Grateful Dead – HOMETOWN BLUES (2LP) Vinyl Double Album

SUPERB EARLY WINTERLAND BROADCAST FROM 1967Formed in 1965 as The Warlocks, the Grateful Dead released their debut album in March ’67, following which, as 1967 mutated into the Summer of Love, the Dead emerged as one of the top draws on the Bay Area music scene. Honing an eclectic repertoire influenced by folk, country and blues while regularly appearing at top local venues including the Fillmore Auditorium, the Avalon Ballroom, and Winterland – a venue that would become the group’s hometown venue of choice during the next decade. After performing at the Monterey Pop Festival in June, the group expanded to a six-piece with the addition of second drummer Mickey Hart.One of the Dead’s earliest shows at Winterland – an old Frisco skating rink by now rented by local impresario Bill Graham for larger shows than his Fillmore West venue could accommodate – took place there on 22nd October 1967. Providing a perfect example of the primal early Grateful Dead just beginning to venture beyond their first album material, the gig features three 1st-LP selections, two bluesy romps from front man Pigpen, plus two embryonic examples of the yet to be recorded ‘Anthem Of The Sun’ material.The event was recorded for live radio broadcast across the bay, which, listening back now, clearly shows the band venturing well beyond the snappy, dance-oriented music they had been playing during the previous year. Garcia’s slicing guitar leads were rapidly developing and the group was now propelled by a rhythm section featuring the double drummers. Although the core primal sound is still very much intact, the Grateful Dead were now developing a new sound, ripe with possibilities.Now available in full on this new 2LP set, a new instalment of Grateful Dead history is here provided for Dead Heads across the world to share this incredible concert.