GRATEFUL DEAD Road Trips Vol.1 No.1-Fall '79 (2-CD)

(Real Gone Music) 16 tracks

If you live long enough, you learn that the only thing that doesn't change is that things change, and of all and sundry bands in the pantheon of rock and roll, the one that has most embraced change is undeniably the Grateful Dead.

No other group has experienced such a turnover of personnel or created such a wide stylistic range of repertoire over the course of their 30-year career. And on "Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 1-Fall '79," the Dead once again apply their unique musical jiu-jitsu to emerge stronger than ever. The five gigs featured here show the band hitting the ground running with new member Brent Mydland, reinterpreting some of the oldest songs in their repertoire, including a boogie-tinged "Dancing in the Street" (which leads into "Franklin's Tower" one of only three times), a short reggae-fied "Morning Dew" (the only appearance in two years), and "Good Lovin'" to close a medley that's very satisfying with "Wharf Rat."

And if you're looking for new tunes, this trip features the fourth performance of "Alabama Getaway" (the Dead were up during this tour recording "Go to Heaven during this tour). With notes by Blair Jackson; mastered by Jeffrey Norman in HDCD ton. Available in music stores for the first time ever!