Grateful Dead - Without a Net | Exclusive Bluejay Record

Now here's something to be thankful for..... Three cheers to Rhino Records for quietly reissuing this fantastic set, the group's final standard release (i.e. non-archival) for Arista Records. The original label design has been preserved, replacing "Arista" with "GD" for the logo. All three LPs play flawlessly. Oddly enough the front and rear panels of the tri-fold jacket seem to be reversed from as I remember the original version being. But that is a small quibble. All vinyl-loving deadheads should get a copy of this while you can.

Love this record I've been waiting for this to come on vinyl.

This was my first GD album purchase after my first show back in 1991. I think the album is amazing and quite possibly the best “Eyes of the World” ever. I love the jazzy flavor on this album . I think anyone unfamiliar with their music would be served well with this release. Just an amazing collection of the boys doing what they did best. So glad I can get this on vinyl without spending hundreds on an original release.

Grateful Dead at their peak. An exemplary live show. Jerry Lives!

Next day delivery exactly as described - this is a gift - still unopened - but i don't anticipate problems - many thank you's for your excellent service . . .

After listening to the entire disk one more time, I understand now why there is so much controversy about this one. What you have in this twilight-era set are some amazing, mature, heartfelt and very compelling performances. There are also a couple of big disappointments that just leave a huge vacuum. Most of Disk 2 is just dullsville. High points: "China Cat->Rider". The group mind kicks in nicely Very tight and played with heart. Mellower than the old days but worth hearing. "Althea" charms with a lilting groove, a catchy riff and some fine close high harmony. Jerry sings it like he means it, and the band is quiet but interested. "Cassidy", originally on Bob Weir's Ace album, is a little Brent-heavy but interesting. "Bird Song" will never compare to the Fillmore East version but again, the guys show some really fine high, tight harmony and the song features a nice jam that will have you visualizing birds flying inside this 12:57 version -- trippy, mature, mellow and earthy. "Let it Grow" is given an 8-Miles-High-esque guitar treatment that gets jazzy like everyting else on Without a Net, but never gets boring or loses focus. So, all of Disk 1 is quite good, but after "China Cat->Rider" on Disk 2, head for the exit. And that brings me to my low points. Low points: The absolutely ponderous treatment of "Eyes of the World", one of my favorite songs. Branford Marsalis drones through this like he can't wait to go home. 16 minutes of nothingness! A major disappointment. "Dear Mr. Fantasy" is an absolute embarrassment. I was really psyched to see this included but as rendered, it was like bad karaoke. Yuck! Moral: If you're going to do one of Traffic's best you better bring some fire or leave it alone entirely. "One More Saturday Night" sounds more like "One More Saturday Night Watching TV." But I still sang along. "Victim or the Crime" is a positively awful piece of music -- disjointed, depressing and really just unpleasant. Not surprisingly, it first appeared on the panned Built to Last CD, which is where it should have stayed. "Help->Slipknot->Tower" sounds like the guys are just going through the motions. The guys riff on the Allman Brothers during "Slipknot", which is cool, but by "Franklin's Tower" it's clear that the four winds have died down to a very light breeze. I made the mistake of driving during this snoozefest and almost fell asleep at the wheel. Instead of rolling away the dew, I almost rolled away into the ditch. Overall, I am mystified how anyone who's familiar with the high points of the Dead's live work can say that this is a great album. It's not. The guys really sounded tired, and with Brent zonked out of his mind, noodling around in some kind of amorphous haze, and Jerry not quite recovered from his coma, much of the material comes off as uninspired. There are too many weak spots here. If you get this, be sure to drink an espresso or two because you're not going to light the world on fire with the buzz from the music. I had to chase this with my Road Trips Volume 1 Bonus Disk, which sounded ten times better despite having been recorded on a bloody soundboard cassette. Brent and Jerry both deteriorated considerably between 1979 and 1989, sad to say. Create your own edit of Eyes of the World, because it can easily be cut down to 6 minutes or so from 16, cut out Dear Mr. Fantasy and the insufferable "Victim or the Crime", and most importantly, don't expect Live/Dead, One/Two/Three from the Vault, Fillmore East, Winterland, Cow Palace or any psychedelic rockets. Four stars for the fine work on Disk 1 and the opening China Cat on Disk 2. The rest of it is mind-numblingly dull, bad or both.

Great service, fast ship, CD played great...Thanks

CD was near perfect and I’m very happy to add this great music to my library. And at a great price.