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Towards the end of the 60s, San Francisco and California in general were populated by hippies, lysergic acids were legal, and those famous "happenings" were assuming ever larger proportions.
It was in this setting that Jerry Garcia put together the Grateful Dead; like the hippie movement itself, this band found itself with an inordinate number of musicians who filled even the largest stages, just think of the line-up... 4 guitarists, two drummers, vocals, keyboards, and more.
Live/Dead is exactly one of those live recordings made during those happenings, the band and particularly Garcia played under influence, they were all up on that stage and all together, each song lets the artists go into improvisations, but simultaneously they remain united as if they were an aerobatic squadron painting the sky with their smoke trails, and once they exit the scene, the sky resembles a painting.
Dark Star would become one of their warhorses accompanying them during their countless live performances, just this one stretches over 20 minutes, inebriating, mystical, and never monotonous or heavy.
Saint Stephen starts with timid noises from Garcia's guitar, flows into a psychedelic melody and recalls Easy Rider-like scenarios.
Every song on this album has its own flavor, always seasoned with the same essence of the Grateful Dead. This album, if absorbed under the right circumstances, can make those same atmospheres come alive again that surrounded the band during the years of their peak... those years when they all together occupied a building in San Francisco, lived happily, carefree... lysergic.
A tip: if you have the chance to taste the vinyl version... don't miss it.
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