Live at the Warfield - San Francisco, CA

Joan Osborne's voice is just a little better than Donna Jean's, so if you're a fan of the Keith and Donna Godchaux era (which I am) then this CD is a nice upgrade from that. To be fair, there were long stretches of time onstage when Donna couldn't really hear herself, and she wasn't called in for any overdubs when the Dead released Dick's Picks, etc. Whatever the case, Joan's voice is very soulful and generally on-key. She's actually singing a lot of Jerry's/Pigpen's parts, but there's just something interesting about having a female voice sandwiched between male voices-it creates just the right amount of tension. Also-no disrespect to Bob Weir, but you have TWO true guitar virtuoso's trading riffs here (as opposed to a feisty kid brother trying to keep up with Jerry), which makes the jams quite interesting. The fact that at least one of them is a bona fide jazz guitarist creates new dimensions in the music. Then add the saxophone on top of that and you have something a little jazzy, a little funky, a little soulful, and very fresh. It would have been nice to get a bit more video content, but when it's a "bonus disc" you typically only get a 1/2 hour to 45min. I'd rather have two well-compacted discs of music and another with video content, rather than a 3rd music disc comprised of filler (30 minutes of Drums/Space followed by 30 minutes of "Turn On Your Lovelight" anyone?). This disc fits in nicely with my collection of Dick's Picks, Road Trips, Pure Jerry, etc. I was skeptical when I bought it because there's a shortage of new song titles here. None-the-less, Phil did a good job of revisiting certain songs that were in need of a dusting (such as Mr. Charlie, and a much tighter version of the aforementioned "Turn On Your Lovelight"). I've heard that they DID in fact play some other cool songs during this show (including an interesting Beatles cover), but mainly titles published by ICE NINE made it onto this disc, probably for legal/financial reasons. Kudos to Phil for selecting a group of musicians with a jammy mindset.Footnote: I wish they would have performed "Wharf Rat". FURTHUR did an outstanding version of this a couple of years back, and Sunshine Garcia's voice fit into the harmonies just right. Hearing Joan's take on it would have been interesting. Perhaps they could have slipped that in on disc two, and omitted the rather languid reading of "Morning Dew".2nd Footnote: the Dead flirted with a similar, jazzier sound on the CD "Live Without a Net" when they recruited Branford Marsalis to play on "Eyes of the World" (one of the better renditions I've heard). Phil Lesh was the main guy selecting the tunes for that release, which makes me wonder of one of his life's ambitions has always been to subject the Dead's catalogue to a jazz treatment. The good news is that the music does, in fact, hold up well to such a treatment.

i just got this and could not believe how low the price was. when i got it, it was brand new and included the dvd too . all for around $5. i hear a lot of phil and friends on the dead channel on pandora and have learned to enjoy it for what it is,, not comparing it to old dead stuff. if i want that,, i'll listen to the dead. i love this incarnation of phil and friends and also think joan is a special talent.there is a nice song selection on this cd and i enjoy their interpretations of great dead songs. for my ears, they are right on, i love it !! highlights for me are a lovely cosmic charlie,, great vocals and strong bass. nice jam on scarlet beg. a cool, they love each other. and a very good and far out,, turn on your love light....disc 2:: the wheel is a nice tribute to jerry. dark star// morning dew// i know you rider/and then / the other one// dark star// the other one, are great second set jams !! these guys play very well together and the new and different sounds are fun and enjoyable;; the horns and the violin add a really nice dimension to many of the tunes.. i think you will like hearing what phil is doing, post dead. there are many, many releases out there by phil and his friends. i also like what he has done with trey a. and warren h. as band mates as well as many others. it is nice to remember, the music never stops

Joan shines on vocals. Tough to single anyone out though .....John and Larry on guitars, oops. Selection of tunes my only discouraging words. Thanks Phil for all the excellent years of fine, fine music.

An excellent CD at a great price from a reliable vendor!

Look at the price of this release….I got mine for under $5 bucks🤣🤣🤣Great show🇺🇸

Truly enjoy this collection which is well recorded and a fun listen with Joan Osborn on vocals. Some great takes on classic dead, but not equal to the Dead, which only goes without saying. Wished their was more live stuff ontogeny DVD but accept that with the fun stuff on the CD's. Probably worth the price for hard Dead fans, but not that great unless you have a true passion. Looking forward to seeing Phil 3 times this summer to probably get my last chance to see a legend.

Kind of obscure recording of a great concert.Joan Osborne sounds great.

Great CD seller packed it well

My feeble brain remembers this as much better than it is.

Phil Lesh, der Bassist der legendären Band "The Grateful Dead", hat eine illustre Schar von hochwertigen Musikern um sich versammelt und hält das Andenken an seine ehemalige Band hoch. An zwei Abenden im Mai 2006 präsentiert er ... and Friends ... legendäre Songs der "Grateful Dead". Mit zunehmender Spieldauer entwickelt sich ein entspanntes Jam-Fest voller Spiel- und Improvisationsfreude. Viele Einzelkönner fügen sich zu einer hervorragend harmonisierenden Gemeinschaft zusammen ... Jazz-Background ... a touch of Blues ... a pinch of Soul ... gerne wäre Jerry Garcia hier dabei gewesen ...Zur Tracklist:CD 1:[1] Shakedown Street (Garcia, Hunter) [13:13][2] Mr. Charlie (McKernan, Hunter) [5:29][3] Pride Of Cucamonga (Lesh, Peterson) [6:57][4] Cosmic Charley (Garcia, Hunter) [8:51][5] Scarlet Begonias (Garcia, Hunter) [16:34][6] They Love Each Other (Garcia, Hunter) [5:36][7] Turn On Your Lovelight (Scott, Malone) [11:29][8] Donor Rap [1:14]CD 2:[1] The Wheel (Garcia, Hunter) [12:42][2] Dark Star (Garcia, Hart, Lesh, Kreutzmann, McKernan, Weir, Hunter) [11:37][3] Morning Dew (Rose, Dobson) [12:31][4] I Know You Rider (Trad., Arr. by Phil Lesh & Friends) [7:45][5] The Other One (Weir, Kreutzmann) [10:55][6] Dark Star (Garcia, Hart, Lesh, Kreutzmann, McKernan, Weir, Hunter) [5:10][7] The Other One (Weir, Kreutzmann) [6:27][8] Box Of Rain (Lesh, Hunter) [9:16]Bonus-DVD:> Conversation with Phil Lesh, John Scofield and Greg Osby> Jazz Jam (Lesh, Scofield, Molo, Osby)> Backstage Rehearsal> All Along The Watchtower (Dylan)> Passenger (Lesh, Monk)>>> Laufzeit der DVD: ~ 45 Minuten**********°°°°°°°°°°**********°°°°°°°°°°Zur Band-Besetzung:> Phil Lesh : electric bass, vocals> Larry Campbell : guitar, fiddle, vocals> John Scofield : guitar> Joan Osborne : vocals> John Molo : drums> Greg Osby : alto & soprano saxophones> Rob Barraco : piano, organ, vocals>>> Aufnahmedatum: Live at the Warfield, San Francisco, CA, May 18 and 19, 2006Mein Fazit: Ein entspanntes und spielfreudiges Jam-Rock-Fest in bester 'Grateful Dead'-Manier mit virtuosen Musikern ... und trotzdem: Er fehlt mir ... dieser einzigartige Sound eines Jerry Garcia = R.I.P.Das ändert aber nichts an meiner 5-Sterne-Wertung = Gefällt mir sehr. Meine differenzierte Bewertung: 4,5 Sterne.[Reinhard Busse]

For the unfamiliar: Phil Lesh was the virtuoso bass player from the Grateful Dead, the most enduring (apart from the Rolling Stones) and touring 60s rock band, which has been more or less on the shelf since the death a few years back of singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia. This is a live concert of Phil and Friends doing Grateful Dead songs.I didn't really expect much of this - Phil Lesh and jazz rockers sounded pretty uninviting - but it's really pretty good. the delightful Joan Osborne takes the vocal front spot on most of the songs and really treats them respectfully and does them justice, and John Scofield on guitar is a very good substitute for Garcia, seemingly having done his homework and tried to get a few nuances of his style- he's still more jazz than country but it works ok. The songs are lively and fun - sure the jams go on a bit, but didn't the Dead's. Any Grateful Dead fan should get some pleasure out of this and should buy it to give some encouragement to Phil to keep working, and newcomers might even find Joan Osborne's singing more appealing than Garcia's. Well worth buying.

Schön, dass Phil Lesh, Bassist und Mitbegründer der legendären Jam-Band "Grateful Dead", deren Tradition nach Jerry Garcias Tod in wechselnden hochwertigen Besetzungen fortführt. Dieser Live-Mitschnitt vom 18./19. Mai 2006 überzeugt durch seine spezielle Formation:Neben Lesh sind die hervorragende Sängerin Joan Osborne, John Scofield an der Gitarre (der wie üblich sofort erkennbar ist), der Jazz-Saxophonist Greg Osby, der großartige Drummer John Molo, Keyboarder Rob Barraco und Gitarrist/Geiger Larry Campbell dabei.Die unterschiedlichen Einflüsse der Musiker, die alle aufeinander eingehen und jedem seinen Freiraum lassen, führen zu einem gelungenen Mix aus Funk/Soul, Bluesrock, Country/Folk, jazzigen Einlagen und natürlich Sechziger-Rock. Die Songs, vorwiegend "Grateful Dead"-Cover in neuem Gewand, auf den beiden CDs werden gründlich ausgejammt und haben meist eine Länge von ca. 10 Minuten.Auf der Bonus-DVD des Digipaks sind ein Interview, `ne spontane, gechillte Jazz Jam in der Besetzung Lesh/ Scofield/ Osby/ Molo (sehr Cool!), eine Backstage-Session und 2 weitere Stücke des Auftritts der kompletten Band zu sehen, von denen der Klassiker "All along the watchtower" durch Joan Osbornes bluesigen Gesang besonders herausragt.Super Aufnahme, schöne Edition und korrekter Preis! (Auf die pure Musik bezogen hätte ich zu 4 Sternen tendiert.) Wer Bands wie "Phish" und "Grateful Dead" mag, kommt sowieso auf seine Kosten, aber diese Konstellation ist sicherlich auch für "Neu-Entdecker" interessant.

This album is a really frustrating mix. On one hand some of the finest improvising musicians associated with the Grateful Dead put together some superb versions of Dead tunes and a few others. Then the singing starts. Cd 1 is not too bad, in fact there are times when the singing is so good that I wished that the Dead were as tight in concert. Then Cd 2 starts with Dark Star, all well and good until the singing starts. Wow! Even Donnas warbling puts this to shame, well OK, when she was bad she was terrible....but them again so were Bob and Jerry on accasion.So, if this had been an instrumental album it would be getting a 5 star. If it had good singing 5 star, but this ~~~~3 star at most. If I was rating the singing it would get 1/2 a star.Apologies to the Deadheads that read this, but this is how I feel about bad singing.