Set Lists

Road Trips Vol. 2 No. 1: Sept. 1990 

Madison Square Garden: September 1990

The two primary shows featured on Road Trips Vol. 2 No. 1: Sept. 1990 are among my favorite Hornsby era shows, 9/19 and 9/20. They are certainly both worthy of being full show releases. To fill up two discs, the best parts of the shows second sets are certainly covered. Further, for those with early orders, the bonus material is well selected; it features highlights of the 9/18 show. I really enjoy some of the first set material from this Garden 1990 run and none of it is included on this release. Especially noteworthy is 9/19/90 with an exciting "Jack Straw" "Bertha" opening duo. The set closing "Help > Slip > Franklin's" is a MUST listen. 

Road Trips Vol.2 No.1 includes all of the second set from 9/20/90, except one song, "Man Smart, Woman Smarter." By leaving off that track, the pre-drums portion of 9/19/90 is kindly served. Some great playing indeed. That is an understatement.

The disc begins with the first three songs of 9/20 second set to get things going. Especially noteworthy is the transition from "China Cat Sunflower." The conclusion of "I Know You Rider" sounds revitalized instigated by Bruce pouring out beautiful melodies to both delight the listener and to challenge Mr. Garcia to top him. You decide if he does. This is no ordinary version. 

Next is the pre-drums material from 9/19. The "Playing In The Band" jam allows the band to stretch out. The transition to the next track fooled me into thinking they brought "Brokedown Palace,"  into the middle of the set, right up to vocals. Nope, it is "Ship of Fools." Bruce adds some nice vocals accompaniments, which at the same time show the agedness to Jerry's voice, or should we say grandfatherly tone? The transition out of "Ship of Fools" was smooth, leading into a mini "Playing Jam, leading to joyous rendition of "Uncle John's Band." The excitement continues to grow. Phil leads us to a rare second set version of "Let it Grow," initiated by another tight transition. The band is on, extremely tight, realized with a great musicianship throughout the song. Then, carrying on the MSG 1990 commonplace of a pre-drums jam, Jerry, Bobby, and Bruce take center stage. Disc one is already worth the price of admission, clocking in at 78 minutes. Mighty fine.

The second disc brings us back to final Garden show, 9/20. There are some great improvisational moments. You have jams, teases, and a full range of emotions, both highs and lows. "Dark Star," the reprise of "Playing" that began on 9/19, and much more "Dark Star." That is the meat of the set and they are no hurry through it. Sensational!

They close the set in fine fashion. Bruce's piano riffs add nicely to "Throwing Stones." That leads to a rare set two closer of a fast Jerry track, "Touch of Grey." A few encores remain. "Turn On Your Lovelight" is from 9/20 and with enough space left, from 9/18, "Knocking on Heaven's Door,"  around 77 minutes.

This Madison Square Garden September 1990 run has quite a bit a quality material and is among the best of the brief Hornsby era. I would have like to seen this release with more discs or full shows. One idea, the first set of 9/19 would have been perfect to make it three discs. But beyond that there is more good material from the Garden to expand it to even more discs. For example, as a fourth disc, use the 9/18 bonus disc as it is really exceptional as part of the release, and make a different bonus disc of other highlights. There are plenty more. Since both the 9/19 and 9/20 shows were worthy of being released as complete shows, how about this for a fantasy release. Grateful Dead in New York, Two Decades: 9/19 and 9/20, 1970 and 1990. I'm not sure those 1970 shows are in the vault. What I've heard of it is really good. Here are the set lists from the 1970 shows.

There is no doubt that the selection and combination of the material from Road Trips Vol. 2 No. 1 material works superbly and captures the absolute best from the run. It also flows quite nicely as opposed to some Road Trips that are more segments of shows. For two discs from 1990, I don't see how you can do any better, nearly the entirety of one of the hottest sets of the Hornsby era, 9/20, married with the pre-drums portion of jam dropping performance from the night before, which when combined includes the complete "Playing in the Band." 

A few key summary themes throughout this disc. The band is very tight, and sharp throughout. The whole band contributes. Phil is bombastic. Nearly all of the transitions are executed with mind-blowing precision. A few drawbacks, Jerry's voice is not what it once was, and I don't care for some of Vince's parts. Add it up and you have what I consider essential listening. With barely a dull moment this release gets my highest rating. 

By Barry Small
Grade A+

P.S. - Dick's Picks 9 is a complete show from this garden September '90 run; the 9/16/90 performance.

Disc One - 9/20/90 and 9/19/90

9/20/90
Truckin'>
China Cat Sunflower>
I Know You Rider

9/19/90
Playing In The Band>
Ship of Fools>
Playing In The Band>
Uncle John's Band>
Let It Grow>
Jam>

Disc Two 

9/20/90

…Jam>
Dark Star>
Playing In The Band>
Dark Star>
Throwing Stones>
Touch Of Grey

Encore 9/20/90
Turn On Your Lovelight

Encore 9/18/90
Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Bonus Disc - 9/18/90
For early orders

Released - Dec. 2008
Editing, mastering - Jeffrey Norman
Produced by David Lemieux and Blair Jackson
Booklet essay - Dan Levy
Recorded - Dan Healy
Photos - Bob Minkin and Susana Millman (Some really nice ones)
Package Design - Steve Vance

Madison Square Garden 1990
From setlist.com

9/14/90
Set 1: Feel Like A Stranger, Sugaree, Minglewood Blues, Ramble On Rose, Black Throated Wind, Jack A Roe, Cassidy, Don't Ease Me In

Set 2: Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain, Truckin' > Terrapin Station > Jam > Drums > Space > The Other One > Wharf Rat > Sugar Magnolia, E: U.S. Blues

9/15/90
Set 1: Touch of Grey, Walkin' Blues, Candyman, Mama Tried > Mexicali Blues, West L.A. Fadeaway, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Bird Song, Box Of Rain

Set 2: The Weight, Playing In The Band > Crazy Fingers > Uncle John's Band > Drums > Space > Gimme Some Lovin' > All Along The Watchtower > Stella Blue > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away, E: One More Saturday Night

9/16/90 - Dick's Picks Vol. 9
Set 1: Hell In A Bucket, Cold Rain & Snow, Little Red Rooster, Stagger Lee, Queen Jane Approximately, Tennessee Jed, Cassidy, Deal

Set 2: Samson & Delilah > Iko Iko > Looks Like Rain, He's Gone > Ne MSG Jam* > Drums > Space > Standing On the Moon > Luniatic Preserve Jam > I Need A Miracle, Morning Dew, E: It's All Over Now Baby Blue

*Phil, Vince, & Bruce

9/18/90
Set 1: Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, Minglewood Blues, Loser, Picasso Moon, Row Jimmy, Desolation Row, To Lay Me Down, Promised Land

Set 2: Eyes Of The World > Estimated Prophet > Foolish Heart > Jam* > Drums > Space > The Other One > The Wheel > Sugar Magnolia, E: Knockin' On Heaven's Door

*Jerry and Bruce

9/19/90
Set 1: Jack Straw, Bertha, Me & My Uncle > Big River, It Must Have Been The Roses, Stuck Inside A Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again, Help On The Way > Slipknot > Franklin's Tower

Set 2: Playing In The Band > Ship of Fools > Playing In The Band > Uncle John's Band > Let It Grow > Jam* > Drums > Space > Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad > Stella Blue > Around and Around, E: Mighty Quinn

*Jerry, Bobby, and Bruce

9/20/90
Set 1: Feel Like A Stranger, Althea, It's All Over Now, Ramble On Rose, El Paso, Brown Eyed Women, Greatest Story Ever Told > U.S. Blues

Set 2: Truckin', China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Women Are Smarter, Drums > Space > Dark Star > Playing In The Band (reprise) > Dark Star > Jam > Throwing Stones > Touch of Grey, E: Lovelight

Fillmore East 1970 -  - New York City, NY
 
From  deadlists.com - They offer some worthwhile comments about guests on the acoustic material at their site.

There was a listening party to promote the release. The tracks were:
Truckin'>
China Cat Sunflower>
I Know You Rider
Throwing Stones>
Touch Of Grey
Knocking On Heaven's Door
To Lay Me Down

From the GD website

To kick off Volume 2 of our Road Trips series, we're making our first foray into the '90s-specifically, the extraordinary Madison Square Garden run from September of 1990!

You'll recall the unusual historical circumstances surrounding this famous series of shows: In July, Brent Mydland had died tragically after a glorious 11-year stint as the Dead's keyboardist. With both the band and Dead Heads in shock, a few planned summer shows were cancelled, and it looked as though the group's long-scheduled tour of Europe might be in jeopardy, as well. But then, two things happened: friend and fellow traveler Bruce Hornsby, already well-versed in the band's music, volunteered to venture into the breach temporarily once his summer tour was over; next, the group settled on former Tubes keys man Vince Welnick to step into Brent's big shoes on a permanent basis. Fortunately, he was a quick study! By early September, Vince had played his first shows with the Dead (in Cleveland and Philadelphia), and then the band moved on to Madison Square Garden -- always one of the most magical places the group played-- for a series of six shows spanning September 14-20, before jetting off for the big European tour.

Bruce joined the band beginning with the second concert in that series, and immediately the chemistry of this new septet was apparent. Bruce was a bold and assertive player who really pushed the band--and particularly Garcia--in some fascinating new directions, and the combination of his grand piano and Vince's electronic keyboard textures made for a big and dynamic sound. There were smiles all around as the new unit found its footing and with surprising confidence ushered in a new era of Grateful Dead music before roaring New York crowds!

Back in 1997, our late, great vaultmaster Dick Latvala pegged the September 16, 1990 Garden show to be Dick's Picks Vol. 9, but many fans of the run have long believed that the hottest shows from MSG that year were actually the two concluding concerts, September 19 and 20. So, for this Road Trips we offer some two-and-a-half hours of high energy rock 'n' roll and intense jamming from the second sets of 9/19-20 (as well as the moving "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" encore from 9/18). Included are spacey and beautifully developed journeys through "Dark Star" and "Playing in the Band"; a rare second set "Let It Grow" that rolls into a fantastic improvisation that really shows off the chops of the "new" band; a rousing "Uncle John's Band"; rockin' tunes like "Truckin'" and "Turn on Your Lovelight," and more. The spirit and life on these tracks is amazing! You can find the entire track listing below. As always, the discs have been expertly mastered to HDCD by our own Jeffrey Norman, and the package includes a 16-page booklet with lots o' groovy pix and an essay about the shows by Dan Levy.

This time out, the exclusive limited edition Bonus Disc was compiled entirely from the 9/18/90 MSG show, another sizzler. Highlights include "Foolish Heart," "Eyes of the World," the rare-in-every-era "To Lay Me Down," and an especially rollicking take on "Picasso Moon."