He’d Like You to Think He’s the Brainy One…
….& his picks from what he dubs 'rarer material' for this dbl date show he's no slouch. Doesn't matter what you think of 'em, for the 7:34 it took to work thru "Hard To Handle" on August 6, 1971 there was nothing better happening anywhere on the planet. HW asked me years ago what I thought was the best example of psychedelic rock and one of my replies was the half hour plus version of "In The Midnight Hour" on here - twelve minutes into it is what the stuff's supposed to sound like. Likewise, a long "Dancin' In The Streets" and longer "Viola Lee Blues" from when heads were into 'em but DEADHEADS weren't even a concept offer all the proof you need to know why shows from back then are so legendary. A trio of more down to earth tunes from those days as well appear - "New Speedway Boogie", "Easy Wind" & the seldom performed, never officially released "Mason's Children". An additional four round this out; "Box Of Rain" and "The Music Never Stopped" from 1989, "Visions Of Johanna" from almost the end in '95 and an early "Jack-A-Roe" from '77….tho they were a different band by the time of these performances which kinda sit uneasily alongside their elder kins 1 & 1/2 discs…….much rarer & way cooler an inclusion would have been the one-time only performance of "What's Become Of The Baby" tho even without it there's enough proof offered up to illustrate why, early on, they were a force to be reckoned with. Of the first wave San Francisco bands BIG BROTHER and MOBY GRAPE were the partyers, JEFFERSON AIRPLANE the aloof headband and QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE the 'concert' crew. GRATEFUL DEAD were all of those and a whole lot more.