Grateful Dead: Alpine Valley ’88 (6/23/1988)

This mix presents 74 minutes from the fourth and final show of the ’88 Alpine Valley run. It was the best of the four and is the only one with a good soundboard. 

These were the first shows I attended. Spread over five days, during a heat wave and drought, in the middle of nowhere, it was a massive tribal experience of the first order. I’d see better shows later, but I never experienced anything like this scene again.

The big deal of this show is the tremendous “Morning Dew.” I'm no "Hey Pocky Way" expert, but this is instantly my favorite version, with Brent on fire and the mix doing all the right things. The drummers are too thumpy on "Roses," but it's a pleasing version of a song that was uncommon in the later years.

I’ve struggled to get into 1988 via tapes, but the sweet spots of this show have given me a foothold. 

74-minute mp3 mix zipped up here

  • Iko Iko
  • Hey Pocky Way
  • It Must Have Been the Roses
  • Bird Song
  • He’s Gone
  • Gimme Some Lovin’ >
  • All Along the Watchtower >
  • Morning Dew
  • Believe it or Not
  • Brokedown Palace


9 responses
Hello first timer on SYF. Superb stuff, great reads, so forth. 1988 Alpine very nice place to start for you(and tour). 1985 Alpine was my intro. Check those out for a 1st timer & great song selection as well. ie: Superstition, Keep on Growing. The sun soaked Valley had each night stand & deliver on its own. Putting it all together was almost the whole Built to Last album with all those FTP ea. night. I see no Blackbird? Now, I believe you know you were only waiting for that moment to arrive. 😎
Todd, I don't know Alpine '85 at all, but I have several '85 episodes that I love. I'll put in on the list to check out. That Alpine "Blackbird" was indeed a fun but terrible event. I did edit the next performance for the Save Your Face "Dead Play Beatles" mix.
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