Search - Grateful Dead :: Two From the Vault

An excellent show from the primal Dead

Chet Fakir | DC | 12/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Two From the Vault is psychedelic primal Dead at their jamming best circa 1968. Thanks to modern technology the Dead were able resurrect this excellent show from oblivion. Due to microphone placement there were phase cancellation problems with the original tapes making them useless for release. Thanks to Dan Healy the phasing problems were eliminated using computer analysis and time correction. Hurray! A great show was saved.

And a great show it is, replete with marvelous and telepathic playing by all members. From the Pigpen sung songs Good Morning Little Schoolgirl and Turn On Your Lovelight to the rolling thunder of the Other One and New Potato Caboose, it's all good. Morning Dew and Death Don't Have No Mercy being the lone ballads are especially emotional. Jerry's voice and playing are strong and everybody else rolls along with raucous abandon, Phil Lesh especially. I've become a big fan of '68 to '70's era Dead because they play with a fire and psychedelic thunder that they largely toned down as they became better and more refined players. While I love the jazzy introspection and much of the more country material the Dead started playing after 1970, there's just something about the raw energy the Dead generated in earlier years with their original lineup of Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart (he joined in 1967) and Bob Weir. This is the Grateful Dead at their raw psychedelic best and a really good example of how they sounded in 1968. They're not quite as good players as they became by 1970, but what they lack in harmonic sophistication they more than make up for in energy and passion."

Fantastic jams and superb sound quality!

Just Bill | Grand Rapids, MI United States | 08/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a newcomer to the Grateful Dead, I'm experiencing everything for the first time. And with the wealth of live and studio material out there for this amazing band, I'm in music heaven!



Two From the Vault (the remastered HDCD version released by Rhino in 2004) is amazing. Every instrument is crystal clear. I'm listening to the Dark Start/Saint Stephen/The Eleven jam as I type this and am astounded at the sonic quality of the music. Little or no hiss. Keyboards, bass, percussion, Jerry's guitar -- it's all here, sounding as if it were recorded yesterday as opposed to 1968 when this concert took place.



Many of the jams on this two CD set are mesmerizing. Really. I listened to this in the car driving down a long stretch of highway, hoping all the way that passing cars weren't looking in to see me with my mouth hanging open.



If you like the Grateful Dead, and you'd like to hear (with crystal clarity) how they sounded in 1968, this is a brilliant choice.



If you haven't a clue what the Grateful Dead sound like, but you like "jam band" music and/or you'd like to know what all the Grateful Dead hype is all about, then this would be a great place to start.



I wholeheartedly recommend Two From the Vault!"

Yes! The classic is finally back!!!!!!!!!

Chet Fakir | 09/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Two from the Vault was originally released back in '92 when the Grateful Dead were still together and our dear friend and my idol Jerome John Garcia (1942-1995) It is a live concert recorded back in August 23-24 1968 at the Shrine Auditorium in LA, CA. Well, the concert doesn't dissappoint. This was back when the Grateful Dead jammed a lot and their music was only psychadelic. This was before Workingman's Dead so most of this material you won't find on a best of album but it is, in words, unbelievable. This is a great slab of primal Psychadelic Dead when Pigpen McKernan was still playing keyboards and the Dead just smoked away with tunes like good old Dark Star/St. Stephan/Elevan jam that leads into Jerry's passionate rendition of Death don't have no Mercy. This is definately recomended to any Grateful Dead fan and I love it."