Tue, 19 March 2019
I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's album Wake of the Flood. Show notes: - Recorded at CompCon world HQ - Jay: Knew nothing about this album until recently - First album on the Dead's own label - New phase for the Dead: No Mickey Hart, the Godchauxs arrive, Pigpen had died - Shades of jazz fusion - Three years after their last studio album, American Beauty - Material was well-honed in concert before making it to studio recording - Horns featured throughout - Phil: Live versions of these songs are better - Two big shows with Allman Brothers and the Band that summer - The rise of Frampton - Nobody cares about live albums anymore - "Stella Blue" is a standout track - On the merits and demerits of Rush - Back when AOR stations would play album sides - Pulled back on the country influence of previous two albums - No immediate "hits" - Touring is one of the few ways bands can make money nowadays - Ultimately, not one of their best, but a piece of the puzzle Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian. |
Tue, 5 March 2019
I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's live triple album Europe '72. Show notes: - Recorded at CompCon world HQ - Triple album documenting the Dead's European tour - Displays new Americana sound - Mickey Hart's gone, Keith and Donna Godchaux join - Full tour was documented on a 73-CD box set - Letting it all hang out at an Oregon show - Garcia and Weir released solo albums this year - The Dead's influenced ranged wide, eventually including members of punk/indie acts like Black Flag and Meat Puppets - Greg Ginn, noted Deadhead - The greatness of "Jack Straw" - Later covered by eventual guest keyboardist Bruce Hornsby - Grateful Dead keyboardists : Spinal Tap drummers - "A long f-ing album" - Unrelated: The Dirtbombs rule - "China Cat Sunflower" sounds very different here than the original - This is Peak Dead - The band captured the communal live experience and attracted a huge following - When you party too hard before the show - Pigpen's last hurrah - "Morning Dew" is stretched out to 10+ minutes of apocalyptic jam - Tangent: Janelle Monae is great - Variety is important - No more guilty pleasures - Waaaaaaay off topic - The strange career of Robert Palmer - Phil: Europe '72 is like comfort food - Next up: Wake of the Flood Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian. |