Set Lists

Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings

The Shows 
June 7, 1977
June 8, 1977
June 9, 1977

Headline from Dead.net:
"all taken from the master analog tapes, restored using the Plangent Processes, and mastered in HDCD by that inimitable sonic tweakster, Jeffrey Norman."

Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings review
The third week of April, the Grateful Dead launched what many fans consider their best tour in their storied history, certainly among their best. It was a 26 concert affair. Many of those shows have been released through Dick's Picks and other archival series'. Afterwards, they played one concert in Inglewood, CA at The Forum on 6/4/77. Then this mid-week trio of shows at the Winterland, June 7 - 9, all of which is included in this box-set. The show that followed that was the much loved, Englishtown N.J. performance  available on Dick's Picks Vol. 15. 

The three Winterland shows are spread over nine discs delivered in pristine sound quality. The glory of 1977 Grateful Dead! You have great versions of nearly all of the key songs of the Grateful Dead's 1977 repertoire. Certainly some songs have more definitive renditions, but this is one awesome package.

Thank you Mr. Postman... 

All right, so there's this package of 10 discs including the bonus disc. Where do I start? Should I find my favorite songs, the show with the most exciting song selection, the first evening? While tempting to start with the last evenings "Half-Step" I opted for the first evening. 

June 7, 1977
The first show starts in exciting fashion with "Bertha" > "Jack Straw." Talk about an energy surge, that should be able to light the city of San Francisco for a week! Yet, the set closer of "The Music Never Stopped" is even more powerful. In between, are a handful of songs between to enjoy, Phil has a great bass line throughout "Peggy-O" doesn't he?

The second set starts with "Scarlet Begonias" > "Fire on the Mountain"; it has a minor technical difficulty to begin but they quickly get things going. A tremendous "Fire" delivered in 1977 style would be an understatement. The transition into "Good Lovin'" is tight. A solid well sung "Candyman." A superb pairing of "Estimated Prophet" > "He's Gone." For those counting that's four Jerry songs, versus two for Bobby.

The third disc continues the second set with a brilliant "Samson and Delilah." The rest of the disc is the Jerry show starting with a  duo of Jerry tunes; "Terrapin Station" > "Morning Dew." A mighty fine year for "Morning Dew" and the combination of sound quality and the performance make this one a top tier version for sure. The opening soft part of the song you can hear a pin drop with Bobby and Keith coming at the far ends of the head sets with Jerry and Phil coming up in the center, and the drummers playing at a whisper. You know this one is going to be good. The concluding instrumental section is long and builds so nicely, and has the killer explosive finish we all crave. 

Two encores to enjoy. The twelve minute version of "Uncle John's Band" was quite remarkable and would have been enough. Though, who's going to say no to a Jerry singing us one more, "U.S. Blues"? 

The first evening is a Jerry lovers delight. Cumulative, eight Jerry songs, four of Bobby's.

June 8, 1977
Some set one highlights include the opening sequence of "New Minglewood Blues" then "Sugaree." The latter is a 16 minute monster. Another really spectacular song is the cover "It's All Over Now." Jerry gives the song great texture with his chordal melodic approach. Following it, "Jack-A-Roe" is a pleasure, and the delivery of "Lazy Lightning" > "Supplication" closes the set with a bang. 

The second starts with a common pairing in 1977 and 1978 of "Bertha" > " "Good Lovin'." Both songs were played the evening before, but in different sequences. One of the joys of 1977 Grateful Dead is "Estimated Prophet" > "Eyes of the World" and these are strong versions. The third disc has a solid "Other One." The "GDTRFB" delivers some delicious riffs. The encore of "Brokedown Palace" is certainly what the doctor ordered after a frenzied pace that closed the second set.

June 9, 1977
The first set has similarities to the first evening with a sandwich of powerful songs to open and close the set. Jerry replaces "Bertha" with a superb "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo." This version is in the mold of what is probably my favorite "Half-Step" from Englishtown, Dick's Picks Volume 15. The way Jerry builds the final solo into a blissful peak after the vocal "Across the Grande Rio" coda. I recently played the Englishtown version and the sound quality is not nearly as good quality as this one. Bobby follows with "Jack Straw," and also closes with a fury with "The Music Never Stopped." The rest of the set is pretty good too, "Loser" has been in their concert rotation seemingly forever, but the 1977 versions always seem to shine brightly. A comment about Donna's contributions are worth noting. She comes through quite nicely in the mix throughout the box, primarily with background vocals. One example of many is "Looks Like Rain." She takes the lead vocal on "Sunrise" too.

The second disc is the first part of the set two, with the highlight being a marvelous "Help On The Way" > "Slipknot" > "Franklin's Tower." The third disc offers a just as impressive musical statement. Flawless execution throughout of a journey of: 
1. Estimated Prophet>
2. Saint Stephen>
3. Not Fade Away>
4. Drums>
5. Saint Stephen>
6. Terrapin Station>
7. Sugar Magnolia

Not a dull moment. This version of "Not Fade Away" is around half as short as the previous evenings and much more to my liking. The separation of "St Stephen" into sections doesn't miss a beat, Jerry's delivery of "Terrapin Station" is scrumptious, and so is Bobby set closer of "Sugar Magnolia." A two song fast paced encore of "U.S. Blues" and "One More Saturday Night." This  disc reminds me of the June 1974 wall of Sound release disc 2 portion from "Weather Report" all the way through "Stella Blue" or the second disc of Dick's Picks 16 from 11/8/1969, because these segments taken together are jaw dropping.

Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings delivers three full concerts. All three shows are performed exquisitely. Within the liner notes Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux describes the Winterland run as follows: “A lot of Dead Heads say ’77 is their favorite year. And of these shows, the first night is a Top 15, the second is a Top 10, and the third is a Top 3.” I came away with the feeling of depending on which songs you liked best would dictate one's favorite show as the delivery is impressive throughout, almost. In terms of second set, the first evening's song selection is right up my alley, while the final shows execution is stunning. I'd say 6/9 is the better played set, but 6/7 will get more playing time. Of first set, top honors goes to the last night for me, because of the "Half-Step," but that "Sugaree" and "It's All Over Now" make the June 8 just as impressive. 

It's hard to believe, but three nights in a row without a version of "Playing in the Band." It is a key component of the bonus disc, for early orders. The bonus disc also captures two other 1977 classics, "Comes a Time" and "Dancing in the Street." Other than that, most great 1977 songs are contained within this box-set. No "Truckin'" but that actually wasn't played much in 1977, and not until September, and the lone "China Cat Sunflower" > "I Know You Rider" is from December 29, pick up Dick's Picks Volume 10 for that. A few others, "The Wheel, sorely missed" and "Stella Blue."

If you're wondering should I drop the $100, no question. The sound has great clarity as it was given the Plangent Process. You can get less expensive releases, but this is the quality over quantity option. 

by Barry Small ©
Grade A+

Did you catch the recent release; the 9th edition of Pure Jerry?  More Bay Area sounds?

Bonus Disc
Chicago Auditorium Theater, May 12, 1977 (while supplies last) Full show set list

This bonus disc is a really nice package. The closing of the first set with "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo" > "Dancing In The Street," sweet. This version of "Half-Step" doesn't have the same finish as the 6/9 version, but does have great interact between the band, particularly interesting is the way Keith follows Jerry down every path. The remainder of the disc is the last portion of the second finish. 
3. Terrapin Station>
4. Playing In The Band>
5. Drums>
6. Not Fade Away>
7. Comes A Time>
8. Playing In The Band

Like  I said, sweet!

Other box sets:
This Winterland Box follows last years Winterland 1973 release. My guess is 2010 edition  will either be from 1972 or a Brent era selection.   

Winterland 1973 The Complete Recordings - Our favorite. Three shows, nine discs. 

Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Concerts - The theme of the same venue and complete recordings that are released in one box would seemingly make this the most like the Winterland 1973: The Complete Recordings. However, Fillmore 1969 was a limited edition and is no longer available. Ten discs. 

Also, a three disc compilation was released and is still available, no compilation for Winterland 1973 was released. I'm not sure how well a compilation of Winterland would work though. It would have to be six discs so why bother? Perhaps releasing one of the shows individually for those that can't afford the box or casual listeners. The problem with that is if you heard one show you want the other two, and then you'd have to buy the box too. Winterland 1973 is just perfect as is. 

The Fillmore 1969  releases are multi-tracks recordings as opposed to two track recordings for the Winterland run, but with the extra restoration processes they used for Winterland they really sound great.

Other boxes:
So Many Roads - Live career overview, but with too much of an emphasis on early and late material. 

The Golden Road - Remastered with bonus tracks. 12 CD's. Birth of the Dead through Europe 1972. - With 15 1/2 hours of music, including 7 hours of previously unreleased material. Includes the Dead's nine Warner Bros. albums, digitally remastered in HDCD for superior quality.

Beyond Description - Remastered with bonus tracks - 12 CD's. Wake of the Flood through Built to Last.

CD Mastering - Jeffrey Norman 
Box-set Producer - David Lemieux
Recorded by - Betty Cantor Jackson
Artwork - Emek
Booklet essay - David Fricke
Photography - Ed Perlstein, Polonsky
Art - Steve Vance

Release date Oct. 1, 2009
Recorded live at Winterland, San Francisco, June 7 - 9, 1977.

Product Details:
· 9-CD set featuring three consecutive Winterland shows (over 9 hours of music)
· Mind-bending artwork from acclaimed artist Emek
· 28-page booklet with essay by David Fricke
· EXCLUSIVE bonus disc for early orders

Listening Party
Pre-orders for Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings have begun!

To celebrate we're streaming a series of Listening Parties with select tracks from each night. Each party will last about 5 days, and then we'll roll out another set of songs from the next night. To get things started, here are two amazing performances from June 7th:

Jack Straw (6/7/1977)
By the second song of this three-night run, you can sense that something special is 
underway, and the shows would only get better as each night progressed!

Samson and Delilah (6/7/1977)
An absolutely rocking version of this common-but-never-disappointing part of 1977 
Grateful Dead second sets, a real scorcher!

Sugaree 6/8/77
As good as they come from 1977, which is to say as good as Sugaree ever was throughout the entirety of the Grateful Dead's performing career. As magical as any of the versions from the May 1977 tour.

It's All Over Now 6/8/77
A laid back groove defines this great version of what was becoming a staple of Grateful Dead sets since the Fall of 1976.

One - Bertha [6:41] ; Me And My Uncle [2:37] ; Tennessee Jed [8:52] ; Cassidy [4:32] ; Peggy-O [6:57] ; Jack Straw [5:20] ; They Love Each Other [7:03] ; New Minglewood Blues [5:03] ; Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo [9:53] > Dancing In The Street [13:43]
Two - Samson And Delilah [6:32] ; Brown Eyed Women [4:54] ; Estimated Prophet [8:30] ; Sunrise [3:34] ; Terrapin Station [10:15] > Playing In The Band [9:02] > Drums [4:17] > Not Fade Away [13:58] > Comes A Time [10:28] > Playing In The Band [6:37]

Encore - Johnny B. Goode [4:06]

From the Grateful Dead website