Listening to the Grateful Dead's GREATEST year - 1977

[Taverner]

5/5/77 is on right now...thank you nugs.net!

I dare ANYONE out there who has listened to the Dead extensively to tell me 1977 wasn't their greatest year....

1. I say it ties with

69 & 70.
there's the pigpen dead and the non pigpen dead.

By the way I saw them on 5/13/77 in Chicago...I've still got the tape from the simulcast on WXRT.:evilgrin:

[Taverner]

2. Ahhh would have been nice to see them in their prime

I'm 34 so I didn't see them until 1986...Jerry was too far into the Persian at that point to have more than one or two perfect moments in his playing.

You listen to those 77 shows and damn, the whole band seemed to have ESP or something!

3. yep, 78 /79 was pretty good too

I saw them quite a bit from 77 to 83 and they were pretty much on form for about 3 years I thought.
I think they started to not gel quite as consistently maybe as early as 83, from my memories of those things. (but that is really in comparison to 77 and 78 which is a little unfair.

[Emboldened Chimp]

8. He was on the Persian in '77, too...

I think he got hooked in '75 or '76.

[Old and In the Way]

4. Gotta agree....

They were blusey, boozy acid rockers with Pig Pen. The Donna-Jean/Keith era took them in a different musically direction....which was damn fine, too.

But PigPen made them the best damn rock and roll band while he was a member. I'm kind of partial to that era (69/71).

[al bupp]

5. Fox Theater, Cornell, Capital Theater the list goes on & on

I have to agree, '77 is probably the high point. The second set from 5/19/77 has to be one of my all time favs, post pigpen.

Didn't catch my 1st show until '79 (just before Keith died) so all I know of that year is from tapes and the recollections of friends.

For the post Keith era, I'd pick '82 for the "SF Earthquake" and "Raven" jams. Although the most fun I had at any shows was in Sante Fe in '83 where they played a weekend at an outdoor racetrack. As I recall they were an afternoon shows, w/ a relatively small crowds (I bought ticks at the door) and one could walk up to the stage. There was a passing thunder storm during one intermission, and many folks retreated to the paddocks for shelter. With all the long-haired, bedraggled & soggy hippies filling the stalls it looked like a manger scene times ten.

Oops, sorry didn't mean to go off down memory lane on you all

[gnofg]

6. saw most of them

I saw fox 5/19/77 and I saw Santa Fe. I also saw Woodstock, StonyBrook, Nassau 73, Academy of Music 72, Rochester 77, Red Rocks 77, 78, 79, Folsom Field 80, Berkeley 84, 85, 86, 15th anniversary show, 20th anniversary show and a host of others. 77 was a great year but the Berkeley shows were very special. Santa Fe was great. I can't call any era greater than another. I saw them last year and they were very good. I will always miss Jerry. I also saw the closing weekend at the Fillmore with the Allmans and the recently released show from Stonybrook.

[al bupp]

16. Welcome to DU, gnofg!

:toast:

[Westegg]

10. Speaking of Cornell '77, what's the best boot of that show?

...Sound-quality-wise. I'm not a huge Deadhead collector when it comes to boots (I am for Led Zep), so I only have a couple and frankly the official releases have kept me busy for the last few years, but I know Ithaca '77 is a stone classic. Any info will be helpful.

[Emboldened Chimp]

11. Try this site

www.gdlive.com

It has the second set in mp3 format and it sounds great. I think the original source is what's known as a "Betty Board", which are shows taped directly from the soundboard by Betty Cantor-Jackson in 71-79.

Check this out for more info:

http://www.nii.net/~obie1/deadcd/betty_board_info.htm#Terrapin%20Station%20BBS

[Westegg]

12. That's great. Thanks a lot! (n/t)

[Emboldened Chimp]

7. 1977 wasn't the Dead's best year.

I believe it to be overrated; great, but overrated. If you ask me, 1972 is much better. There's nothing like a '72 Dark Star.

[Taverner]

13. '72 had the europe shows and the Springfield Creamery show...

however EVERY show from 77 just rocked...I've heard some bad 72 shows - but thats just me

[burythehatchet]

9. WHat a great site.

never knew of it until now. I'm grateful.

:thumbsup:

[WilliamPitt]

14. 5/8/77

:)

[Taverner]

15. Yep...that comes up later this afternoon

You can hate the Dead, but I know of no one who hates that show...

[al bupp]

18. Truly a Classic

When you say "comes up later this afternoon", what do you mean?

[Canuckistanian]

17. What does a Deadhead say when he runs out of grass?

"Man, what a shitty band"
(ducks)