This final show of the Dead’s Fall ‘74 London swing is a beaut, loaded with bangers and biscuits. Don’t be fooled by the technical glitches and lyric flubs early in the unusual Scarlet opener. Once the jam starts, the sound is full and Jerry is obviously locked and loaded. What follows is a classic, well-played first set full of hearty appetizers, including a sparkling Jack Straw, and culminating in a prototypical, adventurous Playing jam full of spine tingling runs, bouncy bass lines, and spacey feel. The post Seastones main course is chock full of strawberries and cream too, starting with an extended, groove-filled Eyes, crafted with waves of bright, expressive tones and dissolving into a breezy jam that melts into a lush Wharf Rat. After a brief stage reset, the good times roll on with a powerhouse four-song finish, including a sweet Ship of Fools and high octane Going Down the Road that’ll have you dancing in the aisles. In sum, this here is some vintage, good ‘ol GD and you are in for a treat.

will undoubtably get around to calling this my favorite show, by the end of only hearing this once. i think it's because of the Scarlet opener, or Sugaree. Row Jimmy has become one of my favorite songs, because of its pace. it doesn't feel like the "traditional" Grateful Dead song. more than that, it's completely 74 which begs the question, what was the point of the years 66-73? if not just to get to the zenith of their playing and then drop the ball...
anyway, from what i've heard i know this tape will already smoke. i don't even need to listen to the seastones > eyes to pick apart it's beauty. too good to say sh*t about. then why am i hear? i don't know, to chase the dream. I suppose. i don't have much else - after technology shuts down, this review (or lack there of) will disappear...so will the show itself, and cause people to wonder what did that say sound like? does anything remain after we're gone...except the land, wind and rain.
i suppose the one thing i could grime about would be the lack of Dark Star, Weather Report or Other One. But, who really cares. they placed an exhibition against themselves, even going to London in the first place. to cement their place among giants...and for that reason they will be my favorite band, maybe favorite show...who knows.

End of a three-day run, and one of the classic Dead shows; the Ally Pally. The first night was inconsistent, with technical problems, and one set. The middle night is better, with many highlights. This night is arguably the best of '74; or at least has the best set of '74 (some say the first, most say the second set). In person this was a five hour show (w/Seastones & intermissions). Every song has its moments as does every player! The show is usually first noted as having the biggest Eyes of all time – in length, but in other ways as well. Is the show better than 6/26, 8/6, or 9/14? Maybe the important thing is that it's different. The SBD does not cover the whole show, but an enterprising Brit taped all three nights. This somewhat shaky AUD covers patches and the last song and a half. Both sources sometimes lose Bobby's guitar. Ned Lagin said:
"[This] night turned out to be an exceedingly high night. Some of the people from Pink Floyd were there to hear what we were doing with computers and electronics, and to hear the Grateful Dead. Some people from Apple Records [too] and we came out and all of us, I think, just played phenomenally."

First Set. Scarlet as an opener! The first since 7/3, but it would not happen again until 4/15/88. However, the Scar>Mexi from the first night is better. The SBD mix is sabotaged, then things go screwy on the live mix [AUD], then Jer trainwecks. It's all back together for the jam, but it's still a wash. [Try using the 132458_mtx, which runs a little >1% fast]. It's the only blemish of the show, so it that was confusing, just listen to the music play. Mexicali is a harbinger, as this Brown Eyed Women is one of the best ever (the show doesn't look back from here). After a solid Beat it on Down the Line-6, Sugaree starts spry but loses tempo, still satisfying. Jack Straw is wild, and another best-of-year contender. Row Jimmy also loses some tempo but still impresses. Tennessee Jed is cheerful & wooly. Big River is brisk and amazing. Musta Been Roses can be draggy in '74, but not here. A great example of the early, no-solo arrangement. The set ends with a 23min Playin' and a big jam (it will be followed, after the break, by the other big one). It's GOGD, but honestly not one of the best of '74 (being a huge year for PitB), at least not until after 20mins.

Second Set. From B to A+, this set is a joy. We now have the complete intermission performance by/of Seastones. Note that Jer comes out to play with Phil & Ned @13mins. Billy joins right after, at first quietly. Jer starts to become dominant after 19mins, Billy after 21mins. Bobby comes out @23mins, and when Ned leaves his composition after 24mins it essentially becomes a GD Space. After 25½ mins Phil begins on bass. Keith joins after 26:30, and Bobby starts Eyes (this begins @33:20 in the track labeled Seastones on 135883_sbd; other labels have been Space or Eyes Intro). Jer picks it up @33:50, but with pull from Phil they expand back into a Space jam first, exploring their way into the most unusual Eyes opening jam ever; one that repeatedly touches on Eyes riffs (and from Phil, at points, Truckin' & Elastic Jazz), before fully forming, foaming, finally fermenting. Phil gets a huge bass solo 12½mins into Eyes proper (subsonic tones pulsing a helix through British chests). It then breaks down and goes way out for an Eyes. At 25mins it enters a Home Counties pastoral jam and ... well, there's a lot to pull apart, but let's just say a unique classic. From the first riffs to the start of Wharf it's a 39min29sec Eyes (and a Phil showcase tonight). As they bleed into Wharf Rat, Billy pulls Jer up to tempo, who then plays harmonics (which is rare for Jer). There are nice little bits and a fine jam. Listen for Jer laughing after playing 72mins. Ned said it was in pure glee. Ship of Fools is slowed, but has a great solo. Goin' Down the Road is a crazy-good version, and Sugar Mag is all energy with a sideways attack from Jer. The set goes AUD here, so you have to listen closer (AUD needs -2% pitch correction @5:39; -1% for the encore; and the channels are switched). U.S. Blues can be appreciated as one of the greats. They encored this two days in a row, perhaps thinking that Brits didn't have the Yank tradition of seeing runs.

1st Set:  A
2nd Set: A
Overall = 5 stars

Highlights:
1st set – all but the bookends
2nd set – all

SOURCES: Older SBD sources all have parts running too fast and parts too slow. The bertha-ashley_7365 fixed many issues but is a bit echoey and has compression artifacts. The remaster/upgrade is 135883_sbd_miller. It is the most complete yet and is mostly repitched and patched (with corrections needed, as above). It does have several tunings cut and needs some VOL and BAL. The AUD (131901_aud) mostly runs too slow. Six songs from the first set are on Dick's #7.

Scarlet, playin and eyes are a must hear.

This is a killer show with a smokin' first set.excellent playing with a stellar PITB (one of the years best).set 2 is a jamfest,15:00 minutes in seastones until the beginning of wharf rat,which is also awesome. Brilliant ship of fools.and killer GDTRFB.this is must have 74'.gr8 sound quality, it's a Charlie miller for peet's sake....... Thanks Charlie! !!