I agree with Jamesnix, the Not Fade Away is a prime example of the Dead rising to the occasion, to fit the hot sweaty audience mood, an all-out, no holds barred JAM like no other since the '60s, which I may or may not have appreciated at the time because I remember questioning why they played it so slow, agonizingly slow tempo, which is classic Grateful Dead mind fuck strategy, gave them more room to stretch all thirteen notes into each measure, kick out the jams and JAM!

"The Summer's End Concert", as it was billed, was not actually in Englishtown, but The Old Bridge Raceway Park was marketed at the time as "Raceway Park – Englishtown, in Old Bridge"*. This has always made my list of the five overrated shows. Like the others, not because it's not good, but because it's not, overall, a top ten of all time (or the year). We all used to think it was, because it was well-circulated and for many of us our first '77 tape. It was also a bootleg vinyl called "Good Lovin'" (which oddly had the Good Lovin' from 7/2/71). It's about as famous as Barton or Veneta, and used to be legendary for the size of the show – a colossal mass of people corralled inside a ring of cargo containers on a day of soaring heat index (so glad to hear it on tape instead). They chose the site because it's just 20mi to NYC and just 60mi to Philly. They played 15 mi away at Middlesex College in '70 [a missing tape], and 19mi away at Princeton in '71. John Scher went to Amboy and hired stevedores to bring hundreds of shipping containers and encircle the area end-to-end so there were no gatecrashers, and it set the record for most tickets sold at a NJ concert [107,000]. The dirt field became mud by the evening. There were two deaths, two births and a helicopter crash (with a woman down front in labor, only Deadheads would self-part into perfect columns for an ambulance!). Due to a traffic mishap that nullified the parking lots, and retaliatory intervention from some townships, parking was 1 to 3 miles away. In these days aerial advertising was popular and a flying banner repeatedly urged Heads to join the army! They didn't use state-of-the-art sound delays [lag towers], like at Summer Jam (Watkins Glen), and the crowd way at the back beyond the speaker towers never heard the two opening bands – and could marginally hear the Dead – so of course people surged forward.

This was the 1st show in 3mos, after the summer tour was cancelled when Mickey was injured rolling his Porsche. Ironically, one year later it was Billy's turn to get laid up and play in a cast. While Mickey was out Donna had a surgery and only decided at the last minute to appear for some songs. It was a one-off booking – the tour wouldn't start for a few weeks. This was the 1st gig where Keith only brought electric-based keys. Jer played his Travis Bean TB500, now modded with two outputs (effects loop moved onboard). This show probably gets the "overrated" tag more than any other, and Jarnow noted that he never really got this show, since it was "too big & shouty & not jamming". Tapes usually circulated incomplete, hissy and ill-pitched and hearing those I used to think it was a fun batch, but with plenty of flubs and squelch. Now with better sources I split the middle and see that there is one great set and one average (which is to be expected given the extreme temps and bug swarms). Heads already know it anyway. For newcomers, the highlights are grand.

First Set. They were clearly very ready to go on. Though Bobby flubs Promised Land, this was a good choice for opener for this crowd and they go for a straight version. Conversely, They Love Each Other is like Swiss clockwork. Me & My Uncle is a superb version (still lying, not dead ass again until next show). Jer plays a Country Gardens tuning during Bobby's "take a step back". Mississippi Half-Step emerges exemplary; everyman edition, easily (exactly existential). Looks Like Rain is an average take but with nice Jer tone selection for the roaring solo and good Donna. With its two solos, Peggy-O has long been considered a showpiece version (objectively, there are a dozen equals in '77). Minglewood is so vicious that Jer bucks the stall while Keith solos. Friend of the Devil is no slouch and Music Never Stopped is excellent the whole way.

Second Set. Jer repeats a verse in Bertha, but check out Bobby's fine playing. Good Lovin' is also punchy but more flubby, and they bail early when Bobby starts screaming, having not paced himself well. This is a top version of Loser, with Jer playing for the depth of the crowd and Donna good. Don't worry about the wobbly Estimated because Eyes of the World is worth the wait – not a top ten for the year but it fits the set nicely. The OFFICIAL removes the halt to the concert while Scher tries to stop people from climbing a speaker tower (some people back there said they never did see the stage). After a solid enough Samson, the OFF cuts Phil's "can we take 5mins?" & Bobby's "I gotta go get some salt pills!". They had to take a break from the oppressive heat & humidity and the insects, and left the stage for a bit. It wasn't enough; Jer gets lost a couple times in He's Gone. But it has a nice tempo and the jam into NFA is the show's best. The OFF edits the main flubbed section, removing 2mins13secs @4:16 [4:10>6:23 of MTX]. It also has a different vox mix. Not Fade Away itself is okay. Truckin' is the first one in almost two years and has only a little bit of rust. Bobby strapped on his new 12-string acoustic for the encore, as they had planned to try the Transit>At a Siding section of Terrapin again. It was attempted 3/18, but sans lyrics, then abandoned since that didn't go well. But instead exhausted Mickey winds them down to a stop – probably a welcome one.

1st Set:   A
2nd Set: C+
Overall = 4 stars

Highlights:
First Set - especially Me & My Uncle, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown, New Minglewood Blues
Loser - long a go-to version

SOURCES: The matrix is wetter/livelier than the OFF, though the mtx_dusborne runs slightly fast. The stiegler_91230 AUD runs way too slow, the minches_91650 is the Wagner AUD re-pitched. The unk_276 is the SBD, but surely the FM tapes still circulate (as does a remastered SBD). Dick's 15 has the whole show save a few tunings and an edited version of He's Gone. There is some scattered footage on YouTube; usually a minute of Loser.

*Some posters using other titles are apocryphal and were printed later.

NFA, Truckin, MHS... need no more, but there is more..

The best-

To be 17 at a Dead show in dirty jersey again. Memories: sun, no hat, not enough water, ran out of beer early, didn't know about sun block because it was 1977, didn't know where the car was, sun, more people than I had ever seen at a show - ever, some guy had a top hat with a piece of poster board attached that read "I want LSD" and I didn't know what that meant, sun, casual nudity, sun, Terrapin. Was exhausting, amazing, long, not long enough, and there was a lot of sun.

Not one review even mentions the most staggeringly heart ripping bliss opening delightfulness of ever seeing what I never ever saw at more than 100 other shows EVER - Jerry and Bobby facing off face to face doing that dueling guitar stuff practically spatting and sweating and drenching each other with their surrenderfull souls twin merging.nation NFA!! in front of us front row Motherchukkers!! Then during the Trucking Bobby and JERRY i mean JERRY GARCIA ar side by side like chorus girls from Radio City strutting and strumming all the way across the entire GIANT stage front to the part of slamming trucking that they go at the end like dahdahdahdada deedada de DAH DAH boboobah debooba debooba de DOO DA DA!! with their synchronized dancing legs kicking at the end I mean were any of you reviewers close enough to SEE!!!???? The last entire ONE HOUR of this mystically rich deep thick magical evening healing the entire ALTOMONTE Raceway Demons for once and for all -at a DRAG STRIP (sounds sexy!!) the last entire hour is only 4 - thats right right one hour is only 4 songs - do you understand now what we were doing that night after two days of the ordeals and the fun NRPS and the ACID kicking in now CANT YOU SEE Marshall Tucker Band what that woman been doing to me!! FUCK BARTON HALL for once and all - nobody listening can tell why the crescendoss are the key to Barton's adulation and praise - of course Morning Dew is perfectly awesome but remove COCAINE and your crescendos sound more surprising and unexpected and touch your heart more - Englishtown the Coke cowboys had no chance with the humidity and heat and utter survivl conditions there 9 Babies like Woodstock - dehydration tents overflowing - toilets spewing leaks and ponds of piss (Back then a guy could just whip it out and pee without some brain damaged PC jerk screeching at him - nowadays you guys go to DEAD Shows in UNIFORMS of tie dye - wtf!!!???? Englishtown I saw 25 tie dyes out of 160,000 people (underestimate) we crashed the gates the night before and we had tickets!? when we crashed the gates and ran for the stage it was 10pm and already over 2000 bodies blocked us from our front row spots until the sun came up and the acid got dropped and we all looked at each other quizzickly as curiosities instead of the smug certainty and lack of subversiveness common amongt the After-Jerry-Died crowd - Thank God Billy K is still alive - he gets it - ask him about Labor Day weekend New Jersey 1977 Englishtown - BILLY brought somebodies Harley up next year in Jersey Labor Day The Giants Stadium weekender with pre-Egypt vibes and Billy K playing drums with a cast on his wrist - he was throwing drumsticks at guys for all the fucking stupid reliance on constant coke snorting that made Bobby think he could learn slide on stage and made Bobby think the Dead were a pop band covering Elvis and chasing teen girlz - yikes I miss you JERRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Labor Day 1977 Weekend - roughly between the magical, mythical month of May and arguably the even better shows of October and November. This show, for me, never quite reaches the heights of either the spring or fall tour. Legendary show, to be sure. Just not my favorite from the era. 

I completely agree about the Eyes from 10/29/73. I like all the Wake material from '73, like the LIG from 10/21. Check out the Half Step + Stella from 3/28.
Englishtown highlights to me are the Promised Land, Music, He's Gone>NFA

I would argue this as being one of the absolute best of '77, which means of all time almost by proxy...there are moments of total sublime beauty here; a show that proves they didn't always blow the big ones.

*This is THE Half-Step. If you need to hear only one version...
*Eyes is so g*damned beautiful you want to weep. Jer allows the opening jam to play out as easy as you please. When he begins that second little mini-solo during the long intro, we're in the most sublime space imaginable.
*Listen to Phil on S&D - holy hell. The entire band is on FIRE.
*NFA. I mean, barely NOTHING else out there can beat this. One of my favorite all-time jams. Seriously off the chain.

The Dick's is always worth picking up, although some fine boards exist here. Whatever's your source, your collection's incomplete without 9/3/77. Essential GD.

I Will Always Remember Jerry's Little Leap After The Last "On My Way" In Half Step, Around 4:12 Or So. He Actually Left The Ground. His Little Feat Were Just Hanging There For A Split Second. Then He Proceeded To Shred And I New He And We Were All In For Something Special.Oh And Does Anyone Remember The Giant Indian Chief, Headdress And All, Riding In The Clouds. Streaming Overhead In That Wind During Eyes, Or Was That Just The Windowpane's Reflection In Mine Eye. For Always Grateful.

For my money this is the peak of the show although the entire Second Set is high octane.
I agree with the comments about Jerry's sweet vocals during He's Gone...
Not real clear on this recording but this was a Bobby with marching band whistle to kick off the long overdue return of Truckin'

definitely a top show of the year and deserves 5 stars. but there are so many gems in spring 77, summer mini and the fall tours that are spectacular compared to this. but definitely a terrific listen and a prime example of the dead at their finest.

The first set is good, but i'm not a fan. But right around Bertha is where this shows KICKS for me. The loser is the best i've ever heard, and the same goes for this NFA. This entire second set is filled with gems, and I must say I think this could be one of the best estimated>eyes ever. The transition is unlike any other i've heard. And for this amazing 2nd set, this show gets 5 stars. Might not be as overall good as Barton in the end, but this is a top 3 '77 show in my mind.

GREAT version. Guitar solos are out of this world, plus good tempo for this song. Eyes is another guitar solo heaven starting with the intro.

Indeed, I'll have to second that emotion to what Burnt Rich aforementioned. The 8/6/74 Eyes of the World is the crème de la crème of them all, although 10/29/73, 9/7/73 & 6/18/74 are strong contenders. The '73-74 era cannot be topped for Eyes. But I digress...

I feel obliged to give props to THIS Eyes on this night. Not only the best of '77, but the best version for any year, post 1974 (IMHO, of course). This Englishtown show, as a whole, stands in the top 10 for 1977, which certainly boasts a lot considering how much superlatives 1977 has garnered through the years.

Both sets of this night are particularly crisp and consistent, and one can feel the gusto and energy the boys (and the girl) packed into this show. I do recommend picking up the Dick's Picks (vol. 15) of this show, as the sound quality is pristine, and it's easily one of the better of the 36 picks.

They played Eyes to a complete stop on 8-6-1974 in Jersey City. It is absolutely the most scorching Eyes of the World I have ever heard. I knew this the first time I finished hearing it decades ago and still keeps it's place as numero uno to this day....It is on Dick's Picks # 31, in all of it's insane splendor. Bobby's comments about the idiot climbing the fence and the brawling Jersey Heads after they finish the version are some of the most classic ever.....The ending on this "full stop" version of Eyes from 8/6/74 is incredible. Find it and you will know what I speak of.....

This show was my 2nd bootleg tape.Not knowing much at all then I was spoiled.I thought that's how they played every show.I like this mix better than DP 15.Snares and high hats nice and crisp imo.Over three decades later still one of my favorites.

I believe this is the only time the Dead played a full stop at the end of Eyes. That would make this the only Estimated -> Eyes [full stop].

This show fries from the intro, Me and my Uncle is funky and fun, the half step is pretty much perfect, eyes is killer as well. I think this has got to be in my top 5 shows.

1/2 Step

EYES~!!!

He's Gone

NFA!!!

as many have said before this show is worth hearing for half-step and eyes. some really cool versions that are some of the best of the year. i prefer the eyes and half step form 5/7 but these ones are just as good. someone mentioned the great he's gone with some real nice harmonies at the end. there are a few other standouts, but to me this show doesn't hold up to spring or even oct./nov. go out and get dick's picks #15 if you wanna check this out.

"I wont say its my all time favorite show cause Teppapin is the ender. Don't get me wrong the tunes from the albulm created maybe great jams but the live version of Terrapin always fell apart like no other. At times it was like Jerry was just hoping to hit the right notes. I can understand why it didnt get to much play after the late 70's."

That's some funny stuff right there--'didn't get much play after the late 70s.' I'm guessing you didn't do much listening after that time. It NEVER left the rotation and there was a reason for that my friend.

Terrapin is one of the great live songs ever created by any band in history.

Probably my all time favorite first set. Many great highlights like Mississippi Half Step and the Music never stopped. I wont say its my all time favorite show cause Teppapin is the ender. Don't get me wrong the tunes from the albulm created maybe great jams but the live version of Terrapin always fell apart like no other. At times it was like Jerry was just hoping to hit the right notes. I can understand why it didnt get to much play after the late 70's. Overall a better show than some of the overrated May shows. Worth the 25 bucks for the Dick's Picks CD's

Peace
Gagas

For our whole group of friends, it was our First' Grateful Dead Show,
yo know it > THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A GRATEFUL DEAD CONCERT'. for many,many moons we all kept on ~Dancin in those Streets~ 2009 still jammin to the 'DEAD' for our band members who are GBNF, you are all very missed...& Donna your were always 'right on' there is a road..so cool to be a part of > I has been > A long, strange trip...just keep on trucken

man o man we got to the site like thenight before and had to park some distance away! this was like a trip that never ended! my friend willie worked for a hospital up in Elizabeth,N.J.and I went the day before the show and picked up some tanks of nitrous oxide 6 tanks to be exact! willie also gave me numerous hose's, gas masks and regulators!! we got to E-Town about 900 pm the night before and set up camp on some peoples lawn that let us park there for like 20 bucks for all our cars.we just were blasting off with the nitrous and turning people on as they past by our "camp"! someone had some dexedrines and we were up all night the sun came up and man what a different scene was happening than when we got there! SO MANY PEOPLE! we got thru the boxcar barriers guarded by the angels with baseball bats sitting on top and found a spot near the center sound tower! it was blazing hot that day! I tokk some blotter windowpane and the next thing we were grooving to NRPS I don't remember much of them but a lot of my friends were into the Tucker Boys and when they hit the stage all hell broke loose!getting sprayed with the water hose's and lumping thru the mud was a chore in itself! by sunset when the DEAD hit their stride I was just peaking and just remember the chorus of Trucking going on and on for like eternity!!!!! what a long strange trip it has been!!!!

the title pretty much says it all. Half-step, sugaree and my all time favorite version of eye. He's gone, truckin' and Bertha. If I was stranded on an island, I would bring this version of eyes.

you can't download soundboard source shows, only audience tapes. In addition, any show officially released by GDP may not be downloaded. Click on "check for other copies" to see if an audience source exists.

Can someone tell me how you actually download this concert form this site?

This was a great day although the heat was probably as bad as Watkins Glen.The Tucker band were phenomenal with their high energy.Also the Rider were real good too.The GD were as always a good time concert.I had seen the Dead many times before this show but would only get to see them one more time(1991@MSG).It's sad that so many of these people are no longer with us Jerry,Toy&Tommy,George,Dave T and Spencer.Many thanks to the great memories these individuals with their bands brought us over the years R.I.P.(There's nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.)

this show is well played, but sleepy and way too laid back. jerry is too low in the mix, and the board gets kind of muddy in the upper frequencies. like i said, it's overhyped like so many other shows, but i still give it four stars.

One Word: Half-Step! The only one I can think of that is better is 5/7/77 Boston Garden . . .

Bails us out once again with a streaming source. You won't be hard pressed to find better sound quality than the version on Sugarmegs.org but you'd be extremely hard pressed to find better playing. That said you should definitely grab DP 15 because with a show this good why wouldn't you want the best audio available to you? We are treated to Jerry, Keith and Phil connecting big-time. TLEO, Half Step, LLR, Peggy O, FOTD, Music Never Stopped, see where I'm going here... all absolutely majestic and that's just the first set. Here you will find many stellar versions of equally stellar tunes . Many thanks to the sites and even more to the boys (and occasionally Donna Jean) for the great music.

Loser is scorching hot too.

Wow...only 750-odd page views on this show? Maybe everyone has heard it a million times as this was broadcast on powerhouse WNEW-FM NYC that Labor Day weekend. I've had it for 25 years and I still listen to it.

If you haven't heard this you should seek it out, or buy the Dick's Picks, as there are some landmark versions here for the era.

For me, this show is about three in particuliar (although The Music Never Stopped crushes too, as most do from '77): Miss 1/2 Step, Eyes and Not Fade Away.

It's all about Jerry dialing away at that secret combination that springs the lock to the great wide open. Hearing him break on through during Eyes is scheer beauty and a moment every 'Head lives for. It's the "solo on top of the solo" break through. The Half Step really swings here- one of my top 3 for '77 (and all time, really). The NFA clocks in at just over 20 minutes. Talk about grindin' it...down and dirty Jerry goes on for days here.

Chatter from the FM tape: End of set 1: Jerry-"Don't anybody go anywhere...we'll be right back!" Weir- "You'all hang out and make friends with the bugs". After Estimated someone (Phil?) says "Weir, wait until the drum solo's over". But he's already into Eyes, can't pull up and in place of a drum duet(?) later that day we get the killer NFA.

The Head count for this show was estimated at 150K. I still have an aerial picture (from newspaper or Rolling Stone?) inserted in the front of my tape.

This was a hot show The long walk too the venue was long 160thousand people if im not mistaken The outer rim of the veue had Box car barries so no one could get in the veue with out a ticket you could not see in Marshall Tucker played first they were hot Then the NEW RIDERS were great i loved thoses guys Then The Dead What a day Started of hot with promised TLEO CASIDEY LOSER JACK TENN PASSENGER HOT PEGGYO MINGEL FOTD MUSIC what a hot set The sho started at NOON and lasted till MIDNIGHT Second set was hhhhhhhhhhhot BErta GOOD lovEN LOser a litle muffeld EStimated Eyes Jerry was Great Samson Hes Gone NFA TRUCKIN that was hot at the end Truckin kickin ass By that time we were there a long time a my brother drove who was a none Dead head and wanted to leave before the Encore and we got out of the raceway real fast and as we were walking back too the car Me PHILcorsenteno MY girl friend Debbie and my brother we heard as we were walkin back to the car an hor back too the car we were parked miles away from the venue we heard on the radio TERRAPIN and i was so pissed that we left a very hot Terrapin But we were ther for about 14 hours so it was such a great day and we were up front the whole time

I know this is an over used argument but to me
(I've listened to many shows) this is the best!
As a previous reviewer mentioned, He's Gone
is absolutely awesome! The peak of the show!
Who would of thunk.

Get this tape!

I hear you on that NFA!!! Smokin'. Eyes stellar as well. Nice.

Lots of us just graduated High School, this show marked the last time alot heads saw each other before venturing out into the real world from home. I remember the sea of mud which lead to the water spickets, the pregnant women being lifted out by a helicopter, Donna recovering sitting on a stool and Mickey with a small cast on his arm.Were were boxed in by Railroad cars that made gate crashing a challenge.It was the largest amount of people I have ever been around. There was a solid MTB following ( real popular in Jersey 75-78 before they got too into the pop sound) who seemed to filter out when the Dead took the stage.I have no memory of NRPS,Jungle biscuits were in abundance then. THe weather was a factor plus they hadn't been playing as regular for the last month or so. All that aside, the show had awesome moments of the Anthem of the year "Eyes"was fabulous,There were more air guitar playing on that tune than any other in my day! :). Yes we played an inordinate amount of frisbee listening to this tape. The jam out of He's Gone>NFA was special since the playing had been minus significant jamming since 74 era.Performance was a 4, sound was 4 there with all the different versions circulating the Dicks Picks offers the best.. Being the pirate that I am, I would still go out at purchase this show.We had the FM version, I taped it off the radio, thnx to WNEW, I do remember the older freaks freakin out when they played truckin (rather weak but first one since 9-28-75THe dead heads made the Cover of the New York Times!!! RRRRRaceway Park!

Monster Not Fade here people. Wow!

This day of the show was positively hellish. 110,000 people in a muddy field with temps in the high 90's. New Riders and Marshall Tucker are like a blur now. The Dead actually left the stage after a few tunes to take some salt tablets (or so they told us). The show, as I listen to it now, has been overrated. Highlight was 1/2 Step. Try 6/8/77 for the great Eyes from this year, this one doesn't approach it, in my opinion.

One of the first I ever heard, and instantly fell in love with the music never stopped and minglewood blues. go out and buy it, it's totally worth it!

I've had so many copies of this show. My first was on 8 track. Played hundreds of hours of frisbee with this playing for my whole neighborhood to hear. My first show too ! And now I live the life of August West as well. Overall one of my top 5 ever. Hottest day I ever experienced and the thirstiest I've ever been. How we made it home was my first GD miracle. It still amazes me to think back on the total mayhem that was that day, helicopters and all, and to hear how good the music actually was. If I rate it twice will it get a 10 ?

One of my first tapes, which unfortunately trailed off during Eyes. It was a revalation to hear the entire Eyes jam all these years later when I bought the DP. Some of my favorites Half-Step, LL Rain & Music, of course the entire second set. IMHO, this Eyes ranks up there with the monster versions from 73-74.

This show is definetely overlooked as a '77 gem. I can't believe no one has mentioned the He's Gone from this show, makes me wanna cry every time i listen to it and is definetely one of the best i've heard from the dead so far. The banter in this one is also great at times (i heart phil). The band is tight and the audience, well only the greatest rock n' roll band of all time could play for more than 150,000 people. DP 15 - GO OUT AND GET IT!

1/2 Step on this show is one of the best ever. NFA is hard to beat.

This was my first show. Marshall Tucker and N.R.P.S. were there as well - it was an all day event. Had to park miles away and walk to the show.

Dix Pix nailed a great one here. Worth every penny - and you can preview it here for free! This show was simulcast over FM so there have been a lot of good tapes around for a long time.

great show....just loving it right now!

Had this smoker on vinyl back in the day... Great energy... nice to hear again and better than before. Nothin' but love for eTree and LMA!

Despite the fact that I think this show is overrated (though you should keep in mind that this is not my favorite era), the Estimated > Eyes is one of the best I have heard. The NFA is also great, it is high energy, they jam for 10 minutes before the vocals even begin, and Donna does a great shriek after the first verse. But in general, I've heard the band, and Jerry in particular, be a lot more "on" in my opinion at lots of other shows in '77. Happy 420!

Note this is Dick's Picks Volume 15, we really should be buying this one from dead.net One of the greats of the year(along w/May 7 and June 9), Half-step and Eyes are particularly amazing.