Reviews
 Keep It Simple
Van Morrison
Roger McGuinn @ the Huntington IMAC, Long Island, NY - April 4, 2008
Emily Saxe @ the Allen Room/Jazz at Lincoln Center - April 5, 2008
Another Country
Tift Merritt
Be Your Own Pet
Get Awkward
Paul McCartney – The McCartney Years (DVD)
Juno – Music from the Motion Picture
Various Artists
Yes - Their Definitive Story
Day and Night Driving
Seven Mary Three
InterMedia Arts Center 2/2/08
Huntington, NY
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The Grateful Dead
If you’re not already a fan of the Grateful Dead, then move on; there’s nothing here for you to see (or hear). This 3-CD set will drive you just as crazy as any of the other 3,687 or so ‘Live Dead’ collections. If, on the other hand, you are a ‘Deadhead’ and buy into their marketing concept of eventually releasing virtually every recorded performance, then you have just stumbled upon the Rosetta Stone of ‘Live Dead’ recordings.
The first ‘officially’ released live recording of the Grateful Dead appeared in 1969, entitled “Live/Dead”. To this day, a large percentage of fans consider this to be the band’s best album, their shining moment. ‘Fillmore West 1969’ is compiled from the same set of shows that were excerpted for “Live/Dead”. It is special for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it captures the band just as they are discovering their own ability to explore the outer regions of their spontaneous compositional abilities. During a four-night run from February 27- March 2, 1969, in San Francisco, the Grateful Dead were the perfect band in the perfect place at the perfect time.
The ‘Live/Dead” album was a two disk set, approximately eighty minutes in length. At the time, this was fairly lavish, but by necessity, it represented only a fraction of the music from this historic stand. “Fillmore West” is compiled from the best parts of those shows that did not ‘make the cut’ for “Live Dead”. The 3-CD package generously triples the playing time of the original album, and structures itself as if it were one incredibly long, exhaustive set. A 20–minute version of “Dark Star” is the centerpiece, and segues beautifully into “St. Stephen,” followed by “The Eleven,” all of which capture the rich, exploratory nature of a band that was at the nascent crest of its powers. A near-perfect 23-minute version of ”That’s It For the Other One” precedes a 25-minute track simply entitled “Jam”. The packaging is a lavish, hard-covered booklet that includes a lengthy, informative essay, and a multitude of excellent photographs. If you don’t get the Dead by now, then it’s safe to assume that it’s never going to happen. If you’re a fan, though, then this is one live collection that you simply must own.
Grade: 
 
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