Loser

The mammoth box from the Grateful Dead archives “Spring 1990” features 18 discs spanning six full shows between March and April 1990. If you believe the powers that be at Dead.net, the Spring 1990 tour was “consistently great, where every show is excellent, not a dud in the bunch.” Now I saw my share of Dead shows and have pretty much purchased everything Dead.net has foisted in my direction, including last year’s exceptional 73 CD “Europe ‘72” box set, but for this one, I didn’t even nibble. I saw them in 1990 and like most of the shows from the 1990s; Jerry was phoning it in from la-la land while Brent Mydland attempted to take up the slack, failing miserably. So when the archive decided to release a more manageably priced 2-CD retail edition called “Spring 1990 – So Glad You Made It,” I decided to give it a try, figuring that I’d get the best performances from the big box. If that is the case, the box set must be one dismal listening experience. Even at a modest two discs, this set exemplifies all that was wrong with the Dead circa 1990: Jerry’s ravaged voice is buried in the mix to cover its shortcomings, Mydland’s also ravaged vocals supporting Jerry’s and his endless noodling on an annoying electronic keyboard supposedly for that “spacey feel,” the dual drumming of Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman plodding away and dragging every song down to a crawl, Weir at his most annoying especially on the “ad lib” vocals that end many of his songs, Phil Lesh and his sub-sonic bass blasts strategically placed to stir the crowd, and a host of cover tunes rather than the material that made them legends in the first place. Sure, Jerry could still play guitar and he shines on a few of the tracks, including this one and “Bird Song,” but this sad state of affairs makes me feel sorry for those who parted with their hard-earned $200.00 to buy the full set…