Grateful Dead - Three from the Vault

Great energy, but not perfect

The Dead have a great energy for this show, and the songs which were new at the time are well-played, especially 'Bird Song' and 'Loser.' Somehow though, even as a longtime Deadhead, I can't get past the fact that neither Pigpen nor Weir can stay in tune much of the time when singing. Weir does a nice job on songs where the band plays quietly, like Dark Hollow (which is excellent here), but he not only sings off-key on 'Playin' in the Band,' but he misses his cue to start singing about three different times. And Pigpen's rave on Good Lovin' is downright embarrassing and much too long. But Pigs' harmonica blowing is sweet, and he does do a very good job in both 'Hurts Me Too' and 'Easy Wind.' A mixed bag, but with a recording of a whole concert, I suppose you take the bad with the good.

August 10, 2008

Beautiful

This disc is worth getting for historical value alone - it contains all sorts of songs in their earliest form. It was 1971, and the band was just beginning to relish in the artistic success of Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. Garcia and Hunter had pumped out a bunch more songs in the past year and a half, and this concert was their moment to introduce a good deal of them to the world. In that sense it shares a lot of common ground with Skull & Roses, but this package has the advantage of containing a more complete concert as well as its length and breadth of material.

For me, the highlights from the two discs are Smokestack Lightnin' from disc 1 and the Other One -> Wharf Rat medley on disc 2. Smokestack Lightnin' somehow retains the badassness it had when performed by Howlin' Wolf while injecting a certain sadness present in both Pigpen's voice and the band's brilliant (and admittedly very simple) instrumentation. It's really something to listen to - the Dead pulled of sweet blues songs all the time, but this is special and rare, and Pigpen's strong voice sounds simultaneously fragile and sweet as he howls the song's ambiguous lyrics.

As for the Other One -> Wharf Rat, I can only say that this is in many ways the best version of both songs I have ever heard. Cryptical Envelopment is clean and rustic-sounding, with more than just a tinge of country flavor (in a VERY good way, of course). Then comes Billy's solo, a short, but rhythmically complex and fully engaging drum interlude which shows what a strong musician he is even with the absence of Mickey. When that's over... we all know how intense this music is when Phil BOMBS in with a terrifying bass figure, but all I can say is... this one is different. It's clean, calculated; Jerry goes way out there and back again in a short minute. It's as if their sole intention were to scare the living daylights out of us.

I'm running out of steam here - I could keep going, but I don't really see the point. Wharf Rat is beautiful as usual, and the rest of the songs on the discs are incredibly strong and great for a listen. You won't be sorry if you buy this. May 31, 2008

Bare Bones

Yes, the Much-Discussed: "Three From The Vault". Vetoed for release 15 years back, and said to be the Last of "The Vault Series". This was the 2nd of the Six, ESP Shows recorded at the Fine, Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. This was Billy's first night without Mickey Hart on the other Drum Kit. Eight (8) New Songs, were Debuted during the course of this Six Night run. This was all captured on Mutli-Track Tapes for the Upcoming Live Record (Skull & Roses), but in the End, nothing from this Port Chester Run was used on that Record.

Well any CD release that begins with the "Daffy Duck" Theme: "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is O.K. with me! Add a small dose of Mendelssohn, and straight into "Truckin" and now you're talkin'."Loser" was debuted the Night before, but already has a Good Jam attached in there. And "Bertha" & "Cumberland Blues" are new as well, but already Crowd-Pleasers. A rare electric: "Dark Hollow" features some real nice Harmonies, with Jerry, Bobby & Phil, hittin' the notes, this is a treat!
But with all that you gotta mention Pigpen, and he's having a Good Time with a Stellar: "Hurts Me Too" and One of the Best: "Smokestack Lightin", this Side of "Bear's Choice", Pig & Jerry get to Play "Tag" on this "Lightin". A fast, but short; "China Cat>Rider", closes the First Set.

The Second Disc (Set 2) has a chunky: "Greatest Story" as The Opener, the chords are a little different, but it's Cool, and Bob sings a Bunch here.
"Johnny B. Goode" is as you know it, Excellant. Early Editions of "Birdsong" & "Deal" are tasty, and a First Ever: "Playin" already displays bits of the Jam, that would turn it into a Monster. "The Other One" is the center of this Set, and it's Complete (With drum solo from Billy). Pigpen get's the Spotlight again with; "Easy Wind" & "Good Lovin", and this version of "Good Lovin" is KILLER, Pigpen was still in Good health as of Feb 71, and he Pulls out All the Stops, here.

The Encore has gotta be, and is..."Casey Jones", and that's all Folks. This Five-Member Monster was called: "The Grateful Dead", and they were on their Way to Big Stuff, Real Soon. The GD Classic: "Skull & Roses", Live Double Lp, would be their Very First Gold Record, by the end of this Same year; (71). And it was the Begining of a New Era, and with these Great New Tunes, the popularity of this Band was about to Bust Outside of just San Francisco & New York City. Everything else, was now about to happen... September 26, 2007

Great CD, But I Wish The Tambourine Stayed Home

I've read about a hundred times from the liner-note historians how Mickey Hart had split the night before leaving Bill K. to do all the drumming, which sounds fantastic. But this might explain why there is a very annoying sound through some of the best songs of the first CD that sounds like a bag of change being tossed around in a tin pan. It exists somewhere in the bottom part of the right speaker and makes my nerves stand on end like the hair on a Halloween feline. It's one of those noises that at first makes you wonder if it's really exists or perhaps you're just ready for the nuthouse after all. Then I realized, it's an "instrument" (yes, those quotes are intentional and serve an overall purpose); one that is usually given to a non-member member of a band so they can do something while the rest of the gang is playing their real instruments. I am talking about a tambourine, and I have never hated one more than when listening to "Truckin'", "Cumberland Blues" and a few other tracks. It doesn't stop. It rattles and prattles and shakes and bakes and quakes and makes me want to break my speakers for heaven's sakes. I looked in the liner-notes and saw a picture of Pig Pen and, yes, he's the one playing the tambourine. I usually would find it hard to complain about such a blues genius as Pig Pen, and a guy who, if he were alive, would easily be able to beat me up and steal my lunch money. But I have to say, in this particular case I do wish Mr. Tambourine Man didn't play his song for me. Mind you, this is a great CD, very raw and very intense but oh man, that sound. Agh! Without it I'd rate this album four stars. With it, I have to give three. Still pretty good, don't ya think? But you know... now that I ponder it... perhaps it's the recording. The noise, as I've already written, exists in a separate bottom-right space of the speaker and doesn't seem as if it's part of the songs. Either way, it's grating, and I wish it were dead so I could enjoy this album even more. September 14, 2007

From Italy

This is a very nice release, with good ones,and Pigpen, despite all, comes out strong from this one concert.
All in all, if you want precise sound and timing, go search for Rush, Yes or King Crimson; if you want colour, fun & amazing musical adventures, go.. with the dead and this one seems worth the money, to me. August 8, 2007

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