Grateful Dead - BERKELEY COMMUNITY CENTER 1971 VOL.2 (2LP) Vinyl Double Album

EXCEPTIONAL LATE SUMMER ’71 SHOW FROM THE LAST DAYS OF THE ORIGINAL 5-PIECE GRATEFUL DEADJust a month after closing down the Fillmore venues (both East and West) Bill Graham presented this two-night stand at the Berkeley Community Center, with the Grateful Dead and New Riders of the Purple Sage. These were marathon shows for Jerry Garcia, who was onstage with both bands. These were to be some of the last ever performances by the original five-piece Grateful Dead line-up.The Dead’s second night at Berkeley, as presented in full on this new two-instalment set (with both the early and late sets included) is a bit more exploratory than the previous night, although it contains much of the same material. The 1970 studio album 'American Beauty' is represented here by "Truckin'". Again, a lot of newer material is being perfected, much of it soon to be staples of the band’s repertoire. Garcia/Hunter classics like "Wharf Rat" were reaching the definitive stage of development. Pigpen's vocal dominance is again minimal, but when he does surface, it's thoroughly enjoyable however. On this night he returns at the end and belts out a fifteen minute "Turn On Your Lovelight," that harkens back to their primal sound.Following the set closer "...Lovelight", the audience wows the band back for an encore featuring a rip-roaring "Johnny B. Goode", followed by the a cappella gospel number "And We Bid You Goodnight".