Tracks
Morning Dew [14:29] 
Mexicali Blues [3:47]
Dire Wolf [5:10]
Black-Throated Wind [7:02]
Don't Ease Me In [4:45]
Big River [5:31]
They Love Each Other [6:02]
Playin' In the Band [23:18]
Here Comes Sunshine [11:54]
Weather Report Suite --> [1:18]
Part 1 --> [4:10]
Part 2 Let It Grow --> [9:17]
Dark Star Jam --> [9:19]
Eyes of the World --> [19:26]
Sugar Magnolia [10:16]
Cold Rain and Snow [7:22]
Beat It On Down the Line [3:40]
Brown-Eyed Women [6:11]
The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down [0:17]
Beer Barrel Polka [1:08]
Jack Straw [5:22]
Ramble On Rose [8:05]
Weather Report Suite --> [1:21]
Part 1 --> [4:51]
Part 2 Let It Grow --> [9:41]
Wharf Rat --> [10:38]
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo --> [8:03]
Playin' In the Band --> [12:09]
Mind Left Body Jam --> [15:39]
He's Gone --> [10:27]
Truckin' --> [13:34]
Stella Blue [10:15]
Morning Dew [14:31]
Liner Notes:
Baked in Beantown
11/30/73
"...the lead singer starts to make his rhyme, while the other zombies are rockin' in time... it was a zombie jamboree..."
Conrad Eugene Mauge
In the summer of 1973, the Grateful Dead had freed themselves of Warner Brothers Records and were out to prove more than ever before that they could produce their own form of art without the control of a major corporation. By the time they rolled into Boston, Wake Of The Flood had been released 45 days earlier with a crow on the label to eat if they dared to fail. Donna Jean Godchaux was off tour having a baby leaving your basic 5-piece band with the emphasis on raw music.
But the band was late. The band was never late in those days. The curtain was closed. What surprises await us? The Boston Music Hall was ornately gorgeous even amongst the assembled tribe. The curtain opened to an empty stage and a room full of jaws dropping to the floor. Soon, Ram Rod and crew appeared on forklifts delivering steel scaffolding and the necessary tools to assemble a skeleton frame for the scaled down "Wall of Sound." For 3 hours, amongst the catcalling wails of peaking animals in this urban jungle, we watched as the crew set the steel, hooked up the pulleys, ran the ropes, placed the planks, hauled in and set the speakers, lay the wiring and plugged in the guitars and amps. Phil finally appeared after the mic stands had been placed to say, "Let's hear it for the crew getting us set up in time to play for you tonight. You see, we thought we were supposed to be here tomorrow night. We've been playing a lot of skating rinks, multi purpose halls, convention centers and it's nice to be able to play someplace other than a shithouse..." Morning Dew, more or less the sound check, opened the show and I can still recall the pent up enthusiastic release of the audience. No hard feelings over being late. Turned out to be a really cool scene. The security at the hall had checked out early. The band was tight right on through the WRS/DARK STAR/EYES/SUGAR MAGS all while the mirrored ball sent beams of light cascading over our heads. Venturing out into the snowy rain at 2 am, into Boston's fabled "combat zone," we walked 3 miles home to Boston University with our friends, anticipating what was yet to come...
12/02/73
"...and if you fasten on that moment and expand thru the afterglow, you can reverse your mind in time and travel back when..."
P. Kantner from Your Mind Has Left Your Body
Pigpen died which naturally left a void in the Dead's sets during 1973. This night started with a Cold Rain and Snow and ended with A Morning Dew (bookends to the 3 nights)... In between we were treated to one of those unigue evenings where the music was seamless. Second set had no break in it. The feedback jam, like so many in '73, was fun to watch as Bob, Jerry, and Phil literally climbed up to the amps and speakers to create whatever spontaneous sounds possible using just their own raw equipment. The Mind Left Body Jam was so pretty that the crowd found themselves plastered to their seats. From start to finish this was one fine performance with little if any miscues. He's Gone, like so many versions that year, was directed towards Pigpen's memory. Let the music do the talking here... listen to the melody.
What stands out about the BMH shows in the fall of '73 was the continuity from one night to the next. It just seemed like one long show since there was a Playing in the Band, a Row Jimmy and a WRS each night, two Dews, and a couple Sugar Mags. The warmth of the beautiful room, the sophistication of the Boston student scene, and the unique sounds of a continually changing band made for a really good time.
We made our way out slowly into that Sunday night not wishing for it to end. Wasn't that always the case? For 23 years to come, our friends we joined together with in Boston would try to get back together. At least annually for two or three nights of music from Telluride to Santa Fe and New York to San Francisco, we attempted once more to give ourselves the opportunity of reliving our youth. Seeing the world and having fun with the ones we love most was evidence to the great and wonderful unfying power of the Grateful Dead. We are all linked together by a desire to take a ride like that just one more time.
Michael J. Sanditen aka Tulsa
CAVEAT EMPTOR
This release was digitally mastered directly from teh original half track 7 1/2 ips analong tapes. It is a snapshot of history, not a modern professional recording, and may therefore exhibit some minor technical anomolies and the unavoidable effects of the ravages of time.
Credits:
Grateful Dead
Boston Music Hall 11/30/73 & 12/2/73
Jerry Garcia: Lead Guitar, Vocals
Keith Godchaux: Keyboards
Bill Kreutzmann: Drums
Phil Lesh: Electric Bass, Vocals
Bob Weir: Rhthym Guitar, Vocals
Recorded by: Bill Candelario
Tape Archivist: Dick Latvala
CD Mastering by: Jeffrey Norman
Ferromagnetist: John Cutler
Design by: Geck Graphics
Photography by: Michael J. Sanditen
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