.

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Jan 22, 2018 2:55 pm

We now have full details in the first post: cover art, description and tracklist.

dcscott · 26 Oct 2007

Complete joke. How can it be a best of......with no Dark Star and no Other One.

JohnG · 03 Aug 2006

At least it has Ripple, my favorite Dead song.

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

Weak collection. Too much late period. I'd only consider biting if there's a hi-res edition, as the Dead was always well recorded.

dcscott · 26 Oct 2007

JohnG wrote:

At least it has Ripple, my favorite Dead song.

The version of Ripple on this set is great.

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

I agree with that.

Invisible Pedestrian · **Joined:** 24 Sep 2006 **Posts:** 26163

Looks like a really good live comp trying to hit on all eras of touring.

On 2 CDs, obviously some classics will be omitted.

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Jan 23, 2018 6:07 pm

Another bump to update the first post with additional description and tracklist details, and we also now have the full packshot on display.

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

Shame that they didn't choose the rarity "Days Between" to represent So Many Roads. Garcia's last great song; & no studio version has ever been released.

The band played it alot in the early 90's, but there are very few official releases.

Again, I would only buy this to get the tracks in hi-res. This is a poorly compiled cash grab.

Greg Carrier · 25 Nov 2006

dcscott wrote:

Complete joke. How can it be a best of......with no Dark Star and no Other One.

My first thought, too. A Grateful Dead Live comp with no "Dark Star?"

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Feb 05, 2018 2:29 am

This has been pushed back a month, to March 23rd. However, the pre-order price has become much better -- it's dropped by $9, down to $15.32:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0794SPYLK/?tag=imwan-20

Renny · 26 Jun 2006

i say once again.....i am so, so glad i never got into the grateful dead......i'd be broke because of my completist disease

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

Yep, the Dead may be the worst; though King Crimson, Pearl Jam, Springsteen, The Allmans & the Who are right up there; followed by Counting Crows, RHCP, & to a lesser degree Iajn/Iain Matthews.

ARK · **Joined:** 23 Mar 2013 **Posts:** 1320

I have all these songs but 5 in the collection already but at a $15 price point I'll likely splurge.

[2018-03-23] The Grateful Dead "The Best Of The Grateful Dead Live" 2CD set (Grateful Dead/Rhino)

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