jackson@curium.DEC (SETH JACKSON 297-4751) (11/06/85)
[Me] >> In fact, if you paid attention to the Dead discussion, you would have >> read that Dead albums aren't the way to appreciate the Dead. They are >> a concert band, and they have never been able to capture their magic >> on an album. [Doug] >Yeah, I know all about this, and I plan on seeing them sometime. But >all this stuff about not being able to capture magic on albums seems >just too mystical for me. Just because nobody can explain it adequately doesn't mean that it's not true. > If they are not "performance artists", I >don't see why a recording of a concert shouldn't be nearly as good as >the concert itself. They did this once, and the result was "Live Dead". Though crude and dated, this album succeeds more than any other in capturing some of the spontaneity and magic of a Dead performance. The problem is, the Dead have evolved considerably since 1969, when the album was recorded, and so it doesn't represent very well what the Dead are up to today. It does, however, make some pretty good listening with the lights out and the volume turned way up! They also did a part live, part studio album back in 1968, called 'Anthem of the Sun'. This album is basically experimental (definitely cutting edge for 1968), employing such instruments as vibraslap (what's that?), kazoo, prepared piano, and electronic tapes. Some of this album is quite good, though Side 2 kind of deteriorates into weirdness that doesn't seem to go anywhere. The Dead gave up on elaborate studio productions after "Aoxomoxoa" because they found that they didn't really enjoy spending all that time in the studio. They'd rather spend the time touring. > Doug Alan > nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (or ARPA) -- "We used to play for silver, now we play for life" Seth Jackson Posted: Tue 5-Nov-1985 15:53 To: RHEA::DECWRL::"net.music"