Pick of the Day, with Discussion

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April 6, 2020 - 9:47am

8,102 replies

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

Bolo24 says: An Idea, Perhaps? Since we're all going to have a fair amount of spare time on our hands for the foreseeable future, what about starting another thread where we all listen to the same show/release on a given day and then share impressions afterward? Folks can submit suggestions and one person (not me) picks what we'll all listen to - call it Deadnet Picks or something. Anyway, if this idea is deemed to have merit, I'd suggest one of the loyal regular posters take the lead and do the picking - y'all can decide who. Might be fun. If it does go forward, I nominate Dick's Picks 18 for the first listen. Been talked about here lately, and, had it been a single show rather than a compilation, we'd probably be talking about it in the same conversation as Cornell, Veneta, etc. Or perhaps even Gainesville?? Stay safe and healthy, friends - this planet needs as many Deadheads as possible.

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September 23, 2023 - 4:43pm

#851

1stshow70878

Joined:
September 11, 2014

5-10-72 Amsterdam (+ 5-11 Rotterdam)

I really liked this one. Part of that may have been a good focused late night listen. Mix was slightly different with more Bob, maybe less Keith? That highlighted by Bob's interesting work in China>Rider too. They attempted to slow the tempo in the Rider part but not everyone caught the drift there. Maybe I liked it for the set list and song order again which I found appealing in more than one of the tour so far. It does seem to be the difference some times in what I perceive as a good show. Highlights: Loser, Big Boss Man, TOO which was extended and very spacey (one part had the cat looking at me like WTF?) in the first go, then a little jazzy Keith, then a lengthy somewhat quiet interlude before >Bobby McGee>TOO again. Maybe the best Sing Me Back Home so far of the tour. And a sweet but shorter Sugar Mag> NFA> GDTRFB> NFA again to end. Again DeadbaseX way off with setlist out of order and missing songs. Not really counting on that being right anymore. Still plugging away with Rotterdam next but may get stalled Mon. - Tue. with a trip to the Four Corners region. Need us some slickrock and petroglyphs before the weather starts turning.
Cheers
Edit: 5-11-72 Rotterdam. Jeez- Louise! I can see why Oro said this might be his favorite EU72. The whole 1st set is at that slow, let's get this perfect pace and is another killer set that starts with a Playin' so you know it's going to be good. Then this 2nd set starts with a Dew and is monumental with the best DS so far and one that is now in my top 5 of all time and the 2nd set jammed portion runs like 75 minutes! The final Caution/Who Do You Love is a great way to end that song's run. I googled best show of EU72 and this one came up often and is in the top 3 or 4 in most lists. Just a wowzer.
September 23, 2023 - 6:06am

#852

daverock

Joined:
September 1, 2014

Icecrmcnkd

Crumbs...sorry, I wasn't expecting that for an answer. Thanks for the heads up - nice that them upstairs read these posts.
September 23, 2023 - 4:24am

#853

icecrmcnkd

Joined:
October 20, 2015

Daverock

The September GD Bulletin came out yesterday in an email.
At the end there is a section Community Bits that briefly summarizes what it being discussed on these boards.

It says:

In the Pick of the Day, With Discussion thread, Daverock raises the interesting point that for Europe ’72, there weren’t so many Dead Heads in the audience — and that affected the band’s playing. Maybe for the better? What do you think?
September 23, 2023 - 3:22am

#854

daverock

Joined:
September 1, 2014

Icecrmcnkd

Sorry - I'm not sure what that means!
September 22, 2023 - 3:00pm

#855

icecrmcnkd

Joined:
October 20, 2015

GD Bulletin

Daverock gets the call out.
September 22, 2023 - 2:43am

#856

daverock

Joined:
September 1, 2014

Bickershaw and repetition

1stshow -no, I have never heard Hawkwind's set at Bickershaw. Curiously, I have never read anything about it either, not from the band or from people who were there. Simonrob was there - maybe he knows something.
1972 was the year it all came together for Hawkwind, culminating in the Space Ritual tour in December. In fact - a timely thought - the 11 cd special deluxe edition of Space Ritual is out next Friday. Probably not good value for money unless you are really into it - they basically played the same set on that tour wherever they played - this new set features three of them. I'll be getting it - but the original album may be better value overall.

Going back to The Dead's repetitive - or otherwise - song lists - they would have played to a different audience every night, for the most part, during E72, so maybe it mattered less than later on if they played the same songs a lot. Maybe that was the case for American gigs at first, too. It wasn't common practice in England in the 1970's to see the same band twice on the run, so I wouldn't think it was in America at first. As teenager, apart from anything else, I wouldn't have been able to afford it.
September 21, 2023 - 8:50pm

#857

JimInMD

Joined:
June 27, 2011

Repetitive, Sort of..

With the exception of Copenhagen and London, they hit these cities just once and my guess is most locals had not had any real exposure to the touring Grateful Dead. Copenhagen is the real outlier, two hits at the same venue and similar second set setlists.

I always assumed they wanted to make a presence in Europe and knowing people were not as exposed in the US, wanted to paint a strong picture for each city.

So 51 years later listening to the whole tour, there is lots of repetition. But if you were there then, it was all brand new. That's how I digested it. They wanted to hit Europe with a cohesive picture of what they were doing then not knowing when or if they would return.
September 21, 2023 - 3:23pm

#858

Oroborous

Joined:
June 19, 2007

RE: repetition

Yeah they always went heavy on what was new. Guessing partly for their own sanity/interest, and partly for the crowds.
Not unlike Taylor Swift etc: make an album, go on the road to support it, rinse and repeat…of course like most things, they weren’t that formulaic, thank goodness lol. Plus, they were smart enough to figure out that it’s better to work stuff out on the road BEFORE you go into the studio to record it, especially when you do constantly tweak and re-invent them. So this tour was perhaps a bit of both lol.
Also, (think we’ve discussed before?) folks didn’t tour so much back then, probably not at all in 1972 Europe?
So they didn’t have to worry about that like they did later on.
Sometimes I think they, or someone, just really enjoyed certain songs, so played en more.
I’d say they played less repetitive in some ways as the years passed and they had more and more songs to choose from.
Ok, maybe not Bob, he seemed to need to play everything to death lol. Speaking of, why Me&My Uncle every night! I mean they just put it out on the last live album only a year before! With so much new stuff as the Dead, and from WM and AB, AND both Bob and Jers recent solo albums, why Bob, why LOL ; ) Perhaps trying to bring more American “culture”?
As far as reinterpreting songs, I think they always did that, though some more than others and with various results.
I guess that’s yet another thing dependent on the listeners taste and chever way yer pleasure tends…
But I’d bet the biggest factor on this tour was trying to get at least one good useable version of all the new material since they purposely chose this methodology to get the new songs out on a new album. That and mix in some familiar stuff as you never want to do all unknown songs. I could tell ya a story about doing that lol
September 21, 2023 - 2:35pm

#859

1stshow70878

Joined:
September 11, 2014

Bickershaw again

Finishing up as I write.
Highlights: Dark Star, The Other One, Lovelight (Jerry!).
The line-up for this festival is astounding. Woodstock level of mud too.
DR, guessing you've heard Hawkwind's performance. Good?
Cheers
September 21, 2023 - 2:20pm

#860

daverock

Joined:
September 1, 2014

Repetition

Is that true, though, that there was more repetition of songs during the E72 tour than others in the late 60's and 70's?
I haven't checked it out, but listening to shows, I always get a sense that they had a core group of songs that they leaned on during specific tours. It was the same listening to the 1973 box that has just come out. There weren't any shows that were wildly different from any other - possibly 6/10/73. That has a different feel than the earlier ones.

That's not a criticism - the more they played specific songs - especially the ones incorporating jams, the better they got to know them and the more they were able to re-interpret them. Part of the ongoing mystery - especially from late 1971-1974. Maybe.

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

Forums

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Bolo24 says: An Idea, Perhaps? Since we're all going to have a fair amount of spare time on our hands for the foreseeable future, what about starting another thread where we all listen to the same show/release on a given day and then share impressions afterward? Folks can submit suggestions and one person (not me) picks what we'll all listen to - call it Deadnet Picks or something. Anyway, if this idea is deemed to have merit, I'd suggest one of the loyal regular posters take the lead and do the picking - y'all can decide who. Might be fun. If it does go forward, I nominate Dick's Picks 18 for the first listen. Been talked about here lately, and, had it been a single show rather than a compilation, we'd probably be talking about it in the same conversation as Cornell, Veneta, etc. Or perhaps even Gainesville?? Stay safe and healthy, friends - this planet needs as many Deadheads as possible.

Dick's 18

In process and it has been a while. Sound quality from my perspective is somewhat lacking. Love the Dupree's, It's all over now, good Passenger, Brown Eyed Women. Just finished Eyes, really good. Again, wish the sound quality was better.

Thanks Bolo and Mary!

Listened to DiP18 within the last week

Disc one is fun (it's a mix of several shows, me remembers...CR&S is always welcome)
Disc two is sublime. Eyes, Playin' > Wheel > Playin'. I do notice some sound quality issues at times, but they are not horrific and permanent. I remember the Playin' is good as always, and then gets reeeeeeally good
Disc three is phenomenal. As I listened recently, I remember smiling at the glory of the show. Scarlet > Fire, Truckin' > The Other One > Wharf > Around

the Madison show took place about 50 miles north of where l lived at the time. but since I was in 8th grade, I had no clue or awareness of that fact.

Uni-Dome 2/5/78

One of my favorites Scarlet>Fire's of all time.... Also love the Samson when after a prolong opening jam Weir does the woohoo type of shout out!! I've posted about the Scarlet>Fire before but there is a Jerry Keith chord interaction after the singing in Scarlet that for me is mind melting!!! Good first choice Bolo... One last ramble, for me this show 2/5/78 is in my mind is the last show of 77... The April tour after this has a different vibe..

Dicks 18....

....listened to the first disc last night. Cold Rain, All Over Now, Duprees and BE Woman all top shelf renditions. Man. Iowa got all the good shows. Will start up disc two a little later.
Thats the show with the extended Samson due to Bob's mic difficulties, correct?

Dick's 18

A few momentous stand outs for me: The Music Never Stopped; this version easily made it onto a "best of" compilation early on and has never been supplanted. Fight me. Also, the Estimated > Eyes of so so good. Beautiful elongated Eyes intro, then just mad jamming all the way through, nice upbeat Eyes tempo. Great exploratory Estimated as well. I love the drop into Eyes here; expertly pulled off. The Scarlet > Fire is very awesome too. Long, jammy. Nothing new here, just adding my love.

Nice idea.
Sixtus

Eyes just started....

🔥....🔥....🔥. Its a keeper.

Slipping this in....

https://www.justgivemepositivenews.com/
....because.

Dicks 18 -How long have we got?

The first thing I noticed is that it features two nights, but unless I am looking in the wrong place, there is no indication which nights which songs are from. I could have checked in Deadbase...but that's upstairs and as I was settled down to listen I didn't bother. It looks like one first and two second sets.

I have just played the first cd so far. Coming from Europe 72, this sounds a lot simpler rhythmically. During Spring 72, you can focus on Bill, Phil, Bob, or Keith - as well as Jerry obviously-and they are all playing with energy and imagination. Here, the focus is more just on Jerry. I like his fiery guitar sound on here, but I am not as keen on Bob's sound. Donna, on the other hand, sounds nice on Looks Like Rain. I prefer this version of Good Lovin to the ones played in 72. It sounds almost calypso-a real celebratory sound.
The cd picks up pace nicely on the last three songs, with great guitar solos from Jerry. It seems a bit more like standard "rock" in a way, compared to the swing they had with one drummer and a fully functioning Keith. I enjoyed listening to it, but I will probably leave the first of the set 2s for tomorrow.

Dick's 18

Not much left to say LLR crackled like a thundercloud!

Spring Tour '78....

....Jerry fresh off his laryngitis. The crackling in his voice during Wharf Rat proves it. His voice was never the same, but still rocks my soul.
Trey Pistachio dropped another song. "Are You There Colleen?". With a message of getting off drugs. Methinks Colleen was his dealer back in the day. Might be wrong. Never right.
I had a dealer back in the day. Name was Chill. Called him from payphones. That was a long time ago though. Thank God.

1978 Dick's Picks 18

At the start of 1978 I'd sort of lost interest in the Dead, having last seen them in 74. 78 was my fifth year in college (yeah I know) and I was way more into jazz than rock in large part due to an awesome jazz club on campus, the Backdoor. The place just had a constant stream of major talent coming through. McCoy Tyner, Charlie Mingus, Elvin Jones, Roland Kirk etc. So in early January I see the Dead are gonna be at Golden Hall so my girlfriend and I say "What the hell?" and I get tickets for 1/07. Now in 78 the Dead were not that big of a draw and I wasn't expecting much, sort of a nostalgia trip. Wrong. They were great, just awesome. So after the show we immediately get tickets for 1/08. These were the Bobby songs only nights but that didn't matter a bit. My girlfriend (now my wife) cried during Looks Like Rain. We were back on the bus until 85 when the arrival of our first kid changed everything. Footnote to that is our last show was a week before his birth and she was major prego and treated like royalty by all you wonderful heads. So I love DP 18 and I especially like the Eugene show release. Stay home.

Want to try Dave's Picks 11... 11/17/72 for tomorrow??

Has any recommended a show for tomorrow? Just throwing it out there... or just say "Don't be programming it baby let's just get it on!" bob t

Dave's 11

In on that one Bob T. What a show.

DaP 11

Nice! I'm overdue for a listen.

RE: DP18, agree with Jim - Brown-Eyed Women is PERFECT! For that matter, so is TMNS - powerful! And then there's disc 3. If I had to rescue only one single disc from my burning house, this one would be in the running. That Scarlet/Fire is a half-hour blissfest, Truckin' is solid, TOO is insanely good. Masterful music!

On to Wichita!

That Dicks 18 TOO....

....has metal influences. Garcia tapping into his inner Iommi. My ear told me so.
Wichita this soon into the game? Bold move Cotton. Let's see how it pans out.

Vguy

Love the Dodge Ball reference!!

I forgot there is a good hour of OK City 11/15/72

On the Wichita show.......

Social Listening

It seems like trying Europe 72 date by date has the momentum.

Daverock - DP18 show/song breakdown

funny how they didn't list out what shows the songs are from. even funnier, the songs in Disc 1 are actually from 3 shows - Its All Over Now and Duprees are from 2/4/78 Milwaukee! The Wikipedia entry for DP 18 lays it out if you're interested. Deadbase IX also lists a soundcheck of Ripple x3 in Milwaukee - what the heck is that??!!

As others have noted, among many highlights a great Music Never Stopped and Eyes of the World from 2/3 - love the super long intro to Eyes, it reminds me of a post-hiatus favorite, 6/8/77. They Love Each Other is fantastic. The 2nd set from 2/5 is just wild. Such a raw sound to the Wolf! Would love to see released the Uptown shows that immediately proceed this. Worth noting how rare The Wheel was at this time - 2/3 was first time played since mid fall '77, another year until played again on 2/17/79 (Keith & Donna's last show), and then another year and a half before it finally re-entered regular rotation.

A couple technical notes - based on Dick's Caveat Emptor, 2/3 appears to have been recorded at a slower tape speed (7.5 ips vs. 15), and so the sound quality is a bit rougher. Also, IIRC, there is an unpatched gap (sad face) in the jam between verses 2 and 3 in Eyes of the World. There's a very nice audience of 2/3 on the Archive if anyone wants to hear that.

Now on to Wichita!!

DP18

After listening to almost 4 hours of insanely wonderful music, the overriding conclusion is that, in my opinion, NO ONE can play guitar like Garcia did. At times subtle and nuanced, at other times raging, but always just exactly perfect within the context of the song they were playing. Remarkable, really. Feeling blessed to have experienced GD/JGB live so many times.

Garcia may not be the "best" guitarist (highly subjective, as most of those inane "best of" polls demonstrate), but he is the only guitarist I can listen to every day. That includes Hendrix, Page, Clapton, Gilmore and whoever else you want to throw in there.

It's grate to be a Deadhead!!

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3p838b

MHammond12

Recommend multi-tasking and do both!

Bolo

You're a harsh taskmaster! Listening to Grateful Dead concerts will continue until morale improves.

Song breakdown

Bluecrow - thanks for the tip. There were a couple of compilations that came out in the 1990s that featured songs from multiple shows, but didn't indicate in the sleeve notes which song came from which show. Ladies and Gentlemen from April 1971 and Dozin' at the Knick from Spring 1990 were two others.

Bolo/Jerry

Agree 100% with your comments on Jerry, what a genius! The whole band was.

Just finishing up Dave's 11 now. Comments to follow.

Dave’s 11

Dooo, just listened to that last week, for first time, so maybe we’ll sneak another round in after this 71 grease fest we’ve got going on today .....fall 72 is def fo shizzle....

EDIt: MHAMMOND12...whoa. I’m not sure what’s more impressive, seeing the laryngitis shows or all that top shelf jazz in a club setting???

Throw my hat

Dicks picks vol 21 , not the main show the extras , Iko iko > morning dew > sugar magnolia . Absolutely sublime , and without doubt one of the best dew’s 😸

Re: Oroborous

I shouldn't really call the Backdoor a club. It was an empty room on the ground floor of the Student Union and Performing Arts building on campus that the A.S. booking people converted into a small concert venue. Just a stage and corked walls. No seats. No refreshments. Bring your own. The talent that appeared there was unbelievable looking back. Freddie King. John Lee Hooker. Two memories...sitting under McCoy Tyner and watching his right sock working its way down past his ankle has he stomped his foot keeping constant time...Roland Kirk playing the flute with his nose, playing three saxophones at once, playing the piano with his elbows and head, and careening around the room playing saxophone being led by his handler (Rahsaan was blind you know) who had an air raid siren he would blow off in your face if you didn't get out of the way fast enough. And none of this seemed like a gimmick. Bright moments indeed.

Still at work, so no chance to listen to Wichita....

....but i get off in 30 minutes. But then again, that Phish show is on. Decisions, decisions.

Dave's 11 Wichita 11/17/72

This show and bonus tracks from Oklahoma City is definitely top stuff. Sound quality is A+. A great Bear recording! Man, he did great work.
The whole show flows nicely, although not a long second set. Love the Sugaree, Bird Song is awesome, Jack Straw, Box of Rain! Come on. Casey Jones to close the first set and than open with Cumberland. Great Truckin Other One, very unique Other One. Always loved Brokedown Palace and this one they play flawlessly.

I will throw out 12/28/79 Road Trips 3.1??

Let me know Gents.

12/28/79

I like the post-space UJB and Bertha on that one a lot mainly for Brent's harmonies. Overall a classic pick with a lot to like. I might give DP5 (12/26/79) the edge however. That pick is hefty.

Always a fan of....

....a mid-set Don't Ease. Hard to find. Found one!!

Brown-Eyed Woman....

....is pretty much the perfect song. 🍻

I Am An A+ Student

Listened to both Dave Picks 11, 11/17/72, and Europe 72, 04/07/72, as assigned by Bolo. Dave's Picks 11 is one of my favorite releases. Great recording by Owsley improved by the treatment of Mr. Norman. Has an incredible Bird Song. Just a wonderful release.

Europe 72, 04/07/72 Wembley just blows it away. Leaves a smoking crater where Wichita used to be. Europe 72 can not be bettered.

Oooooh. I remember this Cumberland!....

....it's toasty.

11/17

This one has a nice slow relaxed build up with some ripping Jerry. TOO than blows the roof off! The only TOO>Brokedown Palace. End of set 2 all great. A perfect prelude to the next to nights.

ps. 4/7 Rips the paint off the walls from the first note. No contest.

Okay Bolo

Okay Bolo, what are your thoughts?
Next show for today?

I suggested 12/28/79. RT3.1

RT 3.1

I’m down, right after my John Prine compilation

Wonderful idea here.

I relocated last week and since that time I have been unpacking as much as I can and maintaining my workload from home. So I have been out of commission here for a while. I came across this pick of the day and I am all for it.

Just to throw a show out there ( not for today) but how about 9/8/73? I have never heard it but Dick Latvala spoke highly of it. It might be nice to give it a listen.

Meanwhile it looks RT 3.1 will it be for today. Maybe I will add 4/8/72 as well.

RT 3.1

Nice - been a while since that one hit my headphones.

MHammond gets a gold star. But what did you listen to AFTER lunch?

12/28/79

I was at this show, it was a blast! Sugaree, High Time, The Music Never Stopped, this show was great from start to finish. This show sounds so much better then Dave's Picks 31 from just a .sound point of view. Yeah, this show was a hell of a lot of fun!

12/28/79

Sugaree lovely, the rest of the set is okay Music rocks! Set 2 Alabama grooving, GSET explosive!, Terrapin super sweet jam, PITB end jam is sick!, UJB outta drums/space yes!, short Miracle, Bertha>Good Love, CJ , OMSN rockin!

Wait for me!!!!!....

....on it. (I'm the tour buddy still in the car doing bong rips as y'all are heading to the gate.)

My time to SHINE!...

https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1983/09/10
Santa Fe Downs. Give me this. But for Friday. I'm working tomorrow, but off Friday.
I've stood at Santa Fe Downs and looked east. The view is spectacular.
Whats all the hubbub, bub?
It's got a Music opener and a Cold Rain encore. Warts and all.
Things are strange outside. Bird Songs all day.
edit. Found something!!
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/grateful-dead-jerry-garcia-favourite-song/
Spoiler alert. Row Jimmy. Also a favorite of Bill The Drummer. It was playing as I read it (12.28.79. Disc one. Track four).
I still don't believe in coincidences.

RT3.1 and DaP11

DaP11: Last half of disc two - the whole He’s Gone thru BDP is incredible

Just starting RT3.1 now , if the first song is any indication of this night, I’m in for something special!

How’s about Dicks 22?

Hendrix Freak threw this one out a couple days ago but yall were onto something else.....it got me thinking about some primal dead, and haven’t had a good 68 fix for a bit....So Wadaya say Laddys?

MHammond: RT 3.1, nice pick. Started to go through the 79 stuff when DaP 31 came out but didn’t make it, rember liking this one more than 31, and yesterday confirmed that. Really need to get to DP 5 from 12/26, it’s been so long for that one. Maybe this weekend I’ll roll that?

VGUY: I’m down with some Santa Fe tomorrow. Heard about this one for years but don’t think I’ve ever checked it out. Plus 83 would be a nice change up here....

RT3.1

12/28/79! Is this the best RT release? Maybe, certainly the best 79 release from the Vault so far. Betty did another excellent job here.
I like this release more and more every time I listen to it. Sound quality is A+.Sugaree opener! Different feel to this show without Keith and Donna, but I dig it. Brent's keyboards really shine. Really good flowing Terrapin, Playing, UJB. The show closers are fun and groovy. Makes me want to get up and dance.
And then there is the bonus disc, from 12/30/79. 10 additional songs of bliss. Scarlet Fire, Let it Grow, Truckin! Sweet.

Would love to see more 79 and of course 80. The early Brent years! I know the Chicago release didn't match this release but 79 has a lot to offer.
Yesterday I also listened to 9/1/79. Not an official release, but again great 79 sound.
If you have not heard it, check it out.

Looking forward to our next pick. Let us know!

Re: Oroborous

I can't take credit for that pick. I'm trying the Europe 72 night by night thing and I'm already behind.

Dicks 22 is today, correct?....

.....hoping 9.10.83 gets listened to tomorrow.

12-28-79

Playing now.
Is that today’s pick?

First got this on cassette in mid-90’s and loved it right away. Then got a CD-R copy. Was really happy to get it as a commercially released CD.

This show needs a Plangentized/Normanized remaster 180g vinyl record store day release.

Edit:
Looks like I’m a day behind. No worries, I’ll catch up.

Pick of the Day

Good to have you kid.

Bolo, what are your thoughts on the last pick. Sounds like the crowd is feeling Dick's 22 for today/ tonight. I will have to sit this one out as I don't have this one. Looking forward to tomorrow's choice.
Be well folks!
Snowed here in MN today☹️