Spring 1990 (album)

Spring 1990
A skull wearing a Native American headdress
Live album by
ReleasedAugust 31, 2012
RecordedMarch 16 – April 2, 1990
GenreRock
LabelRhino
ProducerGrateful Dead
Grateful Dead chronology
Dave's Picks Volume 3
(2012)
Spring 1990
(2012)
Spring 1990: So Glad You Made It
(2012)
Grateful Dead concert box set chronology
Europe '72: The Complete Recordings
(2011)
Spring 1990
(2012)
May 1977
(2013)

Spring 1990 is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains six complete concerts, on 18 CDs—one concert from each venue of their spring 1990 tour. It was released on August 31, 2012.[1][2][3]

Spring 1990 was produced as a box set, with a limited edition of 9,000 individually numbered copies. The box includes a 60-page hardcover book of essays and photos, along with memorabilia such as reproductions of the tour program, ticket stubs, and backstage passes.[1][2][3]

Speaking of the album in a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, Bob Weir said, "For my money, this was our hottest era. We couldn't wait to go on tour; we couldn't wait to play because it was really working for us and it was keeping us amused. We had been working together as a unit for a good length of time.... We got comfortable enough in those tunes so that we could do a little exploration, harmonically, rhythmically, whatever. We could go places with them. Everybody has to be way in tune with each other to be able to do that."[4]

Looking back, Bill Kreutzmann said about the tour, "Brent played the best organ I’ve ever heard anybody play. He had the piss and the vinegar in him and he brought it to the table every night. The band, as a whole, had come alive again. Those shows had energy, with thunderbolts of electricity to spare. We didn’t wreck drum sets or smash guitars or dress up in elaborate stage costumes; our shows were always about the music and the music during that period was adventurous. It dared listeners to ride shotgun as we went around hairpin turns, whizzing past ever-changing landscapes. Some nights, I could look out from my perch on the drum riser and see the whole house rocking back and forth in unison, a giant wave of people, and those were the nights you knew it was working."[5]

A companion box set, Spring 1990 (The Other One), was released two years after Spring 1990.

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