Grateful Dead – Road Trips, Vol. 4, No. 2 – April Fools '88

Grateful Dead – Road Trips, Vol. 4, No. 2 – April Fools '88
2011, Rhino Records/Dead.net

Dead.net and Rhino Records continue their brilliant Road Trips series in 2011.  The first release, a 3-disc offering entitled April Fools '88, features live performances from Brendan Byrne Arena (then known as The Meadowlands) from March 31^st and April 1^st of 1988.  Generally renowned for their concert performances, the recordings from these two nights are like capturing lightning in a bottle, with rare performances and a stage energy from the band that is simply exceptional.

Some very rare tracks can be found in the middle of the show, including “To Lay Me Down” and Bob Dylan’s “Ballad Of A Thin Man”.   The sets offered here are full of classic Dead tunes as well,  but the real prize is the energy and flow of the two shows; especially the April 1^st performance.  The Grateful Dead were in the fullness of their musical powers in 1988, and Jerry Garcia was a new man after his medical trouble two years previous.  The result was a stunning live show, and a brilliantly produced and mastered archival record in the form of April Fools '88.  If you’re a Dead fan, this is a must have, and if you’re looking for a good introduction to the Grateful Dead, you couldn’t choose better.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Grateful Dead at http://www.dead.net/, where you can order a copy of Road Trips, Vol. 4, No. 2 – April Fools '88.

Review: Grateful Dead - To Terrapin: Hartford '77

Grateful Dead – To Terrapin: Hartford ‘77
2009, Rhino Records

1977 may have been the musical apex of the Grateful Dead’s career. The world of music was being roiled around them with the emergence of punk and disco as popular forms, but the Dead were at the height of their collective powers coming off a 2-year touring hiatus and on the way to recording what may be their best album, Terrapin Station. On May 28, 1977, Grateful Dead took to the stage of Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. The entire show has been preserved and remastered in the form of To Terrapin: Hartford ’77, released in April of 2009 on Rhino Records

To Terrapin: Hartford ’77 features Jerry Garcia, Donna Jean Godchaux, Keith Godchaux, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. The band floated through classic such as Bertha, Sugaree (nearly 20 minutes worth), Jack Straw, One More Saturday Night and Playing In The Band. The real treat for the crowd were songs such as Estimated Prophet, Terrapin Station and Passenger, which would be released several weeks later on Terrapin Station. At 3-CDs and 21 songs this set is a bargain, and beats any existing bootleg for sound quality, as all tracks are up to HDCD standards. This is the perfect set for a hardcore Deadhead, and the ideal introduction to a band that holds a vaunted place in the history of rock music. To Terrapin: Hartford ’77 is highly recommended.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Grateful Dead at http://www.gratefuldead.com/. You can purchase To Terrapin: Hartford ’77 at Amazon.com or wherever music is sold. Downloads are available through iTunes.