Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 5: 6/9/76 & 6/12/76 (Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA)

Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 5: 6/9/76 & 6/12/76 (Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA)

The Grateful Dead had a lot of reasons for sounding as energetic as they do on these two shows from June 1976. For one thing, these perennial road dogs had just returned to touring after a nearly two-year hiatus, so their batteries were recharged and they were raring to go. Additionally, drummer Mickey Hart (absent since 1971) had rejoined the band, and the percussive conversation between him and Bill Kreutzmann lends a polyrhythmic lilt to the tunes. And they'd had little chance to explore new tunes like the bouncy jam vehicle "Franklin's Tower" and the elegant, evanescent, reggae-tinged "Crazy Fingers" (both from 1975's Blues for Allah), brought vividly to life here. Whether the band is digging deep into the languid, tragic beauty of "Wharf Rat" or riding giddily atop Kreutzmann and Hart's percolating patterns for the gospel-blues burner "Samson and Delilah," it's impossible to miss their sheer exuberance at being back on the road where they undeniably belonged, tempered with the ballast brought by their break from traveling.

Disc 1

Disc 2

Disc 3

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