Pacific Northwest ’73–’74: Believe It If You Need It

by

Grateful Dead

Monstrous archival release from the band at their peak. This is highlights from an even bigger million CD box set

Disc 1: I listened to the 14 minute "Birdsong" while drifting in and out of sleep (this is not a bad thing!). They chop out a great version of "Brown Eyed Woman" featuring Keith Godchaux's saloon piano (this song really has become a grower on my ears). "Truckin'>Jam" is the first major excursion of the album with some brutal bass chords from Phil.

Disc 2 is complete insanity – an ALBUM LENGTH "Playing in the Band" - but it is the best song on here by a mile (or 45 miles). The highlights of this track is theSonic Youth segment where Jerry makes an unholy racket with a wah wah while Bob is sliding all up and down the neck (but with an insane jazz beat, rather than a Krautrock beat). This then morphs into Jerry playing jazz chords while Bill beats the christ out of his kit... sometimes it feels like they are just spraying notes at the wall, but they sound ANGRY, rather than complacent, so that's all good in my book. Truly, this track is the ultimate Dead, not "Dark Star"…

Disc 3 features "He's Gone" with a goofily-sung ending, a nearly half hour "Truckin'" with stereo bass solo, "The Other One" with liquid jazz from Jerry before degenerating into pick scrapes and tuning noise and a majestic "Wharf Rat"

One of the best Dead archival sets!