October 1974, after slogging for a decade, the Dead retired from the road, and did so after a blowout Winterland run, where they filmed a movie and recorded the whole thing. During what turned out to be just a break, the band put out this double album of songs from that run, emblazoned with (and titled after) the bands already iconic logo. This would turn out to be their last regular release for Grateful Dead Records.
I refrain from calling this a collection of highlights because these tracks are anything but that. What this album presents is a band that sounds tired, and maybe they did that deliberately, so make a point. But what it also does is distill what was arguably the Dead’s greatest year as a live band into a flat, flawed, plodding set that was referred to by most as “Steal Your Money”
Despite the fact that Phil and Bear mixed and compiled this album, there are no big guns or improv centerpieces here, nothing even remotely resembling weird. The only thing weird is how haphazard the sequence is. The only parts that seem to get it right are the opener (“Promised Land”) and the closer (“Casey Jones”). Everything in between is just oddly placed. If I was a fan at the time, and unsure if they would ever come back, this album would have pissed me off too.
A much better example of this run of shows (featuring none of this material) can be heard on the 5CD Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack, and that is well worth seeking out.
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