Road Trips, Vol. 4 No. 2: April Fools 88

Product Review

You all know about the glory that was 1987. A year after we almost lost Jerry to his diabetic coma in the summer of '86, the Dead were back, Jerry was the phoenix risen, and the band was bigger than ever: There was "Touch of Grey," In the Dark, the stadium tour with Dylan, a huge influx of new Heads; it was good times all around, for sure. The band was revived and a new day dawned!

Well, we haven't forgotten '88 -- far from it -- and this edition of Road Trips (Vol. 4, No. 2) shows you why. It offers up the entire April 1, 1988 concert from the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, NJ (maybe you just called it "the Meadowlands" back in the day), plus the entire second set and a few first set highlights from the previous night's show, March 31.

This release does not contain a bonus disc.

Track listing:

Disc 1:

1. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo

2. Jack Straw

3. To Lay Me Down

4. Ballad Of A Thin Man

5. When Push Comes To Shove

6. New Minglewood Blues

7. Cumberland Blues

8. Deal

9. When I Paint My Masterpiece

10. Let It Grow

11. Brokedown Palace

Disc 2:

1. Scarlet Begonias

2. Fire On The Mountain

3. Samson and Delilah

4. Terrapin Station

5. Rhythm Devils

6. Space

7. Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad

8. I Need A Miracle

9. Dear Mr. Fantasy

10. Hey Jude

11. All Along The Watchtower

12. Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Disc 3:

1. China Cat Sunflower

2. I Know You Rider

3. Estimated Prophet

4. Eyes Of The World

5. Rhythm Devils

6. Space

7. The Other One

8. Wharf Rat

9. Throwing Stones

10. Not Fade Away

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review

(3 customer reviews)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

"Just goes to show, you don't ever know...", February 6, 2011

Dark Star-The Other One (The Bus To Never Ever Land) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road Trips, Vol. 4 No. 2: April Fools' '88 (3CD) (Audio CD)

This Road Trips features the entire show from April 1, 1988 as well as the entire second set from the night before all performed at the Brendan Byrne Arena, in New Jersey. These were the second and third shows in a three night stand. The release is also quite long as each disc runs over 79 minutes. The first disc starts off with the first set from 4-1 and a little fooling around before leading into a strong Mississippi Half-Step which gives way to an impressive Jack Straw before a sweet and soulful To Lay Me Down. The second of only two Dylan-less follows and is quite impressive and has already been released on Postcards Of The Hanging - Grateful Dead Perform The Songs of Bob Dylan. The set is rounded out with strong versions of When Push Comes To Shove, New Minglewood Blues and Cumberland Blues. The set ends with a raging Deal. The fist...Read more

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Late 80s gold, February 10, 2011

PeterMusicFreak - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road Trips, Vol. 4 No. 2: April Fools' '88 (3CD) (Audio CD)

I was astonished to hear how good the vocals are on this release. I was under the impression that the deads vocals lost their magic after 81. The vocals here (especially Jerry's) are actually better then in years like '82 and '83. For me the late 80s in a whole new era of the Dead to explore and this release is a great start. Disc one has great souldul versions of some of the Deads shorter songs. The Dead just sound fresh and reengergized and not worn out like they sounded in '82 and '83. Disc two starts with a phenimnal Scarlet>Fire and the spaced out transition in Space>GDTRFB is spectacular. Dear Mr.Fantasy has a lot of heart. The only low point in the entire release is I need a miracle which is fairly rough. Disc three is worth the price of admission. Flawless. There is no low point, it is all highlights on disc 3. Deadheads, no matter what your preference of year is this one is a must buy (Mine is generally June of '72 through December of '80).

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful

Don't buy from (www.dead.net), November 29, 2011

Ethan Hargreaves-ingram "spacemoose" (Aus) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road Trips, Vol. 4 No. 2: April Fools' '88 (3CD) (Audio CD)

The music on this CD box set is awesome. Gerry and the band are in fine form. However avoid purchasing from the web site. Here is why.

- Original deluxe edition pre-ordered.
- Lost card.
- Cancel card.
- New card.
- New card number (order didn't go through).
- Try to get in touch and sort this out (failed miserably).
- Decided to purchase all music edition.
- Finally got in touch.
- Changed credit card details and cancelled All Music Edition.
- Complete tour of Europe gets sent.
- Two months later the All music edition gets sent (That's another $515.00).

Never before have I encountered such incompetence.