[photo by Erin]
At this point, it is apparent that Joe Russo’s Almost Dead has achieved its mission of providing a fresh approach to the task of covering Grateful Dead songs. And at a Festival that has thrived on ability to provide a reliable recreation of the classic rock genre, JRAD were an easy stand-in for the greatest improvisational rock band of its era. The Grateful Dead made a one stab at the massive task of performing the band’s ultimate rock opus “Terrapin Station” in its entirety, but the performance failed to capture the majesty of the suite that owns the entire second site of the Terrapin Station album. “Terrapin” is perhaps the Grateful Dead’s crowning achievement in musical composition, but the complexity of the last half of the suite was not a task that the band had the fortitude to undertake at a live show and so it was only the first two sections that were performed consistently since its 1977 debut.
JRAD opened their set at Mountain Jam in the pouring rain with a jam that seamlessly merged with “Lady With A Fan”, the opening section of the Terrapin suite. When the band concluded the first section of the main theme and proceeded to the “Terrapin Transit” portion, it was a moment to smile. JRAD consistently takes this music to places where the original band never trod, and this was just another example — and the fun had just begun. Lead by the stunning keyboard work of Marco Benevento, JRAD took each section of the suite and transformed them into complete songs of their own. It was a breathtaking thirty-two minutes and this is a recording I’ve already sampled thoroughly four times and undoubtedly will experience many more times. The balance of this set consisted of meaty and committed versions of three more songs but the take away from this short JRAD experience was undoubtedly the complete Terrapin suite.
I recorded this set with the Neumann large diaphragm cardioids in a very advantageous location up the hill in front of the soundboard area. Considering the elements at the time of this performance, overall this is an outstanding recording. Enjoy!
Our soundboard/audience matrix recording of JRAD at the Capitol Theatre is still available here.
Download or Stream the Complete Concert at Archive.org [HERE].
Stream the Complete Show:
Joe Russo Almost Dead
2015-06-05
Mountain Jam
Hunter NY
Digital Master Recording
FOB Audience
Neumann TLM 102s > Grace Designs Lunatec V3 > Sound Devices 744t > 24bit 48kHz wav > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3 and tagging via Foobar)
Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
Setlist:
[Total Time 1:12:59]
01 Terrapin Station
02 The Wheel
03 Greatest Story Ever Told
04 Cumberland Blues
If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you’ll please support these artists, visit the JRAD website, visit the JRAD Facebook page, and visit their individual websites and purchase their official merchandise. Benevento-Russo Duo [HERE], Marco Benevento [HERE], Tom Hamilton [HERE], Scott Metzger [HERE], and Dave Dreiwitz [HERE].
You waisted no time with this. Thank you very much. Two things I’ve never been a real big on; Grateful Dead cover bands & AUD recording from Hunter Mtn. I’m still not fond of Dead cover bands, but largely due to your mint captures at Brooklyn Bowl & The Capitol I am happy to make JRAD an exception. As far as the Hunter Mtn. sound quality, when you raise the bar as high as you did with the Capitol capture, all else is doomed. Two vastly different venues, I know & not at all fair to compare. Hunter Mtn weather is never cooperative. All things considered, its good & grately appreciated.
On a side note, the Grateful Dead never played ‘Terrapin Station Part 1’. ‘The stab’ noted only a contains ‘At a Siding’ and that is the only time that part of the suite was performed live & sadly not well [Terrapin Station largely]. Its defiantly ambitious & JRAD pulls it off. Do they take it [the music] places ‘the original band never trod’. I don’t know about that. You noted that regarding ‘Dancing in the Streets’ at the Capitol & were off the mark. Here, is a different case. Especially if you consider the seamless transition into ‘The Wheel’ [not a favorite] & the fresh pulse they gave that standard.
At the end of the day, if it puts a smile on your face, the job is accomplished & all that really matters. Thanks again for all that you guys do & hope to see your pics at ‘Solid Sound’ for the friday night acoustic evening.
Auto spell check & spelling in general ain’t my friend. Defiantly should read definitely & pics = mics.
AMAZING band… wow…. That Terrapin was epic…
Hi joe,
Actually, the GD 3/18/77 “stab” at the whole Terrapin suite contains more than just the At A Siding portion. It goes directly from “Terrapin” (the big orchestral theme that always ended the live performances) to “Terrapin Transit”, ultimately reaching “At A Siding” but without the vocals (“while you were gone…”). There’s a bit of the drum segment that begins the “Terrapin Flyer” portion, but at that point they kind of give up and it goes into “Drums”.
So really that Grateful Dead “stab” is only missing the vocals of At A Siding and then a lot of the crazy stuff at the end of “Flyer” and the return to the theme “Refrain”.
Carazy…I listened to the 3/18 GD show last night & stopped it three times to verify that my ears were correct in hearing the ‘Terrapin Transit’ portion. You’re 100% correct. I just sampled your HGM capture: very nice! Thanks for turning me onto them.
Thanks for that recording!
Did you happen to tape the Duo set by any chance?
Frank
Sorry, the surprise Duo performance took place in the morning and we were in no shape to get there. I’m guessing that if we’d known it was going to happen, we would have made arrangements to capture it.
There is a Duo recording on this site, a matrix that I captured in 2010:
http://www.nyctaper.com/2010/08/benevento-russo-duo-august-27-2010-highline-ballroom-flac-and-mp3-downloads-streaming-sample/
Thanks for the reply… No problem!
That was the last “official” Duo show they played… Love your recording of it!
Thanks for all the awesome work! Cheers!