The Closing of Winterland [Box set] [Live]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
This 4 CD set contains the entire Grateful Dead performance from the Closing of Winterland on 12/31/78, mixed from the 24-track analog master tapes, and includes a 24-page booklet containing photos and essays.

Tracks:

Sugar Magnolia
Scarlet Begonias
Fire on the Mountain
Me and My Uncle
Big River
Friend of the Devil
It's All Over Now
Stagger Lee
From the Heart of Me
Sunshine Daydream

Tracks:

Samson and Delilah
Ramble on Rose
I Need a Miracle
Terrapin Station
Playing in the Band

Tracks:

Rhythm Devils
Not Fade Away
Around and Around

Tracks:

Dark Star
The Other One
Dark Star
Wharf Rat
St. Stephen
Good Lovin'
Casey Jones
Johnny B. Goode
We Bid You Goodnight

Album Description

This 4 CD set contains the entire Grateful Dead performance from the Closing of Winterland on 12/31/78, mixed from the 24-track analog master tapes, and includes a 24-page booklet containing photos and essays.

Customer Reviews:

Must Have.......2007-05-16

A classic album; one of my favorites. For any Dead fan or anyone wanting to give live Dead shows a shot, a fantastic choice. HIGHly recommended.

Lots of blah-blah here about pre-this-or-that, but this may be their greatest.......2007-05-06

I used to sit and listen to these guys jamming in the gym at College of Marin on lazy afternoons back in 1964. I saw them at the Filmore in SF in 1966. After that, only once in the early 80s at an outdoor concert in Oregon. They were never bad, but they definitely got better with time, regardless of whether there were occasional slumps. And whether their playing got better or not is beside the point; the music itself got phenomenally better. I listened to this particular concert live on the radio from a funky cabin in Monte Rio with good friends, a jug of wine, and something for the pipe, so maybe it just brings back pleasant memories. Nonetheless, back when the Dead came out with "Terrapin Station" in 1977, I was blown away, and their music (the songs) just kept getting better until the mid-1980s with "In the Dark." All this to say that, of all the concerts and live CDs I've heard by the Dead over the years, this one stands out as representative of their best years. Incidentally, this was also a stand-out period for The Jerry Garcia Band, whose "Cats Under the Stars," which features the voices of Donna Godchaux and Maria Muldaur and a number of songs that became standard tunes for later Dead shows. This is, hands down, the best introduction to the best period of Grateful Dead music.

Actually, 3 and 1/2 stars.......2007-03-07

The Dead were not at their best in 1978. Inner problems and drug abuse were really affecting the band skills. Anyway, they were such an impressive live ensemble that they could sound really good even on bad nights. Not that this was a bad night, but neither an outstanding one. Anyway, there are really nice moments, and most of them have to do with the (at least for me) undoubtfully most talented member of the band, Mr.Garcia. His solos are always sprinkled with beauty. He always plays nice, and he always knows what NOT to play. Furthermore, his compositions are usually the real gems of the band repertoire. Even though drugs were affecting his life more than before and his voice was a kind of ragged, Jerry was still that leader that didn't want to lead but led anyway.
More of historical interest, this release is not recommended for newcomers. Anyway, it offers really beautiful moments such as "Terrapin Station", "Playing In The Band", "Ramble On Rose" and "Stagger Lee". This Winterland "Dark Star" is not very inspired, nor inspiring, but it is nice to hear the audience freaking out after more than 1500 days without the Dead's live tour-de-force.
Summing up: they were not the best at what they did, they were the only ones, as Graham rightly said. They are really better live releases, but this one will surely provide Dead followers with some really pleasant music.

Worth buying if you're a diehard.......2007-02-24

I know this band inside and out. I think I'm going to have to agree with the majority here. This show is decent but inconsistent. And yes, Keith by this point was almost a non-entity musically. Definitely go back to the pre haitus (1971-1974) period with him and you'll hear a much different player. For a mainstream album just listen to his parts on Europe '72, he's instrumental (no pun intended) in the sound of that album. By '78 and the beginning of '79 (when they finally booted them both) he was really contributing nothing to the band. But I must say the sound on this CD is fantastic. I believe it is the same person/people that mixed the relatively new Grateful Dead movie CD set. They do a wonderful job of mixing the room in with mix, giving the listener a great feel of what it must have been like to be at the live show. Anyway, if you're not a diehard there are probably more lows than highs here. I agree about the element of too many people sitting in. That more often than not just becomes a jumbled mess, especially with the Dead when you're playing by the seat of your pants anyway.

excellent concert but not their best.......2007-02-14

the first half of this concert is as good as any the dead has done, but the rest is a little flat. I would rate "Downhill From Here" a better overall performance. The concert starts out good with " Sugar Magnolia" and gets better with "Scarlett Begonias" and "Fire On The Mountain". Other highlights of the concert include "Friend Of The Devil","Ramble On Rose","It's All Over Now" and "Stagger Lee".

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