Grateful Dead: All The Years Combine – The DVD Collection

Grateful Dead
All The Years Combine – The DVD Collection
(Shout! Factory)
[Rating: 3.5 stars]

What’s the matter, Mr./Ms Deadhead? The recent release of every note played on the famed Europe ’72 tour (73 discs worth) was not enough? Well then it’s time to add another box to that ever expanding Dead live bookcase with this set of 12 slimline packaged DVDs (14 platters in all) with nearly 38 hours of video from your favorite American jam/roots/psychedelic heroes.

Most diehards will already have the bulk of this already issued material, so it’s likely aimed at newbies who don’t own 1977’s now-iconic Grateful Dead Movie, let alone the somewhat less definitive four From the Vault releases. Not surprisingly, there are a few rarities included to lighten the wallets of cult followers. Those are:the first DVD appearance of 1987’s experimental So Far (previously available only on laserdisc and VHS), a short batch of unreleased material that includes a rather clunky 30-minute documentary directed by Bill Kreutzmann’s son Jeremy and a fascinating interview with this project’s co-producer, Dead archivist David Lemieux. His encyclopedic knowledge, passion for their music and description of how these DVDs were compiled provides absorbing background information unavailable elsewhere.

The So Far film was an attempt to combine a soundstage performance with a live one and add trippy visuals to enhance the music, likely intended to elicit “oh wow, man” exclamations for those viewing it under the influence of mind-expanding chemicals. The 45 minutes of interwoven music are fine, but the once state-of-the-art effects are more distracting than hypnotic and have dated to the point of embarrassment. It now looks like the work of a creative 15 year old with access to a few shareware apps and some old films. As an artifact of the era and taken in context, it’s a charming if naïve and failed attempt to expand the act’s music.

But, as the slick and informative full color 40-page booklet (that substitutes for the lack of pamphlets and notes on the flimsy repackaged cases) makes clear, Grateful Dead footage is harder to find than the thousands of reels of audio kept pristine in the band’s bulging archives. This was partially because of Jerry Garcia’s assertion that the Dead really had to be experienced in concert to be fully understood. He gradually reconsidered his position, but that explains the scarcity of professionally shot pre-1980 material.

As even Deadheads admit, the Dead were never a particularly exciting combo to watch (Bob Weir’s short-short jeans are just one of the cringe-worthy fashion faux-pas), so seeing this much video can get mind-numbing for all but the most rabid twirl-dancer. Regardless, they’re an American institution and are as deserving of a box of concert vids as anyone. It’s not all great—just like their shows—but there are enough terrific moments to make this a must-have for anyone looking to understand the Grateful Dead’s indescribable live vibe; one that has created some of the most dedicated, intense and long lasting fans of any American group.