CD REVIEW: The Grateful Dead's 'Ladies and Gentlemen...'
news.excite.com Updated 12:00 PM ET November 28, 2000
By Ben Oxenburg
Michigan Daily
U. Michigan
(U-WIRE) ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- This new and highly anticipated release by the Grateful Dead showcases
the best of a five night run in April, 1971 at Fillmore East in New York City. The four CDs are a necessary
addition to any collection and are almost certain to wet the pallet of both seasoned Deadheads and first-time
listeners who often create contempt and rolling eyes with questions like, "The Dead who?"
Those who know the history of the Dead and its ever-changing lineup know that the '70s was arguably the
greatest decade for the band. They will also likely be surprised to find a fresh, united and exuberant spirit in
the music. This energy is obvious and uncompromising. The future looks bright and the band has an entire
career ahead of them. They know that they are part of something special and different and the band takes full
advantage of this fact. They are playing to a respective audience which appreciates both their unique fusion
of rock, R&B and bluegrass and their ability to switch genres with ease.
Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and Bill Kreutzmann all sound tighter than a
pair of unbreakable Chinese fingercuffs. Perhaps the disc's greatest asset is the loud and throaty sound of
Pigpen's voice, which, strangely enough, has a robust characteristic that gives no indication that he would
succumb to a lifestyle of drinking and drugs in less than a year.
The discs contain many old favorites (which were relatively new back then) and excellent covers of some of
the Dead's contemporaries. "I'm a King Bee" features outstanding performances by Pigpen on harmonica
and vocals and Garcia on electric guitar. It is played and sung with all of the ache and need of a true
blues-band. Fans of "The Big Chill" will no doubt enjoy disc one with a fervor. The versions of Smokey
Robinson's "Second that Emotion" and The Rascal's "Good Lovin" (which just happens to segue in and out
of a fantastic "Drums," courtesy of Kreutzmann) are remarkable and show how well the Dead is able to
translate Motown and '50s rock into new, different and thoroughly enjoyable music.
Disc three shines with a musical iridescence and a smorgasbord of segues. A soft "Dark Star" jams into "St.
Stephen," which morphs into "Not Fade Away" and, just when the listener is confident there will be a break,
the band dissolves it into "Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad." Somehow, someway, this melts back into
"Not Fade Away" to end the disc.
This CD set proves that the infamous and anonymous quote which has been uttered in amazement so many
times before still possesses veracity: "There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert." Grade: A |
