The
Grateful Dead
presented this nearly 80 minute "Bonus Disc" as a gratis premium for parties who purchased one of the first run pressings of
Road Trips: Vol. 1, Number 2
(2008) from their merchandising website. The concerts were compiled into 100-percent Grade A cuts circa the band's October of 1977 sweep through the South and Midwest United States college circuit. More precisely, the
University Arena
on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque on October 7, the University of Oklahoma's
Lloyd Nobel Center
in Norman, OK one week later on October 14, and two days after that (October 16) at the
Hofheinz Pavilion
at the University of Houston, TX. While presumably time constraints kept these nine selections off of the main release, it should be noted that much of the so-called "bonus" fodder arguably surpasses that of specific tunes chosen for the larger
package. The band were a septet consisting of
Jerry Garcia
(lead guitar/vocals),
Phil Lesh
(bass/vocals),
Bob Weir
(guitar/vocals),
Bill Kreutzmann
(percussion),
Mickey Hart
(percussion), and the husband and wife team of
Keith Godchaux
(keyboards) and
Donna Jean Godchaux
(vocals). The opening trifecta formerly circulated from broadcasts on the
Grateful Dead Radio Hour
in the '80s and are well worth their inclusion as each is executed with just enough of that 1977 exploratory magic to make them better than a majority of the readings that would follow. The stand-alone
"Estimated Prophet"
lurches to a cold start out of a practically 20 minute
"Scarlet Begonias"
/
"Fire on the Mountain."
It doesn't take much to get up to speed as
Weir
-- whose birthday just so happens to fall on the date in question -- rolls and tumbles with his trademark vocal-chord scraping falsetto yelps. The
Garcia
-led
"Loser"
is one of those rarest of treats as keen-eared listeners are sonically absorbed by the ebb and flow of the tune's intensity between the verses and chorus.
's beguiling ballad
"Sunrise"
is offered at its most heartfelt, plaintive and respectful, remaining as a tribute to the
's roadie
Rex Jackson
. In subsequent years, The Rex Foundation would honor Jackson's memory as the namesake of the Dead's philanthropic organization. The latter half of the
(Bonus Disc 2008) is dedicated to segments of a rarely circulated soundboard tape from the Albuquerque show on October 7. The post-
"Drums"
contents are served up in all their uninterrupted entirety. The second ever version of the Crescent City staple
"Iko Iko"
still retains much of the gritty gris-gris that it would lose in subsequent years. It appears majestically syncopated with
clearly having been influenced by
Dr. John
's FM radio turntable hit off of the good doctor's indispensable
Gumbo
(1972) LP.
"The Wheel"
evolves into a lovely and lilting rendition with
Donna Jean
and
's voices effortlessly blending behind some tricky percussive fills from rhythm devils
Hart
Kreutzmann
. The combo keep both the emotive and musical levels at their peak during prime renditions of the staples
"Wharf Rat"
and a rousing
"Sugar Magnolia"
that seems to linger a little longer than your average rendition. And even the most cynical of
enthusiasts will have to admit that's a very good thing! ~ Lindsay Planer