Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye! Gentle mistresses and most distinguished gentlemen, we have come upon the release of the DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 37, from the Fifteenth of April in the year Nineteen Seventy-Eight, at ye olde College Of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Cast your waistcoats and your bonnets aside, the Grateful Dead are on steady gallop from the opening high-kick of "Mississippi Half-Step" into a where are we going? where have we been? "Passenger," followed by full-on versions of "Friend Of The Devil," "El Paso," "Brown-Eyed Women," and a double-barreled "Let It Grow>Deal." Catch your breath and straighten out your tricorne because the 2nd set shows no bounds with delightful takes ("Bertha>Good Lovin'," "One More Saturday Night") and introspection ("Candyman," "Playing In The Band"). Then - great fifes and drums - it's 15 minutes of "Rhythm Devils," with band and crew gathered round to amplify the merriment before delivering a rare incantation of "Not Fade Away>Morning Dew" that sets the soul alight. Pure jollification!
The town crier's addendum:
Three bags full! Lest you feel 4/15/78 beginneth and endeth too quickly, we've selected highlights from Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, 4/18/78 to satisfy your fancy.
Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 37: WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA 4/15/78 was recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman. It is guaranteed to sell out - often within hours.
*2 per order. Very limited quantity available.
Jerry interview from 1975 newly uploaded to Youtube
This is a really good interview which I had never seen before:
It was 68 degrees here today....
....so close. Yet so far.
I don't own a coat.
Really good Let It Grow and impeccable Dew.
I spent today listening to 1991 Phish.
🤷♂️
.....edit....
RIP Leon Spinks. Beat Ali. Cancer can suck it.
Vguy, Gratefulhan
That is so great Vguy. I don't own a coat! I love that. You should see how many coats there are in my house and sweaters. I always tell my wife, in our next life we will never see any snow or below zero temps. It is hard living for sure.
Nice review Gratefulhan. I think there are a ton of great shows in 78 and for me in late summer into the fall/winter we get the Shakedown songs!
RT1. 4 is so good. That whole Winterland run is fantastic. Again, the sound was always evolving. Got my Mojo Working!
Anyway, check your PM Gratefulhan.
More 78
Hendrixfreak - yes, you may have hit the nail on the head in summing up what's going on with Dave's Picks. I think its fair to say that The Dead were more high risk in making music than Deadnet are in selling it.
Gratefulhan-yes, good review. That October 78 run at Winterland is worth getting. Maybe it will come out as a box one day, so you won't have to bother with the Road Trips. Its good enough to. Better get the Road Trips in case it doesn't, though.
Winterland October 78 Box
It’s definitely time Dave.
The shows were included in the returned reels, although it looks like a reel is missing from the 21st.
http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-new-alphabet-abcd-gd.html
The question then is whether the RT’s release used reels that were copies of the Betty’s or were from a different master source.
Maybe the reels from the 21st that weren’t in the returned batch were in the Vault and were used for RT.
Either way, it’s time to Plangentize and Normanize all the shows and Box them up.
DaP 37
This is a grate release.
It’s pretty amazing that people focus on the 5-10% of the release that isn’t quite up to par, rather than the majority of the release which smokes.
Mistakes in GD shows are common. That’s what happens when you go on stage and play it ‘real’ rather than just replay your studio recordings on stage.
We are fortunate that GD tried to play it ‘real’ every night and that there were people in the organization with the foresight to record it.
I haven’t heard the out of sync drumming on BEW but will listen for it next time. I did hear it on TN Jed after someone pointed it out, but I couldn’t confirm that it wasn’t actually intentional.
Edit:
Just listened to BEW and didn’t notice anything wrong with it.
It did seem a little fast, clocking in at only 5 minutes, but I also don’t know what the average length is for that song.
Temperature trivia
At what temp does F = C?
Answer:
-40 F = -40 C
The F to C conversion factor is (x 1.8)+32
((-40) x 1.8) + 32 = -40
Looks like Deadvikes and DH Brewer are headed towards F and C equality.
Brrrrr....
Ah yes Benjamin Orr
Thanks Leded, I'd quite forgotten which Car was which. Sorry Benjamin.
Warts and all...
An endearing sloppiness... kind of jangly, barely held together at times, just like some of us. This was what kept me from really getting this far into the Dead until I was older, it took me a while to be in the right place to really hear the spirit of this music beyond the actual notes...
And now it's one of the things I love about it most. This past week not once but twice a song came on in the car where the band played for fifteen seconds or so before Jerry stopped the song, saying "somebody messed up the changes," or some such thing. So they gamely start over, with no apologies. Bob and Jerry both flub lyrics and the band just keeps on trucking... a sign of musicians who are very secure in themselves, to be sure. I also love it when, after the band blows an intro, they'll play a few bars of some mexican drinking polka or what have you. It's loose... I can't imagine, say, Don Henley doing that onstage.
No matter... another thing I totally dig is the way the Dead played covers. I mean, Werewolves of London, for example, or anything by the Beatles... they are so unfaithful to the original, you know what song it is but they completely make it their own. Even bar bands try harder than the Dead in trying to sound like the original, these guys couldn't care less. One more thing to absolutely love about them.
Apparently, Hornsby didn't love it so much. He's been documented as being very disappointed in the guys taking the piss out of his songs, not giving them what he considered a fair effort. True or not, it didn't seem to bother Bob Dylan. But then he's another guy who would go up and do exactly what he wanted onstage, still does, and if you don't like it, well, there's the door.
This release just blends into the whole rest of the canon for me. I'm always excited for something "new", and I hope these releases keep on coming for as long as we have the pleasure of listening. I'm looking forward to the next box set announcement - whatever it is.
On another note... if Brady wins today, in his first year in Tampa, I believe it cements him as the greatest team sport player in professional history, ahead of Michael Jordan. My two cents.
Cheers!
\m/
DaP 37
Only up to Let It Grow, but so far the energy has been amazing (and the recording is great, although Keith and Bobby are coming out of the wrong channels than we're accustomed to on these two tracks).
Jerry's solos are incredible, especially on Mississippi Half-Step and Friend of the Devil. Not a big fan of the slowed down versions of Friend of the Devil post hiatus, but they speed it up a few notches here and it sounds great.
Keith is absolutely on fire on every track so far - I think he's pretty much exclusively on that Yamaha electric piano at this point, and I can't think of a show where he's played better since switching over to it almost exclusively, sometime in the Fall of '77. That's how good he sounds like on headphones anyway.
Bobby is also extraordinarily up in the mix and I don't know...it doesn't sound like his normal thin Ibanez of this period. Maybe he just has the distortion cranked way up. Sounds good.
If all three discs sound like this, and there's coke reason they won't, I'll be playing this one quite a bit.
Temperature and Separate but Equal
Starting with a comfortable temperature and a great GD Year, 1974. The F to C formula is (X-32)*(5/9) so 74 degrees F =
(74-32)*5/9 = 23.33 C. Separate but equal, and most importantly above zero. Now.. what to listen to.
I recommend 8/10/82, jiminmd
Probably a bit warmer than -40 F at this show in Iowa in August
The show itself is high-energy hot
Spring arrives in 41 days
DP37..... and Neil Young.
My wife and I are just finishing our first listen of DP37, and we both agree that this entire set is absolutely electrifying. The Candyman was sublime, and Morning Dew..... wow! This one ranks high on our list of best of DP’s. Three discs of unforgettable performances by our favorite band.
Everyone is running on all cylinders here, and you can really feel everyone is really listening to each other too.
We also can’t wait to find out what this year’s box set will be. Personally I would love to see a set from 68 or 69, but I know whatever they come up will be awesome.
Off subject : To any Neil Young fans out there, he’s currently preparing to release a substantial amount of archival music this year. At least six bootlegs from the 70’s using his soundboard tapes. Perhaps three unreleased albums that were never released at the time they were completed. The import only release Eldorado on vinyl for the first time ever. A box set from the Alchemy tour, An archival recording called Young Shakespeare recorded right after Massey Hall, along with a series of films he’s been working on during this pandemic.
Looks like 2021 is going to be EXPENSIVE!
Peace 🙏
Where is KCJanes?
Today could be his day.
Anyway, I’m pulling a Vguy.
TV on, sound muted, GOGD playing.
Got DaP 37 loaded on my music player today and am now playing 4-18%.
Split the shows up into respective folders and made all necessary edits and crossfades.
FYI, Lazy/Supplication goes after Jed, but the last ~32 seconds of Jed is tuning for Scarlet. So, that edit needs to be made.
Super Sunday for me.
The Red Wings won!!!
The GD whoops
No question if other bands say the Stones walked the tightrope of playing a large part of their songbook they'd be messing up regularly. That said except for certain periods they were notorious for not practicing which will cause trouble.
Stereo on....
....TV muted.
It worked today. Played Ween, Beatles and Boingo in the foreground. Here's my angry face. (this is the part where you peeps imagine my angry face and say "yeah. I get it.")
Edit to dead vikes. Yea. I noticed it but I refrained from being a spoiler.
Edit. https://youtu.be/80dcUvmVWzM
Duplicated Photographs
Yes, that's right DeadVikes, also the back page photo in the booklet is the same as the centre spread of the digipak from Dap Vol 7.
I'm pleased with the release, looking forward to giving this a lot of plays.
Roll on the announcement that the Box is a '69 set of concerts, after all the back of my pick shows the #169, it's does mean something or another, surely I'm right in my prediction.
Stones and varied setlists
The Stones did start varying their set lists in the latter years. In Summer 2003 they played London three times, with a different set list every night. Their best recorded screw up is on The Bridges to Buenos Aires show from 4/5/98. The band swoop into "When The Whip Comes Down" and Jagger starts singing "Respectable." No sweat, Mick acknowledges the gaff and joins the band in a heartbeat.
In a way, the more limited the set list, the greater scope for improvisation. The February- March 1969 Fillmore West run being a case in point. It also worked really well when they played Dark Star and The Other One at every other show ( with both at Bickershaw as we all know) during the European tour of 1972-with Playing in the Band every night ( I think). Those songs, along with the also oft repeated China Cat-I Know You Rider, represent the musical highlights of that tour for me, and they benefit through being played regularly.
Setlists
Daverock, you make an interesting point on setlist variation and non-variation. I should add that in the two cases you cite for the GD -- FW '69 and Euro '72 -- they went into those shows seeking an outcome, a live recording for commercial use. So they did play the heck out of their live standards ('69) or their new songs ('72), hoping for a useful take. They wanted to capture that DS>St Stephen>Eleven>Lovelight medley for Live/Dead so they repeated it a few times. In '72 it was Mr. Charlie, Jack Straw, Brown Eyed, Tennessee, Ramblin' Rose, etc.
That said, how to explain that the lengthy 'new' arrangement of Playing in the Band would be played (to my delight) every show? They weren't going to release a live version of that on the heels of Bobby's solo album, but they were hot on that newly explorative structure and enjoyed getting it on every show, having recorded Ace in Jan-March '72 (I think) and released in May (Euro '72 to follow in November). They weren't going to release any Dark Stars from that '72 tour, yet they played some of the best ever versions in spring '72. And look at China-Rider, as you suggest: not only very frequently played in '72 but across their entire history (I can't cite the beginning of that medley or the end, but it had quite a run). I'd call Euro '72 setlists pretty varied but with enough repeats to get a record (and they still did some studio dubbing, their prerogative).
I'd suggest that '68 had a very limited setlist but they could whack out any of their standards in very different ways -- kinda like the one chord structure of Viola Lee Blues. Trying improving over one chord; it opens amazing opportunities. I do recall (I think) an early Rolling Stone review (that I read years later) in which the critic said the GD live were great, but that they had a limited repertoire. I'm dead sure Garcia read that and that, in part, led him to rapidly expand the setlist in late '68, early '69, when Hunter also came on board.
I think I had a point, but lost it along the way....... and, I'm okay with that! Hope you are, too. Now I'm just rambling with my second cup of coffee with a dollop of tequila in it.
A little late to the guilty pleasures party but...
Any early Fleetwood Mac. Pre-Buckingham/Nicks, not that I don't appreciate Lindsey's finger picking guitar work which is excellent. And although Peter Green (RIP) was a guitar god and Then Play On is the classic early F/Mac I still like the Jeremy Spencer/Danny Kirwin era even more. Bob Welch starts the guilty part I guess but he really added what they needed in the in between time. My favorite albums have to be Kiln House, Bare Trees, and Future Games. Here's a topic for discussion; Bands that had the most different line-ups. F/Mac had around eight I think counting the new Mike Campbell version. And hey, that guy's pretty good too! Cheers from sunny Colorado today.
A later 68 Box Set would be a great choice
Since David has focused on the 80’s and 90’s with Giant Stadium, and the June 76 box, and last year’s DP’s covered 77 / 74 / 84 / 87. A late 68 series would definitely be a logical choice for the next set, as the band was really beginning to open up the set list, and still being freely experimental and free form. This was a transitional period for them and at times even they didn’t even seem to know where they were headed, which made for some wonderful moments of uncertainty, which was part of what I love about “live” Dead.
"The Dead do what they do"
words of wisdom from the one and only Lemmy
Cars/Different Line-ups
It's fantastic how different we all are!! One man's(or woman's) fave is another person's guilty pleasure. The Cars were my favorite band in the late '70's. I saw them live 9 times, and they were never more than good live(lots of lyric flubs, especially from Ric). Except the first time I saw them, in late spring of '78. They were awesome at that gig. Funnily enough, Elliott Easton actually did sing one song that night, the only time I saw him get a lead vocal. It was an Eddie Cochrane tune(Something Else if I remember correctly). In retrospect, I love the first 3 albums, not so much the last 3. So, 1st 3, no guilt, last 3, plenty of guilt!!
I love a good topic. Not sure which band had the most line-up changes, but I'll go with the Byrds, they must have had at least 7 different configurations.
Still waiting for #37, very patiently I might add. Simonrob is correct, It's not a race, but most of us(me for sure) are very impatient!!
Re: Tequila and Coffee
There's a song in there somewhere, I'm sure...
Lineup Changes
Mr Ones mentioned all the line up changes in the Byrds, and it got me to thinking about how many personnel went through the Flying Burrito Brothers. They had a whole “subgroup” - The Country Gazette - in their lineup at one time.
This release is a keeper
I liked it on the 1st listen.
On the 5th listen it’s even better.
Flying Burrito Brothers
Love those guys, especially the earlier iterations.
So is it a keeper or a sleeper? Perhaps I will find out tomorrow?????????
4/15/78
After reading many reviews, and having just got my copy tonight, I was expecting a bum trip. Have only heard set 1, but this to me, is a top 3 show from 1978. I don’t care about any technical playing errors, don’t even really notice them much. But the band sounds hot, and ready to deliver. A VERY pleasant surprise. Set 2(and bonus material), tomorrow.
mISTAKE
That was your mistake Mr. Ones.. upon reading the dismal reviews one would surmise the best course of action upon receiving the CDs is to flush them down the garbage disposal and thus save your ears and mind from that dreadful first listen.
I haven't received my last two, but I know what to do when they arrive.
......or we could listen to the Cone Kid and create some room on the shelf.. Just sayin'
:D
Deadvikes/1978
Deadvikes- I got your PM, thank you! I will follow up with you shortly.
I want to add some more discussion to Vol #37 and the interesting year of 1978:
For me because of when and how I got on the bus, I became a student of this band. Quite frankly I an still a student of this band as I am always learning. When I started trading tapes, I focused on and acquired shows mainly from 68-77. I did have tapes from other years but in lesser quantities. Now, I have broadened my Dead horizons over past 10 years. A lot of the advice on shows I get is from the regular commenters on these pages. I am so grateful for that.
Building on that and getting to 1978, it was all of you that advised me to pick up the July 78' box before it was gone - I am so glad I did. 7/1 and 7/7 are the standouts to me from that box. Getting to DaP #37 it is another expansion of my GD 1978 listening experience . In short I dig that show - a lot. Its nice to get shows that I wouldn't normally seek out.
One aspect that I particularly like is the complete show format (when possible). I did see a tad bit of commentary regarding the wonky Brown Eyed Women. To me those warts add to the show because it gives a flavor to the performance. Specifically this illustrates the vibe the band had in 1978 with risk taking and such. After the "wart" the next songs went off quite well which it is always great to hear that play out. Personally I like to listen to the shows in sequence just as it went down. An even better example for this particular 4/15/78 show is the Morning Dew. In isolation, its great, but listening to it after hearing the jam sequence (which is also good) that came before it makes it even better, at least for me.
So I am all for this release and I am finding some other interesting shows from 1978 - this is all great stuff. Finally I am going to put one more plug in for a summer of 85 show (another time period all you got me into). Dave L, if you watching, i know you can deliver this to us soon!
Well, I am starting a grinding week here so its going to take some more good tunes to get me through, but I think Vol #37 can do the trick.
Everybody take care, stay warm and stay healthy.
Mosaic Box Sets Anyone?
I just bought the forthcoming Mosaic Box set "The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia & RCA Victor Studio Sessions 1946 - 66"...It includes the LP's "Satchmo Plays Fats" & "Satchmo Plays W.C. Handy" which are two of my all time faves...gotta love Mosaic....
https://www.mosaicrecords.com/prodinfo.asp?number=270-MD-CD
Dap 37- Bose
I definitely notice a cleaner sound on these disks compared to some other ones. I use a Bose wave music system IV and have noticed the volume is much higher then normal. This is such a good show. Pitb, NFA, dew and more.
Mosaic-Children of Dean Benedetti
The only recording I have on Mosaic is a box set of Charlie Parker recordings, made by one of his most fervent admirers, Dean Benedetti. Its all live recordings, and Dean only recorded Parkers solos, not the complete song he was playing. Recordings start as Parker begins to solo, and terminate abruptly as they end. Its fascinating stuff - but it is a collection of audience recordings from the late 1940s. Great booklet inside the box too.
There is an essay that refers to Dean Benedetti in the So Many Roads box set form the 90s, written by Gary Lambert. In this, he characterises taping Deadheads as being the children of Dean Benedetti-also the title of the article.
Mr Ones...you say the Byrds had about 7 different line ups, which made me wonder how many Hawkwind have had. They played their first gig in 1969, and their last ( so far) in 2019. Line ups changed so often around guitarist Dave Brock. But 7 lineup changes ?.. 107 more like! With more to follow I shouldn't wonder.
Mosaic Box Sets (way old)
I have more than a cabinet full of old Mosaic box sets, some going back to before they were available on CDs. It's been so long since I've ordered any that they stopped sending me their catalog years ago, so everything I own are long out of print. I have LP sets of The Complete Blue Note Thelonious Monk (the very first Mosaic offering) and The Complete Blue Note Sidney Bechet (priceless for traditional jazz enthusiast). Lots of classic Blue Note collections and other post-bebop favorites.
My personal top five:
1. The Complete Blue Note 1964-66 Jackie McLean Sessions
2. The Complete Candid Charles Mingus
3. The Complete Blue Note Herbie Nichols
4. The Complete Mercury Max Roach Plus Four Sessions
5. The Complete Candid Cecil Taylor / Buell Neidlinger
Sadly, I rarely pull these out anymore because the sets are so large and individual recording sessions often span disks. Ultimately I plan to invest in a ripper / hard disk storage system that will allow me to catalog and play back by original session. Too much great music to leave on the sidelines.
I'm positive about the negative...
That's an old Three Stooges line and I use it here for no reason at all.
Just wanted to say that, having listened to the whole 4-15 show and the 4-18 'filler' that this is an excellent release. Even Bobby's slide on 4-18 Sugaree is spot on. Four hours of excellent performances and it cost about $6 per hour. We are insanely fortunate for Betty's and Owsley's work and the other recordists.
Let's face it, we've had hundreds of shows released -- far more than any other band -- and the record shows that this band consistently played at such a high level that an unprecedented archival release program is possible.
Obviously Dave is not looking for those nights when the band didn't click, but they batted way over .500 for nearly their entire 30 years and this is another entree to '78, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
REALLY looking forward to 9-8-73 w/bonus material.
Stay safe, folks.
Nassau & The Spectrum got blessed with two runs each in '73?....
....lucky bastards.
Collectors Drinking Glass
Has anyone gotten the collectible drinking glass? I got a shipping email last week but when i click on tracking, it just says label created. No movement.......
Oh Nappy, If you cut me do I not bleed.
Once again, nice choice of upcoming things. Love me some Louis. This was a had to have set.
Now I just need to slip this sale pass she who must be obeyed.
That Mosaic site is a dangerous place for a person like me to go. Limited edition shit and no impulse control on my part. I had to bash my fingers with a hammer just to keep from typing in more stuff. I'm only able to type this thank you with my nose. It's the capital letters that are tough!
Looking forward to this set Nap.
Yet another dedhed and the shipping blues
No glass here yet, but I too got the bullshit letter saying it's ready (to be put in any envelope, eventually put on a truck and shipped around the world before it get here)
Still waiting for my 45,,,, the last one, not the one coming out at end of month.
Also still no word on download link for AB-AS!!!!
Mosaic
Ive got 50 of the big boxes, all cd, and most of the 3cd releases.
Favourites change all the time, but Andrew Hill, Sam Rivers and Larry Young get the most plays...
Didnt subscribe to Daves this year, didnt even buy a la carte, Im done with ordering direct from Rhino, only got 2 out of 4 of my sub last year, so if I buy, it will be on the secondary market, but its interesting to read the comments, might help me make up my mind to buy or not to buy....
But does this release add anything to the stature of the Dead? Or does it just lengthen their tail?
Dave's drinking glass....
.....mine has said label being created for 4 days now. It will probably show up tomorrow lol.
Update on delinquent DaP36
So after throwing my toys on this board (re: 3 months of non-responsive customer service), I received a few nice comments/advice (and other constructive thoughts) from y'all, and I sent an email to Dr. Rhino/customer service (in addition to my 3 previous mssgs to dead.net). Dr. Rhino responded "Unfortunately, our warehouse has run out of numbered replacement stock. We will now produce a small/limited-edition run of separately numbered replacement copies of Dave’s Picks Volume 36. We will email you with an update as soon as we have an estimate as to when your replacement shipment will go out."
I appreciate that they are creating an un-numbered mini-run of these shows for people who didn't get 'em. But I find it insulting that 1) my returned disc "disappeared" - my name was on the package! You wouldn't NEED a 2nd run if you hadn't unwrapped my labeled package and given it to someone else! and 2) they seemed fine with me just not getting it until I made a public nuisance of myself! Alarming that an organization whose business acumen is the subject of college curricula reveal themselves to be so dismissive of their customers/fans who are bankrolling them. Though I am appreciative that they are finally addressing my situation.
Duke Ellington
An interesting entry. I’m thinking Miles Davis went through a lot of band members, too, many still producing great stuff.
Thin - sorry about the cluster bomb at getting you your righteous numbered copy of DaP 36. I decided that after this year, I’ll likely not subscribe any more, way too many hassles at even getting a response. We’ve all dealt with a great many other retailers, and when something goes awry, they are great at taking responsibility and making it right. Besides, I love the Dead, but I have enough to last until I’m Dead, and there is a ton of other music out there. Good luck, I hope it comes soon.