[.ca] Grateful Dead: Dead Ahead

PBS ran this once!:
First time I saw this was on the Chicago PBS station when they ran it during one of their fund raising drives. It was the only time I ever pledged them some money. Anyway, this is from the same shows that spawned the Reckoning (a personal favorite) and the Dead Set (not so much) albums. If you liked those you'll like the video. Since I never was lucky enough to see an actual Dead acoustic set that portion of the video is reason enough for owning it. The footage and sound are pretty good, and its nice to see a thin Jerry.

A rare glimpse of the acoustic Dead:
This video is worthwhile for the single acoustic set that it contains. The electric sets that make of the rest of the video are pretty lackluster, with only minimal jamming. Hats off to the director for focusing on the band, though - I've seen a couple other Dead videos that focus way too much on the audience and don't even show many songs in their entirety. If you like the acoustic playing in this video, check out "Reckoning", the live album that was made from the same series of concerts from which Dead Ahead was created.

Where's the Beef?:
The only factor that saves this release is the acoustic portion of the show. Equal in quality to the Reckoning release, you won't be dissapointed if you liked that album. Things don't go so well for the electric portion of the show. Very much like Dead Set, we get some very lackluster versions of Dead classics. Fire on the Mountain, the same version from Dead Set, is very short. It makes me wonder if they were actually trying to appease some producer for a future release. That's pretty much the whole feel of the show (that we see). Although aptly played, each song lacks the X-chemistry edge expected for a hot night. Saint of Circumstance turns out to be the only tune that shows a glimmer of a spark. You know your fishing in a pretty dry hole if the highlight is here! The most bewildering aspect of all is that 1980 was a time of very intense and incredible jamming by the band. Its a shame that better representations of this period have not been released. Dead Ahead does for 1980 about what Steal Your Face did for 1974. And we all know what kind of year that was, right?

Dead but not forgotten:
I think on reflection this is a good buy for sure. Any dead head will of course snap anything up like this as i have, but it wouldnt be a great place to start to get a feel for the deads great live experience. I think the set is pretty good, id like to have seen more of an acoustic set with more volume. I dont think Bird Song is a great way to start. Things really warm up later on when we get into Mexicali Blues and for me the hightlight being St Of Circumstance followed straight after by Franklins Tower which i have to say i think is quite possibly the best live version ive ever heard, you finally get a feel for Jerry's ringing, horn-like guitar sound. But then just as im getting into it its time to say bye! As a deadhead i love it of course but it dosent touch other release's from that era at all such as Reconing. I think this was the start of a bad period for the Dead, i think too many years on the road were telling, this release isnt great..but as a great fan of theres its still very satisfying.

A great way to bring the Dead into your living room!:
I pray that the DVD gods will get ahold of this one