You are not alone. Deadco (as I like to call them) has really done a good job of identifying the best elements of the Dead's musical history, then building their interpretations of the GD songbook atop those strengths. That choice, and their obvious chemistry and skill, seems to be connecting with a lot of folks who've been put off by the huge variety within the Dead's 30-year repertoire. Those who were too young to get on the bus while Jerry was alive also seem to be responding more positively to them than to any other post-Jerry "Dead family" group (The Other Ones, The Dead, Phil and Friends, etc.). They've really impressed many longtime Deadheads like myself too! Deadco is not the same experience as the Grateful Dead, obviously, but after seeing them live last fall I'm convinced that their sound is rooted in the same ethos and energy, and that's what counts for me.
Hehe. I am indeed. Feel free to join us over there for more Dead-related news, etc. As far as their history, here's a very rough guide to the eras of their music to help you find what appeals to you, especially with regard to live shows. It's a modified cut-and-paste from something else I wrote, so it's totally subjective and way too much information for this situation, but I think it's still good for introductory purposes. You can sample bootlegs of live shows from all eras at archive.org, sorted by year or popularity, as you read. Apologies if you know a lot of this already. If anything catches your eye/ear and you'd like recommendations based on it, let me know:
1965-1969 - the psychedelic/blues era, when some of their most famous songs like St. Stephen, Dark Star, and China Cat Sunflower were composed and performances often got very exploratory. Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, a talented blues and R&B singer and keyboardist was their frontman during this time, keeping their performances rooted in the gritty blues numbers interspersed between the adventurous psychedelic jams. The album Live Dead is the exemplar of the period, though bootlegs exist that are arguably better reflections of their peaks during this time.
1970-1972 - The Americana era, when their psychedelic side waned a bit and shorter, more folk- and country-influenced sounds accompanied a burst of songwriting that provided staples of their live shows for the rest of their career. Also the period in which they explored more acoustic sounds in the studio, producing the albums American Beauty and Workingman's Dead (released separately but very much of a piece) which for many Deadheads remain their crowning achievements in the studio. If you like blues, bluegrass, cowboy songs, and rock with a good dose of California psychedelia, this is your era. Pigpen died in 1972, though his blues influence could be heard for the rest of their career.
1972-1976 - The jams era. A return to electric instruments in the studio and live and the jazz chops of their new keyboardist Keith Godchaux, who played piano almost exclusively, produced a period of electric Americana with more focus on tighter grooves from only one drummer (2nd drummer Mickey Hart took a hiatus during this time). The era also showed a return to more R&B sounds and the long jams of their psychedelic period, now with the focus and intensity of jazz instead of the anarchic/sci-fi moods of their early stuff. If you like up-tempo rockers and funky-mellow party grooves, but also some freeform jazz-influenced explorations, this may be your era. Check out the album Europe '72 for a great primer on beginnings of this sound. For the later, more developed and jazzy part of the period, a personal fav is a great bootleg of their Feb. 24, 1974 show at Winterland in San Francisco.
1976-1979 - The Barton Hall era. This is my favorite period of the Dead, so I will try and fail to keep this short and objective. After a hiatus for much of 1975, during which the band composed and recorded the album Blues for Allah, an exploratory album full of jazz fusion and world music influences, the band returned to touring in 1976 with Mickey Hart back on second drum kit. Then, in 1977, something happened. For whatever reason, their Feb.-Jun. 1977 tour hit a sort of pinnacle of musicianship and chemistry that produced (arguably) their most varied, inspired, and consistently brilliant playing as a group. Their May 8th, 1977 show at Barton Hall in Itha...
Hehe. I am indeed. Feel free to join us over there for more Dead-related news, etc. As far as their history, here's a very rough guide to the eras of their music to help you find what appeals to you, especially with regard to live shows. It's a modified cut-and-paste from something else I wrote, so it's totally subjective and way too much information for this situation, but I think it's still good for introductory purposes. You can sample bootlegs of live shows from all eras at archive.org, sorted by year or popularity, as you read. Apologies if you know a lot of this already. If anything catches your eye/ear and you'd like recommendations based on it, let me know:
1965-1969 - the psychedelic/blues era, when some of their most famous songs like St. Stephen, Dark Star, and China Cat Sunflower were composed and performances often got very exploratory. Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, a talented blues and R&B singer and keyboardist was their frontman during this time, keeping their performances rooted in the gritty blues numbers interspersed between the adventurous psychedelic jams. The album Live Dead is the exemplar of the period, though bootlegs exist that are arguably better reflections of their peaks during this time.
1970-1972 - The Americana era, when their psychedelic side waned a bit and shorter, more folk- and country-influenced sounds accompanied a burst of songwriting that provided staples of their live shows for the rest of their career. Also the period in which they explored more acoustic sounds in the studio, producing the albums American Beauty and Workingman's Dead (released separately but very much of a piece) which for many Deadheads remain their crowning achievements in the studio. If you like blues, bluegrass, cowboy songs, and rock with a good dose of California psychedelia, this is your era. Pigpen died in 1972, though his blues influence could be heard for the rest of their career.
1972-1976 - The jams era. A return to electric instruments in the studio and live and the jazz chops of their new keyboardist Keith Godchaux, who played piano almost exclusively, produced a period of electric Americana with more focus on tighter grooves from only one drummer (2nd drummer Mickey Hart took a hiatus during this time). The era also showed a return to more R&B sounds and the long jams of their psychedelic period, now with the focus and intensity of jazz instead of the anarchic/sci-fi moods of their early stuff. If you like up-tempo rockers and funky-mellow party grooves, but also some freeform jazz-influenced explorations, this may be your era. Check out the album Europe '72 for a great primer on beginnings of this sound. For the later, more developed and jazzy part of the period, a personal fav is a great bootleg of their Feb. 24, 1974 show at Winterland in San Francisco.
1976-1979 - The Barton Hall era. This is my favorite period of the Dead, so I will try and fail to keep this short and objective. After a hiatus for much of 1975, during which the band composed and recorded the album Blues for Allah, an exploratory album full of jazz fusion and world music influences, the band returned to touring in 1976 with Mickey Hart back on second drum kit. Then, in 1977, something happened. For whatever reason, their Feb.-Jun. 1977 tour hit a sort of pinnacle of musicianship and chemistry that produced (arguably) their most varied, inspired, and consistently brilliant playing as a group. Their May 8th, 1977 show at Barton Hall in Ithaca, NY is now legendary as the exemplar of this moment in their history, mostly because a high quality bootleg of the show reached the public fairly soon after the show, becoming an underground hit. But just about any show from that tour has as many high points as Barton Hall, and all are worth hearing if you dig Barton Hall. For a good picture of the jazz fusion side of the Dead, try One From the Vault, a rare 1975 live performance in which they play all of Blues for Allah (before its release) to a small audience at the Great American Music Hall in SF. Definitely check out the Barton Hall show, available as Dick's Picks Vol. 3 or here, on Archive.org, and if you're into 70s progressive rock, try Terrapin Station, their most adventurous studio recording, or live performances of the songs from it.
1979-1986 - The 80s. This is a very "highest peaks, lowest valleys" era for the Dead. Keith Godchaux and his wife, backup vocalist Donna Jean, departed in 1979 and were replaced by Brent Mydland, whose preference for organ and electric keyboards, husky voice, and precise high harmonies changed the band's sound immediately. Reinvigorated, for a time the band was able to fight off the growing negative influence of hard drugs on their playing that had begun to creep in in 1978. Some of the early shows from this period can be best described as fiery and inspired. But over time, drugs and road-weariness made 80s shows hit-and-miss. When they were good, they were really good, but more and more often, Jerry's opiate habit and the other band members' struggles with booze and other hard drugs made shows a mix of flashes of brilliance and uninspired playing. To pick up some of Jerry's slack, Bob Weir stepped forward and added more of his flamboyant blues and rock-n-roll sounds to the mix. A favorite of mine from this period is June 21, 1980 (a performance in a high school gym in Anchorage, Alaska!).
1987-1990 The Touch of Grey era. "Touch of Grey" caused a huge jump in popularity (and as a result, pressure) for the Dead that they struggled with until the end. But after Jerry almost died of a diabetic coma and had to relearn guitar in 1986, the band was in better shape than they'd been in a while. Jerry cleaned up his opiate habit, creating an audible change in the band's enthusiasm levels, and they toured with Bob Dylan in '87, cementing their reinvigorated place in American cultural history. I am no expert on shows from this era, but I know April 3rd, 1987 is very popular.
1990-1995 The tragic era. Brent Mydland died in 1990. The band was under enormous pressure to keep touring and making money, to pay its large family of employees and underwrite the band's new standards of living. Vince Welnick and Bruce Hornsby filled in for Mydland, with Welnick eventually taking the seat alone but never really gelling with the group. But by then, Jerry was using again and the band was fried, often not even listening to each other onstage. Concerts became unmanageably large and many turned into semi-riots of gate crashing and sketchy drugs in the parking lot. While I'm told there are a few truly great shows from this period, particularly from 1990 and 1991, I am only familiar with the famous March 23, 1990 show, in which Branford Marsalis joined them for the second half of the show - with no prior rehearsal - and proceeded to make them all (especially Jerry) sound 20 years younger. That show is available as Wake Up To Find Out: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY. Jerry died in Aug. 1995, after their most nightmarish and (arguably) uninspired tour. Fin
You are not alone. Deadco (as I like to call them) has really done a good job of identifying the best elements of the Dead's musical history, then building their interpretations of the GD songbook atop those strengths. That choice, and their obvious chemistry and skill, seems to be connecting with a lot of folks who've been put off by the huge variety within the Dead's 30-year repertoire. Those who were too young to get on the bus while Jerry was alive also seem to be responding more positively to them than to any other post-Jerry "Dead family" group (The Other Ones, The Dead, Phil and Friends, etc.). They've really impressed many longtime Deadheads like myself too! Deadco is not the same experience as the Grateful Dead, obviously, but after seeing them live last fall I'm convinced that their sound is rooted in the same ethos and energy, and that's what counts for me.
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