Many Grateful Dead fans were up in arms when the band and Rhino Records announced the Road Trips release series last November. The idea behind Road Trips is to take a run of shows and cherry pick the best tracks for each compilation. For instance, Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 1 contains the best tunes from Fall ’79. Well, most Deadheads are obsessive about their collections and are looking for the band to release complete shows. Especially since the Dick’s Picks series of complete show releases seems to be dunzo.
The band has listened to their vocal fanbase and announced the release of two of the shows that make up Road Trips Vol. No. 1 in their entirety. Now, you can now download the Dead’s performances from The Spectrum in Philadelphia on November 5 and 6, 1979 via Nugs.net for $9.99 per show or $17.99 for both. These two shows from early in keyboardist Brent Mydland’s tenure in the band contain ferocious jamming and fiery versions of a number of classics including the delicious Eyes > Estimated > Franklin’s segment from the first night and the first Alabama Getaway opener evs on the second night.
Hopefully, the availability of these shows helps quell the whining that occurs anytime the Dead announce a new installment of Road Trips. After putting out just Live at the Cow Palace: New Years Eve 1978 in 2006, Rhino has picked up the pace by putting out three vault releases in 2007 and six new collections in 2008. Our fingers are crossed that the trend continues.
