I always think it’s useful to know the timing of the studio albums before looking in detail at the live albums. However the Dead have issued many, many more live albums than studio albums so picking one that’s close to a favourite studio album isn’t a reliable guide.
Studio Albums by the Grateful Dead
1967 The Grateful Dead
1968 Anthem of the Sun
1969 Aoxomoxoa
1970 Workingman’s Dead
1970 American Beauty
1973 Wake of the Flood
1974 From the Mars Hotel
1975 Blues for Allah
1977 Terrapin Station
1978 Shakedown Street
1980 Go to Heaven
1987 In the Dark
1989 Built to Last
Live Albums by the Grateful Dead
Where do you start talking about the live albums by this remarkable band?
I ask fans to vote in a poll to find the best live albums by the group. The Grateful Dead’s best live album poll has over 120 commercially available recordings in it and I’m not at all sure that I’ve included them all.
If you’re new to the band, then the poll results are the best place to begin your experience because it will help guide you to the albums that are recognised as their finest although individual Deadheads will argue strongly for their personal favourites.
If you’re already a big fan, then again I think the poll is a good place to start because I want your recommendations as well. Unless you’re a complete addict, you’ll probably find that you’ve missed an album that’s getting popular support and you can move from the poll to the high ranking albums of interest to you.
>>> Best live albums by the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead Live Albums Featured
1968 Two from the Vault
1968 to 1993 Grayfolded
1969 Live/Dead
1969 Fillmore West 1969 The Complete Recordings
1969 Live at the Fillmore East 2-11-69
1970 Dick’s Picks Volume 4
1970 History of the Grateful Dead Volume One (Bear’s Choice)
1970 Dick’s Picks Volume 8 Harpur College Binghamton NY May 2, 1970
1971 Skull and Roses
1971 Ladies And Gentlemen The Grateful Dead
1972 Europe 72
1972 Europe ’72 Volume 2
1972 Steppin’ Out with the Grateful Dead: England ’72
1972 Hundred Year Hall
1973 Winterland 1973 The Complete Recordings
1974 Steal Your Face
1974 The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack
1975 One From The Vault
1976 Live at the Cow Palace
1977 To Terrapin Hartford ’77
1977 Winterland June 1977 The Complete Recordings
1978 The Closing of Winterland
1980 Reckoning
1980 Go To Nassau
1980 Dead Set
1989 Nightfall of Diamonds
1989/90 Without A Net
1990 Dozin’ at the Knick
1990 Wake Up To Find Out: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
Here is that poll if you’d like to vote in it. I realise that you (probably) won’t have heard them all but I see a vote as a recommendation so please vote for the albums that you love.
Loading ...How Many Live Albums By The Grateful Dead Should You Own?
How many is enough? For general rock fans I think somewhere between one to five is reasonable but keen fans will want many more.
I have five – Live/Dead from 1969, Ladies And Gentlemen The Grateful Dead from 1971, Europe 72 and Europe ’72 Volume 2 and To Terrapin Hartford ’77 from 1971.
Live/Dead catches them as a psychedelic band but, with their 1970 studio albums, Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty, they’d turned into a country rock band who liked to extend some songs with jamming. Finally, by 1977 they’ve lost their overly countryfied sound and (perhaps) moved into classic rock territory but still with the desire to jam. I’m sure the thought of the Dead as classic rock will horrify some fans.
The original Europe album is the one that I play the most and I think it’s a good starting point if you want your Dead as a psychedelic country band and Live/Dead is the most likely to be swapped. What for I don’t know yet but it’s one of those classic live albums that I haven’t really taken to.
The Best Live Albums Of All Time
The Grateful Dead feature in two of my main genre polls – Psychedelic/San Francisco rock and country rock. I have to admit that I was surprised at how much country music was built into Europe 72 when I first heard it. I see these polls as useful for showing how the Dead fit in to other music around but I see their own poll as a better guide for finding their best live albums. I’m thinking of another poll for jam bands.
Loading ...You can get these albums from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk
Loading ...You can get these albums from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk
Three From The Vault is a live album by Grateful Dead.
It was recorded at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York on February 19, 1971.
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Fillmore West 1969 is a three CD live album by the Grateful Dead.
It was recorded from performances on the four consecutive nights February 27 through March 2, 1969 in San Francisco.
Thhe full performances are also on another album called Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings. These concerts had been already been the source of perhaps the band’s most famous live album Live/Dead.
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Go To Nassau is a live album by the Grateful Dead.
It was recorded at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on on May 15 and 16, 1980.
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The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack is a live recording from a concert film featuring the band.
It was recorded at Winterland in San Francisco in October 1974 and these concerts were also the source for the Steal Your Face live album.
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Nightfall of Diamonds is a live album by the Grateful Dead.
It was recorded at Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey on October 16, 1989.
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Dick’s Picks Volume 29 is a live album by the Grateful Dead.
It was recorded on May 19, 1977, at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and on May 21, 1977, at the Lakeland Civic Center Arena in Lakeland, Florida. The bonus tracks were recorded on October 11, 1977 at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
It was released in June 2003.
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To Terrapin Hartford ’77 is a live album by the Grateful Dead.
It was recorded at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut on May 28, 1977.
My Rating – 28 out of 30 (9 +10 + 9)
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Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings is a collection of live concerts by the Grateful Dead.
It was recorded on the nights of June 7, 8, 9, 1977.
Winterland 1973 The Complete Recordings is a box set of live recordings by the Grateful Dead.
It was recorded in San Francisco on the nights of recorded on November 9, 10, and 11, 1973.
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Grayfolded is a unique album of extracts recorded live by the Grateful Dead between 1968 and 1993.
John Oswald has selected improvisations from recordings of the classic Dead song Dark Star to create something entirely different.
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