Jazz Articles about Keith Godchaux

About Keith Godchaux

Extended Analysis

RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. 6/10/73

by Doug Collette
July 15, 2023

As much or more so than any previously released new release or archive package, the cover art of Grateful Dead's RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. 6/10/73 accurately (and vividly) reflects the nuances of the music behind the enticing graphics. In a pastel green and pink/orange color scheme of both matt and glossy finish, Masaki Koike's intricate designs hint at the dense subtleties the iconic band infuses into its chosen range of material during this approximately four-hour cull from the larger seventeen-CD ...

Album Review

Bob Weir: Ace - 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (2CD)

Read "Ace - 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (2CD)" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
January 29, 2023

Befitting its heady milestone date, the title of Bob Weir's initial solo album, Ace, carries multiple meanings. First of all, it was the Grateful Dead guitarist, vocalist & songwriter's nickname at the time of its gestation and completion (his bawdy persona as such mirrored in the ultra-suave pose on the inside photo as well as the risque cover art). More importantly, the album's name is also a reflection of the gambling lore so prevalent in songs of the ...

Extended Analysis

Lyceum Theatre, London, England - 5/26/72

by Doug Collette
August 27, 2022

The final night of any given tour can find the musicians excited at the prospects of jobs well-done throughout the prior road work or exhausted and lethargic from their previous labors. Fifty years ago, when the Grateful Dead's Europe '72 (Warner Bros., 1972) was released, the third LP of the set (conceived as such in part as fulfillment of their contract with the label), included material from the final show of the now mythic tour, clearly documenting how these psychedelic ...

Album Review

Grateful Dead: Dave’s Picks Volume 38: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY 9/8/73

Read "Dave’s Picks Volume 38: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY 9/8/73" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
August 6, 2022

For all the most practical of reasons, the Grateful Dead were never better in live performance than in 1973-1974. Those pertinent virtues of this iconic rock and roll band on stage are fully on display over the course of this three-CD edition of Dave's Picks, a clear depiction of the sweet spot between structured and open-ended playing, based on splendid songs, within which the group comfortably resided during this period. First off, the iconic band had a wealth ...

Album Review

Grateful Dead: Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO (12/10/71)

Read "Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO (12/10/71)" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
December 25, 2021

A cull from Listen to the River: St. Louis '71-'72-73 (Rhino, 2021), a twenty-disc box of Grateful Dead live recordings, Fox Theatre, St. Louis , MO 12/10/71 was prepared and configured like an exclusive standalone title. Headed by chief keeper of the vault, David Lemieux, the team of curators lavish a level of creativity and attention to detail upon this package that is a direct reflection of the musical skills these psychedelic warriors exhibit within this three-CD set.

Extended Analysis

Garcia Live Volume Seven: Sophie's, Palo Alto, November 8, 1976

by Doug Collette
September 4, 2016

The openness and vulnerability within Jerry Garcia's singing voice is an often-overlooked virtue among all the others for which he's distinguished, including his ever-so-precise (acoustic and electric) guitar playing as well as his songwriting collaborations with lyricist Robert Hunter. Nevertheless, those vocal qualities also resonate in the best of his solo work and Garcia Live Volume Seven is a prime example.A palpable sense of comfort radiates from this show, recorded at Sophie's in Palo Alto in November of ...

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Extended Analysis

Beyond Description: Grateful Dead 1973-1989

by Doug Collette
November 13, 2004

Serendipity is dead... Grateful Dead that is. A successor to the similarly massive and comparably gorgeous box set The Golden Road (1965-1972) , Beyond Description (1973-1989) depicts the latter day Grateful Dead's utter and perhaps naïve willingness to surrender to their muse for inspiration, whether it be on the stage or in the studio. It becomes quite clear before you are even half-way through these dozen extended remastered CDs that, when this band was struck with inspiration, there ...