Rating: 
Summary: Wow, wow!
Review: All I can say is wow. The Closing of Winterland DVD is incredibly satisfying in every way. I am so happy to have this show on DVD. I remember watching it as a kid live on KQED and the performance has aged very well. The whole thing has this unbelievable slow burn sort of vibe to it. It's very intense and powerful. The video is as good as can be expected from the 70s but the sound is amazing. Kudos!
Rating:
Summary: The Song List itself speaks volumes about this show!!!
Review: To the kind "Head" who wrote the song list for this amazing show on the Grateful Dead's: Closing Of Winterland DVD. That set list tells every Head right there that this show has got to be a nice trip? Thanks for adding that on. I was almost going to do it myself, but you beat me to it. Good job Friend.I have this show on tape on a decent soundboard, but it'll be nice to actually visually see this show on the night they played this historic concert in Grateful Dead history.I own everyone of the Vault dvd's, and Dick's Picks shows, as well as attending over 50 shows in the course of 15 yrs. & having over 1000hrs. on tape. I could NEVER get tired of hearing or seeing a Grateful Dead concert.For some reason I thought this was coming out next week? I would have been at Best Buy or Circuit City yesterday in that case picking it up. I'm glad I came on Amazon.com to check on it. Keep these releases coming people. Sunshine Daydream!!!Peace,Badabing69
Rating:
Summary: Quite a concert
Review: Well, of course, this is for deadheads only--aren't they all these days? Excellent second set with Jerry singing earnestly on Ramble on Rose, Terrapin Station, Bob's Need a Miracle with harmonica, etc, and the Not Fade Away with Cipollina and harmonica. Million Memories of Winterland and Blues Brothers are excellent bonuses on the second dvd. I saw a young Dick Latvala among the interviewees...and even one of my young then, old flames--sitting beside me and behind Bill Graham when we were outside and in line. The soundtrack isn't without a flaw or two, cuts in and out just a little, but the dts sound was great--echoed sometimes, sure, but that was Winterland. Tiny Jerry fills and vocal nuances really come thru--on my admittedly nice system, it was wall of sound like. If you're a deadhead, and you probably are if you're reading this, it's a dvd worth having, no cuts in the music like Grateful Dead Movie, a true concert film, but the donna jean and Keith era, not like the more recent View from the Vault shows. Jerry and Phil are a little squiffed, it affects the playing, but you'll like seeing them have fun.
Rating:
Summary: Setlist
Review: Here's the setlist for anyone interesting in buying this one: SET ONE
1 Sugar Magnolia >
2 Scarlet Begonias >
3 Fire On The Mountain
4 Me and My Uncle >
5 Big River
6 Friend of the Devil
7 It's All Over Now
8 Stagger Lee
9 From The Heart Of Me
10 Sunshine Daydream
SET TWO
1 Samson and Delilah
2 Ramble On Rose
3 I Need A Miracle>
4 Terrapin Station >
5 Playing In The Band >
6 Rhythm Devils >
7 Not Fade Away >
8 Around And Around
SET THREE
1 Dark Star >
2 The Other One >
3 Dark Star >
4 Wharf Rat >
5 St. Stephen >
6 Good Lovin'
ENCORE
7 Casey Jones >
8 Johnny B. Goode
9 We Bid You Goodnight
Rating: 
Summary: From one who was there 25 years ago
Review: I saw the 80 minute edited version for the first time Saturday night on PBS. Even though the broadcast featured more songs and not the longer improvisational portions of that evening, it was very enjoyable. In ProLogic, the mix was clean with Phil's Bass both melodic and deep enough to feel through a decent subwoofer. 5.1 surround should be even better. The video quality is to be expected for live concert by a local TV crew circa 1978. Except for a somewhat brighter stage lights than usual, with more washed out colors and than the typical show of that era,(an ok compromise for shooting video) the view both live and recorded was the way it really was in those days.
The audience NYE '78 was more responsive than at the shows in Winterland 4 years earlier that were filmed for the Grateful Dead movie. I think it was in part due to the house lights in the '74 film were partially up, with extra, purple and yellow movie lighting focused on the crowd. Kind of like watching the Dead in twilight. It looks like real concert when you watch the Grateful Dead Movie, but Winterland felt like a set. In contrast, NYE '78 may look dark when the cameras turn away from the band, but the crowd had a better time. I look forward to actually "seeing" the parts of the third set for the first time. During "Dark Star" I found some empty folding chairs off to the side on the floor and put my feet up, laid back and let the jams wash over me for an hour. We had been in the hall for more than 10 hours and it was almost 5 AM.
One last dance with "Good Lovin", "Johnny B Goode", an acapella "Bid You Goodnight", then a complete breakfast was served for 5000 Deadheads. My brother and I took the bus home, napped a few hours and then watched Joe Montana win the Cotton Bowl for Notre Dame...but that is the beginning of another San Francisco story.
Rating:
Summary: Their Biggest Release In Years.
Review: After two huge high-profile meltdowns for whatever reasons at Woodstock (bad) and Egypt (not all that bad) we will finally be able to hear and see them play at their best New Year's show. This easily eclipses anything from the past 4 or 5 years including 'Steppin' Out'', 'Ladies And Gentleman'' , any 'Views' and perhaps the 'So Many Roads' and "Golden Road" boxed sets. After listening and wearing out tapes of aud/sbd/fm-sbd mixes for years and seeing little of the footage that circulates it will be good to hear something in 5.1. Monumental versions of 'Sugar Mags>Scarlet>Fire', 'Terrapin>Playing>Drums>NFA', everything in Set III and all the rest. Not only one of their best shows but one of the best concerts, and acts of communication and performer-audience symbioses ever by anyone thanks in large part to Bill Graham. An historical document capturing the closing of a venue and a moment in time that was possibly the last hippie hurrah. Obviously essential. Breakfast after the show. 'Nuff Said.
Rating:
Summary: Millions of people should like this one
Review: Bob and Jerry look like they are having a good time. When Bob sings "Good Lovin'," at the end of Set 3, the Grateful Dead's ability to add life to a cover of a familiar song sparks some of the excitement that every great act would like to achieve near the end of a long night. I like Jerry best on "Ramble On Rose" near the beginning of Set 2, but he also had an inner glow that seemed to reflect "the engine just gleams" in the "Casey Jones" encore. It was dark inside after midnight, and the concert was merely being filmed for live TV broadcast without studio lighting, so the clearest picture of anyone on this DVD are the few flash bulb instances when someone took a snapshot and lit a face from a different angle than the incredibly dim spotlights. There were a few extra people playing a song or two with the Grateful Dead that night, and someone on harmonica had a few great moments. I did not take myself to any live performances of the Grateful Dead in the sixties or seventies, so this DVD is as young as I ever saw any of them play. Listening to them later, I came to appreciate a few unique elements of their sound. As much as anyone, the Grateful Dead has shown the ability to produce a body of work that defines them as an entity significant enough to make the question of what they were doing at any particular point in time interesting. Phil Lesh on bass guitar seemed to spend his time with the drums, but he could be seen enjoying himself on "Terrapin Station," when he finally had some notes that meshed well with the other guitar parts. Jerry Garcia plays so many notes in his concerts that I marvel at his ability to remember when he is supposed to play them. During the chorus of "Ramble On Rose," the guitar interludes provide as much of the melodic flow as the singing, and the words on paper suggest very little of what is going on: "Did you say your name was Rambling Rose?
Ramble on baby,
settle down easy Ramble on Rose." The typical popular song makes enough sense musically to keep seven people heading in the same direction, but the fun of "Terrapin Station" seems to be in wondering how such music is even possible. Such instances of multiple inspirations remind me of how JFK's boat PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer in WW II: it would not be fair to blame such an event on the activities of one person. Anything that complicated requires teamwork. There is another instance of multiplicity which makes this DVD worth owning. The song "B Movie" by DELBERT McCLINTON is a psychological study in transference unlike any other, and the Bonus material on this DVD includes a live performance by the Blues Brothers in which Jake and Elwood bow most notably to guitarist Steve Cropper as co-writer of the San Francisco song "Dock of the Bay" while they introduce members of that opening act. Jake and Elwood overdo the dancing in their frenetic fashion, but having easy access to "Soul Man" and "B Movie" from a famous bunch of great musicians makes more sense on a DVD than the TV interviews with personalities involved in every aspect of putting on a show.
Rating:
Summary: Must-Own Music DVD of the Year
Review: Recorded (and first broadcast) almost 25 years ago to the day, "Grateful Dead: The Closing of Winterland" (2 DVDs) is THE music DVD release of the year, in my humble opinion. Not only is the music here nothing short of top notch, but the extras on the DVD (not to mention the packaging of the DVD) make this a no-miss musical and visual bonanza. The actual concert is 3 sets (which the Dead kicks off exactly as the midnight hour strikes!), with many highlights, including "Scarlet Begonias" on Set 1, and "Not Fade Away" on Set 2. But Set 3 is almost flawless throughout, including "Dark Star->The Other One->Dark Star", and in the encore "Casey Jones". (The 28 page booklet that comes with the DVD, has an all-telling picture showing a fan's banner from the show that says "1535 days since last SF Dark Star"...) The DVD bonus materials are just awesome. "Winterland: A Million Memories" is an in-depth documentary of Winterland as a concert venue, and the Dead's 60 or so shows at Winterland. The interviews with the fans are hilarious. The bonus concert tracks of the opening acts (the Blues Brothers and the New Riders of the Purple Sage) are somewhat out of place. Then there is the 2 AM interviews of Bob Weir and Mickey Hart. In all, this is a most welcome release.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but not great
Review: I've attended over 150 Dead shows since 1972 and have over 2,000 hours of live music, so I feel I know my subject matter quite well. With all due respect this is a good video of an, at best, average concert. Yeah I know it was New Year's Eve, they did 3 sets, Dark Star etc. The fact is, however, that 1978 was a rather anemic year for the Dead. Much of their playing is too slow and uninspired; Keith Godchaux plays like he has absolutely no interest in being there, and his and Donna's departure 6 weeks later was LONG overdue. If you can, get ahold of a tape/cd of the previous night's performance at the Pauley Pavilion, the playing overall is much better, including a KILLER version of "Ollin Arrageed" with Hamza El Din and friends. Thanks, and peace to all.
Rating:
Summary: There are live shows...and then there is THIS show...
Review: Y'know, I don't play this DVD as often as most of the other DVDs I have. But that's only because I don't want to spoil myself too much...The Closing Of Winterland has a reserved space in my "go to" DVD pile, utilized whenever I just can't decide on what else I want to watch/listen to. Whenever I fire this baby up, 15 minutes in I'm like, "OK, cancel my plans...I'm gonna be here for awhile" LOL Like mentioned often by others, the picture quality IS average...but the sound will absolutely SHATTER your expectations. Combine a mammoth, classic show with a nice selection of bonus features, and you've got yourself one hell of an addition to your collection.
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