"This is pretty much your standard Dead show fare with one exception: "Dark Star". Shortly into Dark Star, Jerry cracks open the void and leads his brethern through some of their most intuitive playing ever. It's all there: the Dead play with passion, color, texture and clarity. It is 23 minutes in a transcendent reality where the listener and the music are the same thing. It is too bad it is the opening cut on the album because the rest of this excellent show pales in comparison to the first 23 minutes of the best Dead zone ever."
No filler
indierockjunkie | Madison, WI | 07/01/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one heck of a nice disc. The songs are all top notch, flow nicely into one another, and they just didn't want to stop playing. Yes, there are versions of each song on many, many other discs. One could argue that individually, each song isn't THE BEST version floating around. But taken together as a single set, it is awfully hard to beat. It'd be hard to find better music, without filler, on a single disc."
A Top-Five Version of "Dark Star"
J. Merritt | 08/15/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Okay, there's not a lot here, but what IS here is a stellar version of "Dark Star." Clocking in at over 24 minutes, it bears a strong and spacy resemblance to other versions for the first half but then goes into an up-tempo, funky jam in the second half. I've long been a believer that no "Dark Star" beats the Live/Dead version, but this one comes mighty close. If you're a fan of this song (and what Dead fan isn't?), then track this down somewhere. Well worth finding."
My Favourite
Michael James Knight | Lawrence, Kansas | 04/17/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Well, I suppose that everyone has to have a favourite, and this is mine. The CD kicks off with one of the most melodic and interesting Dark Stars (with a little George Benson or Hugh Masekela thrown into the middle), and then it just keeps going. Going Down the Road (GDTRFB as they say) is also wonderful. If I was going to introduce anyone to the live sound of the dead, this would be the disk I'd share. Love the thing from start to finish, and don't we all just wish this music was still being created by these boys."
This 'Head's favorite Dark Star
Michael James Knight | 06/26/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Although this is the only one-disc Dick's Pick, don't let that keep you from purchasing it. This is my favorite Dark Star, hands down. Jerry reaches unequalled peaks between the 10 and 15 minute marks. This is some really special stuff! Also, the themes explored in this Dark Star are very noticably mirrored in portions of the Dancin' in the Street" Jam from 5-2-70 (Dick's Pick 8). The Dancin' jam is a thousand times faster, which makes for a pretty cool contrast. Also of note is the big "rubbery crunch" of St. Stephen (to borrow a phrase, I think, from Blair Jackson), the seamless NFA > GDTRFB > NFA that they could do in their sleep at that time, and the way Bobby gives up his vocal chords at the end of NFA. I own all the Dick's Pick's and this one might just be my favorite (but that would be like picking a favorite child, wouldn't it?)"