fuche_bu's Full Review: To Terrapin: Hartford '77 [Digipak] by Grateful De...
The death of Jerry Garcia was a tragic event for Deadheads everywhere. He was the unspoken leader of the band. He also provided much of the musical thrills and spills. Fortunately for Heads, the music never stopped. There have been plenty of posthumous releases of Dead shows throughout their 30 year run.
The Dead were releasing the live sets through their own label for many years. They have recently signed a deal with Rhino that allows Rhino to handle the release and distribution of the live sets. Many fans were worried about this decision. I can't say that there is a problem. I have some gripes with this release but I don't know that Rhino is necessarily at fault. One of my gripes about the latest release: To Terrapin: Hartford '77 is that it is a pretty standard set list. This can't realistically be regarded as an essential set.
That was probably bound to happen. There are now over 50 live Dead releases. Many of these live releases are three to five discs. This new one is a three disc set. Even the headiest of Heads can eventually get jaded. The songs are good ones. It's really just that they are on so many other live sets. I tend to look for more off the wall selections in the set lists. This one starts off with Bertha. They play a good rocking version of the song here. Jerry got in a few good licks.
The first disc covers five songs. After Bertha they flow right into Good Lovin' and then into an epic Sugaree. The version of Sugaree here is over nineteen minutes long. Jerry's voice holds up well. I also felt that Keith Godchaux got in some really nice piano work on this version. This is the kind of thing that attracted fans to the Dead in the first place.
The first disc closes out with Jack Straw and Row Jimmy. These are both pretty common songs in the Dead repertoire. I found the versions here to be solid. Again, I think you are getting into the realm of being jaded. This was a nice comfortable partial set of music.
Disc two started off with New Minglewood Blues. This is a traditional song that the Dead covered throughout their career. It's always been a song that I really liked. Bob Weir was a bluesman at heart. He really pours himself into the song. There is a nice slow rendition of Candyman. I like that they include Passenger. This is a nice poppy little rocker. It was not played often. It's not a great song but it is nice to get something different.
The version of Brown-Eyed Woman is pretty good. I've always liked the Chuck Berry covers. On this set, we get Promised Land. Weir was a big Chuck Berry fan. He always played with great vigor doing blues and early rock and roll. This was the conclusion of the first set. They don't end the disc though. This used to be a source of controversy among tapers. You are not supposed to start the second set on the same tape where the first set ends. Here they are putting the first two songs of the second set on disc with songs from set one. This will be viewed as blasphemy to some Heads. I'm not all that upset over it, personally.
The second disc closes out on a high note. They do Samson and Deliah and Tennessee Jed. These are old standards. Samson was always a great set opener. It's a very uptempo song with Bobby singing "If I had my way, I would tear this whole building down." Sometimes they did. Jed is another Dead classic. Jerry informs us he "drinks all day and rocks all night." These are words many of us lived by during the touring days.
Estimated Prophet opens up the third disc. This is one of my favorite Bob Weir songs. They turn in a nice 11:35 version here. They do a slow reggae lilt that keeps building. That seamlessly flows into Playin' In the Band and Terrapin Station. This is one of the earliest versions of Terrapin. This set was recorded before the release of that album. It was always a solid second set song.
They do a very abbreviated Drums segment without the Space segment. That leads into a rollicking fifteen minute version of Not Fade Away. They turn the Buddy Holly classic into a long romp. This was a song the Dead made their own. They follow with Wharf Rat and then go back into Playin' In The Band. This is a nice jam. Jerry gets in some nice licks here. The show is closed out with One More Saturday Night and U.S. Blues. These were typical encore and closer songs. Both are good rockers. They were not songs that necessarily inspired Heads to go nuts. They were just good rocking tunes.
My overall impression here is that it was a very well played set. The band was tight and the vocals held up throughout. The drawback here is that most of the set list features songs that were routine in the rotation. I guess, you can get jaded if you have been to a hundred or two hundred shows. You also get jaded if you have dozens of live shows on disc and dozens of live tapes. Part of my disappointment would be that they don't include really special, unusual songs. That may be unfair on my part.
I am going to recommend this one. I have to because there is little wrong with the playing on this set. Each musician turned in a nice performance. I thought Bob Weir turned in the strongest performance for this show. I think this would be a good set for someone new to the Dead. It provides a nice overview of the band's range of songs. It's also well played and there is nothing overly intimidating here. It's also going to be a good set for the completist. If you're really hardcore, you're going to want it in your collection common songs and all.
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