Rhino

My five year old started dancing within ten seconds of the Grateful Dead opening this 1969 concert with “Hard to Handle.” He followed by saying, “These guys don’t sing well.” Such was the Dead in the early days when the band’s music and lyrics often outshined vocal capabilities. It didn’t matter much – musically the band was on fire, as evidenced by this three-disc set, two shows from the Big Rock Pow Wow on the Seminole Indian Reservation in Hollywood, Fla. Fresh off of an expansive, enlightening Fillmore West run, the band continues its energetic, inspired playing – pushing, reaching and probing – particularly the jam-filled “Dark Star” > “St. Stephen” > “The Eleven” trio and romping “Alligator.” The “St. Stephen” from day two uniquely rises out of the drums and finishes with a wild feedback squall. Pigpen turns each “Lovelight” into funky soul shout-outs, while country and folk offerings expose the band’s rootsy side. “Morning Dew” packs a mesmerizing wallop. Though raw at times, these shows present endless possibilities and directions that the Dead would soon exploit. The one complaint is with the packaging. The second halves of both shows fill disc three. For ‘heads experienced with lengthy multi-disc (or tape) performances, a chronological rendering would hardly pose a problem.