Sakalli

(Review from allmusic)

This live album was recorded on August 13, 1975 at the Great American Music Hall. After a 19-month live sabbatical, the entire band are eager to dig in, dust off their collective chops, and prove they aren’t rusty. They were not only going to preview material from their new studio album “Blues for Allah”, but most every Deadhead in North America would hear the gig via nationwide radio broadcast.

First disc is heavy on “Blues for Allah”, commencing with a flawlessly and passionately executed “Help on the Way” and the tricky syncopated instrumental link “Slipknot!” that connects it to a prototypical “Franklin’s Tower” preceding a note-perfect take of “The Music Never Stopped.” The latter two tunes would become permanent fixtures in the Grateful Dead’s repertoire for the remainder of their existence.

Most notably, this is the third (of only six) live rendering of the intricate instrumental “King Solomon’s Marbles” (aka “Stronger Than Dirt”) that evolves out of the excellent “Eyes of the World” via a feisty percussion duet between Hart and Kreutzmann. A version of Chuck Berry’s “Around & Around” is tagged onto the end.

Second disc opens with the familiar favorites “Sugaree” and the cover of Johnny Cash’s “Big River” — both part of the Grateful Dead’s songbook since 1971. Rarer is the inaugural performance of Weir’s beguiling acoustic composition “Sage and Spirit”, which had grown from a finger exercise the guitarist used when warming up. Other top-shelf and not to be missed offerings include “Eyes of the World”, a note-perfect “It Must Have Been the Roses”, as well as the funky and driving staple “Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad”.

Line-up:
- Jerry Garcia / guitar, vocals
- Bob Weir / guitar, vocals
- Keith Godchaux / keyboards, vocals
- Donna Jean Godchaux / vocals
- Phil Lesh / bass guitar, vocals
- Bill Kreutzmann / drums and percussion
- Mickey Hart / percussion and crickets

Track List:
CD1
01. Introduction – 0:46
02. Help on the Way ~ – 7:52
03. Franklin’s Tower – 6:58
04. The Music Never Stopped – 5:28
05. It Must Have Been the Roses – 5:05
06. Eyes of the World ~ Drums – 14:31
07. King Solomon’s Marbles – 6:36
08. Around & Around – 5:59
CD2
01. Sugaree – 7:55
02. Big River – 4:50
03. Crazy Fingers ~ Drums – 13:08
04. The Other One – 5:32
05. Sage and Spirit – 3:24
06. Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad – 7:13
07. U.S. Blues – 5:30
08. Blues for Allah – 21:01

Link in comments.

(Review from wikipedia, allmusic, musicbox-online.com)

In 1974, the Grateful Dead were exhausted from touring, and their sound system, the “Wall of Sound”, had proven too expensive to continue with. In response, the group decided to stop touring for an indefinite period of time.

In October they played five nights (16-20th) at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California. As they were the last concerts before the hiatus, the Grateful Dead wanted them to be properly recorded and documented by a film crew.

The results were the live album, “Steal Your Face”, and a film, “Grateful Dead Movie”. Yet there were still surplus unreleased music. The additional music coupled with the movie’s soundtrack produced this 5-CD “Movie Soundtrack” album.

Among the pinnacles from October 19th are the jazzy “Eyes of the World,” which is linked to an emotive “China Doll”. There is also the stretched-out and spacy “Playing in the Band” from October 16th. In particular, the reunion with Mickey Hart on October 20th as he returned to the fold after an absence of three years and eight months. Zeniths from that set comprise the last CD with another phenomenal “Playing in the Band” bookending athletic renditions of “Not Fade Away” “The Other One”, “Wharf Rat” and two respective percussion interludes from Hart and Bill Kreutzmann.

Featuring six hours worth of material, The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack might appear, at first glimpse, to be a tad unwieldy for some casual fans to undertake, but the Grateful Dead’s variegated, multi-textural approach allowed it to cover vast expanses of terrain with magnificently stunning ease. Although there are numerous songs from its canon that are absent from the effort, all of the band’s tricks for transcendental transportation are given a chance to shine.

Line-up:
- Jerry Garcia / lead guitar, vocals
- Bob Weir / rhythm guitar, vocals
- Phil Lesh / bass guitar, vocals
- Donna Godchaux / vocals
- Keith Godchaux / keyboards, piano
- Bill Kreutzmann / drums
- Mickey Hart / drums (CD5)

Track List:
CD1
01. U.S. Blues – 5:13
02. One More Saturday Night – 6:33
03. China Cat Sunflower – 9:14
04. I Know You Rider – 6:07
05. Eyes Of The World – 13:01
06. China Doll – 6:16
07. Playing In The Band – 31:44
CD2
01. Scarlet Begonias – 13:56
02. He’s Gone – 13:01
03. Jam – 7:31
04. Weirdness – 8:05
05. The Other One – 7:34
06. Spanish Jam – 1:48
07. Mind Left Body Jam – 3:10
08. The Other One – 2:28
09. Stella Blue – 9:04
10. Casey Jones – 5:23
CD3
01. Weather Report Suite Prelude – 16:44
02. Jam – 8:54
03. Dark Star – 24:10
04. Morning Dew – 13:54
05. Not Fade Away – 8:34
06. Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad – 7:33
CD4
01. Uncle John’s Band – 9:08
02. Big Railroad Blues – 5:02
03. Tomorrow Is Forever – 6:26
04. Sugar Magnolia – 5:26
05. He’s Gone – 13:49
06. Caution Jam – 4:30
07. Drums – 1:23
08. Space – 9:14
09. Truckin’ – 9:48
10. Black Peter – 10:10
11. Sunshine Daydream – 3:14
CD5
01. Playing In The Band – 13:24
02. Drums – 4:09
03. Not Fade Away – 14:44
04. Drums – 4:53
05. The Other One – 10:56
06. Wharf Rat – 9:35
07. Playing In The Band – 8:38
08. Johnny B. Goode – 3:55
09. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo – 7:34
10. We Bid You Goodnight – 1:59

Link in comments.

(Review from allmusic, wikipedia)

This archival release contains three complete concerts, missing only the encore song of the first concert. It was recorded on November 9, 10, and 11, 1973, at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.

Hearing the natural ebb and flow inherent in the concerts themselves reveals the Grateful Dead’s singular ability to effortlessly vacillate between a multitude of styles. Among them are straight-ahead vintage rock & roll — namely Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and “Around and Around” — to covering country & western troubadours Johnny Cash (“Big River,”) Marty Robbins (“El Paso”), and George Jones (“The Race Is On”). An amalgam of these artists would heavily influence the writing of Weir and John Barlow as the originals and Grateful Dead songbook staples “Mexicali Blues” and, to a more refined degree, the tales-from-the-road sensibility of “Black-Throated Wind” and “Looks Like Rain.” Another facet of the hydra-headed Grateful Dead reaches back into their formidable psychedelic past, while Garcia, Keith Godchaux, and Kreutzmann are simultaneously aggressive in their pursuit of a jazzier grade of instrumental improvisation. Nowhere is this as evident as during the multiple stretched-out epic and exploratory readings of “Playing in the Band,” “Eyes of the World,” and “Weather Report Suite.” Likewise, each night brought a host of undeniably special musical moments.

Friday (November 9) contains a seminal “fast” “They Love Each Other” with a few lyrical rearrangements by Garcia, the return of the far-too-infrequently played ballad “To Lay Me Down” and the tight segue between the fiery “Greatest Story Ever Told” and “Bertha”.

Saturday the 10th is marked by a simple and lovely “Brokedown Palace,” and the not-to-be-missed medley linking a spacy “Playing in the Band” to “Uncle John’s Band” to a note-perfect “(Walk Me out in The) Morning Dew” that briefly revisits “Uncle John’s Band” before returning, bookending the whole affair with a reprise of “Playing in the Band.” Plus, the stand-alone “Stella Blue” is well worth mentioning for inclined minds.

The elements seem to align perfectly throughout the Sunday night outing. The centerpiece is a half-hour-plus “Dark Star” that weaves in and out of the melody before connecting to an incisive “Eyes of the World” and concludes nearly an hour later with a poignant “China Doll.” The slinky and appropriately ribald rhythm pulsating through “Loose Lucy,” and arguably the best “Weather Report Suite” (of the three found in the this box), are other highlights from the 11th.

Line-up:
- Jerry Garcia / lead guitar, vocals
- Donna Godchaux / vocals
- Keith Godchaux / keyboards
- Bill Kreutzmann / drums
- Phil Lesh / electric bass
- Bob Weir / rhythm guitar, vocals

Track List:
CD1
01. Promised Land – 3:21
02. Brown Eyed Woman – 5:07
03. Me & Bobby McGee – 5:59
04. They Love Each Other – 5:42
05. Black-Throated Wind – 7:07
06. Don’t Ease Me In – 4:37
07. Mexicali Blues – 3:43
08. Row Jimmy – 9:02
09. The Race Is On – 3:57
10. China Cat Sunflower – 7:35
11. I Know You Rider – 5:27
CD2
01. Playing in the Band – 20:55
02. Here Comes Sunshine – 11:51
03. Me and My Uncle – 3:43
04. To Lay Me Down – 8:11
05. Big River – 5:28
06. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo – 8:02
07. Greatest Story Ever Told – 5:09
08. Bertha – 6:12
CD3
01. Weather Report Suite – 15:37
02. Eyes of the World – 16:43
03. China Doll – 5:57
04. Around and Around – 5:04
05. Goin’ Down the Road, Feeling Bad – 8:01
06. Johnny B. Goode – 4:24
CD4
01. Bertha – 7:10
02. Jack Straw – 5:14
03. Loser – 6:40
04. Looks Like Rain – 7:50
05. Deal – 4:39
06. Mexicali Blues – 3:41
07. Tennessee Jed – 8:39
08. El Paso – 4:54
09. Brokedown Palace – 6:12
10. Beat It On Down The Line – 3:51
11. Row Jimmy – 8:51
CD5
01. Weather Report Suite – 18:25
02. Playing In The Band – 11:58
03. Uncle John’s Band – 9:38
04. Morning Dew – 12:23
05. Uncle John’s Band – 1:49
06. Playing In The Band – 7:37
CD6
01. Big River – 5:11
02. Stella Blue – 8:18
03. Truckin’ – 12:17
04. Wharf Rat – 8:43
05. Sugar Magnolia – 10:38
06. One More Saturday Night – 5:28
07. Casey Jones – 7:05
CD7
01. Promised Land – 3:42
02. Bertha – 6:04
03. Greatest Story Ever Told – 6:06
04. Sugaree – 7:55
05. Black-Throated Wind – 7:47
06. To Lay Me Down – 8:27
07. El Paso – 4:45
08. Ramble On Rose – 7:03
09. Me And Bobby McGee – 5:55
CD8
01. China Cat Sunflower – 9:26
02. I Know You Rider – 6:03
03. Me And My Uncle – 3:33
04. Loose Lucy – 7:51
05. Weather Report – 15:10
06. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo – 8:25
07. Big River – 7:05
CD9
01. Dark Star – 35:40
02. Eyes Of The World – 13:35
03. China Doll – 5:40
04. Sugar Magnolia – 10:19
05. Uncle John’s Band – 7:32
06. Johnny B. Goode – 3:55
07. We Bid You Goodnight – 3:10

Link in comments.

(Review from musicbox-online.com)

“Rockin’ the Rhein” is the fourth compilation of material to be plucked from the Grateful Dead’s legendary tour of Europe in the Spring of 1972. It is nearly four hours in length, including its pair of bonus tracks taken from a show in May 1972.

“Rockin’ the Rhein” spotlights both of the Grateful Dead’s keyboard players at the time: Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Keith Godchaux. By early 1972, founding member Pigpen was suffering the ill-effects of his hard-living lifestyle, and although this trek across Europe was his last hurrah, he didn’t allow his final efforts to go to waste. His swirling organ accompaniments consistently blew through all the right spaces, coloring everything from the clattering fury of “Truckin’” to the driving chug of “Casey Jones” to the gentle sway of “Me & Bobby McGee”. Yet, it was his unassailably uncanny knack for agilely delivering soulful blues tunes (“Chinatown Shuffle” and “Next Time You See Me”) and comically unadulterated rants (“Good Lovin’” and “Turn on Your Lovelight”) where he truly had an opportunity to shine.

In contrast, Keith Godchaux had joined the Grateful Dead just a few months earlier, and what’s most notable about his contributions to “Rockin’ the Rhein” is how seamlessly he already had assimilated himself into the ensemble. Later in his stint with the group, he often was barely a presence in its music, but in the beginning, he was a breath of fresh air, frequently adding a jazzy flair that seemingly carried the band’s exploratory music even further into the stratosphere. For example, he injected a saloon-like swing into the bucolic flight of “Tennessee Jed”, a zestful flourish into the kaleidoscopic splendor of “Playing in the Band”, and a subtly sorrowful sense of grace into a cover of Elmore James’ “It Hurts Me” Too.

The album is the blend of easy-going playfulness and unbridled urgency that the Grateful Dead lent to much of the music it performed on its 1972 tour of Europe. There’s no question that the band was at the top of its game, delivering some of the most consistently superlative concerts of its career. Joining the sterling handiwork of its keyboard players were Bob Weir’s angular riffs, the steadfast precision of Bill Kreutzmann’s percussion, and the intertwined leads from Jerry Garcia’s quicksilver guitar and Phil Lesh’s brawny bass. Together, the collective whipped “Good Lovin’” into a delectably frothy concoction and gleefully rode upon the crested waves of the twisting, turning transformation of “China Cat Sunflower” into I Know You Rider.

Yet, this was merely the beginning. Shortly after embarking upon its second set, the Grateful Dead launched into an epic “Dark Star” that, within the span of 44 minutes, provided the soundtrack for a spiritual journey that managed to touch the far reaches of the cosmos. Interrupted only briefly by the strange insertion of “Me & My Uncle”, which erupted like a dream from within the center of the debris-filled maelstrom, the tune mutated from melodic beauty to frenzied chaos as the band fully explored every nook and cranny of the song’s wide-open expanses, the eerie lysergic gleam of “The Other One” never far from view. The mournful gospel strains of “Wharf Rat” cushioned the landing, while the ebullient refrain of “Sugar Magnolia” brought a seamless hour of music to a rousing conclusion.

Line-up:
- Jerry Garcia / guitar, vocals
- Bob Weir / guitar (rhythm), vocals
- Phil Lesh / bass , vocals
- Ron “Pigpen” McKernan / organ, harmonica, percussion, vocals
- Bill Kreutzmann / drums
- Donna Jean Godchaux / vocals
- Keith Godchaux / piano

Track List:
CD1
01. Truckin’ – 11:04
02. Tennessee Jed – 8:07
03. Chinatown Shuffle – 3:06
04. Black-Throated Wind – 6:51
05. China Cat Sunflower – 6:06
06. I Know You Rider – 6:19
07. Mr. Charlie – 4:16
08. Beat It On Down The Line – 3:21
09. Loser – 7:34
10. Playing In The Band – 11:23
11. Next Time You See Me – 4:37
12. Me & Bobby McGee – 6:10
CD2
01. Good Lovin’ – 18:39
02. Casey Jones – 6:15
03. He’s Gone – 10:31
04. Hurts Me Too – 8:36
05. El Paso – 4:44
06. Turn On Your Love Light – 12:04
07. The Stranger (Two Souls In Communion) – 8:23
CD3
01. Dark Star – 25:46
02. Me & My Uncle – 3:22
03. Dark Star – 14:53
04. Wharf Rat – 8:58
05. Sugar Magnolia – 8:03
06. Not Fade Away – 3:17
07. Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad – 6:31
08. Not Fade Away – 3:01
09. One More Saturday Night – 4:49

Link in comments.

(Review from allmusic)

“Steppin’ Out” focuses specifically on the seven performances that the septet played in England. From these shows a total of well over five and a quarter hours have been culled to create the first package in which there is plenty of room to allow the Dead to weave their intangible magic organically.

By this time, much of the band’s repertoire had shifted from the aggressive proto-punk psychedelia and extended instrumental jams of the mid- to late ’60s into a much more melodic trend defined by shorter and otherwise self-contained compositions. The overwhelming success of their last studio efforts — “American Beauty” and “Workingman’s Dead” — as well as the eponymously titled live release presented a new facet to their craft. The distinct country-rock sound that flavored much of those albums had likewise infiltrated their concert performances.

The track list incorporates a few rarely performed covers such as “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu” and “Hey Bo Diddley” side by side with a few newly mined originals, including “Black-Throated Wind”, “Deal”, “Greatest Story Ever Told” and “Sugaree” from Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir’s respective debut solo albums.

Additionally, there are several concurrently new compositions from Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, including “Mr. Charlie” “The Stranger” and “Chinatown Shuffle” — the latter pair being performed exclusively during this, McKernan’s final tour with the band.

Deadheads clamoring for longer, stretched-out sonic explorations will likewise have much to discover and rediscover. Primary among these are the extended “Truckin’” medley, which includes a few stops along the way into “The Other One”, Marty Robbins’ “El Paso” and “Wharf Rat”, as well as nearly an hourlong coupling of “Dark Star” with “Sugar Magnolia” and the old psychedelic standby “Caution (Do Not Step on Tracks)”.

Line-up:
- Jerry Garcia / lead guitar, vocals
- Bob Weir / rhythm guitar, vocals
- Ron “Pigpen” McKernan / organ, harmonica, vocals
- Phil Lesh / bass guitar, vocals
- Bill Kreutzmann / drums
- Keith Godchaux / piano
- Donna Jean Godchaux / vocals

Track List:
CD1
01. Cold Rain and Snow – 6:02
02. Greatest Story Ever Told – 6:00
03. Mr. Charlie – 3:52
04. Sugaree – 7:34
05. Mexicali Blues – 4:10
06. Big Boss Man – 6:28
07. Deal – 5:51
08. Jack Straw – 5:19
09. Big Railroad Blues – 4:26
10. Hurts Me Too – 6:07
11. China Cat Sunflower – 5:05
12. I Know You Rider – 7:50
13. Playing In The Band – 10:10
CD2
01. Good Lovin’ – 20:31
02. Ramble On Rose – 6:41
03. Black-Throated Wind – 6:07
04. Sitting On Top Of The World – 3:30
05. Comes A Time – 7:01
06. Turn On Your Lovelight – 13:02
07. Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad – 8:22
08. Not Fade Away – 4:54
09. Hey Bo Diddley – 4:30
10. Not Fade Away – 3:06
CD3
01. Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu – 5:15
02. Black Peter – 8:52
03. Chinatown Shuffle – 3:23
04. Truckin’ – 10:14
05. Drums – 2:44
06. The Other One – 19:31
07. El Paso – 4:47
08. The Other One – 8:20
09. Wharf Rat – 10:48
10. One More Saturday Night – 4:57
CD4
01. Uncle John’s Band – 7:20
02. The Stranger (Two Souls In Communion) – 7:57
03. Dark Star – 31:27
04. Sugar Magnolia – 7:15
05. Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks) – 17:15
06. Brokedown Palace – 7:02

Link in comments.

(Review from allmusic)

This double-album features just under two-and-a-half hours of material from April 26, 1972 at Jahrhundert Halle in Frankfurt, Germany.

The band was in the midst of its Europe ’72 excursion, not to mention a state of transition. Chronic health issues would force Ron “Pigpen” McKernan off the road for good in less than two months. Ultimately in his stead was the recent arrival of the husband and wife team Keith Godchaux and Donna Jean Godchaux.

While there is no typical Grateful Dead concert, the contents admirably represent the septet’s strengths, as well as providing an adequate cross-section of material unique to the era.

The two discs are sequenced to loosely replicate two respective sets. The first is filled with shorter and self-contained tunes and the second opens up an opportunity for outings of a comparatively expansive nature.

The youthful exuberance empowering the songbook staples “Bertha,” “Me & My Uncle,” and the “China Cat Sunflower”/”I Know You Rider” medley is complemented by a thoughtful “Playing in the Band” — heard in its exploratory infancy. Disc One then closes with a slightly above average reading of the R&B rave-up “Turn on Your Lovelight” that glides effortlessly into a fair to middlin’ “Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad”. Weir has obviously been conserving his energies as the party is shifted into overdrive.

“Truckin’” develops nicely with Garcia and Lesh standing out for their melodic counterpoint. “Cryptical Envelopment” — which should be ID’ed as “The Other One” — is an improvisation lover’s dream with the machine hitting on all cylinders. The exchanges range from delicate to impassioned, weaving an aural tapestry that unravels into the arresting and rarely unveiled ballad “Comes a Time.” The emotional zenith is capitalized upon by Weir as he sends home the whole affair with a suitably hot and sweaty “Sugar Magnolia”.

Line-up:
- Jerry Garcia / lead guitar, vocals
- Bob Weir / rhythm guitar, vocals
- Phil Lesh / bass guitar, vocals
- Ron “Pigpen” McKernan / harmonica, vocals
- Keith Godchaux / piano
- Donna Godchaux / vocals
- Bill Kreutzman / drums

Track List:
CD1
01. Bertha – 5:40
02. Me And My Uncle – 3:04
03. Next Time You See Me – 4:15
04. China Cat Sunflower – 5:14
05. I Know You Rider – 5:14
06. Jack Straw – 4:46
07. Big Railroad Blues – 3:53
08. Playing In The Band – 9:20
09. Turn On Your Lovelight – 19:13
10. Going Down The Road Feelin’ Bad – 7:32
11. One More Saturday Night – 5:44
CD2
01. Truckin’ – 17:44
02. Cryptical Envelopment – 36:29
03. Comes A Time – 6:45
04. Sugar Magnolia – 7:23

Link in comments.