Editing Live/Dead

{{more citations needed|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Live/Dead
| type       = live
| artist     = [[Grateful Dead]]
| cover      = Grateful Dead - Live-Dead.jpg
| alt        = A painting of a woman floating above a casket holding a banner reading "DEAD" behind a background with the word "LIVE"
| released   = November 10, 1969
| recorded   = January 26&nbsp;– March 2, 1969
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      =
* [[Acid rock]]
* [[psychedelic rock]]
* [[jam rock]]
| length     = {{Duration|m=75|s=07}}
| label      = [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]]
| producer   = {{hlist|[[Grateful Dead]]|Bob Matthews|[[Betty Cantor-Jackson|Betty Cantor]]}}
| prev_title = [[Aoxomoxoa]]
| prev_year  = 1969
| next_title = [[Workingman's Dead]]
| next_year  = 1970
}}
'''''Live/Dead''''' is the first official [[live album]] (and fourth overall) released by the rock band [[Grateful Dead]]. Recorded over a series of concerts in early 1969 and released later the same year, it was the first live rock album to use [[Multitrack recording|16-track recording]].

In 2005 the tracks "Dark Star", "St. Stephen", "[[Death Don't Have No Mercy]]", "Feedback" and "We Bid You Goodnight" were released, in their original sequence and with a new mix, on the respective February 27, 1969 and March 2, 1969 discs of the ''[[Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings]]'' box set (the first 1:34 of "Dark Star" can be found on the previous track, "Mountains of the Moon"). "Feedback" and "We Bid You Goodnight" were also released on the triple disc, highlights release ''[[Fillmore West 1969]]''.

==Recording==
To assuage debt accrued with their record label from their recent album ''[[Aoxomoxoa]]'', as well as fulfill their record contract, the band decided to record a live album. They were also interested in releasing an album more representative of their live performances and actual musicianship, as opposed to the in-studio experimentation of previous albums.  The band's soundman, [[Owsley Stanley|Owsley "Bear" Stanley]], asked electronics designer [[Alembic Inc|Ron Wickersham]] to invent a microphone splitter that fed both into the [[Public address system|PA]] and the record inputs, with no loss in quality.<ref name="multiple2">''Phil Lesh: Searching for the Sound'' by Phil Lesh, Little, Brown and Company, 2005, pg. 142.</ref> The songs were recorded with an Ampex 16-track machine.<ref name="multiple">''Grateful Dead: The Illustrated Trip''. Jake Woodward, et al. Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2003, pg. 104.</ref>

Kreutzmann later explained, "We got our hands on the latest in recording technology — a sixteen-track recorder (which, of course, is antiquated these days) — and we hauled it up the steps of the Avalon, and later the Fillmore West, and we became the first band ever to make a live sixteen-track recording. We weren’t trying to make history; we were just trying to record a live album. ... Studio versions could never do those songs justice, but advances in live recording (some of which were at our own hands) meant that we could bring the live Dead experience to vinyl".<ref name="Deal7"/>
{{Quote box|width=25em|bgcolor=#bfbcf1|quote="We're not performers, strictly speaking, and we can't manufacture intensity in a recording studio… we're musicians more than anything else"|source=Jerry Garcia<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Classic Albums - The Grateful Dead: Anthem to Beauty|date=1999|medium=DVD|publisher=Rhino/Wea}}</ref>}}

Unlike in later years, in early 1969 the contents of the Dead's [[set list]]s varied little. They improvised the medley of "Dark Star"/"St. Stephen"/"The Eleven" several times a week, which enabled them to explore widely within the songs' simple frameworks. The "[[Dark Star (song)|Dark Star]] / [[St. Stephen (song)|St. Stephen]]" pairing was taken from the February 27, 1969 show at the [[The Fillmore|Fillmore West]]; "The Eleven" and "Turn On Your Love Light" were from the January 26, 1969 show at the [[Avalon Ballroom]]; "[[Death Don't Have No Mercy]]", "Feedback", and "And We Bid You Goodnight" were recorded March 2, 1969, at the [[The Fillmore|Fillmore West]].

Two songs had seen previous release. "St. Stephen" had appeared in a studio version on ''[[Aoxomoxoa]]'' and "Dark Star" as a single. "The Eleven" was named for its unusual, [[Time signature#Complex time signatures|complex time signature]] ({{music|time|11|8}} time).

==Title and packaging==
The title has a double meaning. It refers both to the band (the "Dead") playing live, and is an [[oxymoron]], contrasting the two words in apparent contradiction. The artwork, created by Robert Donovan Thomas (aka Bob Thomas), also illustrated this juxtaposition. The word "Live" is seen on the front cover, and the word "Dead" fills the back cover of the [[gatefold]]. Additionally,  on the back cover, the top portion of "Dead" somewhat cryptically spells out "Acid".

The original Warner Bros. LP [#2WS 1830] included an 8.5" × 11" bi-fold insert with [[Celts|Celtic]] symbols and lyrics for "Saint Stephen", "The Eleven", and "Dark Star". The tracks are presented as one continuous concert. As such, vinyl copies are pressed with [[Record changer#Automatic sequencing|automatic sequencing]], for stacking on a record changer (Record One containing sides 1 & 4 and Record Two containing sides 2 & 3). CD versions present the track segues without interruption.

==Release==
The album was a financial success for the band in the eyes of their label, Warner Bros. Keyboardist [[Tom Constanten]] commented that "Warner Bros. had pointed out that they had sunk $100,000-plus (about $820,000-plus adjusted for 2023) into ''Aoxomoxoa'' ... so someone had the idea that if we sent them a double live album, three discs for the price of one wouldn't be such a bad deal."<ref name="multiple"/> It was the final album with Constanten, who left the band in January 1970.

A six-and-a-half-minute edit of "Turn On Your Lovelight" was issued first on the [[Warner/Reprise Loss Leaders]] album ''The Big Ball'' in 1970, and later on ''[[Skeletons from the Closet: The Best of Grateful Dead]]''. A two-and-a-half minute edit of "Dark Star" was released on the soundtrack album for ''[[Zabriskie Point (film)|Zabriskie Point]]'', an [[Michelangelo Antonioni|Antonioni]] film for which Garcia created additional music. The album's version of "St. Stephen" appears on the 1977 Grateful Dead compilation ''[[What a Long Strange Trip It's Been]]'', but fades out during the final verse.

''Live/Dead'' was expanded with hidden bonus tracks as part of the 2001 box set ''[[The Golden Road (1965–1973)]]'', and has a longer intro on "Dark Star". This version was released separately in 2003.

==Reception and legacy==
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |first=Lindsay |last=Planer |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-dead-mw0000197509 |title=Live/Dead |website=AllMusic |access-date=September 25, 2018}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
| rev3Score = A+<ref name="Christgau">{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=July 10, 1969|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg6.php|title=Consumer Guide (6)|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|access-date=May 23, 2020}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=5th|isbn=978-0857125958|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>
}}
The album was met with very positive reviews, with ''[[Village Voice]]'' critic [[Robert Christgau]] writing that it "contains the finest rock improvisation ever recorded"<ref name="Christgau"/> and ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's [[Lenny Kaye]] saying it foreshadows "where rock is likely to be in about five years".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Kaye |author-link=Lenny Kaye |first=Lenny |date=7 February 1970 |title=Records |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/live-dead-19700207 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |issue=51 |pages=44 |location=San Francisco |publisher=Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. |access-date=21 May 2017 }}</ref> In his ballot for ''[[Jazz & Pop]]'' magazine's 1970 critics poll, Christgau ranked ''Live/Dead'' as the third best [[popular music]] album.<ref name="JP">{{cite magazine|last=Christgau|first=Robert|year=1970|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/jpballot-70.php|title=Jazz & Pop Ballot 1970|magazine=[[Jazz & Pop]]|access-date=May 23, 2020|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|As Christgau explains in the article, "eligible albums were those issued between October 1, 1969 and October 31, 1970."<ref name="JP"/>}}

In retrospect, [[AllMusic]] notes that "few recordings have ever represented the essence of an artist in performance as faithfully as ''Live/Dead''",<ref name="AllMusic"/> while Grateful Dead scholar Blair Jackson regards it as the best [[psychedelic rock]] album of the 1960s.<ref>{{cite book|title=Grateful Dead Gear|last=Jackson|first=Blair|year=2006|page=79|publisher=Backbeat Books|isbn=9780879308933}}</ref> Engineer and author Michael Hageloh claims that with the album, the Dead "spontaneously create[d] the form now known as '[[jam rock]]{{'"}} and became "legends with a generation-spanning cult following".<ref>{{cite book|chapter=An Annoying Musical Interlude|title=Live from Cupertino|last=Hageloh|first=Michael|year=2019|isbn=9781642931716|publisher=Post Hill Press}}</ref> Drummer [[Bill Kreutzmann]] comments "It was our first live release and it remains one of our best-loved albums. Its appeal was that it took great 'you-had-to-be-there' live versions of songs like 'Dark Star' and 'The Eleven' and put them right in people’s living rooms."<ref name="Deal7">{{cite book |last=Kreutzmann |first=Bill |date=2015 |title=Deal |publisher=St. Martin's Press, New York. Chapter 7 |isbn=978-1-250-03380-2}}</ref>

In 2003, the album was ranked number 244 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]],<ref>[https://archive.today/20120910114454/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/live-dead-grateful-dead-19691231 500 Greatest Albums: Live/Dead] at rollingstone.com</ref> and 247 in a 2012 revised list.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/grateful-dead-live-dead-2-169831/| year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| publisher=[[Rolling Stone]]| access-date= September 16, 2019}}</ref> It was voted number 242 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' (2000).<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|author=Colin Larkin|author-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2006|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=111}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{track listing
| headline   = Side one
| extra_column = Recording date

| title1     = [[Dark Star (song)|Dark Star]]
| note1      = [[Jerry Garcia|Garcia]], [[Mickey Hart|Hart]], [[Bill Kreutzmann|Kreutzmann]], [[Phil Lesh|Lesh]], [[Ron "Pigpen" McKernan|McKernan]], [[Bob Weir|Weir]], [[Robert Hunter (lyricist)|Hunter]]
| extra1     = 27 February 1969, Fillmore West
| length1    = 23:18{{efn|name=BoxWest2}}
}}
{{track listing
| headline   = Side two
| extra_column = Recording date

| title1     = [[St. Stephen (song)|St. Stephen]]
| note1      = Garcia, Lesh, Hunter
| extra1     = 27 February 1969, Fillmore West
| length1    = 6:31{{efn|name=BoxWest2}}

| title2     = The Eleven
| note2      = Lesh, Hunter
| extra2     = 26 January 1969, Avalon Ballroom
| length2    = 9:18
}}
{{track listing
| headline   = Side three
| extra_column = Recording date

| title1     = [[Turn On Your Love Light]]
| note1      = [[Deadric Malone]], [[Joe Scott (musician)|Joseph Scott]]
| extra1     = 26 January 1969, Avalon Ballroom
| length1    = 15:05
}}
{{track listing
| headline   = Side four
| extra_column = Recording date

| title1     = [[Death Don't Have No Mercy]]
| note1      = [[Reverend Gary Davis]]
| extra1     = 2 March 1969, Fillmore West
| length1    = 10:28{{efn|name=BoxWest9}}

| title2     = Feedback
| note2      = [[Tom Constanten|Constanten]], Garcia, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, McKernan, Weir
| extra2     = 2 March 1969, Fillmore West
| length2    = 7:49{{efn|name=BoxWest10a}}

| title3     = And We Bid You Goodnight
| note3      = Traditional, arr. by Grateful Dead
| extra3     = 2 March 1969, Fillmore West
| length3    = 0:35{{efn|name=BoxWest10b}}
}}
* The four sides of the vinyl album were combined as tracks 1–7 on CD reissues.
{{track listing
| headline   = 2001/2003 reissue bonus tracks
| title8     = Dark Star (single version)
| note8      = Garcia, Hunter
| length8    = 2:45
| title9     = ''Live/Dead'' radio promo
| length9    = 1:01
}}
'''Notes'''
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=BoxWest2|Later remixed and released with entire concert on ''[[Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings]]'', Disc #2}}
{{efn|name=BoxWest9|Later remixed and released with entire concert on ''[[Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings]]'', Disc #9}}
{{efn|name=BoxWest10a|Later remixed and released with entire concert on ''[[Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings]]'', Disc #10, and ''[[Fillmore West 1969]]''}}
{{efn|name=BoxWest10b|Later remixed and released with entire concert, in unedited form, on ''[[Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings]]'', Disc #10, and ''[[Fillmore West 1969]]''}}
}}

==Personnel==
;Grateful Dead
*[[Jerry Garcia]]&nbsp;– [[Electric guitar|guitar]], [[Singing|vocals]]
*[[Bob Weir]]&nbsp;– guitar, vocals
*[[Tom Constanten]]&nbsp;– [[Vox Continental|organ]]
*[[Phil Lesh]]&nbsp;– [[electric bass]], vocals 
*[[Mickey Hart]]&nbsp;– [[Drum kit|drums]], [[Percussion instrument|percussion]]
*[[Bill Kreutzmann]]&nbsp;– drums, percussion
*[[Ron "Pigpen" McKernan]]&nbsp;– vocals, [[congas]], [[Vox Continental|organ]] on "Death Don't Have No Mercy"

*[[Robert Hunter (lyricist)|Robert Hunter]]&nbsp;– spoken word on "Dark Star" (single version)

;Production
*Produced by Grateful Dead, Bob Matthews, [[Betty Cantor-Jackson|Betty Cantor]]
*Executive engineer: Bob Matthews
*Engineer: Betty Cantor
*Consulting engineers: [[Owsley Stanley|Owsley]], Ron Wickersham
*Sound: Bear
*Art direction: [[Ed Thrasher]]
*Cover art: R.D. Thomas

==Sales charts and certification==
'''[[Billboard magazine|Billboard chart]]'''
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="width:250px;"
|-
!align="left"|Year
!align="left"|Chart
!align="left"|Position
|-
|align="left"|1970
|align="left"|[[Billboard 200]]
|align="left"|62<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/grateful-dead/chart-history/tlp/ |title=Grateful Dead Chart History – Billboard 200 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=September 25, 2018}}</ref>
|}
'''[[RIAA certification]]'''
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="width:250px;"
|-
!align="left"|Certification
!align="left"|Date
|-
|align="left"|[[Gold album|Gold]]
|align="left"|August 24, 2001<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=live&artist=grateful%20dead&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25|title=RIAA Gold & Platinum database-''Live Dead''|website=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] |access-date=February 28, 2009}}</ref>
|}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{GratefulDead}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Live Dead}}
[[Category:1969 live albums]]
[[Category:Grateful Dead live albums]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at the Fillmore]]
[[Category:Warner Records live albums]]