I love the couple of shows per year that just don't sound like any other shows - this is one of 'em, evident from the get-go, with this unique jammy Dancin In The Streets. I think there is a lot of cocaine inspiration - the songs are generally faster and more urgent, but also played deadly serious musically, especially for a New Years, like they had something to prove with all the new material, new lineup etc. I think Kreutzman is the MVP of the night. My favorite Jack Straw ever, and lots of great song performances.
There's a great Bobby rap that has been cut out of this edited upload - I wish someone would upload an un-edited version to the archive. As I recall it: Bobby: "Well I hope to tell you this stage is a fucking mess, and if you've got bare feet, don't get near it....... And a big hello to all you folks listening out there in Radioland, now that I was just informed that we're on the radio." Jerry: "And you too, Mr. HOOVER!" (J.Edgar Hoover, evil head of the FBI, for you young'uns.) Bobby: "I 'll tell you all a little story......It seems that way back in 1956, J Edgar Hoover and Dwight Eisenhower and a bunch of those guys had a little conspiracy plot... ...and what happened was they all got together and decided there weren't gonna be no more New years, it was gonna stay 1956 til the end of time.... and, well, they did it, and you people have all been duped, and it's really 1956, although it's nothing to get excited about..... Now we're gonna tune up." Kudos to Bobby - a funny riff to blow the minds of a room full of peaking acidheads. Also edited out was the moment later in the first set when Bobby explained that the organ and piano weren't in tune with each other, and they were going to have to decide which to tune to, a problem with hammond organs in rooms with bad power regulation, because they require close to spot on 110 voltage to play in tune, which explains why there's no Pigpen organ along with Keith's piano, as there had been throughout the Europe tour for example.
I listened to the broadcast live and taped it onto a little cassette player, giving me a headstart as a 14 year old guitar player learning all the new tunes that would appear over a year later on Europe '72 in slower, vocally emasculated versions - in addition to re-recording the vocals on the 'live' triple LP in the studio post production, it sounds to me like they slowed down the masters slightly to record the vocals at a slightly lower, easier to nail pitch, then sped it all back up to 'normal', resulting in an unnatural, slightly chipmunky vocal sound. This show was always a benchmark for tougher, cooler versions, especially vocally.

The 3rd NYE at Winterland (2nd that was taped) is known for having the first Big River and Chinatown Shuffle, as well as the last Dancin' (until '76). Same Thing hadn't been played since '67 and this was the last Pigpen version, Bobby taking it up again 20 years later. This is also the first show with Donna, though she's not a big presence. She would officially join at the upcoming Academy shows.

First Set. It's actually '72, and Bobby isn't happy with the balloons on stage (he later admitted he wasn't a fan of the NYE parties and the balloon drop). Unfortunately the first song has a voice-over from an idiot. Jer is a genius on the 2nd measure of Mr. Charlie. The good Brown-Eyed Women is uptempo (even after pitch correction) but Beat it On Down the Line-7+2 is a bit slopped. Note that the approach to You Win Again changed right after this, for '72. The set is then average-to-rough until Tennessee. Also uptempo, Jer gets a little lost but still whips one out by t'end. You wouldn't expect the first Chinatown to be a great one. By Mexicali they're just not gelling - though NYE shows are usually pretty scattered. I like that Phil is pseudmotorik in places in China Cat, giving it a forward lean and simultaneous lowride cool, despite the lack of tight playing this set. From here through Rider is the best jamming of the set. There's a few-second glitch in Playing in the Band @3:40. It has a concise jam - but tight Dead it's not. Loser-SS is better but One More Saturday is weirdly tentative compared to months later. It has the "young and crazy can't see reason one" lyric and the 1st Donna appearance - though you can't really hear her.

Second Set. 1st they play a Stars & Stripes Forever while asking Graham to the stage, then Keith plays a Charge! Fanfare. Things first improve on The Other One. Interestingly, it already sounds very E72, and it doesn't lyrically resolve before Me & My Uncle. On the latter, Bobby plays in the key, Jer signals the opening notes, and Bobby then launches the lyrics directly - it's really cool. Billy pushes to go back into The Other One. Weirdly, it breaks down again after the verse, when Bobby stops and then Billy, before an interesting Jam into Black Peter. There's a brief segue missing on both this source and the official release, after Jer does the opening chords for Black Peter the first time, before it dissolves into the jam. Bobby follows him, but nobody else does, then Jer drops it for a couple minutes. It's an interesting, sort-of-unique section, but Black Peter is just average. Note the placement of the first Big River. Unfortunately a bit of the beginning is cut, but it's not bad - Jer already knew where to go with it. On this version, Jer takes the 2nd verse (though he forgets it), and Billy plays a shuffle - they would change this when they brought it back. In the meantime, they dropped it, not playing it through E72 (they diddled with it during soundcheck at Luxembourg, with Jer singing), finally bringing it back in Boston in September, with Bobby singing. The Same Thing is plucked back into existence but it seems they have to wing it a bit as a result. Even though it's now the wee hours, the rest of the show is best. Ramble is still pretty uptempo after pitch correction, and the end jam of Sugar Magnolia is great and very '71. Jer's fills are what makes Not Fade (Bobby being a ways out of tune). Jer is then way warmed up for Goin' Down the Road. His playing here echoes '67 (maybe from playing Same Thing again?). Neither the best nor the worst of the seven 70s NYE shows .

1st Set:  C
2nd Set: C+
Overall = 3 stars

Highlights:
There are some tidbits of historical nature but otherwise>
Mr. Charlie - tightest of the night
Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad - Jer at his most fluid; echoes of '67

SOURCES: The lanum.135 source is from the FM broadcast but is culled from sources transferred at different speeds, so the pitch is all over the place - from fast to helium fast. The First Set needs -1% from Dancin' through You Win Again. Jack Straw and Sugaree need -2%, then El Paso speeds way up, needing -3%. Chinatown Shuffle is hyperspeed and needs -4%. Tennessee then needs -2%. Mexicali through Next Time plus One More Saturday Night need -3%. But, in between, Playing and Loser only need -1%. The second set doesn't run as crazy fast but still requires correction of -2%, except for the first three (Truckin>Drums>TOO) and Casey Jones, which need -1% (MaMU has a slow pitch change). The end of TOO jam and Black Peter are on some copies of The Closing of Winterland.

yup, great china cat, love that hi hat, i'd call this as definitive a version as there is, great

jam into rider hasn't gotten the treatment yet here that it later recieves, but that cat is stellar

There's just one version of this incendiary performance on the Archive (right now anyway) and I guess that's all we need. Presumably if there was another soundboard in the vault it would have been released already ...

There's a few other flaming hot shows in December of 1971 (the Felt Forum show on the 5th leaps immediately to mind) but this show belongs in a class by itself because of the Dancin' opening (the last version without Mickey), the great Pigpen numbers, and the way that it just keeps getting better.

Would it be wrong to suggest that the version of the Other One here is the "weakest" part of the show (the scorching version of Uncle in the middle notwithstanding)?

It's all good but the versions of Jack Straw, Mexicali, Sugar Mag and especially -- most especially -- the NFA->GDTRFB->NFA deserve special mention.

No doubt the Dead converted a bunch of new fans with this broadcast. Well played!

Jack Straw, Next Time, Black Peter, The Same Thing *****, Ramble On Rose and Casey Jones are amazing.

and rolls.
Great show.
Pigpen sounds really good in Chinatown Shuffle.
I have to agree with verylazylightning & topher98. I am almost 16 years old and I'm italian. When I started to listen to the Dead I felt like I had already heard many of their songs (Truckin', Cumberland Blues, Sugar Magnolia, Greatest Story Ever Told...), although this is impossible, because the Dead is an unknown band in Italy and I'm too young.

yes topher98 i have these experiences often. because so much of their music is improv, it brings up memories. example 1. i searched all through my twenties and thirties and half my forties for estimated prophet. boy was i surprised to find out it was a grateful dead song. i had heard it as a teenager and really wanted to hear it again. glad i got there. finally.

If you like them tight, this is close to a perfect 1971 show, with Workingman's Dead and American Beauty under their belts and coming out fresh and vibrant. Sure, the riffs would develop over the next 2-3 years, but to hear Bob alert the audience to the upcoming verse of Jack Straw is thrilling.

This high energy presentation of the "new material" with Pigpen very much in the surge is great: even if they hadn't figured out all the details on having a piano in the mix.

Then too, but for one lone gap, the recording is flawless: a far cry from being on the receiving end of too many scratchy New Year's Eve Pacifica broadcasts over the years to come. That, and the KSAN commentary is VERY NICE. (Just don't hear that inflection any more . . . )

I'm a fairly new dead fan and i had a very similar experience when i was first getting into the music. my friend's dad gave me a copy of europe 72 and american beauty a few years ago. When I listened to American beauty the first few times i remember having an overwhelming feeling of familiarity as if i heard it in my childhood (particularly brokedown palace and attics) I asked my mom if my grandparents or anyone played it around me when i was young and she said no... Anyone else have similar experiences?

Wow what a Fantastic Show from the Dead,i feel i was there in that Time when i here this Sound that Blows my Spirit away!Fucking all Friends!!!!!!!

Eminently entreatable outing with lots of energetic playing, albeit a little sloppy at times but probably due to the fact that the band was having a real good time on New Years, for once, and weren't all that concerned with being letter perfect --- that's the way it seemed to me, anyway --- that the band was just having fun blowing through tune after tune without stopping.

When we entered the hall that night the place was already packed but we managed to find some nice seats elevated above the floor under the overhang directly in line with the stage. The GD didn't start until midnight so technically this is a 1-1-72 show.

Amusing is Bill Graham's use of "fucking" over KSAN's airwaves while telling Billy to stop warming up before he introduces them for the start of the second set. I guess no one from the FCC was paying attention.

Lots of good and unusual versions of songs, but for my money the best song on the tape is "The Same Thing." Pigpen's singing is prime and the band accompanies him perfectly. There's a certain palpable ambience about the sound of this song that really comes through.

Rate this a 4.5 for sound and the same thing for performance

This show rocks!

It is energetic and inspired.

This is why the Dead were great.

Wish I could hear Ron's keys, but this was probably how they sounded at the venue.

Now let's talk about progress. Kudos to whomever for not breaking China Cat/Rider into two tracks. But those who have the original FM broadcast on reel or cassette will hear the evening's main piece (Truckin'>Other One>MAMU>Other One>Black Peter) without the five interruptions (track changes) we must endure on this site. Surely there must be some way this can be fixed, no?

Anyone know the song being played over the house PA as the GD launch into "Dancin'"?

tchfgra@comcast.net

uh um um man is not idiotic, he's the best thing to have hit this site.
if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have figured out how to download soundboards before they revamped this site

Charlie Miller.. When you get a chance, this show needs some attention.

You are the most idiotic person to post on these boards.

Go away, man

I would love to hear this show! Any Ideas on why it was issues with content?
If you have a copy, please email me @ conrad314@Hotmail.com

Thanks

Granted the performance is inspired and Bobby probably does some of his best guitar playing of the era, but the keyboards are rarely audible. I love the late 1971 period because of Keith, and I can't help but wonder why the mix ignores him except for quiet portions when he can be heard above the guitars.

...__[:]0

this show is nothing short of spectacular, Its got to be by far the best FM source I have ever heard.

Thanks for putting this up. This isn't a review but a request: the opening band on this bill was GD's hometown faves the Sons of Champlin, performing as Yogi Phlegm. Can someone put that up?

Thanks...

What a hell of a show! There are so many good songs here... Chinatown Shuffle is one of my favorite PigPen songs. Is this the first time they played it? Every song seems so packed with energy from everybody. I would love to see video of this show. I have the closing of Winterland, the 1978 NYE show on DVD and it puts things in perspective. I would love to have been in the audience at this show.

Elvis, I really enjoyed your story. I second the book idea. fredg can go pound salt...

`

~^|\_@|@_/|^~
~<->/<->\<->~

~ December 31, 1971 New Years Eve at Winterland ~

Superduper 71' Soundboard.

"Classic 1971 Sound"

Home for New Years Eve, the GRATEFUL DEAD are fresh and full of energy and perform a "Killer" show before the hometown crowd.

Bill Graham reminds us during this show, that the GRATEFUL DEAD would contact FM Radio stations in the cities where they performed and make arrangements for their concerts to be broadcast on the radio "live & in stereo" for all their fans to enjoy.

If you couldn't afford a ticket or get to the show, all you had to do is just turn on your radio and listen to the show for free.

This is a PIGPEN & KEITH show!

Pigpen does a wonderful job on "The Same Thing". Nice to hear the GRATEFUL DEAD play the "blues".
For a bunch of banjo pickers they somehow got a hold of some real blues licks and chops, must be talent. Garcia makes his guitar "talk" with his slide.

Five stars for the mix, recording, performance, transfer, & "dance-ability".

This is a "Must Have" show for all collectors of 1971 GRATEFUL DEAD.

I recommend using your EQ during playback of most of the shows on the IA, this one included. Windows Media Player has a 10 band EQ and SRS WOW effects that enhance the sound.

Solid, "In the Pocket" performances of all our favorite 71' songs with Pigpen and Keith.

Here's one way to download this show:

The IA recommends users of Windows XP view this web-page with RealPlayer. RealPlayer is a free media player you can download at www.realplayer.com.

For easy streaming or downloading you should use RealPlayer.

Using RealPlayer to view this webpage, click the VBR M3U link to open the songs in the Playlist. If your Playlist is not open, open it by clicking the Playlist icon at the lower right hand corner of RealPlayer. Once the songs are in the Playlist, double click the song to play it, then click the record button at the lower left hand corner of Realplayer to record it. When the red line reaches the other end click the stop button to download the song. Your song is in the RealPlayer Downloads folder. Repeat these steps for each song.

Eat, Drink, Be Merry and Listen to the GRATEFUL DEAD.

Thanks for the LOVE from 1971.

PS: Get em' while you can, get em' while they're free, get em' now or you'll be sorry...the Man giveth and the Man taketh away...WTTW

PSS: Remember to click on the "DeadLists Project" link and get the poster for this show.

Messed up on my year counting... it was '70 and '71 that found me at Winterland New Years Eve not '72. Really impressed me, I was 14 and 15 then. Went to Mt Tamapias before dawn each time. I hold dear the values obtained then, even though major aspects of society wants to poopoo them.

What great energy at the onset of this show, I could actually feel it. All the songs are groovin'. definately a download. 71 is a great year. If you were lucky enough to see the dead durring this period...I envy you. I saw showsfrom 84 to the end.nothing like the 70's.5 stars for this one

I love this show and I love the archive for letting me replace my god awful sounding bootleg cd with some lovely soundboard shns. I was lucky enough to download this before the hammer came down. Pigpen and Keith, yes! This show is both firey and beautifully played. It marks the final transition from the earlier more raucous (and raw) days of '71 to the fantastic turn on a dime psychedelic cowboys of '72. This is one of my favorite shows on the archive, it's just full of joy and flat out rocks. Pure gold folks and a show to turn a newbie onto the wonders of the Grateful Dead. As far as the show being sped up is concerned I don't think it was. Jerry is clearly heard after BIODTL remarking on how fast they played it and Bill K. is drumming at his most furious throughout the show, doing rolls and fills I'd never heard him play before. He played his ass off and then some. Why hasn't this show been released as a Dick's Picks is a mystery to me.

Radio Feed
Tremendous quality
great set

What is not to luv bout this one, amigos?

Really fast
Really crisp
some reel to reel problemas that'r easily overcome by the beauty and energy of our band...

WOW...

See, you gotta luv archive.org: Findin this one now --- on 10/5/07??? how is that possible...

Oh, the Jer Bear Jams...and the side comments...

CLASSIC

I'll preface by saying that I love '71 shows. That being said this is a good offering from that year. Pretty standard fair in terms of song selection, nothing too jammy, but the Other One has its moments. Good cowboy dead, the NFA>GDTRFB is pretty kicking.

It seems like the tape has been sped up just slightly, at least at moments. Could just be my imagination though. Bottom line, if you like the '71 dead like me, then you will definately enjoy this show.

Thanks for that account of your trip on the bus, Elvis. This show rocks.

Well I have to apologize to the others on the comments re: sped up recording. My guitar did indeed go out of tune by a tiny hair before I checked it against "Dancin". This tape is a microtone fast. In guitar terms, a tiny movement of the tuning peg. Not quite enough to really speed it up a lot though. They really did play just about as fast as you hear on this tape.Billy was on fire in '71-'72!

One of the best Dancin's of all time, and my personal fave. As far as it being "sped up", well, that gave me a real chuckle. I am a guitarist. "Dancin", at least in '70-'71, was played in the key of A. So I streamed this show, plucked my recently tuned A string on my acoustic to the opening keynotes of the tune,and lo and behold, a perfect "A". Explanation? Well sorry all you young Heads, this is the pre-nod youthful energy Dead, when the acid vibe in the crowd poured through the band like electricity and put a real fire under their butts.I was at a lot of '71-'72 shows, so I can attest that they regularly played like this back in the day,the gods permitting.

Elvis's review is awesome and to keep my story short I never got to see Jerry, I was 10 when he died. I have seen Bobby and the bunch numerous times. The Grateful Dead is the music I love I try to spread it everywhere from hanging steel your face flags to stickers on my car just to maybe get a smile from a fellow head. Enjoy everyone, embrace the archive and jam on.

Elvis, right on man, great story and one of the best archive posts ever. The Dead are about History, thanks again!

I was at this show! A vetran of many Dead shows.
Nothing!! I repeat nothing. has ever come close to this particular performance. This is the best quality version of this show I have ever listened to. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH Jonothan Azien. You have made a long time search complete!
Simply a fine capture of the Time and SPAAAAACE:)
A Must Have! for the true connisures. It brings out the flavor/electricity of the first Donna Jean performance with the boys. The banishment of Mickey heart was never a great loss in most of our eyes. Also Pig was very I'll at this time
and it was his last new years show as you know.
His vocals were good quality here and this is a
masterpeice from all concerned. The finest Black Peter, Not Fade Away/goin Down the road I ever wittnessed, and the bands favorite New Years performance!
Get it now!
Terry L. Roberts Esq.

Elvis why don't you just write a book of your life stories with the Grateful Dead and call it "My Archive Writtings"? Lets stick to the reviews and skip the life stories. Thanks.

The China - Rider especially the part with Phil dropping chords is interesting. It appears to flumox Jerry who is still threading the needle between Bobby's growing role in the segue and Phil's propensity for playing Mickey's part in addition to his own. Is that Pigpen playing the guiro during Playing in the Band?
"Only" a 4 because it's missing some of the Pigpen jems one might expect from this era.

This is not a review of the music but a review of the start of my relationship with the Grateful Dead that has lasted from age 18 to current age 52. If that is not interesting please move on. Eighteen to 52 is amazing to me. I live in San Jose, 50 miles south of SF, now known as the capital of Silicon Valley. It is called a valley because we are in the Santa Clara Valley (Santa Clara County). The Dead started in Palo Alto which is at the northern edge of Santa Clara County. A large number of the famous companies you hear about started in Palo Alto and I was born there. I distinctly remember in High School as a Junior thinking who are the Grateful Dead? At that time, for my group of buddies, Crosby, Stills, and Nash were getting big and of course The Beatles were always Number 1 and to me are still the number one band of all time. Due to their longevity I have enjoyed the GD more than The Beatles but I bet even the Dead would agree that The Beatles were the best. If you didnÃÂt live through it you really canÃÂt appreciate the impact that The Beatles had not only on music but on life. Led Zeppelin was starting to become huge. I remember hearing Neil YoungÃÂs Down By The River for the first time at lunch during school and thinking who is that? It is still one of my favorite songs. The Rolling Stones, The Who, Credence Clearwater, Cream, were all big. I graduated from High School in 1971 and the GD were still a mystery to me. Who are they? Then we all went off to college. One of my friends, probably the smartest person I have ever known even to this day, went to University of Santa Cruz. Well, they knew who the GD were there. For New YearÃÂs Eve he gathered us up and said letÃÂs go see the Grateful Dead. I had actually never been to a concert. My friends had gone to see Credence Clearwater Revival but that was it for them. We were the fairly cool but more the studious types.

Off we went. New YearÃÂs Eve 1971. Winterland, San Francisco. Until the Archive came out I have been wondering for years if it was New Years Eve 1971 or 1972. We got there and only because of the archive, listening to the concert, I remember that at the start of the concert two guys came out with diapers and then pranced around naked. There was actually a middle walkway on the floor that they tried to keep clear. I think that was the only time I saw that in Winterland. It was sold out but not overwhelmingly like later years. After about five songs I was hooked. I had to get to the front. I made my way to around five rows deep right in front of Jerry. I knew his name and I think Pigpen but that was it. I did not know any of their songs. I remember Jerry signing some song about Tennessee. There I stood mesmerized from the middle of the first set to the end of the concert. About five songs before the end of the concert I was just standing there grooving and the girl in front of me, who had her arms around a guy, reaches back and grabs my crotch. I was pretty stunned. What is going on here? I let her hand stay there for a minute or two but was a little concerned about her arm being around the other guy so I removed it. I guess she was spreading love. I look back and think about how I left my friends all night but it was just too fascinating to leave the front. I remember them introducing Keith as their new piano player and Donna as their new singer. And yes, in my first concert I saw Pigpen perform. It turns out that became my only concert that I saw Pigpen. To me, those are big bragging rights for a DeadHead. I saw Pigpen perform with the Dead. Also fascinating to me is that 12/31/71 was just before one of their greatest periods, Europe 72. After 12/31/71 the Dead became a big part of my life. I bought all of their albums and Bob WeirÃÂs Ace album has become my favorite of all time. I want to be buried with that album (cassette/whatever form it is in). After 70 ÃÂ 80 concerts and two years of downloading from GDLive and the Internet Archive I even appreciate them more. Will it ever stop? I donÃÂt know, hasnÃÂt yet.

the stars were spinning dizzy on this night!!!!this sounds great to me even if its fast. to each his own,it was new years.i'd download this cause they just might release a new years box set 65-94 someday. mmmmmmm!!!!!

I have also experienced some of the "chipmonk" sound from Sugaree - Saturday Night. But I think I can get past it b/c the show is so freakin' great! I just try to go along with it that they may have really played this fast and sang this high. Gosh, this is such a great show...top notch playing and sound quality. Too bad about the speed issue. Ahhhh, Winterland!

Listening to a few cuts here and something's off. I've had some of this on tape for over 30 years and it isn't this fast. I'm getting that chipmunk-ey feeling. Anyone else sense this? Too bad, too, because its a great show.

This show smokes from the first notes. An amaizing dancing to kick it off. I mean amaizing. Shorter then some of the late 70s famous versions, it just has an extra kick to it. Great vocals backing up as well. If you are not the biggest fan of pig's vocal styling this show might change your mind. Jer forgets some lyrics in B.E.Woman. I'd like to know if the break/extra beat on the intro to BIODTL was intentional or not...well it worked just fine. Billy is really beating the crap out of his kit by this point and he does not let up. Great solo for BIODTL. Not much to say about You Win Again, I like it. Bob is so excited he can't seem to keep quiet. I love it. This J. Straw is interesting. In another year they would slow it down considerably before slowly building it to a throw-down in the late 80s. A short lived first year where they didn't really know what to do with it, just that it was a great tune. If you listen closely at the 2:10 mark or so there is a quick lovelight tease from Jer. Billy is just killing on this night, he really brings this J. Straw up a level or 5. Jerry's voice is heavenly on this Sugaree, really something incredible to hear. The song is still in its infancy but is already a powerful non-ballad ballad. The China>Rider gets going with high hats popping left and right. Phil is really reaching high on the Rider. Even then he could still get it out. The playin' and loser here aren't much to talk about but Billy comes flying in again to kick of Saturday night...one of my favorite versions ever. Great Great first set. Funny intro to set II with the voice overs...Bill Graham gives a nice intro which slips right into a kickin truckin, things are really moving now...smoothness into a short drums...Shaft level smoothness into TOO Jam. At this point the 10 minute truckin is the longest tune of the night. The transition from TOO Jam to Uncle is seamless...daydream for more than 1 second and your lost, 3:00 later the same goes for the seque back into TOO. And as big and powerful the first 70 seconds is, within another 10 there is a calm flow happening, and suddenly, virtually nothing. I love the pig years alot, but with them even doing this in 71 it was obvious to everyone that Pig's place from there on would be as a front man now and again. Keith fills the spaces beautifully during this stretch of the show. They really seem to be flowing effortlessly through the gaps by the 5 minutes mark. This jam has 74 written all over it. The re-entry to TOO is nailed, this song can be so frightening sometimes...demonic even. But then lightened...just right, with a Black Peter. The remainder of the night is nice... the NFA>GDTRFB>NFA is quality for sure. Just one hell of a performance for a band not really sure of where its going or for that matter what the hell is going on. I am a very reluctant 5 star giver. 7.5/10 for sound, 8/10 for playing

I knew nothing about the Grateful Dead.One day during my first semester at college (September 1974), some-one put a tape of this show into a
cheap, mono cassette player. Within 30 seconds
I was a confirmed Deadhead - nearly a third of
a century later, I still listen to several hours
of Dead daily.
What was so earth-shaking was that the music sounded extremely familiar to me - in fact,
the overwhelming sensation was a shock of recognition the instant it started. I basically
instantaneously entered the culture - it was
like coming home after being away for years. Very strange.
What's really annoying is not connecting to theDead at an earlier time. I lived in the Northeast in the early Seventies and could have
easily seen every Boston show, Watkins Gen, etc.
Anyhow,a great show. Cosmic Cowboy Dead, one of
their best phases.

This show has some wonderful memories for me - some are a little hazy though!
It will always be at the top of my list.
take care

Ridiculous Sound Quality. A must have.

i have ot object to the review that cites the same thing as the low point of the show. this song is what attracted me to this show in the first point - it slinks, a very good version - not transportive like the 1967 version on the boxed set, but better than any single song performed post-Brent. really, a 1971 same thing? get outta town

This was the best, tightest NYE show they ever did, period! I defy anyone to find a more "locomotive" Casey Jones. I'm only sorry they didn't include the J. Edgar Hoover rap. Get this one for sure.

alright, i really did dig this show and there are a couple highlights. firstly, the NFA>GDTRFB>NFA sandwhich is absolutely cosmic and bobby is really quite charming on dancing in the street. killer tennesse jed, big river and ramble on rose. however, if your looking for some MIND BLOWING new years action then head on over to 1972 man! '71 pales in comparison.

The setlist on this one is very good, if a little long-winded. The 2nd set is awesome, though, a thoroughly delicious performance. The Dead sandwiched Me&My Uncle in the Other One several times, but this is the best performance they ever did with these songs linked together. Lots of spaced-out jamming in both Other Ones, as well as a one-of-a-kind transition from a completely out-of-nowhere Space into Black Peter. The only other time they did this kind of transition (that I know of) was 6/14/68, in which a spontaneous Space went right into The Eleven. Awesome. The NFA>GDTRFB>NFA is stunningly energetic and well-played, one of the best performances of these three tunes. Worth it for the
Other One>Uncle>Other One alone. Get it!

Very hot and energetic show from start to finish. The Other One > Me and My Uncle > Other One is definately the high light of the show. Heck, the whole second set is the highlight. Only bad song in the batch is Same Thing (Sorry, I love Pig but I'm so used to Bobby doing this one years later). According to Dead List this ultra-hot Big River is the first they ever played.
Only thing is that there is some chatter from the station DJ's through the show. Not too much but they do chat it up a bit during some songs and in between others. Oh well, it certainly doesn't take away from the recording. Judging by how fun this show sounds, they were probably having the time of their lives too. This is definately one to crank up for New Years. Play it loud! Oh yea- nice Dancin' opener too!

man could a new years show get any better i think not

I don't know where to start with this show. After a shaky year in 1971 - Mickey's father embezzling money (hence He's Gone), the loss of Mickey, the illness and return of Pigpen and the addition of Keith and a whole new sound - the Dead pull it all together and deliver an awe-inspiring performance. This is without question my favorite show of the year. Bobby storms out of the gate and amid popping balloons gives us a great Dancin- the last until 1976! Jerry shines on Tenn Jed and Loser. And the rare jam into Black Peter is a thing to behold. There are a few great Other Ones in 1971, 4/28, 8/6 and 11/7 come to mind. But this one is in a category by itself. After a thundering Truckin and starting off 1968 style (listen to Phil's playing!) the Other One settles into a long dreamy space scape that is quite unlike anything else up to this point. This version takes you to the outer planets and back again, with or without refreshments! The rest is almost anti-climatic, but they manage to bring the house down with NFA>GDTRFB. A show to reach for on special occasions, like New Year's Eve! A must have.
Dr. Flashback ;-)