''Nightfall of Diamonds'' is a double live album by the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...

released in 2001. It was recorded on October 16, 1989 at

Meadowlands Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on ...

in East Rutherford and includes the full concert. This was the final date of a five-day run at the venue. The artwork depicts the

Manhattan skyline Manhattan Skyline is a Norwegian mathcore band based in Oslo, Norway. They are influenced by metal, hardcore, contemporary music, jazz, fusion and electronica. After their performance at the 2005 Bodø Hardcore festival, The Faceless Masses ...

from the

Hudson Waterfront The Hudson Waterfront is an urban area of northeastern New Jersey along the lower reaches of the Hudson River, the Upper New York Bay and the Kill van Kull. Though the term can specifically mean the shoreline, it is often used to mean the contigu ...

of New Jersey. This show took place on Bob Weir's 42nd birthday and the band briefly plays "

Happy Birthday to You "Happy Birthday to You", also known as "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 ''Guinness World Records'', it is the most recognised song in the English language, followed by " Fo ...

" between "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" and "Let it Grow." More music from this period can be found on '' Without a Net'', ''

Postcards of the Hanging ''Postcards of the Hanging'' is a compilation album by the Grateful Dead. It consists entirely of Bob Dylan covers, performed live in concert, along with a rehearsal performance of "Man of Peace" featuring the Grateful Dead backing Dylan himself. ...

'', and ''

Formerly the Warlocks ''Formerly the Warlocks'' is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains two complete concerts on six CDs. It was recorded on October 8 and 9, 1989, at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. It was released on September 7, ...

''. The liner notes give a memorial dedication to Adam Katz, a

Deadhead A Deadhead or Dead Head is a fan of the American rock band the Grateful Dead. In the 1970s, a number of fans began travelling to see the band in as many shows or festival venues as they could. With large numbers of people thus attending strings o ...

who was mysteriously found dead after the band's show at the same venue two nights earlier.

Track listing

Disc one

# "Picasso Moon" ( John Barlow, Bob Bralove,

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

) – 7:10 > # "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodelloo" > ( Robert Hunter,

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

) – 6:40 # "Feel Like a Stranger" (Barlow, Weir) – 7:38 # "Never Trust a Woman" ( Brent Mydland) – 7:15 # "Built to Last" (Hunter, Garcia) – 5:20 # "

Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" (also listed as "Memphis Blues Again") is a song written by Bob Dylan that appears on his 1966 album ''Blonde on Blonde''. The album version also appears on 1971's ''Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits V ...

" (

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

) – 9:20 # "Let It Grow" > (Barlow, Weir) – 11:59 # "Deal" (Hunter, Garcia) – 8:39

Disc two

# " Dark Star" > (Hunter, Garcia,

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to ...

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940) is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career. After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of ...

Ron McKernan Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

, Weir) – 11:55 # "

Playing in the Band "Playing in the Band" is a Grateful Dead song. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and rhythm guitarist Bob Weir composed the music, with some assistance from percussionist Mickey Hart. The song first emerged in embryonic form on the self- ...

" > (Hunter, Hart, Weir) – 8:02 # "

Uncle John's Band "Uncle John's Band" is a song by the Grateful Dead that first appeared in their concert setlists in late 1969. The band recorded it for their 1970 album '' Workingman's Dead''. Written by guitarist Jerry Garcia and lyricist Robert Hunter, "Unc ...

" > (Hunter, Garcia) – 9:36 # "Jam" > (Grateful Dead) – 9:15 # "Drums" > (Hart, Kreutzmann) – 6:05 # "Space" > (Garcia, Lesh, Weir) – 6:01 # "I Will Take You Home" > (Mydland) – 4:27 # "I Need A Miracle" > (Barlow, Weir) – 4:02 # "Dark Star" > (Hunter, Garcia, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, McKernan, Weir) – 5:20 # "Attics of My Life" > (Hunter, Garcia) – 4:45 # "Playing in the Band" (Hunter, Hart, Weir) – 4:00 # "And We Bid You Goodnight" (trad., arr. Grateful Dead) – 3:10

Personnel

* Jerry Garcia –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the fe ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* Bob Weir –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, vocals * Phil Lesh –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, vocals * Brent Mydland –

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

, keyboards, vocals * Mickey Hart –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Bill Kreutzmann – drums, percussion * John Cutler – engineer * Rudson Shurtliff – assistant engineer * Jeffrey Norman – mixing * David Lemieux – tape archivist * Cassidy Law – album coordination * Eileen Law – archival research * Randy Tuten – cover design

Charts

References

{{Authority control Grateful Dead live albums 2001 live albums Grateful Dead Records live albums