The Grateful Dead may have disbanded back in 1995, but that doesn’t mean the remaining members are ignoring their milestones. To celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary, two special compilations are being released: 30 Trips Around the Sun, an exhaustive 80 CD retrospective featuring a different live performance from each year the band was active, and 30 Trips Around the Sun: The Definitive Live Story 1965–1995, a four hour, four disc collection featuring one song from each of the performances on the complete set, chronicling the best of their live performances. For obvious reasons, we’re focusing on The Definitive Live Story, rather than the complete confection. The release fulfils its criteria well enough, but buyer beware: this is for no one but the most dedicated of Grateful Dead fans.
As a complete package, it encapsulates the spirit of their live performances perfectly. It’s rare that you’d find a song under seven minutes long across the four discs, and many of them extend long…
320 kbps | 654 MB UL | UP | RG | HF | TB ** FLAC
…past their album lengths thanks to the tendency to morph each song into a jam session partway through. Nothing here sounds messy or unprofessional, though, and it shows their consistency with each performance sounding like it came from the same show rather than thirty different ones.
Particularly noteworthy inclusions mostly appear on the second disc. The 1977 Capitol Theatre performance of Estimated Prophet stands out among the collection, with the psychedelic tinge setting it apart from the general rock songs that surround it. The 1978 Providence Civic Center performance of Samson and Delilah is the highlight though, with the most engaging extended introduction—alongside the best riffs and groove—of the songs. Shakedown Street, the longest song across all discs at 17 minutes, also contains one of the better jam sessions on the album thanks to the atmosphere of funk that it exudes.
CD1:
1. Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks) (feat. The Emergency Crew)[03:15]
2. Cream Puff War (Live at Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA 7/3/66)[05:07]
3. Viola Lee Blues (Live at Shrine (Exhibition Hall, Los Angeles, CA1/10/67)[15:14]
4. Dark Star (Live at Greek Theater, Berkeley, CA 10/20/68)[10:29]
5. Doin’ That Rag (Live at Dream Bowl, Vallejo, CA 2/22/69)[06:50]
6. Dancing In The Street (Live at Winterland, San Francisco,CA 4/15/70)[11:29]
7. Ain’t It Crazy (The Rub) (Live at Fox Theater, St. Louis, MO 3/18/71)[04:40]
8. Tomorrow Is Forever (Live at The Palace Theater, Waterbury, CT 9/24/72)[05:30]
9. Here Comes Sunshine (Live from San Diego Sports Arena 11/14/73)[12:58]
CD2:
1. Uncle John’s Band (Live from Parc des Expositions, Dijon, France 9/18/74)[09:26]
2. Franklin’s Tower (Live From Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco 9/28/75)[07:50]
3. Scarlet Begonias (Live at Cobo Hall, Detroit, MI 10/3/76)[11:58]
4. Estimated Prophet (Live at Capital Theatre, Passaic, NJ 4/25/77)[07:58]
5. Samson And Delilah (Live at Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI 5/14/78)[10:18]
6. Lost Sailor>Saint Of Circumstance (Live at Cape Cod Coliseum, South Yarmouth, MA 10/27/79)[12:26]
7. Deep Elem Blues (Live at Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, FL 11/28/80)[04:57]
CD3:
1. Shakedown Street (Live at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 5/16/81)[16:31]
2. Bird Song (Live at Manor Downs, Austin, TX 7/31/82)[09:42]
3. My Brother Esau (Live at The Centrum, Worchester, MA 10/21/83)[05:21]
4. Feel Like A Stranger (Live at Agusta Civic Center, Agusta, ME 10/12/84)[10:06]
5. Let It Grow (Live at River Bend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH 6/24/85)[12:38]
6. Comes A Time (Live at Cal Expo Amphitheatre, Sacramento, CA 5/3/86)[07:51]
7. Morning Dew (Live at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 9/18/87)[11:21]
CD4:
1. Not Fade Away (Live at Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, ME 7/3/88)[08:00]
2. Blow Away (Live at Miami Arena, Miami, FL 10/26/89)[07:51]
3. Ramble On Rose (Live at Zenith, Paris, France 10/27/90)[07:30]
4. High Time (Live From Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 9/10/91)[07:37]
5. Althea (Live at Copps Coliseum, Ontario Canada 3/20/92)[07:28]
6. Broken Arrow (Live at Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY 3/27/1993)[06:02]
7. So Many Roads (Live at Boston Garden, Boston, MA 10/1/94)[07:28]
8. Visions Of Johanna (Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT 2/21/95)[10:20]