Grateful Dead: View from the Vault III

And the band played on…and on, and on. As the saying goes, “there's nothing like a Grateful Dead concert,” and for tie-dyed-in-the-wool Deadheads, this three-and-a-half hour concert, filmed in 1990 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA (the DVD includes an additional six bonus tunes from an '87 show at the same venue), will be a genuine slice of heaven. Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and company work their way through two sets that include such familiar Dead fare as “Touch of Grey,” “Friend of the Devil,” “One More Saturday Night,” “China Cat Sunflower,” and “Sugar Magnolia,” amongst others. To this reviewer's ears, the band is in good, not great, form; when they're on, as they most certainly are for “Cassidy,” one senses the magic that often permeated Dead shows, especially when Garcia takes off on one of his thrilling guitar journeys. Deadheads will also note that the '90 show was one of the last with keyboardist Brent Mydland (who died from a drug overdose a few weeks later). The sound (from a two-track soundboard master) is excellent, the visuals are good, and the audience is characteristically appreciative. Sure to be popular, this is definitely recommended. Aud: P. (S. Graham)