if you read enough of my blog posts you will see that i listen to a large variety of music, but the dead still hold a dear and significant place in my heart (and soul). i have gotten to the point of my music collecting career where i will buy anything that the grateful dead organization releases. i do this for three reasons, in the following order of importance.

first, there are still a ton of great recordings in their vault, and i have found that the quality of both the material and recording to be almost always top notch. david lemieux, the dead’s archivist, has stated often that those are the two equally important criteria they insist on when considering a show for production and subsequent release. second, i am a collector, so i always love an opportunity to add to my inventory of shows. third, they hold their value. whether it is the box sets or my 7 year subscription to the dave’s picks series, they are for the most part all worth more on the secondary market than what i paid for them.

and so it was without hesitation that i jumped on this box set when it was first introduced earlier in the summer, and i am not disappointed. the artwork and packaging are outstanding. this is one my favorite periods of the dead, and all six shows included here are exceptional. the recording quality is surprisingly good, with the only issue being an occasional imbalance in the overall mix. they seemed to have some trouble with keeping the vocals up in the mix, but it gets corrected in due time. the three shows from 1974 of course feature their legendary ‘wall of sound’. the book that accompanies the box is replete with pictures, anecdotes, and information.  i have gotten through about half of the material so far, but can already give it my strongest recommendation. i didn’t want to wait to long to post on this, nor go into more detail about the material, mostly due to the fact that it might sell out and i wanted to make sure all of you had a chance of picking one up. they only made 15,000 of these things, and once they sell out, they will be gone. the price tag is around $190, but keep in mind that there are six full shows, 20 hours of music, and 19 fully loaded cds. i consider that to be a pretty good value. check out the two promotional videos they put out below, and then head over to dead.net and pick one up. if you don’t like it i will buy it off of you.

http://www.dead.net/store/music/new-releases/pacific-northwest-73-74-complete-recordings-boxed-set

 

this the the fourth album by the aptly titled band, folk soul revival. this is my first introduction to them, and i am fairly smitten. hailing from bristol, virginia, they have been local favorites there for over ten years. even though they play plenty of gigs and do some occasional touring, they all still hang onto their day jobs. they are not in it for the money, and they play and sound like it. as their press release says, these are tales told from ‘front porches, back roads and friday night football games, sketching a picture that is quintessentially southern’. daniel davis is the primary songwriter and lead singer. his voice tilts back and forth between jason isbell and tyler childers. recorded in nashville over a span of two years, the tunes are passionately played and well recorded. the songs sound original and familiar at the same time. i have been through it three times now, and i like it more each time. my only complaint is that, as far as i can tell, it is only available by download. call me old fashioned, but i still like the actual cd. i am an avid liner note reader, and like to see who plays on what tracks. the only way i found out that the mccrary sisters sang some backup was from reading a few reviews. but this is a minor bicker, and if it is cheaper for them to get their music out, then i will roll with that. this is a band worthy of a wider audience. if you agree with most of my musical musings on this site, then just trust me on this one. on ‘that’s life’, he sings ‘they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but what if no one sees it?’. indeed.

hat tip to bill vv from austin. keep the suggestions coming.