[jimbo]

Hey everybody,
Been comin here for a couple years now...great site...lovin the boards. Anyway, i'm really now just starting to listen to the Dead more extensively. I thought maybe i could pick the brains of some of you experienced heads out there and get some leads for some good shows. Thanks guys!

[Stagger_LEE_of_terrapin]

I really like early 70s stuff. Try 4-29-71 last alligator. The entire port chester run from feb 70 is also great. U can stream infinite amounts of Dead SOngs from Archives.org incase u didnt no

Peace
Lee

[jck_strw]

I'll bite. My favourite show is 5-9-77. Usually 5-8-77 gets all the kudos, but the first set of 5-9-77 is untoppable in my opinion (best Peggy-O ever!). Overall a fantastic show.

The "final run" shows from 10-74 are also wonderful.

8-27-72 has got a great Dark Star.

11-6-77 has the best Scarlet.

4-11-78 has a killer Sugar Magnolia.

5-2-70 is amazing as well (it's Dick's Pick now, 7 or 8 I think).

Rockin' the Rhein is an awesome vault release from 4-24-72 and is superb.

Like any head, once you get them going on favourite shows/songs, it's tough to shut them up. So I'll quit for now.

As you can tell, I'm a 70's guy. I'll leave the later stuff for others to recommend.

Jim

[x0nix]

I'm also a 70s guy, but lately i've been mainly listening to 80s and 90s shows, so i'll pick a few of them.

I love 1990, check out 29/03/90 for a very consistent show with a particularly lovely Bird Song and Eyes of the world.

13/12/80 is great. 1980 as a year is starting to become a favourite of mine. You gotta love those To Lay Me Down's Dead Set and Reckoning show how great songs from this year could be.

22/06/91 is lovely. Hell in a Bucket, Looks like rain, Terrapin Station. This show lies in the middle of the Bruce Hornsby era so listen for the lovely keyboard riffs

13/07/84 has a very nice dark star
11/10/85 is all nice.

But as for the 60s/70s.
Check out 27/2/69. This is the show that has the magnificent Dark Star from live/dead. Same for St Stephen and The Eleven. The whole show is just perfect, the psychadelic era at its ABSOTELUTE peak. The folliwing night, 28/02/69 is also steller and some say better than the previous, but i'm not sure about that... i need to relisten to them both, but i do know the 28/02/69 dark star, great as it is, lacks the extremely powerful and spooky sense of direction and urgency that the 27/2/69 dark star has, which is exactly what makes it so outstanding. I've never heard another like it, most dark stars are like jams (nothing wrong with that) but it seems to me 27/02/69 is more than that.

Anyway enough about dark stars... they possibly require a thread of their own
This post isn't finished, i'll edit this later to add more of my favourite shows.

[LazyLightnin]

5-9-77 is a great one. was one of my first tapes. my all time fave is
7-18-76 Orpheum theatre SF, i just gotta thing for lazy>supp>drums>let it grow.
in fact im burning a copy of it right now for a friend. i still listen to this show at least once a week, and i got it 7 years ago. ive respooled this one 3x. now thats deadication. gawd i love respooling tapes

--------------------------- LaZy

[email protected]

[Stella Blue]

The Whole May 77 run is amazing. 5/7 has the best terrapin Station, 5/8/77 well we all know about 5/8/77 and then the help/slipknot/Frank the next night on 5/9/77 is also quite amazing. also 8/27/72 not only has the best dark star i've ever heard but it is a solid show from beggining to end. 9/19/70 has a great dark star into a st.stephen with a china cat jam, pretty great stuff. and if you want some killer early dead i recommend anything from the carousel ballroom from 67 or 68. There is a whole lot of great shows out there and everytime i find a new one i fall in love with the dead all over again.

[Guyute24]

here's some of my favorites in no particular order:
4-27-69, 4-26-69, actually, anything from april of 69 is pretty good
same with february of 69, most stuff from may of 77 is good too, anything that's listed as a "bettyboard" will be great sounding even if it's not the best played show (fortunantly, betty cantor recorded some of the dead's best shows, like most of may 77) ok, moving on
11-11-73 - awesome dark star, 8-27-72, 9-26+27-72, i also dig alot of stuff from 73, and some rare stuff from 66 as well. if anyone wants to trade for some of these shows, check out my list at www.phishook.com/lists/Guyute24 and let me know, peace, michael

[violanojblues]

Ahhh. A discussion for the ages (at least one that could last for ages). A different answere for as many people as you ask. It's a good thing the Dead have 30 years of material and styles to accomodate everyone who loves good music.

I love the 4 disc set from 4/71 at the Fillmore East. It has some solid versions of many of their classic cowboy rock songs like El Paso, Me & My Uncle and Loser and some great embrionic versions of jam favorites such as Bird Song and Playin' in the Band hinting at the potential for these jam-giants. They are great versions to learn from. If that's what you're looking for. A staple for any collector.

Some of my favorite listens are the psychedelic explorations from '68 thru '69 as well as the ultra jazzy yet much overlooked month of 6/74. But when it comes down to it, anything with Pigpen is a surefire way to put a smile on my face, a bounce in my step and a snap in my fingers that can linger all day long.

In my humble opinion specific shows are irrelavent in comparison to the era in which they were played. But that's just me.

[artvandalay]

my favourites are:

7/17/66
11/19/66
2/14/68
2/28/69
11/23/73
5/28/77

[LazyLightnin]

LOL art vandalay, vandalay industires, may i help you?

[hirsh39]

5/9/77 amazing fucking show

the guy above said it has the greatest peggy-o ever, and he is very correct

[MSGetaway]

I agree that pretty much anything from May 77 is incredible. Also check out 6-10-73 (features Allman Bros and Merl Saunders on the third set).

I am also a 70s man myself, but one of my favorites is also 4-30-88. The Hey Pocky Way in the first set is incredible, and just looking at the second set is liable to cause some spasms. It's a great show, top to bottom.

[Cosmic C]

I have a tape of the 1st set of 5/5/77 and wow what a great set. Does anyone know if there are any discs out their of that 5/5-7-8-9/77 run? I got a fever and the only thing that can cure it is some May 77.

[jck_strw]

CC

Ask and ye shall receive:

http://www.archive.org/audio/etreelisti ... %3A%201977

Free to all of those with fast Internet connections or infinite patience.

[Cosmic C]

Thanks jck! 'ppreciate the point in the right direction.