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This is the best dead show ever, especially the second set. If you comment on the sound quality or this show doesn't affect you ...you are not a dead head. Please go away.

Did anyone notice Jerry playing My Old Kentucky Home in the guitar solo of Beat It On Down The Line? (Thanks to Capt Segal for pointing out). Good stuff. Great sound quality and fantastic interplay between the band members. I wish I had been born and at this show... at least I saw Phish there in the 90s.

so many ways this is an awesome show:

Keith & Jer interplay

the incredible sound quality (oh to have felt THAT experience !)

and yes indeedy, the superlative second set is a mind-blower.

well considering that im not aloud to hear it, this sucks! why post it if we cant hear it, am i missing something? WELL I can HEAR it Now THANKS

This was one of the hissy N-generation cassettes, sent in a padded envelope over mail or lent by somebody in a neighboring dorm, which slayed me over and over in the 80s. Low-generation tapes appeared WAY later, and I was pissed about it, since I needed them 10 years before.

I cannot be objective about it. I was 15 years old and looking for something to believe in, and the Dead were there, touring, ready for my hard-reappropriated bucks, and tapes like this were the theory, the justification, which came much more erratically from the f'd up middle-aged addicts who comprised the good old, old Grateful Dead.

You will find stellar versions of Eyes, TN Jed, Stella, and Morning Dew. Maybe others. I love the interposition of It's a Sin, a tune nobody knew until Deadbase, and I never cared for it anywhere else. I still love Phil's comments: 'yeah, maybe YOU need the three cents!'

For further research on June 1974, check Eyes->Big River on 6/16, and 8/6 while you're at it. The second set here is majestic; I love it still.

Abundance has changed our appreciation of this incredible band. Who even cares when everything is right here on archive, and nobody needs connections to get it. BUT this is what you're here for.

06/18/74 Freedom Hall, Louisville, Ky. (Tue)
Recommended Source: Road Trips Volume 2 Number 3, when applicable. Otherwise gd1974-06-18.89690.


The Promised Land [3:16] ;
It Must Have Been The Roses [5:03] ;
Black Throated Wind [6:41] ;
Ramble On Rose [6:13] ;
Beat It On Down The Line [3:17] ;
Loser [6:29] ;
Mexicali Blues [3:09] ;
Eyes Of The World [15:16] >;
China Doll [5:54] ;
Around And Around [5:12]

Loose Lucy [5:01] ;
El Paso [4:04] ;
Row Jimmy ;
Weather Report Suite Prelude [1:21] >;
Weather Report Suite Part 1 [4:37] >;
Let It Grow [8:54] >;
Jam [10:46] >;
The Other One [19:17] >;
It's A Sin Jam >;
Stella Blue [8:10] ;
Big River ;
Tennessee Jed ;
Sugar Magnolia

Encore Morning Dew [12:13]

Comments: only "It's A Sin Jam"
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Promised Land is not from the official release and starts off with massive sound issues! They are mainly ironed out quickly, and the balance is almost right by the end of the song.
IMHBTR, the balance issues are still pretty bad, unfortunate for a song that needs the vox to be there.
BTW, and during another vox focused song, they get it fixed. Strong guitar work during the finale.
Ramble On
BIODTL
Loser
Mexicali is fun.
Eyes>China Doll
The Eyes starts off in a nice rhythm, then slows down a bit right away as Keith attempts to play lounge riffs. Jerry won't let him bring it down though and forces funkiness back into it. Jerry keeps forcing the issue, and eventually prevails, as Keith puts some more emphasis into his playing. A great Eyes of the World results. During the 7 minute stretch Jerry does attempt to go into a Slipknot, but then aborts, instead waiting for the jam to develop a bit more before hitting the theme later in the 8th minute, though again it never fully opens up. The jam in the 12th minute is great, though the return again and again to the Slipknot outro theme is somewhat disrupting, I wish they had let it keep going unabated. A somber China Doll finished the duo out nicely.
Around x2 allows Bobby to get his rock star on.

Loose Lucy doesn't really do it for me, but you can see the bluesy direction that Jerry and Keith are headed in to start the 2nd set.
El Paso is great, energetic, just what the doctor ordered.
Row Jimmy = boring
WRS>LIG>Jam>TOO>It's a Sin Jam>Stella Blue
It's been a while since I've listened to this fabled meat sequence, so I'm going in with a virtually clean slate. The prelude and part I of WRS are well done, and Jerry is in great tone, as is Bob (both vocally and on guitar). LIG proves the same, with some nice noodles. The outro jam features a nice, melodious noodle entree, with Billy going out of his mind. Jerry takes a minute to figure out where he is going next, laying low, and the real departure takes place around 1 minute into the "jam" track. This jam stays pretty mellow until about the 6 minute mark when there is somewhat of a return to the LIG theme. Phil finally moves things forward with a strategic bombing run into TOO. Things get weird quickly after the verse is complete, to great effect, then falling into deep space before the 6 minute mark of the track... the jam is almost Orbital, and I realize this is well before the orbital era, but I believe Ned is out there adding some serious weirdness, which by the 10th minute is clearly headed to the outer reaches of the universe. It then finds a jazzy form around 12 minutes in, and Jerry begins back into recognizable notes. It's a Sin finds a natural home in this, bringing the jazz more into the Blues, and then they emerge with Stella Bluesssssss.
Big River is as fun as they come, nice Jerry with flourishes of noodles to groove you.
TN Jed is a nice psychedelic ride to end Jerry's vox to the set, great build up at the end with everyone fully in synch.
Sugar Magnolia

Encore: Morning Dew has a strong opening note from Phil, and Jerry's subsequent intro is perfect. Well performed, it is a nice send off to a fantastic show.
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Performance Summary
The first set, while mainly enjoyable, is a bit inconsistent, though the Eyes>China Doll is a solid effort. The second set has some trouble with consistency as well, though the creative energy you find makes up for it more, in particular during the famous meat sequence.

Sound Quality
At the start of the 1st set, the circulating source is pretty rough, which likely explains why the whole show wasn't turned into an official release. The official release and remainder of the circulating material is fine.

My favorites of the tour.

I'm a big fan of the Charlie Miller SBD recordings. I see this show has been removed due to a chopped up version being commercially released. How do I listen to the whole show? Is there a link somewhere?

I think one must cry when they hear such a thing as Weather Report Suite (or Eyes of the World), for beauty is realized through the joy beyond us, and our eyes glisten when it is seen. This music represents that well... it is an extraordinary year, that culminates in an abounding sense of joy through the songs I mention. But more than anything is the exploration they undergo, to find themselves in a place we are never long- what joy inhabits, what our hearts dwell beside. The flight of truth soars beyond those who see it, yet we can go... So here is a show from 1974 that is among some of the most extraordinary- a sense of muscianship that takes a form as gracefully beautiful as the steps of light in dawn, the Dead arriving to the summer of '74 like a dawn of truth awakening all those who have sleeped. Let us go see the beauty this show represents

Pig would have loved this jam, to that I have no doubt. Tight playing throughout both of these great sets, this show here is one of the best or possibly even the best show of '74. The Morning Dew encore should tell you all you need to know, but watch out for all the Phil bombs. Get this show now, this CM version is my personal favorite of the sources here. 5 stars for musical content.

It could be because I fondly remember having the cassette of this soundboard in my formative years as a dead fan but to me this is the greatest show of all time. nothing beats the power of this show from start to end. The eyes is the best ever. Goosebumps! when I listen to it every time. Ive been trying to find an eyes that even comes close and I cant. Definitive dead. Period.

I was there, along with maybe 2,000 lucky folks and Mellobelle...listen to Jerry quote Stephen Foster at 1:44 in the BIODTL. What a time, green windowpane and all. Jim Mathews and I were climbing the walls during TOO and only came down when the Stella brought us gently back to earth.

Yea I just saw this is being release in a butchered form & luckily I went Dl all the shows long before they decided to halt sb dls.. One of my first & fav tapes from the old days. Just remember listening to this very very high on some blotter whilst hiking tinkers falls in upstate NY on an old portable mono cassette player & thinking how wonderful & miraculous this show was.

Although this show has a slightly overproduced quality to it, the playing is laser focused and the jams highly creative. This is a jazzy masterpiece of a performance and certainly worthy of being released in it's entirety. It's a travesty that this show is getting chopped!(100 pts)

I am sure Phil was serious when he said that due to the expense of hauling around the Wall of Sound, but if they didn't do that then we wouldn't be here right? This show is a must listen. The first set really gets off the track at Ramble on Rose and BIODTL, which is maybe one of the best versions. You might think Eyes would be better played in the second set, well luckly that is not the case. This version features some of Jerry's best solos on this song period, the middle break and the jam after the final verse are amazing. Phil is right there with him, peaking also. A haunting China Doll with more great playing, especially by Keith. His piano has a different sound and I am curious if he was playing a house piano for this show? The Around closer is out of control with Bobby giving it 110%, it clear Keith wanted to continue to play afterwards. Set II starts off aliitle loose, no pun there, but then get right back on track with another stellar rendition of El Paso, the girls screaming it out before they played it are a hoot. Row Jimmy is great and then you get a majestic WRS> Let it Grow that has more searing leads from Jerry and then they go into a cool jam that has them pulling the Other One out of thin air. A intense version followed by a typical '74 melt down jam that evolves into this cool fucky blues jam that effortlessly drops into It's a Sin. We all know the Dead can play the blues and this is done very well, Pig Pen would have been proud. Next you get a beautiful tranistion into a stand up Stella Blue. Two more cowboy tunes, palyed very well, and then a set closing Sugar Magnolia with an very rousing SSDD that has Donna going donuts. The Morning Dew is flawless with searing guitar and crashing bass and tear drops on the ivories by Keith.

I sneaked this from a chintzy soundboard hoarder in '79. Scary quiet atonal, all the things I love!

great show, great sound but i think its pretty funny how jerry can barely remember the words to loose lucy, listen how he cuts of the first line in about every verse

Looks like they erased all the reviews -- I wrote a review of this show a few years ago. A great show overall.

This is my favorite Dew of all time. 1974 had some of the best Dews, and this is the best of 1974. It rises and falls, with introspection and power. Jerry and Keith do an amazing duet that is like a dance during a quiet section near the end. This duet builds to the climax at the end. Dew lovers, listen to this now.

this is a must have show. one of the best from 74. figure out how to download and make copies for your friends. thanks charlie for the the transfer.

Grateful Dead Live at Freedom Hall on 1974-06-18 - Downloads: 38
GREAT STUFF! But how can this be down loaded 38 times?