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Without a Net

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Without a Net
Live album by
ReleasedSeptember 1990
RecordedOctober 1989 – April 1990
GenreJam rock
Length131:56
LabelArista
ProducerJohn Cutler, Phil Lesh
The Grateful Dead chronology
Built to Last
(1989)
Without a Net
(1990)
One from the Vault
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Without a Net is the eighth live album by the Grateful Dead (their twenty-first overall). It compiles performances from October 1989 to April 1990, and was released in September 1990. The album simulates the progression of an actual Grateful Dead concert and was certified Gold by the RIAA in November 1990.[2] It is the final contemporary live album that was released in their career.

Background

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The Grateful Dead's albums had frustrated critics and fans alike for neither approaching nor accurately representing the band's live concert sound and experience—to the point that band-approved, fan-made tapes were preferred to official releases. The band's organization had poured profits into sound reinforcement and cutting-edge technology for their concert performances and were likewise frustrated by the seeming shortfall in capturing their sound on album.[3]

With the advent of digital technology, Without a Net was the band's first contemporary live project in nine years, and featured selections from then-recent tours in an attempt to allow the home listener a closer facsimile of the band's engulfing sound system. Touting the advancement in production clarity, the accompanying shrink wrap sticker proclaimed: "The world's grandest, largest, best live recording."

The resulting album achieved gold-status sales within weeks of its release—the first live album by the band to do so. A series of live releases followed, beginning with a complete concert performance in its entirety. The release of archival live performances continued after the 1995 dissolution of the band and is ongoing.

Content and packaging

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The album title uses the idiom metaphorically, alluding to the band's disinclination for prepared set lists. They preferred just to play and let the song choice evolve by sense for each performance, pulling from a repertoire of over 100 then-common songs. In keeping with that notion, the packaging used a circus theme, with a "Big Top Limited Edition" also-available, featuring clowns and related artwork. The album's dedication to Clifton Hanger is a reference to keyboardist Brent Mydland, who used the alias for hotel registration. Mydland died before the album's release.[4]

The album is an attempt to compile some of the best performances from then-recent tours and present them as a prototypical Grateful Dead concert, as they sounded at that time. However, Mydland's death and the subsequent addition of Vince Welnick and Bruce Hornsby had changed the band's live sound by the time the album was available. Seventeen songs were chosen from two of the most recent tours and sequenced to represent typical set placement (though the traditional "Drums" solo and "Space" improvisation are absent, and the final "encore" track is given an early fade out).

Track listing

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Disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording date and venueLength
1."Feel Like a Stranger[a]"Bob Weir, John BarlowOctober 9, 1989, at Hampton Coliseum7:32
2."Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo[b]"Jerry Garcia, Robert HunterMarch 21, 1990, at Copps Coliseum8:00
3."Walkin' Blues[c]"Robert Johnson, arr. WeirMarch 15, 1990, at Capital Centre5:44
4."Althea[c]"Garcia, HunterMarch 15, 1990, at Capital Centre6:55
5."Cassidy"Weir, BarlowOctober 19, 1989, at The Spectrum6:36
6."Bird Song"Garcia, HunterDecember 9, 1989, at Great Western Forum12:57
7."Let It Grow[b]"Weir, BarlowMarch 14, 1990, at Capital Centre11:55
Total length:59:39
Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording date and venueLength
1."China Cat Sunflower / I Know You Rider[b]"Garcia, Hunter / traditional, arr. Grateful DeadApril 1, 1990, at The Omni10:24
2."Looks Like Rain[b]"Weir, BarlowMarch 28, 1990, at Nassau Coliseum8:04
3."Eyes of the World[b]"Garcia, HunterMarch 29, 1990, at Nassau Coliseum16:14
4."Victim or the Crime"Weir, Gerrit GrahamOctober 15, 1989, at Brendan Byrne Arena8:04
5."Help on the Way / Slipknot! / Franklin's Tower[d]"Garcia, Hunter / Garcia, Keith Godchaux, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Weir / Garcia, Kreutzmann, HunterMarch 30, 1990, at Nassau Coliseum19:07
6."One More Saturday Night"WeirMarch 24, 1990, at Knickerbocker Arena4:51
7."Dear Mr. Fantasy[b]"Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, Chris WoodApril 1, 1990, at The Omni5:44
Total length:72:28

Notes

  1. ^ Later remixed and released with entire concert on Formerly the Warlocks
  2. ^ a b c d e f Later remixed and released with entire concert on Spring 1990 (The Other One)
  3. ^ a b Later remixed and released with entire concert on Terrapin Station (Limited Edition)
  4. ^ Later remixed and released with entire concert on Spring 1990
  • The vinyl pressing puts "Bird Song" before "One More Saturday Night" instead of after "Cassidy"

Personnel

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Additional musician

Charts

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Year Chart Position
1990 Billboard 200 43[5]

References

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  1. ^ Planer, Lindsay. "Without a Net". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database-Without a Net". Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  3. ^ "Tech Pioneers - Wired Magazine". Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  4. ^ "Grateful Dead Family Discography - Without a Net". Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  5. ^ "Billboard album chart history-Grateful Dead". Retrieved March 1, 2009.