The latest installment in the Grateful Dead‘s All The Years Live archive video series is available now on the band’s YouTube page. This entry highlights the band’s performance of “West L.A. Fadeaway” at California’s Anaheim Stadium on July 26th, 1987.
The video joins fellow 7/26/87 upload “Terrapin Station” in the ever-expanding list of All The Years Live videos. This clip comes from the 1987 summer tour closer, and features the band in fine form as they put the stamp on another summer tour. While the band’s 1987 summer tour with Bob Dylan may not have been their strongest, it marked the beginning of what would be a consistent and dramatic rise in performance quality leading to a late career peak of 1989—1990.
This rendition of “West L.A.”, and the show in general, is a prime example of the refined, late 1980’s Grateful Dead sound. Jerry Garcia takes a laid-back approach to this In The Dark tune, which allows for some light set one jams. Meanwhile, on the visual side, the band’s video team was experimenting with psychedelic-inspired visuals during the instrumental breaks, which at the time was a bold step forward in concert technology. Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux said of the clip,
From the final show of the Summer Tour of 1987, the last Dylan & The Dead show, this mighty version of West L.A. Fadeaway shows why it was such a popular Jerry first set song. Debuted in August 1982, this In The Dark standout was always well-received by the fans when it was played.
Relive the Dead’s take on “West L.A. Fadeaway” at Anaheim Stadium on July 26th, 1987.
Grateful Dead — “West L.A. Fadeaway” — 7/26/1987
[Video: Grateful Dead]
Previous installments of the Dead’s ongoing All The Years Live series have included: