By Grateful Dead, 2007

This 2-disc set features an epic pop-cultural event by capturing a 1971 Grateful Dead live concert.Readied in the early '90s (but not released until the summer of 2007) this multi-tracked document of a strong twenty-song, two-hour set by the Dead from February 1971 in Port Chester, NY brims with subtle pleasures and myriad rave-ups. The sound is immaculate throughout, thanks to the group's adoption of radical technology for the time. The band was at a creative peak at the start of '71; both Workingman's Dead and American Beauty had been released the previous year.

There are a few points where the group seems a tad lead-footed, but this is understandable as second drummer Mickey Hart had left the previous day for a several year hiatus after it was discovered that his father had ripped off the group while acting as their manager. Overall, the band 's clearly moving towards a more mean and stripped-down sound. And the rocking numbers like "Bertha"--debuted at this gig, along with a handful of other numbers--do benefit from this.

To top it all off, the songs sung by Ron "Pigpen" McKernan here are among the strongest the blues interpretations ever recorded. There are a lot of Dead shows out there, and some have historic value, while others just sound great in terms of the performance and fidelity. This show has the full trifecta; it's not to be missed by even the casual 'head.

--Mike McGonigal

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