Week of July 10, 1989
Highlights of the first set of Saturday, February 23, 1974 at Winterland in San Francisco, the second concert of three-day run during which the band played what turned out to be their last public performance of "Here Comes Sunshine" and introduced "Ship of Fools," "It Must Have Been the Roses," and the finished version of "U.S. Blues."
This concert was recorded on quarter-inch two-track tape (at 7.5 inches per second), which was the state of the art at the time. The shortcomings of the recording are for the most part the fault of the stage gear - an occasional rattle in the bass cabinets, for example. Bill Graham introduces the band in his inimitable style, with a dramatic pause parting the artist's name down the middle. The mix is a little unstable in the first song, but it settles down after that.
These shows took place around the time Jerry Garcia was working on his second solo album, Garcia. That's the one which is often referred to as Compliments of Garcia because the radio and review copies had the words 'Compliments of' stamped above the title. And so what if his first two albums were both named Garcia - by this time Chicago was already up to Roman numeral VII!
The second half of the program begins with a plea to fans to be kind to the environment and the local citizenry on tour; things were starting to heat up for the Dead, as their fans and fellow travelers left increasingly large and garbage-strewn footprints behind.
Grateful Dead 2/23/74 Winterland, San Francisco
AROUND AND AROUND
HERE COMES SUNSHINE
SHIP OF FOOLS
Jerry Garcia, Garcia (aka "Compliments")
THAT'S WHAT LOVE WILL MAKE YOU DO
Grateful Dead 2/23/74 Winterland, San Francisco
JACK STRAW
DEAL
PROMISED LAND->
BERTHA->
GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
Every Wednesday, we post a program from the Grateful Dead Hour archives for your enjoyment and enlightenment. You can browse or search the playlists at gdhour.com or on the GD Hour Search page, and let me know what program(s) you'd like to hear by emailing me at gdhour@dead.net.
Thank you for listening!
- David Gans
Producer/host