Calling Deadheads - Grateful Dead Question

theevilplankton · #1 06-26-2010, 08:36 AM

I've been watching the excellent 'Festival Express' film.

The extras has a stonking versions of 'Hard To Handle' by the Grateful Dead.

I've heard some terrible version of this over the years.....but this one is on fire, and soooo funky. I didn't know they did this.....Phil Lesh sounds excellent.

Are there any other versions comercially available on any of the mass of GD live albums? There are so many, and I am a bit of a Dead junior, only slowly getting some of the studio, and the odd live album.

I'm hoping threre are some real Deadheads on TB to help here!

BTW, I also didn't realise what a cool guy Pigpen was. He just oozes it!

bigfatbass · #2 06-26-2010, 08:54 AM

That tune was in regular set rotation in the early 70s. Check out the playlists from any of the "Dick's Picks" releases from that era. The sound quality is always excellent, and I'm sure you can find more than one show with a rocking version.

This show is a bit loose, but the juice is gushing

Chicago 8/24/71
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...sr=8-1-catcorr

RCCollins · #3 06-26-2010, 09:01 AM

you can stream numerous awesome versions of that tune - maybe even the festival express version - for free here.

Corporate Boy · #4 06-26-2010, 10:01 AM

Official Releases...

Bear's Choice, which comes from in infamous 3 night run of the Dead and Allmans from 1970 at the Fillmore East. Dick's Pick 4 is from the same run and the Allmans released one of theirs sets 10 years ago on the Dead's label.

Fall Out From the Philzone has a rager too.

The liner notes in the Philzone has Phil specificallly saying check out the chord sequence that they used to peak out Jerry's solo in this song. It's pretty rad.

**zenrad** · #5 06-26-2010, 10:12 AM

^ All great choices, and part of the fun is finding as much live stuff as you can to find your own favorites. You may just stumble into all kinds of other stuff you like during the process. Enjoy the ride!

groooooove · #6 06-26-2010, 10:30 AM

+1 to dicks picks- always really nice quality, never heard a bad dead show from a dicks picks release. are those technecally not official releases? sort of like "official bootlegs," if i understand it correctly?

BluesWalker · #7 06-26-2010, 10:41 AM

This is a great Otis Redding song covered by the Dead. A little bit of info on the song from dead.net: "Sung regularly by Pigpen with the Grateful Dead, but not revived by them after he died (except for a couple of performances with Etta James). But subsequently played by The Other Ones, Phil Lesh & Friends and The Dead. Pigpen sang the verses pretty much the same each time, though the rap in the middle varied."

adube810 · #8 06-26-2010, 10:44 AM

go check out furthur! as i am seeing them tonight in coney island!!!!

RCCollins · #9 06-26-2010, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by groooooove

+1 to dicks picks- always really nice quality, never heard a bad dead show from a dicks picks release. are those technecally not official releases? sort of like "official bootlegs," if i understand it correctly?

they ARE official releases. the only thing bootleggy about them is that they are transferred direct from tape and contain a few glitches - very few of them, actually.

**StrangerDanger** · #10 06-26-2010, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCCollins

they ARE official releases. the only thing bootleggy about them is that they are transferred direct from tape and contain a few glitches - very few of them, actually.

I been hittin #25 hard lately again. Mmmmh tasty!

Gord_oh · #11 06-26-2010, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigfatbass

That tune was in regular set rotation in the early 70s. Check out the playlists from any of the "Dick's Picks" releases from that era. The sound quality is always excellent, and I'm sure you can find more than one show with a rocking version.

This show is a bit loose, but the juice is gushing

Chicago 8/24/71
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...sr=8-1-catcorr

may have just added this to my playlist. nice pick.

Goodlawdy · #12 06-26-2010, 11:30 AM

Here you go my friend; A whole slew of Hard To Handles that you can listen to from the live music archive. You can even download some of them!

http://www.archive.org/search.php?qu...3AGratefulDead

**zenrad** · #13 06-26-2010, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goodlawdy

Here you go my friend; A whole slew of Hard To Handles that you can listen to from the live music archive. You can even download some of them!

http://www.archive.org/search.php?qu...3AGratefulDead

Nice!

theevilplankton · #14 06-27-2010, 03:25 AM

Thanks for all that - very informative.

Just at a time when I was getting jaded by music (at 36, I've been buying records for about 30 years!), the Dead have got me excited again.

When you think you've heard most things done, it's really nice to hear something different. Who cares if it's 40 years ago?

Great to here a band who really cared about what they did. I'm really starting to love 'em!

theevilplankton · #15 06-27-2010, 10:20 AM

I must have got it bad......I even like 'Shakedown Street'........!

mellowgerman · #16 06-27-2010, 10:23 AM

i believe this is the one you mentioned, right? killer performance!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2nS27Mtvj0

P.S. I have a different, but also killer live version of this. It's my favortie. A few minutes longer. If you're interested, PM me your email and I'll send it to ya

tk421 · #17 06-27-2010, 06:38 PM

favorite shakedown ever: Lewiston, ME 9/6/80

sooooo funky.

warwick.hoy · #18 06-28-2010, 01:49 AM

Maybe you guys can help me out with a good China Cat > Know You Ryder. An old bandmate played me one that was smoking and groovy (better than the album version) but every one I've listened to since was sloppy.

EDIT: Even the album version of Shakedown is good. As far as Dick's Picks go,...I have and listen to #17 from the Boston Garden a lot. Great Help on the Way>Slipknot>Franklins Tower.

theevilplankton · #19 06-28-2010, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mellowgerman

i believe this is the one you mentioned, right? killer performance!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2nS27Mtvj0

P.S. I have a different, but also killer live version of this. It's my favortie. A few minutes longer. If you're interested, PM me your email and I'll send it to ya

Yes - that's the one!!

PM'd as well.