Second of a 3-day run at the Fill W - though tapes from the 1st are missing (and the previous show we have is 6/14 Fill E - except for maybe the mystery frags dated to mid-'68). The show is known for the big Alligator, but St. Stephen has also appeared on more recent fave lists. Parts of this night used to circ labeled "8/22". This is also the first show we have after Anthem was released. As others have said, Jer's (short-lived) Les Paul tone is nice here.

First Set. Most of the suite-opener, Cryptical, is missing, but the final Cryptical section makes up for this by getting a rare jam-out for 9min. Pig lays a typical Schoolgirl, but it's the Alligator for which you likely came. Look no further for a peak '68 Gator. Among the highlights are a middle jam with just Garcia and Drums and a brief Goodnight Jam @15:30, that Jer revisits @17:00. The Miller_Noel copy has diginoise @16:41 that's not on the other SBDs. Note that TiftOO>Schoolgirl>Gator is a 3-song set.

Second Set. This is the first Dark Star>St. Stephen>Eleven that we have. The first half-minute of Dark Star ("clouds of reunion") is missing but you can picture it, since this is the standard '68 (but still good). St Stephen, however is exacting; precisely performed. This is the 2nd-oldest we have (but the 1st SBD). It's also the first into The Eleven - the previous pairing went in the reverse. It certainly smokes, as does the Death Don't (which has a brief reel change). The last couple are stock '68.

1st Set:  B-
2nd Set: B-
Overall = 3½ stars

Highlights:
Alligator - look no further for a peak '68
St Stephen - exacting
The Eleven - 1st from a Stephen; into a solid Death Don't

SOURCES: The Gastwirt_Miller_Noel has been mastered for levels, the cycle hum was fixed, and it was re-pitched. The balance is still a bit off early on, and it's missing the complete Lovelight, but it's the most complete during intertrack/tunings. The couusinit_17689 has the full Lovelight.

This is a great show and great transfer/mastering by Mr. Miller. However, I would like to warn that there is approx. 1-second of diginoise during Alligator @16:42 that is not present on the other copies. The advantage is that Miller’s transfer is lacking the cassette generation of all the other copies on LMA. So personally I’d still choose his transfer over the others. However, if that defect bothers you, then stick with the older copies.

Charlie Miller should become a synonym for good sound quality.
Just compare it to other soundboards of the same show.
Stream friendly as well, with suites bundled into a single song.

Great work!

Mercy this is clear, clean and fantastic. All the major songs are 10-15 minutes and that usually translates into good jamming, which this recording has plenty of. This gets 5 stars from me as it has everything I'd expect from a '68 recording in excellent quality. There are plenty of other reviews on the other versions of this show here on the Archive so I won't bother with assessing the songs. This new version ala Charlie Miller is fabulous (check out the snare drums at the start of The Eleven).