• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Dec 14, 2022 Web Exclusive By Hays Davis

As Grateful Dead’s Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 2 revisits October 1977, energized is one word that immediately comes to mind when hearing the first few minutes of “Let It Grow.” Behind the vocals of Bob Weir and Donna Jean Godchaux, drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart power the machine with a vengeance along with Phil Lesh’s bass, and a nice jam drives to the finish. Even the low-tempo “Sugaree” surges to a wild crescendo, led by Jerry Garcia, shortly into a nearly 18-minute roll.

Capturing performances from the University of Oklahoma, University of Houston, and Louisiana State University, the 2-CD October ’77 joins the band on the road following that July’s release of Terrapin Station, and they sound here like the Dead couldn’t get onstage fast enough. The interplay during “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” is a real joy, and their run through “The Other One”>“Good Lovin’”>“Terrapin Station”>“Black Peter”>“Around and Around” would have been well worth the ticket alone on that night. (www.dead.net)

Author rating: 7.5/10