Fillmore West 1969

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
By 1969, the Grateful Dead's marathon free-form performances were fundamentally expanding the known boundaries of rock music. Grateful Dead Records' new 3-CD gold mine presents a bounty of iconic Dead songs recorded at their now-historic Fillmore West dates from February 27 to March 2, 1969. Indulge in the essential Grateful Dead at the Fillmore in 1969, the cosmic peak of their phenomenal rise to global superstardom.

Tracks:

Morning Dew
Good MOrning Little School Girl
Doin' That Rag
I'm A King Bee
Cosmic Charlie
Turn On Your Lovelight
Dupree's Diamond Blues
Mountains of the Moon
Dark Star
St. Stephen
Eleven
Death Don't Have No Mercy
That's It For the Other One
Alligator
Drums
Jam
Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)
Feedback
We Bid You Goodnight

Amazon.com

The 1969 double album Live/Dead holds a special place in the Deadhead universe; indeed, many band members and their inner circle consider it to be the band's best overall collection as well. This expanded, three-CD edition is culled from the same February/March '69 shows at the Dead's de facto live home, San Francisco's Fillmore West. What's documented here are not only some of the greatest performances of the band's early era, but the still-evolving template for much of the band's later flights of improvisation. The first, blues-dominated disc pays tribute to a band that a couple years earlier had been but an ambitious bar covers ban! d, while the second chronicles the Dead's expansive "Dark Star/St. Stephen/The Eleven" triptych wed to a cover of the Rev. Gary Davis' "Death Don't Have No Mercy," 2/28/69 performances that turn on the freeform interplay that would become their trademark for decades to follow. The set's final disc is highlighted by a vigorous, nearly hour-long workout that jams its way through the band's early "Alligator," "Caution" and the obligatory drum break to the traditional closer, "We Bid You Goodnight." Said to be the first 16-track live recording, the epochal performances here are burnished to near sonic perfection via HDCD mastering, a heady, if ironic wedding of technology and the band's rootsy, musical humanity. --Jerry McCulley

Album Description

By 1969, the Grateful Dead's marathon free-form performances were fundamentally expanding the known boundaries of rock music. Grateful Dead Records' new 3-CD gold mine presents a bounty of iconic Dead songs recorded at their now-historic Fillmore West dates from February 27 to March 2, 1969. Indulge in the essential Grateful Dead at the Fillmore in 1969, the cosmic peak of their phenomenal rise to global superstardom.

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely essential.......2007-04-24

These 3 discs (there is a limited edition 10 disc set which has obviously sold out!!)are a continuation of Live Dead. If you haven't heard the Dead Live then start with this or Live Dead.

You will realise why to many they were America's greatest improvisational rock band. The playing, the interplay between the musicians - particularly Garcia and Lesh is staggering. And how about a big hand for Bill Kreutzman on drums?

Fillmore West 1969.......2006-10-13

Pretty good performances. I don't like the fact that since 2001, the idea seems to be to erasing Bob's voice from the last 4 to 5 minutes of Lovelight on all the multitrack releases. Disc 2 starts with a cool pairing of Dupree's into Mountains Of The Moon. The Dark Star that follows is very good and it was recorded the night after the Live Dead version as is the following Saint Stephen. The Eleven is always nice to hear and this is no exception. Death Don't Have No Mercy is strong also. The That's It For The Other One that starts off the third disc is powerful. The Alligator/Caution jam is one of the best

Snapshot from their peak years.......2006-09-20

This three-disc set tracks the Grateful Dead's performances during the height of their early power. The material collected here had been previously bootlegged by the Dead's legion of collecting fans, but this official release cherry picks the finest performances and adds lengthy liner notes and many color photographs to create a nice package. While the music contained herein demonstrates the breadth of the bands music, certain things do stand out. For me it was Ron "Pigpen" McKernan lending the band some bluesy credibility that they may have otherwise lacked. Pigpen plays swirling organ and some strong harmonica throughout the music, but is heard to best effect on the blues songs he took lead vocals on.

He leads the band through an absolutely charging version of Bobby Bland's "Turn on Your Lovelight" and sings with great authority on Muddy Waters' "King Bee" and John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl." The rest of the band is certainly not to be undone, as the music alternates between spacey on "Mountains on the Moon," "Dark Star" and blasting rock and roll on tracks like "Cosmic Charlie" and the go-for-broke final concert ending medley jam. In a sense this music would be the high water mark of the band's early period, with a shift to acoustic instruments and the first of many personnel additions and subtractions on the way. Still, this is a great snapshot of one of the finest live-performance bands in rock and roll history.

For die hard fans only.......2006-08-15

Other reviewers have said it. This is very good stuff, but it shows that whoever put together Live/Dead really got it right. Die hard fans and dead collectors will love this. But since I don't quite rise to that level, I was a bit disappointed. Sure there are places were the band is off, but what this album really shows is what a mismatch Tom Constanten (on keyboards) was with this band. The five core members are starting to soar into new realms and Constanten's soul-less keyboard is often front and center in these recordings, keeping the group's left foot firmly nailed to the ground. In Live/Dead his damage was minimized in the mix somehow.

Beautiful..........2006-07-14

I`ve bought this today... And I`m not happy about that! It`s a shame that I didn`t buy it that very first moment I saw it in the store! This is beautiful piece of music. Beautiful... If you like Live/Dead you gonna like this one. I`m not gonna write comments about versions of songs here and there... They`re different and that`s good. Enjoy...

Average customer rating:

DAMNIT!
35-minute SF jamming? Why not!
We want more!
AWESOME JAMMING! A GREAT CD FOR FANS OF 60'S ROCK!
great farewell performance

Live! Fillmore West 1969
Country Joe & the Fish & Friends
Manufacturer: Vanguard Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Electric Music for the Mind and Body
I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die
Here We Are Again
Together
C J Fish

ASIN: B000000ED5
Release Date: 1996-04-16

Tracks:

Introduction/Rock And Soul Music/Love
Here I Go Again
It's So Nice To Have Your Love
Flying High
Doctor Of Electricity
Donovan's Reef Jam

Customer Reviews:

DAMNIT!.......2004-01-28

The dead arent that good....I like them I own their first 10 cds or so (the arista stuff sucked) and I trade live shows so I know the jams and what not....but the dead just dont have the energy that CJ and the fish had. But it sickens me to think people buy this just for Jerry.....Country Joe rules and his folkie-voice does too. haha...Um the best fish is non-studio live stuff, sorry amazon,(Country Joe allows trading similar to the dead) but If you know any live show traders get their woodstock set or anything, but woodstock was absolutely on fire, then you doubters will understand the mighty Fish. Seriously Folks, they were massively underrated and nearly forgotten by the mainstream except fixin to die rag which has almost become a gimick......hmmm. Theres more out there especially in the san fran 60s scene than just the dead...do some research lazy potheads. haha

35-minute SF jamming? Why not!.......2003-02-15

Due to the presence of all the guest players on this vintage "farewell to the original lineup" CJ & Fish show, the music--especially on the closing "Donovan's Reef" jam--comes incredibly close to sounding like The Dead or The Airplane during one of their long improvisational flights. The Country Joe sound is still evident, although it had changed from the early days of "Electric Music" from the purer acid-rock of that time to add elements of soul/funk/boogie to the mix. There are some great moments here, but like almost all SF jam albums of the period there are are dull moments when the super-group of jammers are slightly off or feeling their way. Highlights include "It's So Nice To Have Your Love", the end of "Flying High", the climax of "Donovan's Reef" and Jack Casady's bass playing throughout. I've always liked Country Joe's voice, it has a humble quality and an appealing timbre. However, as good as this release is it would perhaps be even better to release their complete Monterey Pop performance, which captured them playing the best songs off of their first two albums.

We want more!.......2002-03-01

This was a great band, individually and collectively. It's a shame that the relationships have not been maintained over the years. Ce la vie! The really great thing about this album is the jamming aspect. Always known for the lyrical and political aspects of their music, the Fish could jam it up like the best of them. Indeed Barry Melton in his new life still does. But what performances have we on this jewel of a disc. I suspect that many of the people who bought this album did so because of the appearance of Dead members Garcia and Hart or even Casady and Kaukkonen and good luck to them because they will have been exposed to some killer playing on the disc. Barry Melton is on top form throughout and plays his heart out. My only regret is that there is not more of these shows or other live Fish performances around. If anyone out there is listening...WE WANT MORE! A highly recommended alum which should grace the shelves of any afficionado of West Coast Music.

AWESOME JAMMING! A GREAT CD FOR FANS OF 60'S ROCK!.......2000-11-09

Thank you to the reviewer who mentioned that Jerry Garcia plays in the 38 minute song "Donaovan's Reef Jam" because I promptly ordered the cd on that fact alone knowing that the incredible sounding jam would be worth the price, which it was. Luckily, there are other excellent bits of music on this high-spirited, rocking album. What fun conecerts the two shows that these songs were recorded from must have been. The only negative comments I have about Country Joe is that the

guy can't sing worth two nickles (sorry, but its true). The great music can make up for it but not all the time. Otherwise, get this and have fun listening to some fun music, PARTICULARLY the final song!

great farewell performance.......1999-10-01

As an old Fish fan, I was always on the lookout for any old 'live' material from the vault. To my great surprise, my sister-in-law gave me this CD for Christmas '97. HOT HOT HOT !! If you're a fan of West Coast '60's psychedelia, this is a must-have album. The tunes are powerful, a direct result of having Jack Casady on bass through the entire CD. Jack drives the band hard, especially Barry Melton, and the Fish never sounded better live.

Average customer rating:

underrated
Neat to hear but heard better
Gram Who??
These Byrds Can Play
Under appreciated line-up

Live at the Fillmore West February 1969
The Byrds
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Byrds Untitled
Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde
Ballad of Easy Rider
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Younger Than Yesterday

ASIN: B00004OCE7
Release Date: 2000-02-22

Tracks:

Nashville West
You're Still On My Mind
Pretty Boy Floyd
Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man
Medley: Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Seaon)/Mr. Tambourine Man/Eight Miles High
Close Up The Honky Tonks
Buckaroo
The Christian Life
Time Between
King Apathy III
Bad Night At The Whiskey
The Wheel's On Fire
Sing Me Back Home
So You Want To Be Rock 'N' Roll Star
He Was A Good Friend Of Mine
Chimes Of Freedom

Amazon.com

Recorded at Bill Graham's legendary San Francisco concert hall during two shows in February 1969, this disc sounds like a practice session recorded in the morning after a particularly long, rough night. The vocals fall flat too often and rhythmic cohesion is always one measure away--too many noodly, irrelevant notes are slathered atop every song. Some of this can be explained by the absence of one former Byrd. In turning the band towards their country-rock bent and then splitting after less than a year, Gram Parsons left a hole that could never really be filled, not even by the nimble-fingered Clarence White. Their take on the Louvin Brothers' classic "Christian Life," for instance, is ragged, but not right. But the CD certainly has merit for more than just archivists and obsessives: the straight-ahead folk-rock material does shine with the "Nashville West" flavorings. There's a fiery "King Apathy III"; a revelatory, subtle version of "Bad Night at the Whiskey"; and a truly emotional take of "He Was a Friend of Mine," especially poignant a year after the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. --Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews:

underrated.......2006-06-03

The Byrds 'Live at the Fillmore West ~ February 1969' is a wonderful companion disc to the other live Byrds venture, 'Untitled/Unissued'. Together, these three discs offer a rich compendium of The Byrds live persona in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Still missing in action, and presumably not available, are live recordings of the first incarnation of the band, featuring Chris Hillman and David Crosby. With John York on bass, this recording features one of the shorter-lived Byrd's line-ups.

Compared with 'Untitled/Unissued', the Fillmore West disc is much more heavily steeped in traditional country and the burgeoning country-rock sound pioneered by The Byrds. But if you're a fan of the band's pop, rock, and psychedelic offerings, there is plenty of that fare to be had as well. In fact, although ten of the sixteen tracks would have to be categorized as basically country, five of those tracks are under 2:10 in length. The lengthier rock tracks (especially the 9:47 medley of classic Byrd tracks offered on track five) consume about an equal amount of time on the disc as the country offerings. The country offerings are also collected at the beginning of the disc, so whatever your interest may be, you can easily select that portion of the recordings to hear.

The first four tracks on the disc are hard-core country music, beginning with a rendition of 'Nashville West' which blows away the version offered on 'Untitled'. 'You're Still On My Mind' features a nice slide guitar sound from Clarence White, as do many of the country tracks, and 'Pretty Boy Floyd' is a 'Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde' clone from Woody Guthrie. 'Drug Store Truck Driving Man' is a send-up of a down-home redneck, ironically using redneck music to roast him. Tracks six through ten return to the country sounds. 'Buckaroo' is a country-rock instrumental, while 'The Christian Life' is a slowed-down country-gospel track. I would also classify track 13, 'Sing Me Back Home', a melodious prison ballad from Merle Haggard as country, as well as the worthy version of 'He Was a Friend of Mine' (perhaps more folk oriented), the slowed-down melodic dirge for JFK, RFK, and MLK.

The main attraction on the disc, however, is one of the finest medley's I've ever come across. Excellance in musicianship combines with classic compositions and seamless segue's on track five, a suite featuring nearly full performances of 'Turn, Turn, Turn', 'Mr. Tambourine Man' and 'Eight Miles High'. White's guitar runs contain more notes per second than many elite axemen can hope to generate, and his skill is highlighted in a remarkable working relationship with Roger McGuinn's familiar 12-string Rickenbacker. A mind-blowing fuzz-tone guitar bridge from White puts the icing on 9:47 of sheer musical bliss.

More rock highlights include the crunching psychedelic rock of 'King Apathy III', the slowed-down rock of 'Bad Night At the Whiskey', and the mid-tempo Bob Dylan/Rick Danko composition 'This Wheel's On Fire', which manages somehow to combine both Dylan and The Band's traditional sounds. The remaining two tracks rival the intensity of the earlier Byrds medley. The rendition of 'So You Want To Be a Rock 'N' Roll Star' burns with intensity, rocking all over the 'Untitled' version, which is no slouch in itself. And the closing track, 'Chimes of Freedom' comes off as a modern day 'Star Spangled Banner'. It could be perhaps a more fitting substitute for the national anthem than 'God Bless America'.

I believe this disc is seriously underrated. I've read many reviews that criticize this recording as uninspired, weak performances, poorly recorded. I found none of those criticisms to be valid. The liner notes from David Fricke aren't terribly extensive, but do give sufficient background on this particular performance, and how the band had been evolving in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The graphics and photographs of the band are also not extensive, but what is offered is illuminating. 'Live At the Fillmore West' is certainly essential for any serious Byrd's fan, and may well supplement the collection of more casual fans of the Byrd's diverse musical forms. Four stars only because I'm not a big country music fan.

Neat to hear but heard better.......2005-10-15

If your a diehard Sweet heart of the Rodeo fan type of Byrds material you will love this Live 1969 concert CD, but for me I liked the 1967 Montery Pop Festival volume 2 CD that came out in 1992 better. It has more classic Byrds material that were on the first three albums etc..before the 1968 Rodeo album made in nashville etc.. there are live cuts on the Byrds Untitled two record album (CD) by a later Byrds lineup. I also saw at a Convention Center CD sale (Dealers tables) a Bootleg of a Byrds whole Live show in 1971 at the fillmore east (2 CD's long) the guy that had it only took cash I didn't have $40.00 he said it was best he ever heard etc..etc.. Why can't these record companies sell this kind of stuff instead of what they do now. Here is the best byrds line-up with the best byrds concert ever in 1971 recorded on a illegal bootled two CD set (Hello dummies) guess what the fans want this kind of stuff you know that is legal. What gems are these record companies holding on to an why are they waiting for the rest of the Byrds to die so they can screw them out of royality's to be made from this stuff , God
help them see the light. There should be a 7 CD box set with photo book of live Byrds concerts ( all 7 years of line ups )
and if they don't have the master tapes etc.. just go out and buy up all the bootlegs and put them out in the Box set you dummies

Gram Who??.......2005-04-16

And you thought the Flying Burrito Brothers embodied country-rock! One listen to this disc and you'll think otherwise. McGuinn/White/Parsons/York crank out some of the grittiest, roughest, rockin' sounding country music ever. And some of these cuts are the definitive versions of the songs..."Drug Store Truck Driving Man" is exponentially better than its studio counterpart. Same goes for "Pretty Boy Floyd" "Bad Night At The Whiskey" and, to a lesser extent "He Was a Friend of Mine." But McGuinn's vocals, man they really get inside of you, making you wonder "Gram who?"
But the real star of the show is Clarence White. I've never heard a guitar growl the way his Telecaster does. "Buckaroo" is all him, and his solo on "Close Up The Honky Tonks" is mindbending, literally.
If anyone knows where I could find some more official live recordings of the late Byrds, please E-Mail me!

These Byrds Can Play.......2005-04-04

I don't know why the gods smiled on us and somehow these recordings were made, but they were. One listen to Clarence White work out on "Buckaroo" and you know (knew, if you were there) you are (were) in the presence of something really unusual and very, very cool - total mastery of the instrument and an intense, creative and soulful musical and rhythmic spirit. (Compare with the Buck Owens original and you'll know what I'm saying). White, who had been playing electric guitar only a couple years at that point, has simply never been equalled in the genre. And actually only equalled at all by very few other guitar players. OK - the other guys are good too, esp. Parsons, the drummer, who understood what Clarence was trying to do. This band was just beginning to feel its power, and you can hear it. McGuinn actually seems to be having a good time, and he sings and plays the country stuff OK and the folk and rock material very well indeed. Ahead of their time and underrated - classic Byrds.

Under appreciated line-up.......2005-03-05

Right from the beginning a lot of people thought this version of the Byrds was bogus, having only Rodger McGuinn from the original lineup. While their studio recordings, still very good but a notch below their classic albums weren't big sellers, an amazing thing happened. They became an awsome live band, which no other version ever was. Just listen to the ragged performance on the Montery Pop Festival box set or any of the dozens of bootlegs around and you can see what I mean. What the Live At The Fillmore West CD lacks in sound quality it certainly makes up for in the intensity of the performance. There are a few off vocals here & there that can be attributed to the dismal state of on stage monitors at the time, but if you like the Byrds give this one a try. I don't think you'll be diasppointed.

Average customer rating:

Live at the Fillmore West February 1969
The Byrds
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music

Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004R8NX
Release Date: 2007-01-16

Tracks:

Nashville West
You're Still on My Mind
Pretty Boy Floyd
Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man
Medley: Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)/Mr ...
Close up the Honkey Tonks
Buckaroo
Christian Life
Time Between
King Apathy III
Bad Night at the Whiskey
This Wheel's on Fire
Sing Me Back Home
So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star
He Was a Friend of Mine
Chimes of Freedom

grateful dead: fillmore west 1969, the complete recordings, limited ed, 10-cd

Average customer rating:

grateful dead: fillmore west 1969, the complete recordings, limited ed, 10-cd
grateful dead
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000MK2W40

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