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Road Trips Vol 1 No. 1
Dick's Picks 5
Go To Nassau
Download Series 7
Dead Ahead
Reckoning
Dead Set
Dick's Picks 13
Dick's Picks 32
Dick's Picks 6
Dick's Picks 21
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Set Lists
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Musicians |
Notes |
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| Go to Nassau |
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Nassau,
NY May 15 and 16, 1980
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| Order:
Amazon |
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Go
To Nassau review
The Grateful Dead's CD Go
to Nassau is a compilation of the Grateful Dead's May 15 and 16,
1980, performances at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Auditorium in
Uniondale, NY. The first CD is set one material and disc two
covers second set material. Important, the sound quality is superb!
I intentionally did not
review the set lists of the actual concerts till after hearing the
CD's. That way, I could judge the Go to Nassau release as to
what it contains, rather than having preconceived opinions about
what songs were left off. My conclusion is that the flow
of the CD runs seamless, as if it is one dream concert. The
only unusual sequence is "Alabama Getaway" between
"Saint of Circumstance" and "Playing in the
Band."
The first disc of Go
to Nassau has numerous highlights. It
starts off with a powerful "Jack Straw" that segues
into an even better "Franklin Towers." The version of
"High Time" that appears a few songs later shows that
Garcia's vocals are so much clearer in 1980 compared to the version of
the song released on DP21 (11/2/85). Other
extraordinary moments on disc one include "Lazy Lightning"
> "Supplication," and "China Cat Sunflower"
> "I Know You Rider."
Disc two of Go to Nassau
is divided into two main sections: the first four songs from May 16,
and the last six songs from May 15. The disc begins with Bob Weir's
"Feel Like a Stranger" that certainly competes for the
strongest moment of the release. It is not a version
overshadowed by an incredible Jerry Garcia solo, but a total band
effort that has perfect clarity which highlights each musicians
contributions. The song really takes off beginning with an outstanding
vocal "rap" featuring Weir, Mydland, and Garcia. What
follows is some outstanding soloing that includes a brief hint of
the Beatles "Eleanor Rigby," that melts effortless from
Garcia's fret board, before taking hold of the melody of song. After
a few minutes of jamming, Phil comes center stage with his chops
signaling for the band to wrap up the first song of the set,
yeah! There is much more to enjoy about the remaining
ten songs, notably the best version of "Uncle John's Band"
that has been released by Grateful Dead Merchandise to date.
Go To Nassau is
superb both musically and sonically with no weak moments.
by Barry
Small
©
Grade A +
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| Track List |
Top of Page |
| Disc One |
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| 1 |
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Jack Straw |
Weir, Hunter |
6:34 |
May 15 |
| 2 |
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Franklin's Tower |
Garcia, Kreutzmann, Hunter |
11:58 |
May 15 |
| 3 |
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New Minglewood Blues |
Traditional Arr. Weir |
7:35 |
May 16 |
| 4 |
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High Time |
Garcia, Hunter |
8:52 |
May 16 |
| 5 |
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Lazy Lightnin' |
Weir, Barlow |
3:44 |
May 15 |
| 6 |
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Supplication |
Weir, Barlow |
6:41 |
May 15 |
| 7 |
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Peggy-O |
Traditional Arr. Grateful Dead |
7:37 |
May 15 |
| 8 |
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Far From Me |
Mydland |
4:02 |
May 15 |
| 9 |
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Looks Like Rain |
Weir, Barlow |
8:12 |
May 16 |
| 10 |
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China Cat Sunflower |
Garcia, Hunter |
5:16 |
May 16 |
| 11 |
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I Know You Rider |
Traditional Arr. Grateful Dead |
6:30 |
May 16 |
| Disc Two |
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| 1 |
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Feel Like A Stranger |
Weir, Barlow |
9:29 |
May 16 |
| 2 |
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Althea |
Garcia, Hunter |
8:22 |
May 16 |
| 3 |
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Lost Sailor |
Weir, Barlow |
5:49 |
May 16 |
| 4 |
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Saint Of Circumstance |
Weir, Barlow |
6:45 |
May 16 |
| 5 |
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Alabama Getaway |
Garcia, Hunter |
4:50 |
May 15 |
| 6 |
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Playing In The Band |
Weir, Hart, Hunter |
8:03 |
May 15 |
| 7 |
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Uncle John's Band |
Garcia, Hunter |
8:25 |
May 15 |
| 8 |
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Drums |
Hart, Kreutzmann |
5:26 |
May 15 |
| 9 |
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Space |
Garcia, Lesh, Weir |
2:46 |
May 15 |
| 10 |
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Not Fade Away |
Petty, Hardin |
4:52 |
May 15 |
| 11 |
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Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad |
Traditional Arr. Grateful Dead |
6:49 |
May 15 |
| 12 |
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Good Lovin' |
Clark, Resnick |
7:23 |
May 15 |
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| Musicians: |
Top of Page |
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Jerry Garcia - lead guitar, vocals
Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
Phil Lesh - bass, vocals
Brent Mydland - keyboards vocals
Bill Kreutzmann - drums
Mickey Hart - drums |
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| Notes: |
Top of Page |
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Released
- October 2002
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Tape Archivist - Davis Lemieux
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| Mixed by Jeffrey
Norman |
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From 24 track master reels
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Notable omissions from the release:
May 15 - "Terrapin Station"
May 16 - "Eyes of the World" > "Drums" >
"Space" > "Truckin' " > "Morning
Dew" > Around and Around" > Johnny B. Goode"
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The Grateful Dead
performed at the same venue on May 14.
Apparently that was not recorded in multi track format. It is
rumored to be the best of the three shows.
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Photos by Jim
Anderson |
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CD Design by Bob
Minkin |
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