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Many times you won't even find this album listed among available "Dead" albums, it is held in such low regard by many Deadheads. I guess in my case it is an example similar to many people's experience of ethnic food: however you had it first is the most "genuine" and every following experience is measured by that initial exposure. Not sure what I expected from "the Dead" when I checked this album out of the library in the 70's but I loved what I found. Story-telling music that mixed well-known stories of traditional country with original story telling and humor. The production values clearly leave much to be desired but the "shirt-tail" showing in both production and musicianship were part of what lead me into more curiosity about rock's most free-form, be here now bands. I never have been able to figure out the objection to this particular outing. To me it is all the best and worst of the Dead: Always musically reaching and occasionally falling on your face in the pursuit of musical conversation. Not sure what my fellow dead-heads are looking for but that's what I love in the music.
I don't believe there is another band in the history of rock and roll that has been more successful in repackaging and selling their music! I have all of the Dead's studio recordings and a few of their live recordings and wouldn't dream of parting with any of them. They had a way of bringing their music to life that precious few other bands ever could. They may not have had the vocal or musical talent of some, but they definitely put their hearts and souls into every song and it showed in ways that can't be described. I highly recommend this CD!
This purchase was to replace an old, long-lost copy. I've always liked their studio-produced stuff, much to the chagrin of some more serious aficionados. Every once in a while it's nice to hear a nice crisp rendition than to have to pore over tons of bootlegs to find just the one.
Had the 8 track, first Dead album I ever owned. Sounds better on CD. Yeah, sound can be uneven, but it’s live and enthusiastic. Nice array of songs. Excellent Sugaree, US Blues, Big River, Promised Land, El Paso.
This album gets a lot of bad-mouthing, but it really doesn't deserve it. Sure the sound's not perfect. But it's pretty good, at least on the remastered CD version, of which this is the second copy I've bought. I never had a vinyl, 8-track or cassette copy, so maybe all the trash-talk is about those.
Ich habe "steal your face" ca. 35 Jahre lang nicht mehr gehört. Die Scheibe gehörte zur Sammlung meines Bruders, auf die ich einfach nicht mehr zugreifen konnte. Die zum Teil negativen Besprechungen haben mich lange vom Kauf abgehalten. Jetzt habe ich sie trotz aller Unkenrufe einfach geordert und gestern zum ersten mal seit Jahrzehnten gehört. Was für eine erste Seite! Allein die Abfolge von "Stella Blue", "Half-Step Mississippi Uptwon Toodeloo" und "Ship of Fools" ist grandios, das allein rechtfertigt den Kauf, aber auch "Cold Rain & Snow" ist beeindruckend. Mir kommt die Band sogar vergleichsweise präsent vor, vergleicht man das mit den zahllosen, z.T. schlechten Aufnahmen, die im Netz verbreitet werden oder bei Spotify zu hören sind. Hart und Kreutzmann mit präzisem und akzentuiertem Schlagzeug, Garcias Stimme gar nicht so brüchig, Gitarren und Keyboard mit klarem, hellen Klang, gut ausbalanciert und das Tempo der Stücke richtig, richtig gut. Ich weiß gar nicht, was es da zu meckern gibt. Nachsatz: Ok, die oder andere Gesangspassage hat eine schlechte Tonqualität (die Mikros?) - na und? Ich bleibe bei meiner Meinung: tolle Platte! Ich höre sie jetzt nicht unentwegt, aber beinahe.