Comments on: New Grateful Dead Box Set Includes 1990 Show from Albany’s Knickerbocker Arena

By: SAM WILSON

SAM WILSON — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 01:04:42 +0000

Richard Brody you are correct, Pigpen was the real deal. What a showman he was. “Dicks Picks” #35 recorded live in 1971 is a great place to start for anyone really interested in hearing how great the band sounded with Ron “Pigpen” McKernan if you don’t already know. Sadly Pigpen drank heavily which led to his early demise at age 27.

By: Richard Brody

Richard Brody — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 17:20:56 +0000

As a retired “Dead Head” I think that this boxed set is for the hardcore and those who first began to see the band during this era. I know that I am in the minority, but I don’t think that the band ever really hit the heights that were reached during the late 60s/early 70s for a variety of reasons. Some of those are obvious like the songwriting partnership of Hunter/Garcia most evident on “Workingman” and “American Beauty”, but another major one for me was the death in 1973 of Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, the only real front man that band ever had. Anyone who saw “Pig” whip the crowd into a frenzy as he strutted, rapped, and sang his way through “Turn on Your Love Light”, “Hard to Handle” etc. knows what I mean.

By: BJ

BJ — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:02:59 +0000

22 years later, and I still find myself calling the Times Union Center the ‘Knick’.

By: J Hunter

J Hunter — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:10:25 +0000

Well, the Dead were always hit and miss. I used to paraphrase Keith Richards when anybody asked me about them: “Some days, they’re the greatest rock & roll band in the world, and other days… somebody ELSE is the greatest rock & roll band in the world!”

By: Cochise

Cochise — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 23:13:01 +0000

What an odd release. The Dead were kinda Dead by 1980, good shows were few and far between. By 1990….running on fumes.