Saint of Circumstance (2019) [Grateful Dead]

on
August is always the time for the annual Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies. 2019 marked the ninth edition, and the concept has remained the same ever since: a Grateful Dead concert is broadcast in its entirety in local cinemas. The cool thing about this edition was that it wasn't just a US event, but that the Dead went global. Belgium didn't participate, but luckily Pathé in the Netherlands offered a solution. There I was, with three other people in a nearly empty theater.

There's apparently little interest in this kind of event, and my fear that it would be a one-off has been realized. The concert (only the audio) was released in the same year, and that is of course this Saint of Circumstance. It's a concert from a late date in the Dead's career (June 17 1991), and honestly, that hasn't been my favorite era of the band in a long time. It might not be enough to tip the scales the other way, but this turned out to be a wonderful concert. The recording quality is sublime (it's only one of two Dead shows in the entire archive that was recorded on 48-track analog tape), and perhaps I'm biased because I also saw the accompanying video, but you see a band in excellent form who are having a tremendous amount of fun playing.

I did everything I could do to avoid knowing the tracklist beforehand, and when they suddenly open with Eyes of the World (a fairly rare occurrence), tease Dark Star several times, and then close with a wonderful version of The Weight... you just know it's going to be good. There are also a few unexpected songs (I'd never heard Saint of Circumstance and New Speedway Boogie live until then) and, of course, fan favorites like Truckin' and Sugar Magnolia. Great line-up, too, with Bruce Hornsby (I've said it before, but it's truly a joy to actually see the guys jamming, nodding, smiling, and winking at each other), and Vince Welnick on keyboards.

Those with plenty of money can also go for the Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, and 1991 album. It's about 14 discs, containing the complete shows from July 12 1987, July 9 & 10 1989, and June 16 & 17 1991. That way, you'll also get this Saint of Circumstance. The 'problem' with that is that you'll pay about $150 for that box set, and about $30 for the Saint of Circumstance on its own. The choice is yours, but I'm already very happy with this one.

Tracklist:
  1. Eyes of the World
  2. Walkin' Blues
  3. Brown-Eyed Women 
  4. Dark Star (Pt. 1)
  5. When I Paint My Masterpiece 
  6. Loose Lucy 
  7. Cassidy
  8. Might as Well 
  9. Saint of Circumstance 
  10. Ship of Fools
  11. Dark Star (Pt. 2)
  12. Truckin'
  13. New Speedway Boogie 
  14. Dark Star (Pt. 3)
  15. Uncle John's Band
  16. Dark Star (Pt. 4)
  17. Drums
  18. Space
  19. China Doll
  20. Playing in the Band
  21. Sugar Magnolia
  22. The Weight


Comments

Post a Comment