Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings is a 10-CD live album by the rock band the
Grateful Dead. It contains four complete concerts recorded on February 27, February 28, March 1, and March 2, 1969, at the
Fillmore West in
San Francisco. The album was remixed from the original
16-track concert
soundboard tapes. It was released as a box set in November 2005, in a limited edition of 10,000 copies.
Fillmore West 1969, released at the same time as Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings, is a three-disc compilation that features highlights of the four nights.
A bonus disc included with Fillmore East: The Complete Recordings includes selections from two additional Fillmore West shows, June 8, 1969 and February 7, 1970. It also includes a 30-minute version of "Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks)" that was recorded on June 14, 1968 during the band's debut run of shows at
Bill Graham's newly opened
Fillmore East in
New York City, when the Grateful Dead performed with an opening act of
the Jeff Beck Group.
Many of the band's recordings from 1968 have been lost and what remains is often incorrectly labeled.[4]
On
AllMusic, Lindsay Planer said, "Few concert runs... are as highly lauded by Grateful Dead enthusiasts as February 27 through March 2, 1969, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.... At the very heart of what made the Grateful Dead an anomaly in rock & roll was their ability to improvise and interact in order to make each and every experience different from the last, or the next. Over the course of the Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings are nine and a half hours of proof.... Curious parties might find the Fillmore West 1969 three-disc distillation an adequate substitute. However, earnest Deadheads should take whatever measures necessary to obtain this package."[6]
In All About Jazz Doug Collette wrote, "Grateful Dead aficionados as well as dilettantes have equal odds for epiphany working their way through all the sets from this entire four-night run at the fabled rock venue.... There is definite progression apparent on Fillmore West 1969 The Complete Recordings from one night to the next. The band becomes increasingly comfortable as the run goes on, allowing themselves to stretch out in ways it couldn't or wouldn't the first night. It's worth pondering how much early equipment issues affected the group mindset, but a few bum notes and all, this is generally magnificent stuff, the likes of which shakes the ass and the intellect equally roundly."[5]
In The Music Box John Metzger wrote, "Without a doubt, by the time that the concerts featured on Fillmore West 1969 were held, the Grateful Dead had perfected its freewheeling improvisational approach, and nearly everything it touched dripped with the psychedelic transcendence that was forged within the swirling vortex of "Dark Star"'s revolutionary crucible. Arguably, then, the collection contains the most primal music that the band ever unleashed. Although it remained tethered to the R&B-flavored roots favored by harmonica and keyboard player Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, the group had made tremendous strides in pushing the boundaries that defined its music outward in all directions."[7]
^Scott, John W.; Dolgushkin, Mike; Nixon, Stu. (1999). DeadBase XI: The Complete Guide to Grateful Dead Song Lists. Cornish, NH: DeadBase. p. 9.
ISBN1-877657-22-0.