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Following the Dead's early Warner Bros. LP's and their evolution from a San Francisco hippie phenomenon to one of the biggest bands on the planet, these five album masterpieces chronicle the creatively expansive portion of their long, strange, and amazing trip beginning in 1873 when they launchd the...

Double Time...

Bela Fleck has completely transcended any and all expectations we have for the banjo. Having spent the better part of five previous years exploring a variety of formal and improvised designs with his virtuoso ensemble, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, this banjo innovator chose to celebrate a variety of...

For once, a record label actually gives us more bang for the buck, combining two indisputable classics--1969's self-titled debut and the 1970 follow-up Idlewild South--onto one glorious CD. Five urgent notes kick off Spencer Davis's "Don't Want You No More," and by the time that searing instrumental...

More than just a significantly expanded soundtrack to the new DVD edition of the band's 1974 documentary, the five discs here (taken from a five-night stand at San Francisco's fabled Winterland in October) also document the end of an early Dead era, capturing extensive highlights from the band's fin...

Former pro surfer Donavon Frankenreiter rides a new wave on his sophomore effort. A change in labels from mentor Jack Johnson's Brushfire to Lost Highway finds the bearded, long-haired, doe-eyed singer/songwriter channeling his inner Talking Book-era Steve Wonder on this occasionally funky and consi...

Fillmore East: April 1971...

It's difficult to fathom the thinking behind this overview of VH1's popular Storytellers series. Begin with the fact that the actual stories are expunged from the recording. If you want the tales behind the songs, you'll have to read the booklet. So the music is left to stand on its own, but with ea...

The turn of the millennium may have been marked by a confluence of over-the-top white rap-rockers, teeny pop pinups, and other musical cartoons, but the Dave Matthews Band continues to buck such trends while drawing a fiercely loyal audience. This first-rate concert, produced for public television, ...

One from the Vault...