Grateful Dead

Volume two in the Grateful Dead's View From the Vault series of mixed media releases comes from a pair of Washington, D.C., R.F.K. Stadium shows from the summers of 1990 and 1991, respectively. The feature presentation is both sets from June 14, 1991, with copious filler or "bonus" material from July 12, 1990. As well, the DVD includes a previously unissued music video for "Liberty" -- one of the final collaborative efforts between lyricist Robert Hunter and guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia. During the band's final decade of touring (1985-1995) many technological advancements made it feasible for the band to reinvent the classic light show à la the Dead's ballroom daze of the late '60s for a '90s audience. Among these advancements were a traveling film crew who would shoot the summer stadium tours. The immediate effect was the ability to simulcast live video of the band as they performed on-stage onto large screens. What remains is the raw footage recreating precisely what show attendees experienced. For better or worse, this consists of some rather dated visual enhancements existing on the video master -- including computer and digital animation, as well as solar and lunar stock footage and some repetitive time-lapse photography. Musically the band is at a zenith. While the influx of new material had all but ceased, Grateful Dead standards such as "Row Jimmy" and the '90s revival of Bob Weir's "Black Throated Wind" are crystalline in their execution -- taking on new hues of maturity. To the contrary, the "Help on the Way," "Slipknot!," "Franklin's Tower" suite -- which begins the second set of the June 1991 show -- is alive and kicking in the same untameable fashion that graced many a mid-'70s rendition. A hidden audio highlight is featured during the DVD program menu screen. Although the Garcia/Hunter epic "Rubin and Cherise" is normally associated with the Jerry Garcia Band, it was performed by the Dead four times during the spring of 1991. It's use on this DVD marks the first time the track has been issued by the Grateful Dead. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide