Arista
2000
Ladies And Gentlemen - Fillmore East April 1971
About This Album
1971 was a good year to catch a live Grateful Dead show, and the Fillmore East was a good venue to catch them at. Ladies and Gentlemen...The Grateful Dead presents some four and a half hours of Grateful Dead garnered from their final five-day run at the Fillmore East in 1971 before it closed down for good. Compared to larger arenas, the 2400 seat venue had an intimate feel, but Bill Graham had decided to shut it down due to the high cost of bringing bands to the theater. While adjusting to the absence of their second percussionist Mickey Hart, the Grateful Dead are in good form for these performances. There are a number of great songs/jams on these four discs, starting with a gentle, nine-minute "Bird Song," which inspires a delicate vocal from Garcia. Lesh's bass work perfectly underpins his lead guitar lines. There's an excellent "Dark Star" that flows into "St. Stephen" and "Not Fade Away." Both "Bird Song" and "Dark Star" generate mellow, relaxed jams that fade calmly in and out of one's consciousness. A ten-minute "Morning Dew" is similarly peaceful, flowing and building to its climax, and one shouldn't miss Garcia's take on Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 3,4,6,7 and 9)

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Disc 2

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Disc 3 (try tracks 1,2 and 5)

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Disc 4 (try tracks 2,4 and 10)

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