Road Trips Vol. 3 No. 3
$23.98
Fillmore East 5/15/70
New 1970 “Road Trips” Features Prime Acoustic and Electric Dead
Can it really be 40 years since Workingman’s Dead was released? Why, it feels like only yesterday that “Uncle John’s Band” first started wafting out over the FM airwaves, spreading its warm smile coast to coast and announcing to the world that the Good Ol’ Grateful Dead were now traveling to some cool new spaces (in addition to most of their deliciously weird old ones). This edition of Road Trips (Vol. 3, No. 3) celebrates that magical and transformative spring of 1970 with one of the best-loved aural documents of that era: The Dead’s early and late shows at the Fillmore East on May 15, 1970, presented nearly in their entirety over the first 3-CD set in this series (plus the accompanying Bonus Disc).
This was a big tour for the Grateful Dead family. For one thing, it was the first jaunt the Dead undertook with their country-rock offshoot, the New Riders of the Purple Sage (which at this point still included Garcia on pedal steel guitar), as their opening act. As an added treat, at a number of shows that spring – including these two – the Dead started the evening by playing a casual and intimate acoustic set consisting mostly of old folk and blues tunes, but also usually featuring a few songs from the (still unreleased) Workingman’s Dead. Over the course of the two acoustic sets that night the group tackled such tunes as “I Know You Rider,” “The Rub (Ain’t It Crazy),” “Deep Elem Blues” (which does not appear on the previously circulating recordings of the late show), “Uncle John’s Band,” “Black Peter,” “New Speedway Boogie,” “Candyman,” “Friend of the Devil” (those last two wouldn’t turn up until American Beauty later in 1970), and these four which have never before appeared on an official GD release: “The Ballad of Casey Jones,” “Long Black Limousine,” “She’s Mine” (sung by Pigpen) and “A Voice From on High,” the last featuring John “Marmaduke” Dawson and David Nelson from the New Riders. There’s plenty of charming between-songs banter and the sound is crystal clear.
There is lots to love in the electric sets the Dead played at the Fillmore East, too, including truly epic versions of “Dark Star,” “That’s It for the Other One” and “Morning Dew”; favorites like “China Cat > I Know You Rider,” “St. Stephen” and “Cosmic Charlie”; the exciting new tunes “Casey Jones” and “Cumberland Blues” (which they also played acoustic); and Pigpen workin’ it on out on “Hard to Handle,” “Good Lovin'” and a fantastic “Lovelight.” The Dead always played great at the Fillmore East – this was already the group’s third headlining stint there in 1970 – and it was shows like these that established the band as a top East Coast draw during this era.
The Bonus Disc* (which will be included with the first wave or orders) features a few more songs from the Fillmore East shows, such as the second-ever version of “Attics of My Life” (another American Beauty classic) and a hot “Easy Wind” (which previously appeared on Fallout from the Phil Zone), and then a blistering sequence from the previous night’s show at Meramec College – Kirkwood, MO: an electric “New Speedway Boogie” (complete with “Nobody’s Fault” jam), “St. Stephen,” “Not Fade Away” and “Lovelight.” You can find the complete track listing for all four discs here.
As with all our releases, Road Trips Vol. 3, No. 3: May 15, 1970 was culled from the Grateful Dead’s original tapes by Mr. Jeffrey Norman – the Pride of Petaluma – and mastered to the demanding HDCD spec for maximum power and clarity. The accompanying booklet for this 3-CD set includes vintage photos by Amalie Rothschild and Peter Simon and a historical essay by yours truly. All in all, it’s sure to become another treasured favorite. Sound good? You can order it here.
– Blair Jackson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Road Trips Volume 3 Number 3
Live album by Grateful Dead
Released June 14, 2010
Recorded May 15, 1970
Genre Rock
Length 230:29
bonus disc: 78:38
Label Grateful Dead
Producer Grateful Dead
Road Trips Volume 3 Number 3 is a live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead.[2][3] Recorded on May 15, 1970, and released on June 14, 2010, it was the eleventh of the “Road Trips” series of albums, and the first to contain three discs instead of two.
Road Trips Volume 3 Number 3 was billed as a 40th anniversary celebration of the album Workingman’s Dead. It includes several versions, some acoustic and some electric, of seven of the eight songs that appear on that album, omitting only “High Time”. The album contains material from two concerts Ñ the early show and the late show Ñ performed on May 15, 1970, at the Fillmore East in New York City. Like many early 1970 Grateful Dead shows, these concerts featured both acoustic and electric sets. The New Riders of the Purple Sage (NRPS), with whom Jerry Garcia was playing pedal steel guitar, also performed at these concerts, between the Dead’s acoustic and electric sets. The NRPS sets are not included on this release.[4]
A fourth, “bonus” disc was included with early shipments of the album. The bonus disc contains additional material from the same concerts as well as four songs from the concert held the previous evening, May 14, 1970, at Meramec Community College in Kirkwood, Missouri. The version of “Easy Wind” from May 15 was previously released on the album Fallout from the Phil Zone.[5] Including the material from the bonus disc, this release includes both May 15, 1970 Fillmore East Shows in their entirety except for the acoustic performance on “Candyman” from the late show.
Another live Grateful Dead album recorded during this same month is Dick’s Picks Volume 8, which also includes both acoustic and electric sets.
Sound quality
The album was released in HDCD format. This provides enhanced sound quality when played on CD players with HDCD capability, and is fully compatible with regular CD players.
Track listing
Disc One
May 15, 1970: Fillmore East, New York, NY
Early Show: Acoustic:
Don’t Ease Me In (traditional) – 4:24
I Know You Rider (traditional) – 8:39
Ain’t It Crazy (The Rub) (Lightnin’ Hopkins) – 3:56
Long Black Limousine (Vern Stovall, Bobby George) – 4:54
New Speedway Boogie (Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter) – 6:23
Early Show: Electric:
Casey Jones (Hunter, Garcia) – 5:02
St. Stephen > (Garcia, Phil Lesh, Hunter) – 5:47
That’s It for the Other One > (Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Lesh, Ron McKernan, Bob Weir) – 24:29
I. Cryptical Envelopment
II. Drums
III. The Other One
IV. Cryptical Envelopment
Cosmic Charlie (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:59
Early Show: Encore: Electric:
New Minglewood Blues (Noah Lewis) – 3:36
Disc Two
May 15, 1970: Fillmore East, New York, NY
Late Show: Acoustic:
Deep Elem Blues (traditional) – 5:42
The Ballad of Casey Jones (traditional) – 4:49
Silver Threads and Golden Needles (Jack Rhodes, Dick Reynolds) – 3:49
Black Peter (Garcia, Hunter)” – 7:23
Friend of the Devil (Garcia, John Dawson, Hunter) – 4:06
Uncle John’s Band (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:01
She’s Mine (Hopkins) – 2:54
Katie Mae (Hopkins) – 4:38
A Voice from On High (Bill Monroe) – 2:52
Late Show: Electric:
China Cat Sunflower > (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:58
I Know You Rider (traditional) – 4:39
Cumberland Blues (Garcia, Lesh, Hunter) – 5:14
Hard to Handle (Alvertis Isbell, Allen Jones, Otis Redding) – 5:51
Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson, Tim Rose) – 10:53
Dire Wolf (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:54
Disc Three
May 15, 1970: Fillmore East, New York, NY
Late Show: Electric:
Good Lovin’ (Rudy Clark, Arthur Resnick) – 13:45
Dark Star > (Garcia, Mickey Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, McKernan, Weir, Hunter) – 19:40
St. Stephen > (Garcia, Lesh, Hunter) – 6:04
Not Fade Away > (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty) – 6:53
Turn On Your Love Light (Joseph Scott, Deadric Malone) – 27:45
Late Show: Encore: Acoustic:
Cold Jordan (traditional) – 2:33
Bonus Disc
May 15, 1970: Fillmore East, New York, NY
Early Show: Acoustic:
Friend Of The Devil (Garcia, Dawson, Hunter) – 4:02
Candyman (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:11
Cumberland Blues (Garcia, Lesh, Hunter) – 4:52
Cold Jordan (traditional) – 2:30
Early Show: Electric:
Easy Wind (Hunter) – 8:17
Attics of My Life (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:46
Late Show: Electric:
Beat It on Down the Line (Jesse Fuller) – 3:17 (listed as 3:08 on CD)
Next Time You See Me (Frank Forest, William G. Harvey) – 3:32
May 14, 1970: Meramec Community College, Kirkwood, Missouri
New Speedway Boogie > (Garcia, Hunter) – 9:25
St. Stephen > (Garcia, Lesh, Hunter) – 6:30
Not Fade Away > (Holly, Petty) – 9:44 (listed as 6:37 on CD)
Turn On Your Lovelight (Scott, Malone) – 17:38
Personnel
Grateful Dead
Jerry Garcia – Electric and Acoustic Lead Guitar, Vocals
Mickey Hart – Drums
Bill Kreutzmann – Drums
Phil Lesh – Electric Bass, Vocals
Ron “Pigpen” McKernan – Vocals, Organ, Percussion, Harmonica, Acoustic Guitar
Bob Weir – Electric and Acoustic Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
[edit]Additional musicians
John Dawson – harmony vocals on “A Voice from On High” and “Cold Jordan”
David Nelson – mandolin on “A Voice from On High” and “Cold Jordan”
Production
Produced by Grateful Dead
Compilation Produced by David Lemieux & Blair Jackson
Recorded by Bob Matthews
CD Mastering by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering, Petaluma, CA
Cover Art by Scott McDougall
Interior Photos by Amalie Rothschild and Peter Simon
Historical Essay by Blair Jackson
Package Design by Steve Vance