"Dark star crashes, pouring its light into ashes"

It's safe to say this record changed my life, or at least my views on music. Simply put, if a band can't perform well live, they aren't worth the time. Anyone can perfect music in a studio, but it takes real musical skill to reproduce it successfully in a live setting.

When I first heard this record, I was deep into the hardcore/strange indie rock phase I went through in the middle of high school. Hardcore really seemed to be the only music with a high amount of energy, yet the songs and records were always so simple that I searched for other genres. Most bands falling under the "indie rock" banner today really just play slowed-down, beautified 90's style alternative dubbed as "indie." The songs can be boring, but at least they escaped the 1-minute time limit, 3 chord restrictions of hardcore punk.

Literally, there has never been a band (nor will there ever be one) that played live as well as the Dead. The first time I heard this record was a near religious experience. To add to all the lame nostalgia I associate with this record, that first time listen was on vinyl; my Dad's original copy from 1969. Hearing "Dark Star" form together from a minute and a half of seemingly random and meaningless notes, into that plateau of musical perfection where every member of the band is playing off of each other, was something I'd never heard before. The amount of energy I felt from the ending of the second track, "Saint Stephen," could not match anything I'd felt before. Not nearly as powerful as my first listens to Minor Threat and Black Flag. No amount of speed could match the intensity of the Grateful Dead forming one giant musical wave.

I could go on and on and on about this record, but it'd just be pointless babbling. A lot of people are decidedly for or against the Grateful Dead (usually before even listening to them,) but if you are a fan of live music in any way, shape, or form then I highly recommend this album. Even if you can't get into the music they make, you have to appreciate the skill and chemistry they had while playing live.

R.I.P. Jerry + Pigpen

Grateful Dead - Live/Dead (1969)