Fare Thee Well Re-Cap (UCR) (jambands.com)

What a long strange trip it's been...the surviving members of the Grateful Dead, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir were joined by three special guests — Phish‘s Trey Anastasio, Jeff Chimenti and Bruce Hornsby, wrapped up a five-show run to mark the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary over the past weekend.

The first two concerts took place on June 27 and 28, 2015 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., with the final three following on July 3-5 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Here’s what they played …


Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Grateful Dead ‘Fare Thee Well’ Set Lists 

For more reading please follow the link to jambands.com

Jeff Lynne’s ELO Announce ‘Live in Hyde Park’ Concert Film (UCR)

Jeff Lynne‘s triumphant revival of the Electric Light Orchestra banner for a Sept. 2014 festival performance will get the home video treatment this fall, when Jeff Lynne’s ELO: Live in Hyde Park is scheduled to arrive in stores... 


Read More of Jeff Giles' article @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Jeff Lynne's ELO Announce 'Live in Hyde Park' Concert Film 

On the turntable this Sunday...Aoxomoxoa

Aoxomoxoa is the third studio album by the Grateful Dead.  It was originally titled Earthquake Country.  Many Deadheads consider this era of the Dead to be the experimental apex of the band's history. It is also the first album with Tom Constanten as an official member of the band. Rolling Stone, upon reviewing the album, mentioned that "no other music sustains a lifestyle so delicate and loving and lifelike".  The album was certified gold by the RIAA on May 13, 1997.

The title of the album is a palindrome created by cover artist Rick Griffin and lyricist Robert Hunter. According to the audio version of the Rock Scully memoir, Living with the Dead (read by the author and former Dead co-manager himself), the title is pronounced "ox-oh-mox-oh-ah". The words "Grateful Dead" on the front of the album, written in large, flowing capital letters, are an ambigram that can also be read "we ate the acid". The artwork around the bottom edge of the album cover depicts several phallic representations.

In 1991 Rolling Stone selected Aoxomoxoa as having the eighth best album cover of all time.  Though Courtney Love has often claimed to be on the album's back cover, historical research has shown that she is incorrect.

In Grateful Dead history, Aoxomoxoa had a number of firsts connected with it. It is the first album the band recorded in or near their hometown of San Francisco (at Pacific Recording Studio in nearby San Mateo, and at the similarly named Pacific High Recording Studio in San Francisco proper). It is the first studio release to include pianist Tom Constanten as a permanent member. It was also the first to have lyricist Robert Hunter as a full-time contributor to the band, thus initiating the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter songwriting partnership that endured for the rest of the band's existence. It was also the first time the band would put emphasis on acoustic songs, such as "Mountains of the Moon" and "Dupree's Diamond Blues." Lesh played acoustic bass for the first time, commenting that "the fun part of that was trying to play in tune with no frets to guide my fingers, just like a violin."

The lengthy sessions for the album would put the band deeper into debt with Warner Bros. Records—specifically, a total cost of $180,000 for Aoxomoxoa; it was their most ambitious and costly venture to that date. It would be the last time the band would ever run up such high studio bills.

The 2003 reissue (also part of the Golden Road boxed set from 2001) includes three studio jams (including an early version of "The Eleven") from the original aborted eight-track sessions for the album, and a live version of "Cosmic Charlie" recorded early in 1969.

Read more @ Wikipedia

Happy Independence Day and Fare Thee Well

Happy 4th of July to you and if you were not able to make it to Chicago for "Fare Thee Well-Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead" be sure to check out Dead50.net for more information on streaming the last two shows live.  

SiriusXM listeners be sure to tune into the Grateful Dead Channel for a live broadcast of the "Fare Thee Well" shows.

Jerry Garcia’s "Tiger" Guitar to be Featured at Chicago Field Museum

The Chicago Field Museum will open up an exhibit full of Grateful Dead memorabilia this week as the band prepares to close out their 50-year run during the Fare Thee Well shows at Soldier Field.   

Some of the items featured will be vintage posters along with Jerry Garcia’s “Tiger” guitar. 

The museum will also host a special Jazz & Colors event featuring local jazz musicians playing the music of the Grateful Dead. 

Neal Casal Composed All of the Fare Thee Well Setbreak Music (jambands.com)

If you watched the Fare Thee Well Santa Clara webcasts this weekend, you may have noticed a soundtrack to the hour-long setbreak. As it turns out, that music was all composed and arranged by CRB and Ryan Adams & the Cardinals guitarist Neal Casal.

Read full article @ jambands.com

Grateful Dead Albums, Ranked Worst to Best (Ultimate Classic Rock)

From their tripped-out debut in the '60s to their commercial rebirth in the '80s, we take a look at the band's studio records plus a handful of live LPs.

Even the Grateful Dead‘s most ardent supporters admit that making albums wasn’t one the band’s strengths. For the most part, they didn’t even like to do it, and viewed the whole process more of a necessary inconvenience than anything else.


Read More @ Ultimate Classic Rock: Grateful Dead Albums, Ranked Worst to Best