Looking for Deadheads and interested Civilians

[AudioSceptic]

The Ultra-Sound PA they developed in 1979 (and continued to enhance regularly) was a super sized stereo system. Meyer speakers, not sure which amplification they used.
Dan Healy mixed the house sound in stereo. A 15th row center seat yielded tapes that sounded like you were back at the show...except for the volume , of course. Being the fanatic I tend to be, I can recall some detail of just about every show I attended.

So that is what I heard at The Rainbow, London, 23 Mar 1981? Not as good as The Wall, but the 2nd best PA I've heard.

 

[August West]

I didn't record them all. There were tapers at GD shows since the 60's. I am a GD tape trader. And then came the internet and torrents etc and all this caught hold. Therefore there are multiple versions of almost everything. We just sorted them and kept the best sounding ones. And the official releases were ripped and renamed and re-ordered into something very coherent. This hobby started in 1971. It continues to this day.

 

[August West]

So that is what I heard at The Rainbow, London, 23 Mar 1981? Not as good as The Wall, but the 2nd best PA I've heard.

Probably not. The ultra sound pa wasn't portable at the time. But the sound was run by Dan Healy who was a genius at house mixing. He mixed the house in stereo.

 

[August West]

Come to think about it, the PA was probably a Clair Brothers system.

 

[Alannn]

Amazon Music allows streaming of 189 Dead releases. Setting aside the studio albums, which of the live releases are known for best sound quality? Please don't say "none."
I'm especially interested in '70s and '80s shows.

 

[August West]

With the latest box set that just came out, there are now 382 live shows. All the folders have been renamed to fall into perfect order by date. Inside the folders, all songs have been renumbered to get away from cd's (when there are multiple cd's).

 

[August West]

Part Two: Sound Quality. Always subjective but here goes. The shows that were recorded for release (aka multi-tracks) will usually have the best sound. The band (almost) recorded every show, and series like Dick's Picks, Dave's Picks, etc. are from the working 2 track recordings they made. Those recordings are variable. And from about 1979 on, the tapes were from the house mix. Remember though, Dan Healy (soundman) mixed the house in stereo. Overall, I'd say that if you are a deadhead, you will enjoy all the official releases. To me ultimate enjoyment is the performance itself. I have my own list of my all time favorite shows I saw. So when one of them becomes an official release, that makes me a happy camper.

 

[August West]

Part Three: Of course almost every show they played are out in a form we call non-official releases. Tapes made from the audience, soundboards that escaped the vault. There were about 2200+ shows. About 2000 of them circulate and I have them all. And they are arranged like the official releases described above.

I'll try to answer any more questions.
Bob

 

[Alannn]

Part Two: Sound Quality. Always subjective but here goes. The shows that were recorded for release (aka multi-tracks) will usually have the best sound...

In the quest for better sound quality, I've found this list of multitrack releases through 2015. It's a big list, and I have no idea of multitrack releases 2016 through present.

@August West , feel free to point out your take on which are the gems out of this list of more sophisticated recordings.

From The Vault series (3 releases)
View From the Vault series (4 releases)
Hundred Year Hall
Dozin' At The Knick
Live at the Fillmore East
Ladies and Gentlemen
Nightfall of Diamonds
Steppin' Out
Go To Nassau
Closing of Hinterland
Rockin' The Rhein
The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack
Truckin' Up To Buffalo
Fillmore West 1969
Live at the Cow Palace
Rocking the Cradle
Crimson , White & Indigo
Formerly the Warlocks
Europe '72 Box
Sunshine Daydream
Spring 1990 (The Other One)
Wake Up To Find Out
30 Trips Around the Sun (just the '67 and '89 shows)

 

[August West]

Here goes: I'm gonna choose by what I thought of the shows (playing). This will be in no particular order unless you ask later.

Europe 72 They were at a peak moment in their career.
Closing of Winterland This show is legendary. Winterland was an institution. They played from midnight til the sun came up. And they played awesome.
Fillmore West box shows them at their most exploratory period. Live Dead came from these shows and it is their first real moment. Considered in lists of best live albums ever made.
Sunshine Daydream is another landmark performance.
Ladies and Gentlemen because I saw my first show in that time period. Original 5 piece band.

If you have anything particular you want me to comment on...go for it. And a question for you? Do you know any deadheads who collect live tapes? If you do, I have a surprise for you.

 

[Krusty09]

Hey Now.

The thing for me is as much as I love the dead and when I say that I mean I saw them probably give or take 200 times the 70's never really did it for me. I'm more of a 80's 90's guy. Not saying those years weren't good just wasn't my jam.

Always a Hoot.

 

[August West]

Do you know any tape collectors or are you one? As far as your comment goes, I have mixed feelings. When Keith and Donna left in early 1979, I was happy and relieved. So I have always felt 1979 to 1985 was my favorite era. This is about what I saw (ie I was at the show). But the early 1970's has yielded their best stuff (youthful vigor counts for something).

 

[Krusty09]

Not a tapper just a fan. I know they played well back then but I am fan more of how technology made them sound as I believe the band itself got better and the sound systems got better and In turn made them better.

To each their own I guess.

 

[August West]

When they started, their original sound man was their benefactor. Bear was a remarkable engineer. Designing PA's (the wall of sound was his idea) mixing the shows; he was the real deal. They had the best sound of any touring group. The wall of sound in 1974 shook the floor of the Oakland Coliseum stadium, I was there. The PA they used in the end started in 1979. Ultra-Sound worked with John Meyer. It wasn't portable the first few years. It was a very large and portable stereo system. In 1991 they did away with stage monitors and instrument amplifiers on stage and went to in-ear monitors. The band heard themselves better (at least it was possible, but that is a whole other story) but the sound down front was not as good.

 

[August West]

On further reflection: More thoughts. I usually tell people my favorite era is 1979 to 1985. Here are my impressions of what happened later. 1986 was the year of the coma. In the early part of that year Jerry's playing sounded like a guy who could have died within 6 months. I recall no moments that I could say that was a good show or even a good solitary song. After the coma Jerry did not play as well as he had pre-coma. To compound the issue Brent passed away. He was by far he best keyboardist they ever had. After that I will say that the September 1990 shows at Madison Square Garden (9-14 to 9-20) was their last great stand. The number of shows I was seeing declined a bunch. That's just me.

 

[GD Fan]

I definitely agree that Brent was the best keyboard player. It was not just the playing he contributed but also outstanding harmony (and occasional lead) vocals as well as some under-rated songwriting.

Brent also benefits from being up in the mix more than Keith ever was. Sometimes you can't even tell Keith is on an entire recording.

Brent passed in the summer of 1990. An earlier post seemed to suggest it was in or around 1986.

My favorite era was 1989-1990 (until Brent passed). The band was on fire with high energy, the full canon of written material at their disposal, and on-stage chemistry that showed how much Jerry really loved playing with Brent. Watch the videos, the huge grins those two shared on stage were priceless.

E: grammar

 

[mannina]

The Ultra-Sound PA they developed in 1979 (and continued to enhance regularly) was a super sized stereo system. Meyer speakers, not sure which amplification they used.
Dan Healy mixed the house sound in stereo. A 15th row center seat yielded tapes that sounded like you were back at the show...except for the volume , of course. Being the fanatic I tend to be, I can recall some detail of just about every show I attended.

Meyer Sound are powered speakers, amps built in.

 

[August West]

Meyer Sound are powered speakers, amps built in.

Maybe that's why it wasn't considered suitable for touring. It did get there, though.

 

[mannina]

In the quest for better sound quality, I've found this list of multitrack releases through 2015. It's a big list, and I have no idea of multitrack releases 2016 through present.

@August West , feel free to point out your take on which are the gems out of this list of more sophisticated recordings.

From The Vault series (3 releases)
View From the Vault series (4 releases)
Hundred Year Hall
Dozin' At The Knick
Live at the Fillmore East
Ladies and Gentlemen
Nightfall of Diamonds
Steppin' Out
Go To Nassau
Closing of Hinterland
Rockin' The Rhein
The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack
Truckin' Up To Buffalo
Fillmore West 1969
Live at the Cow Palace
Rocking the Cradle
Crimson , White & Indigo
Formerly the Warlocks
Europe '72 Box
Sunshine Daydream
Spring 1990 (The Other One)
Wake Up To Find Out
30 Trips Around the Sun (just the '67 and '89 shows)

Nice list. I always gravitated to the Europe 72 releases and Sunshine daydream vinyl is my favorite dead record in my collection.

 

[mannina]

There's a huge amount on archive.org. Can you recommend any particular ones?

When I discovered the archive I looked up and listened to the shows I attended