Recently, I felt the tug to revisit these famous Dead shows, and the anniversary timing is a pleasant coincidence. The milestone of being their final pre-hiatus performances after a year of larger-than-life technological, financial, and chemical excess probably casts too large a shadow on the performances themselves -- not to mention that they also produced an awful live album and a fantastic, but crushingly expensive, concert film. One also doesn't typically talk about these shows without some grumbling about the unusual (at times bizarre) audio mix and sound quality of these tapes. Given those two big "extra-musical" factors, I figured it wouldn't hurt to roll through all five shows and see what happened.
I am sure you know all about the state of the Grateful Dead world in October 1974. So since these tapes have a unique provenance, I might as well start there:
They used my equipment, but I didn't do [the recording]. They thought I didn't want to do it because I had just had my kid... they took all my gear and Billy Wolfe [sic], who had been on the Rowan Brothers project with which Jerry was involved, recorded it, and it came out very strange. The tapes were pretty awful. He used a lot of audience in t.he mix; I don't know why or how he recorded so much leakage -Betty Cantor-Jackson, Taping Compendium Vol 2
"[Steal Your Face] was made from totally screwed-up master tapes recorded on a 24-track machine, except that the nitwit who was given the job to put Donna Godchaux's vocal on an onboard Nagra along with a SMPTE sync track driven so hard [saturated] that the vocal was wiped by the leakage. At the same time, on the 24-track, there was one channel used for an "audience/ambience" mike!
Believe it or not, this continued for the whole run of shows. Weir's guitar mike fell over and the signal was lost during the first set of the first night, and this, too, continued -- not only through the second set, but through the entire run!" -Bear, Taping Compendium Vol 1
Weir's guitar is more audible than Bear makes it out to be, but no one will disagree that these tapes sound bad, even by the more limited standards of 1974 sbd tapes. 10/16 and 10/17 aren't too bad, but the final three nights get progressively further out in the weeds. In poor Billy Wolf's defense, it seems that Garcia had the idea of recording the music with an ear to multiple mixes that would emphasize different sound from different audience perspectives (e.g. how it would sound from the hotdog stand out in the hall vs. up close to the stage). In a bonus feature on the GD Movie DVD, Jeffrey Norman described his work on the master tapes:
[Garcia and Dan Healy] had some real concepts, some very technical, on why they did what they did. There's a lot of kind of 'delay sounds,' with the idea that wherever you were in the theater - because remember this was for a theater presentation; the idea of 'in the home' didn't even exist - so for the theater, they wanted everyone to hear all instruments from wherever you were in the house, in the theater. ... now it's not the same at home... you'll hear your front wall and then there's a lot of kind of delays, things kinda moving around. It's cool.
Also, um, Wolf was also apparently dosed to the gills, as was just about everyone else. In his book Skeleton Key, Steve Silberman recounts that
Stephen Barncard, the producer of American Beauty, remembers that to get onstage you were encouraged to "lick a puddle of acid off your wrist," dropped there by a member of the road crew. "I was off an on that stage about fifteen times, which would have been OK, but I was smoking the hash oil too, so I was stupid and in outer space. People couldn't figure out why I wasn't saying anything. I couldn't say anything."
Rough mixes from those 24-track tapes have been in circulation, I think, since the mid-70's. I recall reading once that most of these copies derived from cassettes given to a prominent trader by a nephew of a famous producer at Atlantic Records, but I have no citation for that. Charlie Miller's transfers source from Rob Eaton's DAT copies of vault reels (although I assume that means a rough mixdown from the multitrack masters for some unknown purpose?) More recently, copies of Garcia's own work tapes have come into circulation via the GEMS crew.
Given the historical weight and problematic sound quality, the general reception of the music itself seems to be all over the place. I don't think anyone would stack these up in terms of musical quality against some of the biggies from June 74, but I'm sure that this run carries a lot of extra-musical association that influences many heads' feelings about the music itself. Here's my own personal spoiler: 10/16 and 10/17 were better than I remembered when heard in contrast with the whole run, and I think both are underrated. 10/18 remains a deep-space favorite. 10/19 was dinged the most in comparison with the other four and didn't hold up as a whole show, and 10/20 remains mostly a big puddle.
10/16/74
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-16.sbd.patched.eaton-miller.90145.sbeok.flac16
The first couple songs are only on the aud tape, but once the mix is settled on the sbd tape, things sound pretty good. The trademark wet thumpy reverb of these shows isn't as present here. It feels to me like they're getting their space together during this first set, energetic but a little bug-eyed in general. They finally let it all hang out for a gargantuan 30+ minute Playing in the Band to end. It never gets too noisy and may feel a little low energy for some, but I like this trip. This divides neatly into thirds with interesting shifts at around 10 and 20 minutes; Garcia and Godchaux kind of play through each other without much connection at first, but they find their way. Notice that Garcia cues the ending a couple of times, but no one else is ready to leave the pool.
Phil & Ned generally opt for a gentler, introspective, probing kind of vibe for all five of these nights. Garcia joins in tonight around 15 1/2 minutes in, and Lagin seems to ease off and let Garcia and Lesh go at it. Kreutzmann shows up, then Godchaux, and the Jam that follows is less spacey and more like a loose, ambling digression down a few paths: some fragmented funkiness here, more of a vaguely Playin-ish feel there. Lagin's electric piano is audible in the mix along with Godchaux's. Weir seems not as involved in this -- but it was his birthday, after all, so there have been more pressing concerns waiting for him in the wings. A groove begins to slowly solidify, then Lesh and Kreutzmann duet for a bit, then some looser, sparse Space (and impatient audience clapping) and finally Wharf Rat. That was just 50 minutes of pure improv, folks, 35 of which was with Garcia. Wharf Rat is maybe a little too placid, but maybe just a good fit for this lazy vibe. Garcia wanders off the path again on a mostly solo trip, eventually joined by Lesh and Lagin for a very relaxed set up for Eyes of the World. To me, this is an ideal relaxed pace, laying out a smooth but focused trip through this one (Lagin on electric, Godchaux on grand piano). Rather than ride the end jam too long, Garcia drifts back into solo space noodling and glides them all back to earth. Wowza.
The final stretch feels more like recalibration than rock concert, but they deliver a nice earthy follow-up jam with a longer Truckin' > GDTRFB > Uncle John's Band, a most satisfying end to things. And Lesh sings happy birthday to Weir. I've felt that this show was overlooked in the past, and I still feel that: ideal '74 Dead for those who prefer the scenic route.
10/17/74
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-17.sbd.smith.gems.99032.flac24
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-17.140588.SBD.Gastwirt.Miller.Noel.t-flac1644
It's a toss up between the GEMS and Miller sources: the GEMS sounds brighter (maybe too bright?) vs. Miller's sounds quieter and hissier in spots, but is more complete.
The night kicks off in a big way when the piano lid falls midway through Promised Land -- without any satisfying audible crash, but with a host of buzzy tech issues. But this first set is my favorite one of the five shows, with a prime selection for my liking and a warm, natural flow. I really like both this Half Step and China>Rider, and the cowboy tunes are consistently very well-done (a feature of this run that warrants a little shout out, btw). The Weather Report Suite is spotless and excellent, and right now it feels like it edges out the one from the 18th. Phil & Ned's set is a compact 10 minutes (on tape, at least), the shortest of the run but also the edgiest and most "challenging." I also detect a live mic picking up what appears to be a toddler having a temper tantrum (around 4 minutes in).
The second set opens with the best of the three Scarlet Begonias, featuring a nice Donna "scat" solo in the jam. He's Gone is divine and mellow until Lesh rather abruptly kicks thing up a notch (which he does on 10/19 as well) for the Other One. Lesh seems ready to rock, but Garcia pulls in a more introspective direction and the jam coalesces after a few minutes into a themeless but driving jam that I associate more with 72-73 era Dark Stars. Lesh nudges the Other One again, but they fall instead into full Space which they take to a full screeching meltdown (the only one of the run). The post-space reverie has some tasty Garcia/Godchaux pillowtalk before finally slamming back to the Other One for real. After the first verse, they veer into a 90 second Spanish Jam digression, a longer Mind Left Body Jam, and then another interesting harmonic tug-of-war slightly akin to 10/29/73. Garcia has his sights set on Stella Blue, and Godchaux follows his lead but Lesh keeps pushing for the Other One; Garcia responds with Other One-y licks but refuses to leave E major until Weir sets 'em up for the second verse. A nice moment of pleasant tension! The promised Stella Blue is a real beauty and a fine bookend for the jam. '74 wasn't a big year for long-form Other Ones, but this is a quiet sleeper.
10/18/74
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-18.111459.gems.BOSWELL-SMITH.flac24
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-18.BEAR.gems.110515.flac16
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-18.sbd.miller.110771.flac16
The GEMS Boswell/Smith copy is the best one, imho. Interestingly, there is also a separate GEMS source with the note "recording and mix by Bear" (no other lineage) with a drier mix: less drum reverb and room ambience but with more hum, and a kind of a toss-up for sound quality - and it's also not the complete show. Wait, Bear also rolled tape at these shows? I have questions.
This was the one show from the run that I had on cassette as a teenager, but the lure of nostalgia unfortunately isn't working it's magic on the first set, which feels fairly laconic to me. The country tunes come off as the most energetic and appealing, especially Cumberland Blues. The Weather Report Suite closer is prime time, however, even though I think I like 10/17 better.
The main event, anyway, is the jam, which is ultimately the most memorable music from this run. Like 10/16 and 9/11/74, here is a unique blob of acid-saturated '74 Grateful Dead that doesn't have the cocaine-edged sharpness that characterizes a lot of the year's most exciting music. It may have more longeurs, but I still have a warm spot in my heart for this deep-spelunking expedition. The Phil & Ned portion seem to go deeper than the rest, and with more patience, although Lagin gets a big LOL for dispersing some impatient clappers with a big synth wash around @8:30. Garcia becomes audible around 14 minutes in, and the deep spaceship vibes just go on and on and on. Kreutzmann appears after nearly a half hour and his steady beat changes the course of things. Kruetzmann and Lesh play together, then just Kruetzmann, until Godchaux makes his return. The following jam has a jaunty, less spacey feel thanks to Lesh's stop/start bass idea, and it becomes evident that Garcia is heading towards Dark Star. The pre-verse jam is sparkling and bright, and Godchaux's electric piano adds a lot of nice color to this. Garcia sings the verse, but rather than pivot to something new, the jam rolls on in the same general direction and works up to a satisfyingly tasty climax around 12:45 on this GEMS copy. After some sneaky tuning and a change in direction, the following jam feels more directionless and loose to me, with Garcia vanishing for a few brief stretches, though the general flow never gets too far from the standard Dark Star groove. The last minute is pretty splashy and given mostly to Kruetzmann, until Garcia slowly and quietly starts Morning Dew. Slow, beautiful, and a classic performance immortalized in the movie. A glistening set of uninterrupted, totally in-the-zone spacey Grateful Dead magic.
The third set seems a bit obligatory at first, but they rally for a final ride through a solid Not Fade Away (not a barnstormer, but some nice rollicking Godchaux piano) and then GDTRFB from the movie, another classic -- "going where the cliiimate suits my clothes."
10/19/74
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-19.140626.sbd.gastwirt.miller.sirmick.fixed.flac1644
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-19.131704.sbd.boswell-smith.flac16
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-19.sbd-pset1.bear.gems.stevesw.112791.flac16/
I like the quality on the newest Charlie Miller source, although there is another partial Bear recording that again features a drier, more palatable mix -- but is just part of the first set. The mix gets wetter, with an overall more reverbed, ambient sound to the drums, and both Lesh and Godchaux quite prominent in the mix. The first set is very long at 95 minutes, but they sound kinda scattered. Eyes of the World is the one big exception: it's a popular favorite and one of the best, with crisp and memorable solos and an overall smooth, gliding feel that I enjoy more than some other "grinding" '74 Eyes jams. Otherwise, I think they excel on the ballads in this set, and not much else. Phil & Ned starts off unusually with what sounds like a recording of the ocean and a drum machine, before getting into the usual headspace for the second half. Garcia doesn't join them tonight.
The second set is fine in many ways, but is ultimately unsatisfying to me since there's kind of a hole in the middle of the set where the big jam should be. A beautiful Uncle John's Band opens (repeating the rare openers on 8/6/74 and 9/18/74, an inspired idea that they almost never did again), followed by a longer run of country-flavored tunes that all sound great to me: I'll forgive the, ah, overenthusiastic vocals on the otherwise delightful Tomorrow is Forever, and Garcia sounds cracklin' on Mexicali and sublime on the slow Dire Wolf. They bookend the jam with a split Sugar Magnolia (I believe the first they'd ever done this?) (edit: they had done this on 6/28 and 8/6/74 as well; thanks Pat for pointing out my mistake); He's Gone winds into Truckin' as usual, but the intro just grooves on and on for a minute (nothing seems obviously wrong with Weir) until Kreutzmann starts the tangalang cymbal beat that moves them into Caution territory. Weird; not bad, but not much beyond the initial surprise that they're playing Caution. Garcia doesn't sound wholly committed to wherever this train is going: he takes flight for a few minutes then sputters out, leaving Lesh and Kruetzmann to plonk around for a bit. The heart of the jam is 10 minutes of loose, open Space, a lot of which feels like a Garcia/Kreutzmann duet. They return to the deferred Truckin', which does sound very fine indeed, and then pull out a surprise Black Peter (one of only three that year) that sounds excellent, then wrap it up with Sunshine Daydream. Not bad at all! But the real improvisation never seems to take root in anything and consequently is pretty forgettable, more like a surprise digression than a focused exploration.
10/20/74
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-20.sbd.alligator.GEMS.94851.flac16
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-20.132113.sbd.boswell-smith.flac16
The best circulating digital sources all come from the GEMS crew; the Alligator source has a drier mix than the filesets sourced from Garcia's copy, but ymmv as to what sounds better. The tape quality is the worst of the five shows, as is the playing. I am sure it was one hell of a party, but this is a pretty weak overall for '74. The first set is actually pretty solid. They up the novelty factor by opening with two rarities -- the first Cold Rain & Snow in a year and another Mama Tried -- and they hit their stride with Jack Straw through a fine China>Rider. Like 10/19, the Phil & Ned segment starts off with a drum machine and some rhythmic pinging from Lagin (it reminds me a little of Stereolab!) who grooves along until Lesh makes his audible appearance. A more typical but pretty sparse jam follows, and Garcia joins in for the final 15 minutes.
As you know, the prodigal Mickey Hart appeared backstage during the break and, despite grumping from Kreutzmann, rejoined the band for much of the rest of the show. Insert requisite cowbell joke here (and he did indeed bring one along). The second set doesn't ever really get there, as far as I'm concerned, but the mix is so bad that it's hard for me to say for sure. Garcia is low, Weir is practically MIA, Lesh & Godchaux are front and center, and double drum kits means even more thwumpy reverb. Playing and Not Fade Away are fine enough but stay in the shallow end, and the Other One has more spacey noodling than primal era thunder. To be fair, I quite liked this Wharf Rat and the jam back into Playing. They muddle through a surprise (and I would bet unrehearsed) Good Lovin': no one seems sure what to do (Lesh sounds ready to jam it 70-72 style, but Garcia seems to want to follow the changes at first?), and Garcia plays a lot of low-gear slide guitar. Promised Land is a total mess, and Eyes of the World is pretty tepid and lumbering, although setlist asteriskers do correctly note that Garcia clearly plays the Slipknot! melody at the very end. At least Stella Blue ends thing on a bright, beautiful note, before Sugar Magnolia stomps it out (with Mickey again joining in) -- for the record, I only hear Mickey (after the jam) on Good Lovin' and Sugar Mags. Bill Graham pulls the crew onstage, and the second encore is an odd pick of Half Step (but well played) that ends with a perfectly timed drop into And We Bid You Goodnight, a very nice final touch.
