Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978 (2CD/1 DVD Set) Review

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(More customer reviews)The long-awaited release of: "Egypt 1978" is over. Was it worth a 30 year wait? For me, yes it was, good or bad this package is an accurate document of a legendary event, The Grateful Dead playing right in front of The Great Pyramid and right next to The Sphinx. The 3 record set was due for release in early 1979, to help pay the 1/2 Million dollars of debt that this vacation cost the band. Jerry Garcia, wasn't happy with the tapes and the plan was canceled.
Over the years many tapes have circulated from audience and soundboard sources. I saw a lavish bootleg CD set at a record collector's show in 1996. This Box contained 8 Cd's, a hardshell book, a poster, stickers, the works. The vendor, wouldn't go under $80.00 for the package, and I passed on the deal. The tapes that I have heard, were high-quality sound and good to not-so-good performances by The Dead.
This set of two CD's {3, if you buy it from The Grateful Dead Website} and a DVD of 13 songs, and a short home movie of band and friends in Cairo, and on The Nile. This is a nice package, of an event of legendary proportions.
30 YEARS OF BAD VIBES:
The band didn't play well in Egypt, The equipment did weird things in the 110 degree heat, No: "Blues For Allah" performed, The amps melted together in the sun, The piano was outta tune, Billy could only drum with one arm, Donna was singing 'Flat' again, No hash was allowed to be smoked on stage, only behind the amps, No: "Dark Star" performed, not enough Stella Beer, after the crew stole all of it, The King's Chamber deep inside the Great Pyramid wasn't successful for use as an echo effect for the concerts, sand in equipment...ETC, ETC, ETC.
THE MUSIC:
After 30 years of rumors like that, you will have to be the judge of this package. The music here isn't better or worse than any other Live Dead CD's available already...It is DIFFERENT from other things, that you have already heard before. And that is the reason that it was released in the first place. The Grateful Dead plays DIFFERENTLY under a full eclipse of the moon next to the massive paws of The Sphinx than it does in Winterland back in San Francisco. Everything that makes this group special IS here, but on: "Rocking The Cradle" the music takes on new shapes and forms, textures and colors are unique to this recording.
"Ollin Arageed" featuring Hamza El Din and the Nubian Youth Choir, melts into a sparkling; "Fire On The Mountain". "New, New Minglewood Blues" features a wonderful solo from Keith on "Outta-Tune" piano, that lays waste to almost every other keyboard player anywhere. "Stella Blue" is a tune, that I have never payed much attention to, here on this CD, it is amazing! Some of this is lackluster, but I have found more GOOD than BAD here. A Grateful Dead Show contains peaks and valleys, there is serious detail to flow and dynamics within every concert, and when that doesn't work out...well, it doesn't work out all the time, such is LIFE.
THE FILMS:
The DVD contains 13 songs from the concerts, and a feature called; "The Vacation Tapes" of band, crew and friends in Cairo and on the Nile. These videos are not shot by a professional film crew and are of homemade quality {jerky camera movement, fuzzy & out-of-focus zoom-ins and outs, cameras way off target.} Had the band produced some video by a professional crew, the results could have been amazing, as is these curios are interesting and show a little insight into the world of The Grateful Dead. The DVD is interesting but not essential.
I Like this Set, and have been playing the CD's, in rotation with other GD music since it arrived at my door. I have less use for the DVD, but I will give it another try a few months down the road. The booklet is fine, and the package with the fold-outs, is nice as well. A book about this entire event is still available, it is entitled: "Truckin' With The Grateful Dead To Egypt" by Robert Nichols. This book was published in 1984 with the band's approval, it is an interesting read, and it includes many photos and graphics that I have never seen anywhere else.
This set of music and visuals is a welcome addition to the growing bulk of live performance work available from The Grateful Dead.
Four Stars !!!


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Grateful Dead, Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978 is a 2 CD/1 DVD set that marks the 30th anniversary of The Dead's historic concerts at Giza, featuring more than three hours of rare and previously unreleased music remastered in HDCD, plus over 100 minutes of extremely rare, previously unseen concert and behind-the-scenes footage.

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