Closing of Winterland: December 31 1978

Grateful Dead - Closing of Winterland: December 31 1978

Closing of Winterland: December 31 1978
List Price: $31.98
Our Price: $19.14
You Save: $12.84 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Listen soundtracks from this album



(Click here)
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store

CD Details

Artist: Grateful Dead
Brand: DEC
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Live, Original recording reissued
CD Release Date: 2003-12-16
Music Label: Grateful Dead / Wea
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Sugar Magnolia
  2. Scarlet Begonias
  3. Fire on the Mountain
  4. Me and My Uncle
  5. Big River
  6. Friend of the Devil
  7. It's All Over Now
  8. Stagger Lee
  9. From the Heart of Me
  10. Sunshine Daydream
Music CD 2
  1. Samson and Delilah
  2. Ramble on Rose
  3. I Need a Miracle
  4. Terrapin Station
  5. Playing in the Band
Music CD 3
  1. Rhythm Devils
  2. Not Fade Away
  3. Around and Around
Music CD 4
  1. Dark Star
  2. The Other One
  3. Dark Star
  4. Wharf Rat
  5. St. Stephen
  6. Good Lovin'
  7. Casey Jones
  8. Johnny B. Goode
  9. We Bid You Goodnight

Music reviews of Closing of Winterland: December 31 1978

Music Review: One of their best shows ever finally issued on CD and DVD
Rating: 5 Stars

This is one of the best Grateful Dead CDs ever. Ranked as one of the top ten shows in Grateful Dead's history, there's no doubt that this CD is a "must have" for fans and newcomers alike. The date is December 31st 1978. It's New Year's Eve, and The Dead has gotten the honourable task to be the last band to ever perform at this ramshackle ice rink called Winterland.

Kicking off with "Sugar magnolia" only seconds after midnight, The Dead keep on playing and playing and playing 'til the morning comes. Bill Graham forced the band to play three sets plus two encores. People, who were there, have told that it was morning when they went home! The ticket actually included breakfast! The Dead played one of their longest concerts ever, if not the longest.

After the opener "Sugar magnolia", "Scarlet begonias" and "Fire on the mountain" (the combination often known as "Scarlet fire") followed, before they went into two favourite covers, "Me and my uncle" and Johnny Cash's "Big river". The first set also included rare songs like "Stagger Lee" and "From the heart of me", the latter sung by Donna Godchaux. "Terrapin station", Playing in the band", a 20-minute "Not fade away" and Chuck Berry's "Around and around" highlighted the second set. The boys announced they would be back for a third set (something they hadn't done since 1973)! And what a set? It was all back to the late 60s and early 70s.

It all opened with the crowd pleaser "Dark star", a song they hadn't played in San Francisco for 1535 days, according to a banner amongst the audience. In fact, they hadn't played the song since their "Farewell shows" at Winterland, October 1974. No wonder why people got nuts. The band swept through "The other one" before returning for an instrumental second verse of "Dark star". This version of "Dark star" is just beautiful. It's definitely one of my very favorite versions ever! It has this really good feeling. It's like you're just floating away. The tempo is not too fast and not too slow. The only thing I don't like with this version, with only 13 minutes, it's just too short. The band played more oldies: "Wharf rat", "St. Stephen" and "Good lovin'". PS! Did you know that The Dead played "St Stephen" only four times after this performance? After three sets, one would think that Jerry and co. wouldn't play any encores. But they did. They also come out for a second time, finishing this marathon show with "We bid you goodnight". It would have been more correct to change the title to "We bid you good morning" since the sun had been up for hours when the crowd finally got home!

PS! If you want to SEE the entire show, buy the "Closing of Winterland" DVD!

More Closing of Winterland: December 31 1978 free music reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6

Description of Closing of Winterland: December 31 1978

This 4 CD set contains the entire Grateful Dead performance from the Closing of Winterland on 12/31/78, mixed from the 24-track analog master tapes, and includes a 24-page booklet containing photos and essays.

Classic Rock CDs

Music Genres
Bestsellers in Classic Rock CDs
Wings at the Speed of Sound ImagePaul Mccartney, Wings - Wings at the Speed of Sound
Release date: 1996-09-24; Music CD
Best price: $287.77
Boxed ImageSmall Faces - Boxed
Release date: 1997-11-01; Music CD
Best price: $43.38
Gris Gris ImageDr John - Gris Gris
Release date: 1994-07-15; Music CD
Price in other shops: $18.98
Eric Clapton: Live in Hyde Park [VHS] ImageEric Clapton: Live in Hyde Park [VHS]
Warner Bros / Wea; Release date: 1998-02-17; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.75
Price in other shops: $19.98
Human Highway [VHS] ImageHuman Highway [VHS]
Warner Bros / Wea; Release date: 1995-08-08; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $120.79
The Monkees - Head [VHS] ImageThe Monkees - Head [VHS]
Rhino / Wea; Release date: 1995-01-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.42
Price in other shops: $14.98
Live & Loud [VHS] ImageOzzy Osbourne - Live & Loud [VHS]
Sony; Release date: 1993-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $3.96
Price in other shops: $14.98
Unplugged [VHS] ImageBruce Springsteen - Unplugged [VHS]
Sony; Release date: 1992-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $2.75
Price in other shops: $14.98
Peter Gabriel - P.O.V. [VHS] ImagePeter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel - P.O.V. [VHS]
Virgin Records Us; Release date: 1992-06-29; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $121.90
Past to Present [VHS] ImageToto - Past to Present [VHS]
Sony; Release date: 1991-07-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $72.82
Compare prices and find music notes for more than one million Music CD titles