This two-CD/three-LP collection was the final live title to have been released by
the Grateful Dead
during their active performance life. The contents were compiled from a six-month window that included some of
the Dead
's most uniformly strong shows from the fall of 1989 and the spring of 1990.
Without a Net
-- the group's first live release in practically a decade -- was also the first to benefit from the additional playing time available on compact disc. More than most other touring bands,
were able to take full advantage of the technological advancement, as their expanded instrumental jams and sinuously segued suites often lasted in excess of the standard 25 minutes available on a single side of a vinyl album. Without a doubt, this collection is the strongest and most accurate representation of how the concurrent
Grateful Dead
sounded since the epic
Live/Dead
album some two decades earlier. One major difference between the two is the lack of new or even recent material on
.
"Victim or the Crime"
--
Bob Weir
's dark tale of survival -- is the most recent composition, having originally surfaced on
's final studio album,
Built to Last
(1989). The two covers --
Robert Johnson
's
"Walkin' Blues"
and
Traffic
"Dear Mr. Fantasy"
-- were the only songs making their debut appearance on a
release. The remaining dozen performances are nuggets mined from
's formidable catalog. There are a few definitive versions of Deadhead favorites, including
"Althea,"
"Bird Song,"
"Cassidy,"
as well as the
"Help On the Way"
/
"Slipknot!"
"Franklin's Tower"
medley. In addition to the standard double-disc package,
was available for a limited time in a "big top edition" that featured picture CDs, an exclusive fold-out poster, and additional circus-themed artwork from longtime
visual collaborator
Rick Griffin
. ~ Lindsay Planer