mellowgerman
Senior Member
From the vaults of the Dead. Has anybody else checked this out?
https://store.dead.net/aoxomoxoa-50th-anniversary-deluxe-edition-2-cd-1.html
For the 50th anniversary of the album, they have released both mixes (1969 and 1971) as well as some bonus live stuff.
I've been enjoying it quite a bit this past week. AOXOMOXOA was always one of my favorite Dead studio albums -- for me, the real magic was mostly concentrated in the first three studio albums and the live stuff from the 60's and 70's. Interestingly enough, it turns out I had never heard the 1969 mixes of the album and I'm head over heels in love. I find them to be much more fun and interesting than the 1971 version, particularly "St. Stephen", "Dupree's Diamond Blues", "Doing That Rag", and "Mountains of the Moon". I can't stop listening to them. Why would they ever take that awesome eerie background choir out of "Mountains of the Moon"?! Even "What's Become of the Baby" finally has some weight for me. On the 1971 mix they made it so buried in delay and modulation that you couldn't understand any of the lyrics... and lyrics is really 95% of what it is! The one thing that the 1971 mixes might have going for them is that they are probably a little "cleaned up" (aside from "What's Become of the Baby") but the crispy clean studio effect is never something I needed when it came to the Dead. I'd rather have the crazy raw and organic smorgasbord of creative auditory indulgence I get on the 1969 version. Lastly Phil's bass sounds much chunkier and out-front on a lot of the 1969 stuff; almost like we're sitting across the room, directly in line of fire of his amp -- listen for this at the end of the "St. Stephen" and "Doing that Rag".
The live tracks on this collection are also interesting. Not exceptional compared to some of the other live stuff from the era, but the "Death Don't Have No Mercy" that they give us is a lot more powerful and energetic than any other Dead recording I've heard of the song.
Overall, I'd say it's well worth checking out and I'd be excited to hear what you guys think of it!
Oh and Happy Father's Day, y'all!
https://store.dead.net/aoxomoxoa-50th-anniversary-deluxe-edition-2-cd-1.html
For the 50th anniversary of the album, they have released both mixes (1969 and 1971) as well as some bonus live stuff.
I've been enjoying it quite a bit this past week. AOXOMOXOA was always one of my favorite Dead studio albums -- for me, the real magic was mostly concentrated in the first three studio albums and the live stuff from the 60's and 70's. Interestingly enough, it turns out I had never heard the 1969 mixes of the album and I'm head over heels in love. I find them to be much more fun and interesting than the 1971 version, particularly "St. Stephen", "Dupree's Diamond Blues", "Doing That Rag", and "Mountains of the Moon". I can't stop listening to them. Why would they ever take that awesome eerie background choir out of "Mountains of the Moon"?! Even "What's Become of the Baby" finally has some weight for me. On the 1971 mix they made it so buried in delay and modulation that you couldn't understand any of the lyrics... and lyrics is really 95% of what it is! The one thing that the 1971 mixes might have going for them is that they are probably a little "cleaned up" (aside from "What's Become of the Baby") but the crispy clean studio effect is never something I needed when it came to the Dead. I'd rather have the crazy raw and organic smorgasbord of creative auditory indulgence I get on the 1969 version. Lastly Phil's bass sounds much chunkier and out-front on a lot of the 1969 stuff; almost like we're sitting across the room, directly in line of fire of his amp -- listen for this at the end of the "St. Stephen" and "Doing that Rag".
The live tracks on this collection are also interesting. Not exceptional compared to some of the other live stuff from the era, but the "Death Don't Have No Mercy" that they give us is a lot more powerful and energetic than any other Dead recording I've heard of the song.
Overall, I'd say it's well worth checking out and I'd be excited to hear what you guys think of it!
Oh and Happy Father's Day, y'all!
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