UC Santa Cruz Opens a Deadhead’s Delight: The Grateful Dead Archive is Now Online

by Colin Marshall, Open Culture: http://www.openculture.com/2012/07/uc_santa_cruz_opens_a_deadheads_delight_the_grateful_dead_archive_is_now_online.html

"They're not the best at what they do," said respected rock promoter Bill Graham of the Grateful Dead. "They're the only ones that do what they do." The band developed such an idiosyncratic musical style and personal sensibility that their legion of devoted fans, known as "Deadheads," tended to follow them everywhere they toured. The Dead withstood more than their fair share of classic-rock turbulence in the thirty years from their formation in 1965, but didn't dissolve until the 1995 death of founding member and unofficial frontman Jerry Garcia. The bereft Deadheads, still in need of a constant flow of their eclectic, improvisational, psychedelic-traditional, jam-intensive sound of choice, took a few different paths: some began following other, comparable groups; some would go on to rely on acts formed by ex-Dead members, like Bob Weir and Phil Lesh's Furthur; some made it their life's mission to collect everything in the band's incomparably vast collection of demos, live recordings, and sonic miscellany.

Grateful Dead completists now have another source of solace in the Grateful Dead Archive Online from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Lest you assume yourself Dead-savvy enough to have already seen and heard everything this archive could possibly contain, behold the newly added item featured on the front page as I type this: Jerry Garcia's Egyptian tour laminate. According to the press release, the archive's internet presence features "nearly 25,000 items and over 50,000 scans" from the university's physical archive, including "works by some of the most famous rock photographers and artists of the era, including Herb Greene, Stanley Mouse, Wes Wilson and Susana Millman." Rest assured that it offers plenty of non-obscurantist Dead-related pleasures, including television appearances, radio broadcasts, posters, and fan recordings of concerts. Like any rich subject, the Grateful Dead provides its enthusiasts a lifetime of material to study. UC Santa Cruz, a school often associated in the public imagination with the Dead's greater San Francisco Bay Area origins as well as their penchant for laid-back good times, has just made it that much easier to plunge into.

VIDEO: Jerry Garcia Talks About the Birth of the Grateful Dead and Playing Kesey’s Acid Tests in New Animated Video

by Josh Jones, Open Culture: http://www.openculture.com/2013/11/jerry-garcia-talks-about-the-birth-of-the-grateful-dead.html

Before the Grateful Dead recorded their classic eponymous country psych album, before they were the Grateful Dead, they were the Warlocks, “playing the divorcees bars up and down the peninsula,” Jerry Garcia tells us above. Their booking agent “used to book strippers and dog acts and magicians and everybody else.” Their first few gigs “sounded like hell,” says Garcia, “very awful.” In this Blank-on-Blank-animated 1988 interview with former Capital-EMI record executive Joe Smith, Garcia gets into the origin of their name (a story involving the East Coast Warlocks, who might have sued. What he doesn’t mention is that the Velvet Underground—inventors of East Coast psych—also played at that time as the Warlocks.)

Smith was with Warner Bros. when the Dead were signed in 1967. His relationship with the band then was frustrated, and he went so far as to call the recording of their second album “the most unreasonable project with which we have ever involved ourselves.” But this conversation is a funny, cordial exchange between two very affable people with surprisingly good memories of the time (Smith also once said the Dead “could have put me in the hospital for the rest of my life”). Jerry tells the story of their invitation to Merry Prankster and psychedelic genius Ken Kesey’s acid test parties in La Honda, California. It’s more or less the history of the West Coast acid rock scene and its apotheosis at Haight-Ashbury, so kind of essential watching, I’d say, but at less than six minutes, you can afford to be the judge.

NEWS: Santana, Hendrix, Dead Top Q4 Discs

Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles: Live!

by abel, Psychedelic Sight: http://psychedelicsight.com/record-roundup-q4-13/

Re-releases and originals from Santana, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Strawberry Alarm Clock, the Grateful Dead and the Velvet Underground light up the year’s final quarter.

Santana devotees can cheer the return of “Lotus,” a three-LP live set recorded in Japan in 1973.

The music is mostly instrumental, keyed by a legendary 16-minute “Incident at Neshabur.” “Lotus” long was a sought-after import, initially released as a triple-LP set out of Japan (1974).

Friday Music, which has been rereleasing Santana albums on audiophile vinyl, seeks to re-create “Lotus’” ambitious multilevel foldout cover, with psychedelic iconography inspired by Carlos Santana’s spiritual pursuits.

The original on-site recording was done by the Japanese audio wizards from Sony, with mastering for the new LPs done by Joe Reagoso. They’re pressed onto 180 gram vinyl. The set, due Nov. 19, goes for about $50 and is limited (read more about the Santana “Lotus” vinyl re-release).

Also from Friday are “Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles Live” (Nov. 5) recorded in a volcano in Hawaii in 1972, and a re-do of the old “Santana Greatest Hits,” which cherry-picked the first two albums (Oct. 29).

Columbia, the original Santana label, has a 180 gram version of the band’s seventh album, “Amigos,” on Oct. 29.

The Grateful Dead’s 2013 Dave’s Picks series wraps with “Volume 8: Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Ga., 11/30/80.” The show, which comes early in the Brent Mydland era, kicks off with nine-plus minutes of “Feel Like a Stranger,” from that year’s “Go the Heaven” album.

The fan favorite seems to be the set 2 openers: “Scarlet Begonias” fading into “Fire on the Mountain” for a total 23 minutes. Other peaks are “Loser,” an electric “Cassidy” and “Bird Song,” an unusual “Deal,” and “The Wheel”/”China Doll” combo with a unifying jam.

The three hours of “11/30/80″ are spread across three compact discs with the release limited to 13,000 numbered sets. Shipping date is set for Nov. 1.

Archivist David Lemieux calls “11/30/80″ “a really magical” concert that was “one of the best shows of 1980, and that’s saying a lot.”

He says it’s a maxtrix tape, with the soundboard recording synched with an ace audience tape - “just enough to bring the board tape to life” with audience reactions (the taper was Bob Wagner; you can read more about the Fox recordings in an excellent 2012 Dead piece in the New Yorker).

The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s two-set gig at the Miami Pop Festival of 1968 finally sees official release, in various audio formats from Sony Legacy. There is a 200 gram vinyl version that comes numbered and limited. Bernie Grundman did the analog mastering for the double LP version.

Longtime Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer handled the on-site recording at Gulfstream Park for the May 18, 1968, shows. The Experience delivered its first recorded performances of “Hear My Train A Comin’” and “Tax Free,” along with the usual Experience favorites.

Clips from the Miami appearances will be featured in the new video documentary “Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A Comin’” to be shown Nov. 5 on PBS’s “American Masters” day and date with a Blu-ray/DVD release and CD soundtrack. Read more about the two Hendrix projects, which wrap his 70th year celebration.

The Strawberry Alarm Clock is rewound by Sundazed for a trio of 180 gram vinyl releases on Oct. 22: “Wake Up … It’s Tomorrow” was the L.A. band’s second LP (1968), with self-penned songs including “Sit With the Guru” and “Pretty Song from Psych-Out.”

The third SAC album, “The World in a Shell” (1968), was the swan song for the classic SAC lineup, with “Wooden Woman” and “Barefoot in Baltimore” among the favorites.

Outside writers worked most of side 1; the band did its thing on side 2 (the Strawberry Alarm Clock re-formed years later and thrives to this day).

Sundazed also has the 1970 “Best of Strawberry Alarm Clock” kicked off by “Incense and Peppermints” and “Tomorrow.” The reissue specialists say the three SAC vinyl albums were mastered from Universal Records’ stereo reels.

The Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat” comes screaming back in a 45th anniversary CD and vinyl edition Dec. 3. The proto-punk band’s second album was recorded in the summer of 1967 and released the following year.

It’s presented in stereo and mono versions. Lou Reed and John Cale were aboard for development of Universal Records’ $100 box set, which includes 30 tracks. Check Sonic Youth’s DNA for traces of the epic “Sister Ray,” an early descent into drone and noise-rock.

Along with the alternate takes and such, there’s a disc dedicated to the Velvets’ complete show at The Gymnasium in New York recorded in April 1967, “which includes five previously unreleased performances culled from John Cale’s personal copy.” Universal also plans a Blu-ray Audio version of “The Velvet Underground & Nico” (TBA).

Jethro Tull’s 1970 “Benefit” returns in a three-digital disc “Collector’s Edition” with new 5.1 (DVD Audio) and stereo mixes of the album. Disc 2 has “rare tracks and singles recorded around the same time as ‘Benefit.’”

The DVD (audio only) includes the album in its U.S. and U.K. versions as well as the bonus tracks, all in 5.1 lossless. No fewer than eight takes of “Teacher.” New mixes by Steven Wilson were “approved by Ian Anderson.” Oct. 29 via WEA.

King Crimson’s “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic” is due Oct. 22 on 200 gram vinyl, from Discipline Global Mobile. The fifth studio album by the U.K. prog outfit introduced former Yes man Bill Bruford on drums. King Crimson plans to tour again in 2014, leader Robert Fripp says.

There’s conflicting information, but King Crimson’s massive “Road to Red” box set - 16 concerts from 1974 across 21 CDs plus the remastered “Red” album - boasts a release date of Oct. 22.

Several Blu-ray and DVD audio discs in there somewhere. Panegyric also lists an Oct. 14/Oct. 22 re-release of the band’s 1975 “USA” album in a CD/DVD Audio combo pack.

Yes’ “Close to the Edge” gets separate Blu-ray and DVD Audio rereleases Oct. 29. Two discs, from Panegyric. Additional tracks and new stereo/surround mixes.

Emerson Lake & Palmer served up “Brain Salad Surgery” as the fourth studio LP in 1973. Trip out to the H. R. Giger cover whilst listening to the sidelong “Karn Evil 9.” Includes “Still … You Turn Me On.” On vinyl Nov. 11 from Razor & Tie.

Todd Rundgren stirred up a potent brew of prog, psychedelic rock and pop on the double-album “Todd” from 1974.

It was a worthy successor to “A Wizard a True Star,” strange and synth-heavy, but with several straight-ahead Rundgren favorites, including “A Dream Goes on Forever” and “The Last Ride.” Friday Music rekindles the sparks Oct. 29 on 180 gram vinyl.

Deep Purple’s post-psychedelic success is recounted on the “Audio Fidelity Collection” of 24k gold CDs, due Nov. 15. Head-banging a plenty on complete versions of “In Rock,” “Machine Head,” “Fireball” and “Who Do We Think We Are.”

Steppenwolf’s elusive debut album on hybrid SACD has yet another release date, Oct. 22, from Analogue Productions. The vinyl is already out.

Captain Beefheart’s “Safe as Milk” returns Oct. 9, also via Sundazed, in a mono version on CD and vinyl. The reheated “Milk” comes with the original Richard Perry mono mix, not the botched version created by the Captain’s label.

“Authoritative new liner notes” by Rolling Stone old-weird record specialist David Fricke, who writes: “‘Safe As Milk’ was so far in it was out.”

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band’s sensational series of blues-rock albums is boiled down on “Golden Butter: The Best Of” with two 180 gram LPs from Friday Music. Tracks include the raga-rock mindblower “East-West” and stoner’s delight “In My Own Dream” (compilation originally on Elektra).

Van Morrison isn’t thrilled, of course, but Warner has a five-disc retelling of “Moondance” set for Oct. 22. The set contains four CDs and a Blu-ray version of the album with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio.

Much of the Warner Music box set is dedicated to multiple studio takes of songs from the 1970 album. For those not in need of six takes of “Caravan” or “Brand New Day,” Warner is offering an “expanded edition” with two CDs (read more about the new “Moondance” set and Morrison’s reaction).

For Halloween, we have Franz Waxman’s “The Bride Of Frankenstein Soundtrack” on colored vinyl (Music On Vinyl, Oct. 22).

Also of interest: Nick Drake’s “Five Leaves Left” on a single LP (Oct. 29); Leslie West’s “Still Climbing” on vinyl (Oct. 29); Ten Years After “Recorded Live” and Robin Trower’s “State to State: Live Across America,” both on two CDs (Oct. 22); and the Association’s “Greatest Hits” on 180 gram (Oct. 29).

And, Paul McCartney’s “New” (Oct. 22); the Beatles “Live at the BBC” and “Volume 2″ (Nov. 11); Yoko Ono’s “Take Me to the Land of Hell” (Oct. 15); the Stones’ “Sweet Summer Sun: Hyde Park Live” (Blu-ray, etc., Nov. 11).

From the trippy side of jazz we have John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension’s “Now Hear This” (Oct. 15) and Herbie Hancock’s “Headhunters” (numbered, limited, Oct. 18).

To be announced: Signals from the mysterious planet of TBA presage the eventual arrival of Donovan’s “Barabajagal” (Music on Vinyl); the first two Chicago albums on hybrid SACD (Mobile Fidelity); and Mike Oldfield’s “Five Miles Out” on colored vinyl (Mercury).

Also TBA on 180 gram vinyl: The Grateful Dead’s “From the Mars Hotel” (Mobile Fidelity); the Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main Street” (Universal); Stephen Stills’ “Carry On” box set (Music on Vinyl); and the Alan Parsons Project’s “I Robot” (Music on Vinyl).

And TBA’s greatest hit, “Amused to Death” by Roger Waters on vinyl and SACD (Analogue Productions).

Read about the psychedelic music albums released in the third quarter.

TRIBUTE: Jerry Garcia’s 70th Birthday

Jerry Garcia in 1969 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by Stewart Sallo, Boulder Weekly: www.boulderweekly.com

If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together ... there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart ... I’ll always be with you - Christopher Robin, “Pooh’s Grand Adventure”.

Every life is a story. And every story requires a soundtrack. For life is a sensual experience, and among the senses, the sounds - and, particularly, the music - that accompany life’s experiences provide a context that enriches and completes them.

Music has the unique power to evoke the thoughts and feelings that were present in an experience, even many years after the fact. And in the infinite and enigmatic wisdom that we, as humans, possess, we create musical soundtracks on a continual basis for every moment of our life, should we ever have the need to remember, truly remember, one or more of the experiences that comprise our life.

The music of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead has been the soundtrack of my life for almost 40 years. And on the occasion of Jerry’s 70th birthday, Aug. 1, 2012, I feel compelled to pay tribute to the man who provided a marvelous musical context for millions that has endured for more than 50 years, including the last 17 years following his untimely, but hardly shocking, death.

The Grateful Dead was hardly the first and certainly not the only musical soundtrack of my life. In my early childhood years I came under the spell of the ancient music of my Jewish heritage - the joyful blessings over the Chanukah candles, the haunting melodies of the liturgy in the synagogue, the celebratory Klezmer tunes from Eastern Europe. 

The first records I played on the turntable in my boyhood room were classical - Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Schubert come to mind. Within a short period I was listening to 45s of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, The Monkeys and countless others. Then came my marching band years, with ultra-patriotic military band melodies such as John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

All of that set the stage for the summer of my 20th year, when I first began listening to the Grateful Dead’s “Skull and Roses” album. There was a spirit and joy in the music, particularly the melodious and innovative lead guitar parts played by Jerry Garcia, that moved me in a way that I had never been moved before. 

And when I relocated to the Bay Area in central California and became steeped in the “hippie” culture that was still very much thriving there in the mid-70s, I became fully immersed in the music of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead and adopted it thematically as the predominant soundtrack of my life.

Exactly what it is about Jerry Garcia that has moved so many is a subject that has filled countless pages. But as the 70th birthday of this legendary figure has grown imminent, I have given the matter some thought. 

Indeed, Jerry and his enigmatic and enduring legacy were on my mind recently as I was listening to “Scarlet/Fire” (an often-played medley of the otherwise unrelated Grateful Dead tunes “Scarlet Begonias” and “Fire on the Mountain”) from the famous May 8, 1977, Ithaca show, while enjoying a classic ride from Boulder to Jamestown and back. 

What came to me is the talent that Jerry had for creating an elegant balance of non-conformity and community building - a seemingly oxymoronic notion.

To read further, go to: http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-9310-jerry-garciarss-70th.html