Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Grateful Dead May '77 Box and Cornell '77 Show

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Chicago, IL
    Posts
    160

    Grateful Dead May '77 Box and Cornell '77 Show

    Anyone digging this box? I've listened to the first 2.5 shows (5 shows in all). I think their playing is fine, very crisp, the tempos are great, a few mike drop outs on Jerry's vocals.

    And there is something to be said for a REAL frickin' piano as accompaniment. Keith was a fine accompanist, never really got in the way. The great thing about piano--assuming it's in tune--NO CHEESY synth sounds. That would come later.

    Question about the fabled May 8th Cornell Show--why is it not on this? I've never heard it, but it's supposed to be the greatest show they ever did. Mickey said that his wife was attending Cornell at the time and did not go to that show, but rather went with her boyfriend at the time to go see Barry Manilow.

    Betty Cantor Jackson apparently had a definitive soundboard of this, did the band ever get a hold of it and give it a proper release? This show was supposed to be the most downloaded show from archive.net .

    Is it that much better than the shows on this May '77 box? (Apparently, the version of "Morning Dew" is supposed to be EPIC). I think the band is in fine form on this box.

    A fine supplement to the Winterland boxes and the Europe '72 box.

  2. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    NH, USA
    Posts
    296
    I think Cornell tends to be a bit overrated. It was a very good show in a season of great shows. I have both the May 77 box and the Winterland 77 box and enjoy many of those shows as much, if not more than Cornell.

  3. #3
    I think the original SBD went 'missing' which is why there is a very good SBD boot of the show. There is a theory that the reason the cornell show is considered the greatest show is because it was one of the first GD bootlegs that had great sound go into widespread circulation. It's a good show with a great Scarlet/Fire, but is debatable whether it is the greatest, depending on personal preferences for which era of GD
    Last edited by Stumpybunker; 10-12-2013 at 10:39 AM. Reason: Edited for formatting

  4. #4
    W.P.O.D. Dan Marsh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Media, PA
    Posts
    222
    ^Agreed!

  5. #5
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    New York
    Posts
    140
    5/8/77 is great, and often the "starter show" I will give to a Dead fan who has explored the studio work and wants to stick their toe into the live recording waters. It has a fantastic mix...clear, great instrument separation (especially the bass) and just the right amout of reverb to shake off that "dry" feel that a soundboard mix often has. The Scarlet->Fire and Morning Dew are top shelf versions, vying for "best ever" status. All this said, it's not the best show ever. It's not the best show of 77. It's not even the best show that month. But it is excellent, and I'd say if you're only going to own one live Dead show, it's a great choice. The night before is also a great show, and I'm really fond of the Buffalo show from the night after which has (IMNSHO) the definitive version of Help->Slip->Franklin's that just KILLS.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Stumpybunker View Post
    I think the original SBD went 'missing' which is why there is a very good SBD boot of the show. There is a theory that the reason the cornell show is considered the greatest show is because it was one of the first GD bootlegs that had great sound go into widespread circulation.
    I've often felt that way not only about that show, but also the Veneta Oregon show from August 72 and the Fillmore East show from 2/14/70. Those three shows are the ones that top like EVERY SINGLE POLL of "best Dead shows". Those were also apparently amongst the first to circulate in soundboard form, so they were the ones a lot of fans got first because, at the time, they had the best sound.

    My preference is for the 67-69 and 72-74 periods, so most of my favorites are from those years. I seem to be a bit of contrarian when it comes to the 77 era, as I tend to prefer the February/March shows and the September/October/November/December shows over the much discussed May dates.

    I think one of the reasons I like the late 77 shows is because Jerry had switched back to playing the Wolf guitar, but hadn't installed the humbuckers yet (though he still was playing the Travis Bean at Englishtown in September). For some reason, I seem to prefer his guitar tones with that guitar or the Strats he played just prior to getting Wolf.

    That was also around the time that Keith was using (however briefly) a Polymoog, sot here was at least a little bit of variance in the keyboard sounds (something that didn't happen often during the Keith era). I still maintain it would have been nice for there to be more variety of keyboard sounds in the Dead's music. I think a synth or two would have fit in great during the 72-74 era. But I guess Keith just wasn't into it. (shrug)

  7. #7
    I am a big Dead fan but have not listen to nearly as many shows as y'all have. That being said, I have listened to 8-27-72, Veneta, Oregon, from front to back a few times and what a time capsule that is! The heat of the day and the between-song banter from band and the owner of the venue (which was basically a dairy farm, no?), you can literally hear the humidity and the Dark Star is literally mind-boggling.

  8. #8
    W.P.O.D. Dan Marsh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Media, PA
    Posts
    222
    Yes, it is one of the best Dark Stars ever!

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •