Search - Grateful Dead :: Go To Nassau

"...Heaven " songs sound better in Nassau

Peter J. Zavidniak | Milford,CT USA | 06/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"1980 was the last year I saw the Grateful Dead. The two shows I caught in Springfield, MA and New Haven, CT that year were underwhelming. The Spingfield show was embarassing, with Garcia flubbing lyrics, forgetting lyrics, stumbling through solos, and stumbling on the stage. The following night in New Haven was "ok" ,with Phil saving the evening. But still, pretty bland and slow. So I was surprised when a friend lent me this two CD set. Somebody must have brewed up a batch of double expresso for the band on these two nights, because these performances really move. The songs from "Go To Heaven" get a kick in the ass, and the "Althea" is the best that I've heard. The one critisism I have is Brent's keyboard sound. That Fender-Rhodes sounds like a door-bell. Otherwise, this set is a pleasant surprise and worth adding to your collection."

Worth a listen

Ricky Steamboat | Connecticut | 10/02/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I actually enjoy a lot of the 1979-1981 period. Yes, a lot of the freeform exploratory jamming of the 1977-78 period is not there. But there are some good crisp shows from this period. Brent has not come into his own yet but he is a welcome addition to the fold after the way Keith played(or I should say not played) during the 1976-79 period. His vocal harmonies are a welcome change as well. Let's face it, Donna's live vocal harmonies were atrocious. This show is good, not great. It will not blow your mind by any stretch. The sound quality is very good and it has some good moments. A lot of people were bashing 1980 as a horrible year, it had some great moments too. Let's not forget the Warfield/Radio City run. 1982-1984 were some horrible years. Talk about uninspired playing. Yikes. Jerry was such a mess during those years it is painful to listen to. His health wasn't much better during 1985 but the shows got better. Has anyone ever noticed (or is it just me) that during the 1983-1986 period there are very few pictures of Garcia taken. If you look at say an old Relix from that period they will have a lot of pictures of the rest of the band and very few of Garcia. It's almost as if they were trying to protect him by omitting his pictures. There was no denying the guy was a complete mess. Look at the cover of the book Playing in the Band by David Gans. You can actually see all the soot and residue of the tips of his fingers from the heroin that he was smoking. All in all this CD is worthwhile to have in your collection if you're a head. The Nassau from 1981 that became a Dick's Picks is much better show from this period."

Grateful Dead rocks Nassau

Shadowgraphs | 06/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album has not left my cd player in months. It is simply amazing. Although I am a big fan of the earlier dead recordings, my favorite era of the dead is the late seventies, early eighties shows, when their catalog of tunes was getting huge. With this release, there is no sense in buying their studio album Go To Heaven, as it takes all the notable tracks and improves them greatly. This is a mostly Bob Weir album with stellar versions of Lightning-Supplication, Sailor-Circumstance, and Althea. Not to mention a slightly rare Peggy-O. This album is unbelievable and I HIGHLY reccomend it to anyone!"