Cheap Grateful Dead - The Closing of Winterland (DVD) Price

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Customer Reviews of Grateful Dead - The Closing of Winterland

What: No "(The) Eleven?"
The Grateful Dead's defining moment was the release of Live Dead, which contained live recordings of an extended jam session that included tunes such as Dark Star, Saint Stephen, The Eleven and Turn On Your Lovelight. I have owned this LP since 1972 and it is probably the only one that doesn't contain one single scratch. <
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>I would like to see a DVD that is The Dead before 1972 and that includes the St. Stephen/The Eleven not just St. Stephen. The version on this DVD is certainly live but it lacks the musical intensity of the previous recording of the Live Dead album, which I still listen to on a regular basis thirty-some years later after it appeared. <
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>I am Grateful for the DVD but just wished someone would put together a recording of some sort that included The Eleven, for once. I've never seen a concert where they play those two songs together and would love to have a DVD someday that included it as on the Live Dead album. I would also like to locate the album that contained some other marvelous tunes that likewise never appear anymore on DVD or otherwise, such as "Stealin.'" <
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Okay, but not great
I've attended over 150 Dead shows since 1972 and have over 2,000 hours of live music, so I feel I know my subject matter quite well. With all due respect this is a good video of an, at best, average concert. Yeah I know it was New Year's Eve, they did 3 sets, Dark Star etc. The fact is, however, that 1978 was a rather anemic year for the Dead. Much of their playing is too slow and uninspired; Keith Godchaux plays like he has absolutely no interest in being there, and his and Donna's departure 6 weeks later was LONG overdue. If you can, get ahold of a tape/cd of the previous night's performance at the Pauley Pavilion, the playing overall is much better, including a KILLER version of "Ollin Arrageed" with Hamza El Din and friends. Thanks, and peace to all.

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There are live shows...and then there is THIS show...
Y'know, I don't play this DVD as often as most of the other DVDs I have. But that's only because I don't want to spoil myself too much...The Closing Of Winterland has a reserved space in my "go to" DVD pile, utilized whenever I just can't decide on what else I want to watch/listen to. Whenever I fire this baby up, 15 minutes in I'm like, "OK, cancel my plans...I'm gonna be here for awhile" LOL A solid, intimate performance circa the "Donna Jean" era, it's a nice change of pace from the zillion-seat stadium concerts in the View From The Vault series. Like mentioned often by others, the picture quality IS average...but the sound will absolutely SHATTER your expectations. Combine a mammoth, classic show with a nice selection of bonus features (including some footage of the Blues Brothers' performance earlier that evening), and you've got yourself one hell of an addition to your collection.