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Matt Vernon's Collection

Grateful Dead   12/31/1971

Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA
Recording SHNID 135
Media SHN   3 discs
Notes sbd/fm - sounds extremely good if this is an off air recording, more likely pre-fm if I had to bet. Whichever way, sound is very good. Performance encapsulates the 71 gd extremely well. Jerry says HNY at the end - always a good sign when Jerry makes a closing comment. Set 1 has a very democratic mix of Jerry/Pigpen/Bobby tunes avoiding any monotony of styles. Donna's debut on OMSN. Set 2 is good to compare with one year later when they also do Truckin' > Drums > TOO to see how far the band came in just a year. The jamming here is interesting, not as intricate with more space and not as long as 72's NYE show. The MAMU sandwiched inside TOO is also a good example of this. Black Peter is a very good version and Pigpen's version of The Same Thing also better than the later versions. The obligatory NFA>GDTRFB>NFA to close the show is a real eneregtic version with Pigpen and Bobby trading NFA chants at the end. This show might also be the debut of Big River. I put this on the "must hear once list".
Trades Allowed Yes   Traded from: Jim Fry
Ratings Show: A-    Sound: A-
Lists gd71-74
SHNID 135
FM > Reel > Dat > CDR; via G. Lanum
Owned by Matt Vernon · Last Updated Nov 22, 2005