Peter Conners

Book received from NetGalley.

The biography of what many Deadheads consider the best Grateful Dead concert ever, though to the band it was just another concert. The book discusses everything from the venue, to the fans, to the weather that all likely had contributing factors to the music that night. I admit I'm a Deadhead, and I've heard the concert and while I enjoy listening to it, I'm not completely sure it the "best" of any of their shows. After reading the book and seeing the reminisces of those who were there that night, I can understand a bit better why so many feel the way they do about the show. If you're a fan of The Dead, I highly suggest reading this book.… (mehr)

In the classic SF description, a single piece of a hologram, no matter how small, contains the lossless entirety of the hologram. What Peter Conners has tried to do, with some success, is to present Barton Hall 77 as the lossless entirety of the Dead experience. That is, in this one concert of thousands, and this one book, also of thousands, Mr. Conners hopes to present the entirety of Dead reality. It almost works.

Anyone above a certain age knows the cultural and musical significance of the Grateful Dead, and anyone who knows much about the Dead knows (reveres, is in awe of) the 1977 concert at Barton Hall, Cornell University. The concert is so important that in 2011 the recording was added to the National Registry by the US Library of Congress. You can hear it in its entirety online.

The main reason that the book as hologram doesn't quite work is that no matter how lucidly Mr. Connors writes, the reader without at least some background and experience with the Grateful Dead, is plunged in the deep end of the pool. If you are new to the Grateful Dead, you might find some background reading helpful before you start. If you are a Deadhead, this book will give you shivers of excitement and metaphysical joy.

I received a review copy of "Cornell '77: The Music, the Myth, and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead's Concert at Barton Hall" by Peter Conners (Cornell University Press) through NetGalley.com.… (mehr)

As a newbie on the scene, this book was completely eye opening. It talked about how the jam band scene grew out of the Grateful Dead and found it's footing in some bars in New York and how it spread by word of mouth. I had no idea that the Spin Doctors were a jam band, no idea! I grew up loving them, but my idea of "jam band" was a little warped. The author/editor of this compilation of interviews does a great job discussing the "definition" of jam band and the controversy surrounding it. Not all musicians want to be known as jam bands, because the term can be limiting. Overall this was a wonderful book that helped me appreciate and understand the scene even more.… (mehr)