Grateful Dead in 1976

I fell in love with the Grateful Dead. Their music, most importantly, but their band formula as well... They created a whole new way of playing in the band with taped and easily accessible shows, devoted fan base (so called Deadheads), varied setlists and long, long jams in the most unexpected moments :-) Jerry Garcia was a true master of the guitar, too.

Grateful Dead played American music: it was folk, blues, sometimes rock and roll or bluegrass, at other times it could be even jazz. With two drummers, two vocalists and two guitarists they were tripping and mixing genres, styles and were focused only on making great music and constant touring.


1976 isn't hailed as most succesful year for the band by most Deadheads, but I focused on it and started collecting their concerts. Grateful Dead released a massive amount of archive recordings in awesome soundboard quality :) What makes a good GD's 1976 recording? It has to include "Scarlet Begonias" and "Wharf Rat" (my two personal favorites) ;) First tells a story of a girl ("I knew without asking she was into the blues" ;D) and the second is a great and deep tale of a man who ends up as a beggar due to various circumstances during his life, it may be really heartbreaking at moments.

"One More Saturday Night", "Promised Land" and "Johnny B. Goode" are great rock and roll pieces, "Mama Tried" is a charming up-tempo country tune... "Samson & Delilah" is a track I first heard by Blind Willie Johnson, who wrote and recorded it in 1927. Things like "They Love Each Other" and "Looks Like Rain" are always nice to hear and I can only imagine what a joy they were to hear live! I like the Dead most, though, when they are playing sped up tracks: "Deal", "Good Lovin'" or "Sugar Magnolia". Jerry Garcia's solos... You gotta love it :) I've just finished listening to "Sugaree" and "Cassidy" and I find them nothing short of wonderful.

Recordings to get: Live at the Cow's Palace (New Year's show!), Dick's Picks #20 and #33 (45 songs on the last one, that's just two shows) and Download Series #4. That's a good start :)