Grateful Dead live, Dick's Picks etc - S&D

Some copies have shown up in subscriber's hands, though ala carte on sale is Friday, there are some scans of the art and tracklist floating around on reddit.

Oh yeah

https://media-us.cdn.prod.wmgecom.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1374/image/1200x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/b/a/banners_daves_picks_dead_net_banners_38_availnow_dead_net_product_800x800.jpg

3CD

Mastered to HDCD Specs by Jeffrey Norman

Limited to 25,000

Released on April 30th, 2021
. This one's got inspired playing from start to finish, with soon-to-be-minted Wake Of The Flood classics, a first-ever "Weather Report Suite," Keith polishing his chops on "Let Me Sing Your Blues Away," Jerry tapping into era-defining sound with his Wolf guitar, and we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Bob's exquisite playing too.

Among our 2021 Dave's Picks subscribers? The subscribers-only bonus disc featuring nearly an hour and a half from 9/7/73 is coming your way too. (P.S. there's 35 minutes of 9/7/73 on Dave's Picks Vol. 38, to boot)

Listening party, track list etc.:
https://store.dead.net/music/dave-s-picks/dave-s-picks-vol-38.html?eml=2021April30/5322368/6131962&etsubid=33554028

Really excited for this one.

I like the subtle nod to the "Swell Dance Party" posters for the Nassau run from earlier in the year in the cover art:

https://img.artpal.com/36559/14-17-11-2-16-0-48m.jpg

anybody heard 10/30/80? billy cobham joins them during "drums/the other one", doesn't sound incredibly promising though lol:

During Drums > The Other One, the great jazz drummer Billy Cobham sits in with the band. This leads to one of the best Drums segments out there. To see it on video is really something; there comes a point where all three drummers are swarming over The Beast like salmon going upstream. Truly something to behold. The transition to The Other One is great, although sitting here listening to the download, it is quite evident that the video segment cut out some of the drums, once Cobham starts playing the talking drum.

shit, i had no idea he played with bobby and the midnights!

Cool--respect to the Cobham crossposting; the Drums transition/intro sounds okay to me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9RkNRMLh7s

My, oh my...it's that exciting time when we announce the second volume of the Grateful Dead's 2022 Dave's Picks releases, Vol. 42 (!). As you're likely aware, Vol. 41 will start the year off with the magnificent penultimate show of the Spring Tour of 1977 from the Baltimore Civic Center on May 26, 1977. Chock full of the great playing you've come to expect from the Spring Tour of 1977, this show is a mighty fine way to start off 2022. And Vol. 42 might just top it! We're thrilled to announce the long-awaited release of the second show from 1974, recorded live at Winterland on February 23, 1974. And as an added, er, bonus is the Bonus Disc that is exclusive to 2022 Dave's Picks Subscribers, recorded live the previous night, opening night of 1974, on 2/22/74.
When we produced Dave's Picks Vol. 13, serious consideration was given to this February 23, 1974, but put up alongside the final night of the run, we opted for the February 24, 1974 show. With its impressively majestic "Dark Star>Morning Dew," amongst hours of great music, we felt we no longer wanted to keep this on the shelf, so 2/24/74 was made into Dave's Picks Vol. 13. Which, of course, meant 2/23/74 stayed on the shelf. Until now. And what a show it is, and well worth the wait! While its hour+ long second set sequence, featuring an exemplary take on the "He's Gone>Truckin'>Other One" sequence, with an added "Eyes Of The World>One More Saturday Night" to round it out, it's some of the most inspired 1974 playing you're going to hear. Add to that a "Weather Report Suite" and the final "Here Comes Sunshine" until late 1992, and you have the Grateful Dead stretching out on some of their best material from that, or any, era. When a first set opens with "Around and Around" and ends with "Promised Land>Bertha>Greatest Story Ever Told," you know the Dead came to rock on this Saturday night. Truly one of the great nights of 1974, carrying on the wonderful playing from later 1973.
As for the Bonus Disc, well, you don't want to miss this one! The first-ever live performances of "U.S. Blues," "It Must Have Been The Roses," AND "Ship Of Fools"?!? Yes please! And what would a 1974 release be without a 20+ minute "Playing In The Band"? Well, we don't know, and you won't have to find out, as this Bonus Disc has one! Add to that classics from the era like "China>Rider" and "Uncle John's Band," amongst many others, and you have yet another Bonus Disc that rivals the main event of February 23, 1974 that makes up Dave's Picks Vol. 42. Remember, the Bonus Disc automatically goes to all Dave's Picks subscribers, so we highly recommend signing up at dead.net sooner than later! See you around, and often, we hope.
David Lemieux
December 2021
2022 Dave's Picks Subscriptions will close on January 7th. A subscription is the only way to ensure that you will receive all four releases and the Subscriber's Bonus Disc.

Definitely stoked for that '74 show and glad I subscribed again at the early bird pricing level.

That 2/24/74 set is one of my favorite Dave’s Picks. Really looking forward to hearing 2/23.

(But the most recent Dave’s Pick, a 1990 show, was hot garbage sprinkled with MIDI.)

I don't know if I'd go as far as hot garbage, I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I'd like a '90 pick. I guess I also felt more charitable because two of my Dead buddies both were at those shows in person and were so excited about them being released.

This morning I had a longer drive than usual for work, so I played my favorite single disc from the Listen to the River box, from 10/30/73:

"Dark Star" > (Garcia, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, McKernan, Weir, Hunter) – 27:57
"Stella Blue" > (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:52
"Eyes of the World" > (Garcia, Hunter) – 17:37
"Weather Report Suite" – 15:51

Just a flawless run from a peak year.

https://www.unclejohnsweb.com/joweb/DL00009.html

I'm having trouble believing this is new, because it looks like internet from 20 years ago, but I've seen it pop up in a couple different places today alleging its newness. Dick Latvala's widow scanned and uploaded his scrapbooks. Old photos, concert reviews, promotional material, and probably more. There are nine scrapbooks covering 1972-1998. I've only skimmed through the first one, stopping to read a few things here and there, but there is obviously a wealth of material.

fucking rad

This is a real treasure!

Today is the 50th anniversary of the show that kicked off the Europe 72 tour (4/7/72 Wembley Empire Pool, London). A couple times I've attempted to listen to every show on the tour on its anniversary, but I've ended up half-assing or abandoning the project (as great as the shows are, the first sets get repetitive after a while). So this year I'm gonna try to listen to just the second-set jam sequences, and maybe a couple shows all the way through if I'm really feeling it...

Anyone else ever try this with E72?

I’m attempting this right now! Europe ’72 is what got me into the Dead back in 2013 so I figured this would be a nice way to pay tribute. I’ll be listening while I work from home, since 3 hours a night is too much for me to listen to in my off-hours and still have time for my other hobbies. Might dig up a few contemporary reviews from Dead Sources as well...

Good ol' grateful dead podcast is on it, tho I would prefer a higher ratio of music to talk... https://www.dead.net/deadcast/europe-72-prelude

Making the same trip myself, listening to 4/14/72 in Denmark right now. I didn't listen to all of 4/7 though, since the sources on the archive seems to be limited to really low quality AUD tapes and I don't have the fancy suitcase box with all of the official releases. So I just listened to the jam run that's on Steppin' Out and the "NFA > GDTRFB > NFA" from Europe '72 Vol. 2.

I'm a little worried about the set 1 repetitiveness wearing me down, but I'm enjoying it so far.

I'd forgotten how great the "Truckin' > Drums > Other One" sequence from 4/11 in Newcastle is, iirc "Truckin'" itself never gets quite as out as this version does during the rest of the tour.

Found my Hundred Year Hall by chance a couple of days back so may stick that on next week for the week.

Hundred Year Hall was a real gateway for me. It's been a long time but I have a memory of there just being some really spare but overwhelmingly, sublimely captivating sections towards the end of the Other One, before the transition into Comes a Time. Will have to pull that one out.

4/11 Newcastle has the slowest, most gorgeous "Brokedown Palace" I've ever heard. I had never really dug into that show before, but I played the whole thing yesterday and it's absolute heat all the way through (xps totally right about the Truckin > Drums > Other One sequence). Just did the second sets for 4/7 and 4/8.

I was similarly floored by the 4/7 "Wharf Rat," and the 4/8 "Dark Star" is the best of the tour for me (and maybe the whole year). Maybe that will change in the next few weeks as I dig into some of the other Europe Dark Stars I'm not as familiar with...

4/11 Newcastle has the slowest, most gorgeous "Brokedown Palace" I've ever heard.

Yeah, that's a great one. It's a shame they didn't play that more often on the tour. You are also otm about that 4/8 "Dark Star", it's just an incredible one. One of the few times I agree with the consensus on Heady Version, it really is the best "Dark Star" of this tour. 4/24 and 5/11 come close though.

Re: my previous post itt, somehow I was unaware that all of the shows from the Europe '72 box are also on Spotify, so I went back to listen to 4/7 in its entirety.

Haven't listened to them all, but the "Dark Star" from 4/24/72 is the pinnacle for me. I was lucky that Rockin' the Rhein was the first time I ever heard "Loser," "Black Throated Wind," and "Wharf Rat," as those remain my favorite versions.

Also, I've tried in the past, but I've never been able to listen to just part of a show. I have to listen to the first set, repetitive though it may be if listening to all E72 shows, because...well, it's a journey, man.

xp Actually all of E72 is on Spotify, but half of the shows are dated 1972 and the other half as 2011, so they're separated in the albums list.

The 4/24 Dark Star is indeed amazing. I also really love the 4/14 and 4/17 versions; IIRC I think they kind of continue in the vein of 4/8 but take it in a mellower, more contemplative direction. The 5/25 Uncle John's Band > Wharf Rat > Dark Star > Sugar Magnolia suite is one I return to often

xp disregard my post re: Spotify, for some reason I read your post as "half the shows" being on Spotify lol

I put on HUndred Year Hall disc 2 last night and got to the beginning of Other One and the signal went to bits disc totally glitching. Which isn't very helpful. Had got to listen to truckin at least though.
Have now cleaned the disc , washed it with washing up liquid. Not tried it again since but hoping it will have stopped cos would love to hear it.

Stuck on Derek & The Ruins Tohjinbo instead . Which I don't think I can actually fully hear.
Well it was to hand and hadn't been listened to in years.

xp - Ha, yeah, that weird dating convention on Spotify is what threw me off, I never scrolled back far enough to see all the ones with 1972 dates.

The 4/24 Dark Star is indeed amazing. I also really love the 4/14 and 4/17 versions; IIRC I think they kind of continue in the vein of 4/8 but take it in a mellower, more contemplative direction. The 5/25 Uncle John's Band > Wharf Rat > Dark Star > Sugar Magnolia suite is one I return to often

― J. Sam, Tuesday, April 12, 2022 12:57 PM (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

The thing that I love most about the 4/24 "Dark Star" is also what frustrates me about it: I've never heard Keith play like that on any other Dead recording.

The Heat Warps' page for these Miles Fillmore downloads also incl. links to Dead sets from the same nights, courtesy Jesse Jarnow:

OTD in 1970, Miles wraps a 4-night stand with the Grateful Dead at Fillmore West.

“What’s the use? How can we possibly play after this? We should just go home and try to digest this unbelievable shit." -Phil Lesh https://t.co/pW1gDy4zqg

— the Heat Warps (@theheatwarps) April 12, 2022

I know that the entire Europe '72 tour was the band slowly unlocking the cosmic potential of "Playing in the Band", but I think the second run-through of it at the Beat Club on 4/21/72 was the moment it really sparked a whole new life. The way they find an entirely new gear within it, even though it stays brief.

https://media-us.cdn.prod.wmgecom.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1374/image/800x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/p/dp42_cover_4k.jpg

One more Saturday night at Winterland! Yes, we're back to home base for DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 42, the complete show from Winterland, San Francisco, 2/23/74. The one that featured the earliest amalgamation of what would soon become the Wall of Sound, the one that is so "loud, clear, and defined," it's been ripe for release for quite some time and we're glad it's finally getting its due.

First set or second, there are no wrong answers here. From the unique show opener of Chuck Berry's "Around And Around" and an incredible "Here Comes Sunshine" that would then disappear for 18 years, to a medley of WAKE OF THE FLOOD tracks - "Row Jimmy," "Weather Report Suite," and "Stella Blue" - cementing their status in the canon and an unstoppable hour through the classic 1973-1974 Dead that is “He’s Gone”>“Truckin’”>“Drums”>“The Other One”>“Eyes Of The World,” it's all exceptionally hot.

Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 42: WINTERLAND, SAN FRANCISCO, 2/23/74 was recorded by Kidd Candelario and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.

"Hurricane force winds" can't keep archivist David Lemieux away from sharing all the details of the Europe '72 Lyceum shows, why they sound incredible enough to warrant a whopping 24-LP set, and all the shenanigans that went down this week 50 years ago.

I have a few vinyl sets from when I first started collecting the Dead and man it is extremely not an ideal way to listen to those shows.

Yeah, the last thing I want to do when zoning out to a live Dead show is keep flipping a disc every twenty minutes. I get why they are doing these vinyl pressings, they sell out almost immediately, but, uh, do not want. On the other hand, if the 24-LP is this year's Dead "big box" release, I'll save some money.

infuriatingly they seem to be using the format as a way to dodge the "limited time" rights of stuff they'd already put out before, ie they can't legally rerelease early Dave's Picks or long-OOP box sets like the Europe 72 steamer trunk on CD but it's a different story on vinyl. it's gonna be real annoying when they inevitably release Dave's 5 as a box and they have to split the big jam up over like three sides.

lol, yeah that one will be a mess. I saw they started with Dave's 1 on vinyl.

I'm just hoping Real Gone eventually reissues those early Dave's Picks on CD like they did with Dick's and Road Trips. Those really helped me fill in a few holes in my collection. The going rates for those Dave's Picks are absolutely insane. A local Half Price Books had a Dave's Picks 2 behind the counter for $350 and, according to the person working the register, it didn't even have the bonus disc.

LISTEN TO THE RIVER: ST. LOUIS '71 '72 '73 (20-CD)
$199.98 Also with some digital tracks to select from when order

What's Inside:

7 Previously Unreleased Complete Shows On 20 Discs

Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 12/09/71

Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 12/10/71

Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 10/17/72

Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 10/18/72

Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 10/19/72

Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, MO 10/29/73

Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, MO 10/30/73

Sourced from tapes recorded by Rex Jackson, Owsley "Bear" Stanley, and Kidd Candelario

Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman

Restoration and Speed Correction by Plangent Processes
Dead.net exclusive

20-CD custom boxed set

Limited to 13,000

Release date: October 1st

That came out last year, no? As an STL native head I’ve been strongly considering copping it for a while. $200 is a lot but the shows are absolutely top-shelf, especially the 72 and 73 dates. Dammit dow, I might have to actually go through with it now...

The 1971 STL that’s up on streaming is one of the rare sets I listened to without skipping a track or two. I recall Pigpen sounding particularly good.

Yeah, that STL box came out last year and I think it’s absolutely worth the money. The ‘72 and ‘73 shows are indeed killer, but I have to note that the 12/10/71 set included in the box completely opened me up to appreciating the latter half of that year. Previously I had struggled a bit with getting into latter ‘71 because the primal jam Dead had faded away and the whole ‘72 jam style had yet to emerge. But that 12/10 show is magical, especially Keith, and it helped me really start to appreciate that period.

I can’t get into early ‘71 — Three From The Vault is one of my least favorite shows — but by the 11/17/71 Albuquerque show (Dave’s 26) they’d really come a long way in terms of focus and intensity. The ‘71 shows on the St. Louis box are nearly as good as that Albuquerque show, but the real highlight is 10/17/72: you get the sense that they know exactly how great they are in the moment, and they take full advantage of that self-awareness.

I think it was listening to the 2nd s/t lp that had me giving 71 a revisit. Had thought that they had ceased stretching out as much possibly after losing Mickey hart. But that does rock or cook or whatever. Read something about them being the best bar band in the world at teh time and thought taht didn't sound too attractive. But do like the material from then now. Think I may prefer them when they are more likely to take off for the stratosphere a bit more which they do do by 72 .

But in general do love them up to the initial retirement and a bit less after or maybe that's generally less so. & I do ten dto concentrate on that first few years. Have heard a lot of that era and not so much of the later stuff. They do seem to return to some power in around 1980. I'd rather not listen to Disco Dead stuff which other people seem to see as a peak. 77-78 so may be missing some stuff from then that I would enjoy. There is a vast amount of recorded stuff by the band so can't listen to everything. Can't really listen to everything from my wider chosen era as it is. So concentrate more on August 68, some of 69, may of 70 and bits of 72-74 all of which seem to have different flavour. Aug 68 and May 70 seem to be the most tripped out though.

xps I'm totally with you on the greatness of fall 71. The early/mid 71 saloon vibe is still there, and the addition of Keith opens up a realm of new possibilities (and to my ears his playing was more high-energy and animated in the last three months of 1971 than it would ever be after that). Also arguably the peak of the "jam vehicle -> cowboy song -> jam vehicle" sequence.

I would urge anyone who digs that era and hasn't heard 11/7/71 (Harding Theater, San Francisco) to check it out on the Archive (nice SBD from an FM radio broadcast): https://archive.org/details/gd71-11-07.prefm.kaplan.9570.sbeok.shnf

Keith plays an actual honky-tonk piano for the whole show, so it's about as "saloon" as it gets. Great show front to back, but the set 2 Dark Star -> Drums -> The Other One -> Me And My Uncle -> The Other One is AMAZiNG (especially the "Me And My Uncle", no joke).

finally getting around to some more in depth 77-78 shows. it’s probably because I wasn’t paying attention during what I’d heard during this period but I’ll be damned if Donna is pretty on point during this period. Not sure if it’s setup or just through the years finding her groove.

I thought I heard something about better stage monitors at some point. Not sure how good representation of sound pumped out by wall of sound was onstage.
Like she was a professional backing singer with other artists beforehand wasn't she?

Yeah she was a legit session singer before she joined the Dead, most notably singing on Elvis "Suspicious Minds" and Percy Sledge "When A Man Loves A Woman". The Dead's monitor situation was majorly improved post-1975 hiatus; listen to any show from June 76, Donna sounds amazing.

Not sure how good representation of sound pumped out by wall of sound was onstage.

Supposedly one of the main reasons it was designed was to better hear themselves on stage. I haven't dug into a ton of interviews or anything, but I remember Donna saying she rarely heard herself properly onstage until they brought in wedge monitors in '76.

(fun fact: wedge monitors were invented by the Who's soundman Bob Pridden)

I remember Donna saying she rarely heard herself properly

So that was her excuse huh

in seriousness I will give that a chance

for real the dead in concert circa '77 sound _professional_ in a way that i just don't expect from them, and i'm starting to come around to it