Completely Conspicuous 499: Live/Dead

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's first official live album, Live/Dead. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at CompCon world HQ
- Live/Dead was released in 1969
- There weren't a lot of live albums released then
- The band did it as a make-good to the label after some poor-selling albums
- Recorded at the Fillmore West
- Songs evolved in live setting
- At the time, it was unusual to play extended jams
- Music fans really focused on albums back in the heyday of vinyl
- The first thing you hear on the album is 23-minute "Dark Star"
- Now for the tuning section
- Phil: Have listened to 250-300 Dead bootlegs
- Bootleg tape trading was huge in the '70s and '80s
- Archive.org, Nugs.net have tons of Dead shows
- On a lot of '70s-era live albums, bands went in and re-recorded songs or parts of songs
- Some bands perfectly recreate their studio sound
- "Death Don't Have No Mercy" is reminiscent of Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You"
- When this album came out, FM radio was in a very experimental place
- Some stations would play album sides or even entire records
- "St. Stephen" is a standout
- Jay: I've been impressed so far
- Phil explains the Dead to his kids
- Seeing a dude doing coke off his dashboard at a Dead show

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 498: Aoxomoxoa

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's third album, Aoxomoxoa. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at CompCon world HQ
- Aoxomoxoa was released in 1969
- A big year for rock music
- Tons of legendary albums came out: Zeppelin, Who, Beatles, Neil Young, Stooges, MC5, Stones
- First two Dead albums were commercial failures
- Went way over budget in studio, stuck to their guns
- Very experimental sound
- Robert Hunter contributed lyrics to most of the album
- Songs featured eccentric characters, way out lyrics
- Plenty of drugs were part of the process
- The old West, the devil, the rose were recurring themes
- First album ever recorded using 16-track technology
- Band spent $180k on the album
- Jay: A lot to like about this album
- "Dupree's Diamond Blues" sounds like a Kinks song
- "What's Become of the Baby" is 8 minutes of weirdness that should have been left off album
- When bands release unnecessary hits compilations
- There was a definite '60s resurgence in the mid-80s that led to growth in popularity of the Dead at colleges
- And then jam bands really caught on: Phish, Allman Brothers, Blues Traveler, Widespread Panic
- Iconic Dead skull and lightning bolt logo was released in '69
- Phil: Band was very good at mobilizing fanbase
- Dead merch is so unique and well-known
- The confounding popularity of "Africa"
- "China Cat Sunflower" is a Dead classic
- Some songs evolve in concert, some don't get played at all
- Aoxomoxoa sounds like the Dead
- Jay: Jams can be fun, but you don't necessarily want to put them on a record
- We'll listen to more live stuff vs. studio albums going forward
- Next up: Live/Dead

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Completely Conspicuous 497: Anthem of the Sun

I'm joined by guest Phil Stacey as we discuss the Grateful Dead's second album, 1968's Anthem of the Sun. Listen to the episode below or download directly.


Show notes:
- Recorded at CompCon world HQ
- Anthem of the Sun was recorded in 1967, released in '68
- Very experimental, similar to Zappa's song splicing in the '70s
- Studio and live performances mixed together
- An early concept album
- Songs would evolve through the years in performance
- Robert Hunter makes his first appearance as a lyricist on this album
- Producer grew frustrated with the band and left during the recording
- The sound of "thick air"
- Triple kazoo attack
- The Dead must have been a shock to fans of bubblegum pop
- Live, the Dead mixed up their shows every night
- This album sounds more jammy, like you would expect a Dead album to sound
- A lot of covers of bluegrass, country, jug bands, blues
- Pearl Jam adopted the Dead practice of releasing official bootlegs of shows
- The Dead used to do more audience banter, but recent incarnations of the group just play with minimal talking
- Anthem of the Sun was the next step in the evolution of the band's sound
- Next up: Aoxomoxoa

Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.