| Identifier | 4037255 |
| Created At | Tue May 23 2023 23:54:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) |
| Media Type | shn/cdr |
| Media Count | 2 |
| Sound Rating | A |
| Note | OFFICIAL SHOW NOTES: LINEAGE: SBD > GD MASTER MULTI-TRACK ADAT > MARIN COUNTY SOURCE MIXDOWN 2-TRACK ADAT > SSSB; Bruce Hornsby on grand piano/accordion/vocals for entire show; technical problems with main digital ADAT decks, resulting in numerous "cuts" when backup deck was used during Set I only; Garcia's voice was slightly hoarse for his first 2 songs; any/all editing, fades, NR, hiss elimination, phase shifting/"time smear" correction, jitter elimination, EQ, and quantization noise elimination (when down-converting audio to 16-bit / 44.1 kHz for CD-R mastering), were all performed using 24-bit / 96 kHz digital realm processing at Serafin Station Studio B [this show was released 01/02]
JAY'S PERSONAL COMMENTS: Oh, this is another very nice show... part of the excellent "Boston Garden run" that year. I'll talk about the technical problems which plagued the Dead's multi-track recording during Set I as the comments proceed. Quite a bit of "patching up" was needed for this show (2 songs in Set I only... Set II had no technical problems), but it all turned out okay when all the work was completed! This show (along with the 9/24/91 show), despite it's few Set I recording problems, now is part of my "Top 20 shows" in my personal Kindness dubbing library. Not enough to make it into the Top 10, but it's in the very high teens! Again, like the 9/24/91 show I just released, Bruce Hornsby sat in for this show, mainly playing on his grand piano, with a few songs on accordion... those instruments' wonderful tones added greatly to the overall sound of this show. Like the 9/24/91 show, it comes through, but not in an overbearing way. His vocals added some "punch" on a few songs, especially Maggie's Farm. Set I opens with a long, and highly-charged Shakedown Street. You can hear Jerry's voice is a little hoarse, but the effects for his vocals compensated for this. By the time he was into his 3rd song, he was singing with a much more "healthier" tone to his vocals. In my opinion, the opening 3 song run (Shakedown Street -> C. C. Rider -> Train To Cry) is one of the best trio the Dead's ever done (not counting the "Blues For Allah Trio"), as these 3 really went well into each other, without a hitch. As with a number of Dead concerts, there were a few technical problems. This shows' problems involved their master ADAT deck, which had the rough 8 channel mix fed to it. The main deck kept going into "pause mode", once during Shakedown, but many times during Maggie's Farm. They "resolved" the problem early on by just punching RECORD on the 2nd of the 3 decks. But you can hear the edits (corrected by cross-fading) very noticeably during Maggie's. I did my best to match everything beat for beat, so you're only going to miss a couple of words, or at the longest, a single line of verse. From Me & My Uncle through the end of Set 1, the audio levels were slightly lower (which I left that way), because of levels of the backup deck not being set the same (it was a "hurry up and do it" situation, you must understand). There's only about a 1.5 dB lower signal level, so it's not really noticeable, and they're pretty "quiet" songs, anyway. But after Maggie's, there were no more problems with missing sections of the show, due to the 2nd deck being used. The Set 1 closer, Let It Grow, is one of their most powerful versions I've ever heard (and I've listened to plenty!). Bobby simply nails the vocals, really putting the accents and the "energy" into the right words in certain lines. Jerry's first guitar solo has him playing his "Mexican Trumpet" MIDI sound, and it's a wonderful fit (due to the song being pretty much "Latin American" based in it's "setting". The sound was just right, but not overdone. Towards the end of the song, you can hear Weir's guitar level louder in the mix, and he's using the same basic trumpet MIDI sound in his playing. Everything about this version was ON, and once you listen to it, I think you'll agree. Set 2: Nice to get a treat, with a great rendition of Samson for the opener. Nice touch, nice choice. The applause after Samson is NOT a splice, simply Healy hitting the "audience mike button" like he's always been known to do. Thank goodness, it wasn't one of his "turning it on and off constantly", which can really screw up a good show!!! Aiko came and went with it's usual highly festive sound, and it was, again, just a nice choice. Another short break, and then comes the "flow of the show", with all of the remaining songs just going from one to the next with no hesitations. A little "hinting" was done for a few of them by Jerry, but the Boyz were in sync for everything. A mellow, but not a "sorrowful" Looks Like Rain (Jerry again went to his "trumpet MIDI" sound for a bit, and once more, it was good to hear) went into He's Gone (slightly over 10 minutes long)... then Jerry get in 2 and half minutes of Nobody's Fault But Mine, and Weir took over for a very good Spoonful. Again, he got the accents nailed, and this version is a very enjoyable one. Drums got the "rush to the bathroom" break going, with Billy setting the pace with a slightly laid back typical rock beat, with some jazz licks thrown in to break the monotony. Mickey went right to the MIDI percussion from the beginning. The contrast of the 2 percussion rhythms worked well, no qualms from me. They were both "in sync" as well as playing different beat patterns for their time on stage, and it, again, worked nicely. That's the one things I've grown accustomed to: I've only heard less than 6 shows where these 2 weren't "on the same page" for shows. They always were fresh, never the same patterns, and the synergy between Mickey's and Billy's percussion worked just like Garcia and Weir's guitar playing did. Drums came to a somewhat abrupt close, with Billy doing the cymbal pattern to the opening of "Shaft"! Then they just went offstage, and the MIDI began for a short period. Jerry came back on fairly quickly, and began to go into the ozone, and one by one, the remainder of the musicians strolled back on, and just "put in their 2 cents". It was a little different from what we're used to hearing, but hey, it's the Dead! Space quickly went into The Last Time, with not a lot of "lead time". Jerry followed up with a "usual" Stella Blue. Not his best version, but not rushed in any way, either. At the end, Bobby commands the band to go into Sugar Magnolia. They turned up their levels for this song, and it took the SBD people by surprise at the end! There was some slight low-frequency distortion from the levels being too hot at the end. The compressor/limiters kicked in hard, and this is what caused this to happen. I was able to have the editing software "cure" part of the clipped peaks, but unfortunately, once distortion is recorded, it cannot ever be 100% undone. And the same thing happened at the end of Sunshine Daydream. Luckily, for both of these episodes, they were short, less than 30 seconds each. Just chalk it up to the band wanting to play with "everything louder than everything else"! A "favorite" encore, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, was given it's due with both Jerry's singing and Hornsby's accordion playing. The combo of these 2 probably kept people in the venue for a little longer than normal. (Hey, how many times have YOU left for the exit during Knockin' or better yet I Fought The Law????) Anyone who hung around got a treat. Not an excellent version, but much more than usual, and really nicely done. The technical flaws aside, this is a beautiful show, and one that should be in everyone's library. Not just because it's pat of the Boston Garden run, but for the show's quality, and the band member's individual efforts once again making the Dead sound like no other band ever. PERSONAL RATINGS: (on a 1 to 10 scale with 10 being excellent) Audio Mix: 9.6 (slightly more instruments on the right channel and not enough Weir) Audio Quality: 9.7 (the master deck problems being the reason it's not a 10) Energy Level: 9.4 (shortened Drums and Space and an average Aiko contributing) Show "Completeness": 10 Song Selection: 9.4 (long opening Shakedown and the 2 following songs in a row, plus the Set 2 opener) Surprises: Hornsby's playing during this run worked well. |
| Source Info | SBD > GD MASTER DIGITAL MULTI-TRACK > MARIN COUNTY DIGITAL MIXDOWN TO DAT > SSSB |
| Trades Allowed |
Performance
| Grateful Dead 1991-09-21 Boston Garden, Boston, MA | |
|---|---|
| Set 1 | Hell In A Bucket They Love Each Other New Minglewood Blues Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues Cassidy Deal |
| Set 2 | Uncle John's Band > Saint Of Circumstance > Eyes Of The World > Drums > Space > The Other One > Wharf Rat > One More Saturday Night It's All Over Now Baby Blue |
| Set 3 | |
| Comment | Jerry Garcia - Guitar Bob Weir - Guitar Vince Welnick - Keyboards Bruce Hornsby - Piano, Accordion Phil Lesh - Bass Bill Kreutzmann - Drums Mickey Hart - Drums |