In Concert Against AIDS, Oakland Coliseum Stadium, Oakland, CA, 5-27-1989, Part 4: The Grateful Dead with Clarence Clemons

Here's the fourth and last out of four albums I made from the "In Concert Against AIDS" concert in 1989. This one consists of a set by the Grateful Dead. Furthermore, they were joined by saxophonist Clarence Clemons for more than half of the songs they played.

In the late 1980s, the Grateful Dead had a surge of popularity. This was due to their 1987 hit album "In the Dark," and especially one song from it, "Touch of Grey," which was their only song to ever reach the Top Ten of the U.S. singles chart. As a result, they were the headliner for this benefit concert. 

They proceeded to play a typical concert, with a typically long length. This album is nearly two and a half hours long, and that's after I cut out many lengthy pauses between songs. But they did make a nod to the fact that many in the crowd weren't the usual devout Deadheads by performing their two best known songs, "Touch of Grey" and "Truckin'." 

By most accounts, their performance wasn't extraordinary or unusual compared to their many other concerts that year. But what did set it apart was the presence of Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band joining with his saxophone on a majority of the songs. I mentioned Clemons in Part 2 of this concert, because he also played saxophone on a couple of John Fogerty's songs.

I looked it up, and it turns out Clemons joined in a Jerry Garcia Band concert earlier in 1989. But this was the first time he played with Garcia in an actual Grateful Dead concert. His soulful style added an interesting element. It was so successful that he went on to play at about a dozen more Dead concerts later that year. He sometimes played with the Dead and/or splinter bands after that, but not as frequently.

This album is two hours and 23 minutes long. 

53 Touch of Grey (Grateful Dead)
54 Greatest Story Ever Told (Grateful Dead)
55 Althea (Grateful Dead)
56 Walking Blues (Grateful Dead)
57 Iko Iko (Grateful Dead with Clarence Clemons)
58 Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again (Grateful Dead with Clarence Clemons)
59 Bird Song (Grateful Dead with Clarence Clemons)
60 Promised Land (Grateful Dead with Clarence Clemons)
61 Hell in a Bucket (Grateful Dead with Clarence Clemons)
62 Fire on the Mountain (Grateful Dead with Clarence Clemons)
63 Blow Away (Grateful Dead with Clarence Clemons)
64 Truckin' (Grateful Dead with Clarence Clemons)
65 Drums [Instrumental] (Grateful Dead)
66 Space [Instrumental] (Grateful Dead)
67 I Will Take You Home (Grateful Dead)
68 The Other One (Grateful Dead)
69 Wharf Rat (Grateful Dead)
70 Turn On Your Lovelight (Grateful Dead with Clarence Clemons)
71 Brokedown Palace (Grateful Dead with Clarence Clemons)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/Mg13oudf

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/xe9CMacMKAPTz4f/file

The cover photo shows the band's lead guitarist Jerry Garcia at this exact concert. 

In Concert Against AIDS, Oakland Coliseum Stadium, Oakland, CA, 5-27-1989, Part 2: John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead

Here's the second out of four albums I made from the "In Concert Against AIDS" concert in 1989. This one consists of a set by John Fogerty, backed by the Grateful Dead. Well, kind of the Grateful Dead, as I'll explain in a minute.

At the time, Fogerty hadn't been on tour since 1985, and he didn't have a backing band, so he got some very talented musicians to support him just for this concert. Specifically, he was supported Jerry Garcia on lead guitar, Bob Weir on rhythm guitar, Randy Jackson on bass, and Steve Jordan on drums. Jackson and Jordan were very well respected session musicians at the time. Jackson would later go on to greater fame as one of the judges on the "American Idol" TV show. And if you know anything about the Grateful Dead, you'd know the two best known members were Garcia and Weir. They were the lead vocalists and songwriters for the vast majority of the band's original songs. So whether one can consider this the Grateful Dead is debatable, since the other band members were missing. But in my opinion, at least, I'd consider anything with Garcia and Weir in it to be the essence of the Grateful Dead, even if it was just the two of them in a duo.

On top of that, Clarence Clemons added his saxophone playing for the last two songs. He was a long time member of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, but he also had a hit of his own in the 1980s. 

Fogerty is best known as the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) in the 1960s and early 1970s. He effectively retired from the music business from 1976 to 1985. But then he came back with a big hit album in 1985 ("Centerfield") and another album in 1986. When he went on tour in 1985 and 1986 to support those albums, he avoided playing all of his many CCR hits, due to a dispute with his record company. But in 1987, he was persuaded to resume playing his CCR songs, and did so at a one-off benefit concert that year. I think this was the second big concert where he played those songs, and it was a big deal at the time. Furthermore, the fact that Garcia and Weir were going to back him on was announced in advance, adding to the anticipation.

Here's what a Los Angeles Times article from the day after the concert had to say: "Fogerty's set... [was] a wonderful occasion in and of itself. It wasn't just that Fogerty devoted most of the show to old Creedence Clearwater Revival hits that he rarely plays because of bitterness toward his old record company. It was the sheer, smiling delight and vocal aplomb he brought to the performance. Grateful Dead guitarists Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir lent unremarkable support, but Fogerty, drummer Steve Jordan, and bassist Randy Jackson supplied all the sizzle one could ask. Saxophonist Clarence Clemons, the day's only surprise guest, turned up to haunt through an encore rock-out to 'Suzie Q' and 'Long Tall Sally.'" 

As the article noted, Garcia and Weir were pretty restrained in their playing. Fogerty's songs were short and simple, so they respected that. That meant Garcia didn't go off on lengthy solos like he did with the Dead, but stuck to what the songs needed, based on the original versions. They also added backing vocals on some songs, with Weir singing more than Garcia. It looked like Garcia was having a ball, smiling through most of the set. Probably, he enjoyed simply being a backing musician through a bunch of classic songs that he loved, instead of having to be the main star, which was almost always the case for him. 

This album is 41 minutes long. 

24 Born on the Bayou (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
25 talk (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
26 Green River (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
27 Down on the Corner (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
28 talk (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
29 Rock and Roll Girls (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
30 talk (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
31 Centerfield (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
32 Proud Mary (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
33 Midnight Special (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
34 Bad Moon Rising (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
35 Fortunate Son (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
36 talk (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead)
37 Suzie Q (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead & Clarence Clemons)
38 talk (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead & Clarence Clemons)
39 Long Tall Sally (John Fogerty with the Grateful Dead & Clarence Clemons) 

https://pixeldrain.com/u/eLjiHABc

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/MZAspsTu9FmVaWK/file

The cover photo is from this exact concert. Fogerty is wearing the baseball cap, while Garcia can be seen further back.

In Concert Against AIDS, Oakland Coliseum Stadium, Oakland, CA, 5-27-1989, Part 3: Tracy Chapman

Here's the third out of four albums I made from the "In Concert Against AIDS" concert in 1989. This one consists of a set by singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman.

By 1989, Chapman was a big star, after her self-titled debut album sold about 20 million copies. At the time of this concert, she was still a few months away from releasing her second album, "Crossroads." A couple of songs she performed, "Subcity" and "All That You Have Is Your Soul," would appear on that album.

None of the other musical acts spoke about AIDS in their banter between songs, but she did. Here's how a Los Angeles Times article at the time put it: "Chapman, known for her pointed avoidance of between-song chatter, told a respectful audience that the occasion demanded talk as well as music. She decried a lack of government commitment to fighting AIDS, then called for listeners to have personal commitment that might lead to change."

Note however that while the other musical acts didn't directly address the issue, there were video presentations between the sets about AIDS, as well as a lot of informational pamphlets handed out, and the like. 

The music is unreleased, but the sound quality is excellent. 

This album is 50 minutes long.

24 talk by Bill Graham (Tracy Chapman)
25 talk by Danny Glover (Tracy Chapman)
26 Why (Tracy Chapman)
27 She's Got Her Ticket (Tracy Chapman)
28 For My Lover (Tracy Chapman)
29 talk (Tracy Chapman)
30 Subcity (Tracy Chapman)
31 For You (Tracy Chapman)
32 Mountains O' Things (Tracy Chapman)
33 Fast Car (Tracy Chapman)
34 talk (Tracy Chapman)
35 All That You Have Is Your Soul (Tracy Chapman)
36 Talkin' bout a Revolution (Tracy Chapman)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/uEoyX6dx

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/K2KcpYBo4tsDdKK/file

The cover photo is from this exact concert. 

In Concert Against AIDS, Oakland Coliseum Stadium, Oakland, CA, 5-27-1989, Part 1: Tower of Power, Joe Satriani, and Los Lobos

Here's another big benefit concert with lots of big name stars. It's another case where these kinds of concerts seem to have mostly been forgotten, so I'm trying to give them the attention they deserve. I found enough for four albums from this concert. Here's the first one.

In the 1980s especially, the disease AIDS was a big issue. There was a lot of misinformation and fear about it. Ronald Reagan, who was president of the U.S. from 1981 to 1989, didn't even mention AIDS in public until 1985, despite it being a big news story since 1981, and he didn't give a speech addressing it until 1987. Foolish people were saying AIDS was a punishment from God for homosexuality (though eventually way more non-homosexuals would get it), and that one could get it from toilet seats and kissing and the like (which was untrue). So this concert was meant to help raise awareness about to issue as well as raise money to fund non-profits that were working on the issue.

The concert was held in the Oakland Coliseum, which could hold about 50,000 people. But I've come across some articles from the time period. It turns out there was so much fear and misinformation about AIDS at the time that about 20,000 tickets were unsold, and the articles cited opinions that some people were staying away out of fear of AIDS. For instance, famous music promoter Bill Graham, who helped promote this festival, said at the time, "There are people who are staying away out of fear, and they need to be educated." As if you could get AIDS just by attending a concert about AIDS! Sheesh!

Anyway, this first album essentially contains the warm-up acts before the bigger names performed later. Los Lobos was already a pretty big name, especially after they had a Number One single in the U.S. with "La Bamba" in 1987, so they get most of the time here. However, it's possible the first two acts, Joe Satriani and Tower of Power, performed more songs. I don't know. I put these albums together from multiple sources, and none of them had everything, which increases the chances there are more pieces I couldn't find.

This album is an hour and two minutes long. 

01 Always with Me, Always with You [Instrumental] (Joe Satriani)
02 Surfing with the Alien [Instrumental] (Joe Satriani)
03 The Crush of Love [Instrumental] (Joe Satriani)
04 Believe It (Tower of Power)
05 talk (Tower of Power)
06 What Is Hip (Tower of Power)
07 talk (Los Lobos)
08 Evangeline (Los Lobos)
09 Don't Worry Baby (Los Lobos)
10 talk (Los Lobos)
11 Will the Wolf Survive (Los Lobos)
12 I Walk Alone (Los Lobos)
13 talk (Los Lobos)
14 The Giving Tree (Los Lobos)
15 talk (Los Lobos)
16 Let's Say Goodnight (Los Lobos)
17 talk (Los Lobos)
18 Someday (Los Lobos)
19 Georgia Slop (Los Lobos)
20 Shakin' Shakin' Shakes (Los Lobos)
21 I Got Loaded (Los Lobos)
22 Why Do You Do (Los Lobos)
23 talk (Los Lobos) 

https://pixeldrain.com/u/muRQqqtN

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/YgfGIYs3WmVsOVy/file

The cover image is a screenshot taken from a video of Los Lobos performing at this exact concert. It's a bit low-res, but it was the best I could find. I tried to use the Krea AI program to increase the detail, but in this case it didn't seem to help much.