Grateful Dead – Red Rocks 7/8/78 (2016) [PonoMusic FLAC 24bit/192kHz]

In the history of Grateful Dead performances, 1978 is widely praised as one of the group’s finest years. This set marks the official debut of one of their first ever performances at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre, a show highly sought-after by Dead Heads, and the first official release of master recordings from the long lost “Betty Boards”. The complete July 8, 1978 show at Red Rocks is widely considered one of the greatest concerts in Grateful Dead history and now it’s available as a three-disc set.

“It was great, but don’t tell anybody”. One taper wrote these words to another back in the day when Grateful Dead concerts were traded through an underground railroad, each successive dub lessening the audio quality. The show in question took place on July 8, 1978 at Colorado’s Red Rocks, the last gig of the Dead’s summer tour. Generally, 1978 is thought to pale in comparison to 1977 but this particular show earned a legendary reputation due to its exuberance: the first set starts running with “Bertha” and the energy doesn’t let up, not even when the band slides into a worn, weary “It Must Have Been the Roses” and “Wharf Rat” or when Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart set out on an intricate, intense “Rhythm Devils.” If any Dead show could be called a full-on party – when they get to the concert-closing “Werewolves of London,” it feels like a triumph – it’s this, and while the good times are infectious, what lingers is how the band is exceptionally tight on this night. Whether they’re boogying to blues and rock & roll or stretching to the edge of space, everybody feels in sync and the results are exhilarating. No wonder tapers wanted to keep this one to themselves: it’s the kind of show that you want to be your own personal favorite.

Tracklist:
01 – Bertha
02 – Good Lovin’
03 – Dire Wolf
04 – El Paso
05 – It Must Have Been The Roses
06 – New Minglewood Blues
07 – Ramble On Rose
08 – Promised Land
09 – Deal
10 – Samson And Delilah
11 – Ship Of Fools
12 – Estimated Prophet
13 – The Other One
14 – Eyes Of The World
15 – Rhythm Devils
16 – Space
17 – Wharf Rat
18 – Franklin’s Tower
19 – Sugar Magnolia
20 – Terrapin Station
21 – One More Saturday Night
22 – Werewolves Of London