[.ca] Grateful Dead - View From The Vault II

From Amazon.com:
The first shot of this concert tips off Grateful Dead fans they're in for a treat: Jerry Garcia sports a T-shirt not in his trademark black, but in navy blue--an unmistakable light, festive touch. It's an apt omen; the concert, recorded on June 14, 1991, in RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., crackles with energy. Highlights include a rousing "Big River" and some blistering jams on several songs from the underrated Blues for Allah album, including "The Music Never Stopped" and "Help on the Way/Slipknot." Guitarist Garcia, rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, and bassist Phil Lesh hit their stride by the second set, joined by keyboardist Bruce Hornsby, whose jazzy melodic additions provide sparkle. The camera work is rocky at best--the picture seems about eight beats behind whoever is playing lead--but as an intimate home movie of live Dead, with terrific sound, it's sure to see many repeat viewings. --Anne Hurley

Additional Features:
The first set on the DVD includes two rough-around-the-edges songs not available on the VHS version, "Wang Dang Doodle" and "Jack-a-Roe." Drummer Bill Kreutzmann's son Justin directed an additional video, "Liberty," using rarely seen archival photos of the band. The real gem, though, is footage from a July 12, 1990, show, also at RFK, with a long, seamless jam of "Box of Rain," "Victim or the Crime," "Foolish Heart," and "Dark Star." --Anne Hurley

The special effects ruin this DVD:
Which would you rather watch: Jerry's solo on Franklin's Tower or stock footage of a roller coaster. Sorry, the roller coaster is what you will get. I realize that some of these "View from the Vault" shows are from the video feeds that were set up for the giant display screens that were used at the larger venues in order to accommodate the lawn seats. GD productions decided that along with the shots of the band some interesting "Psychedelic footage, like they used to use at the Acid tests, would be amusing to the audience members who might be tripping. Unfortunately these bland computerized outdated special effects often replace shots of the band! Would you like to see Jerry do some fine picking on his solo in "Estimated Prophet" sorry instead you will find some banal stock footage. Also note that almost all of the shots are extreme close-ups. There are no group shots and very few two shots, so that the documentation of the creative interplay is lost! I'm afraid the creative department in GD productions, these days, is greatly lacking. Gone are the inspired days of Kelly and Mouse. I think we may have to look forward to more lame album cover art and poor creative decisions in regards to the packaging of documented damn fine jamming by the Grateful Dead. :(

Out of sync:
I second the comment of the reviewer that said that the video and sound are out of sync. I've loved this show on tape/CD for many years, and was looking forward to seeing the DVD, but watching the misaligned version of Stella Blue was very disappointing. I have stuck the DVD on the shelf, and am going back to my CDs.

Great show, only OK production:
This is a great DVD, and a lot of the reviews here really point out all that is great with this show. So, what's not (beside the special effects stuff)? Two things. One, frequently through the DVD the soundtrack and the video are significantly out of sync. This is really a disappointment on a vocal closeup or watching the fingerwork on a solo. Second, a produced 5.1 mix would have been very nice. Yes, I know there was originally only 2 channels, but you can produce some very good effect in post-production. At least put two (or three) audio versions on the disk and let people pick. The way my (and many I would guess) home theater is set up, the two little left and right satellites are there for movie directional fill, and really don't do the soundtrack justice when in two channel mode. Yeah, yeah, I know - I need to go buy those towers instead ;)

A Must for Music Fans:
This DVD is a personal favorite. The band is very tight throughout the show and two of them had been wih them for less than a year. Hornsby sounds great on the piano. The sound quality is better than the other two View DVDs. Other highlights include: the best Music Never Stopped, a good Estimated into Dark Star, and the bonus material is fantastic. There are some blemishes, but what Dead show didn't have them. It was all part of going to a show. This DVD is a must for Dead and music fans alike.

A Great Show:
Excellent show captured on video. This video stands out..what can I say - not only an awesome rendition but you can tell the guys are having fun performing them. You almost get that feeling of being there and in on the fun...it enhances the Dead's psychedelic appeal...I think this ones better than the first "View From the Vault."...