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    Dave's Picks Vol. 51: Scranton Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, PA (4/13/71)

    Look out Big Boss Man, Pigpen's on the loose! We're shedding our lovelight on the not-to-be-overlooked Spring 1971 tour with DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 51, featuring the complete unreleased show from the SCRANTON CATHOLIC YOUTH CENTER, SCRANTON, PA 4/13/71 AND the 2nd set from the previous night at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, PA on 4/12/71.

    These gems find the original Grateful Dead quintet delivering some of their most inspired, energetic, and tightest performances. There's a dab of WORKINGMAN'S DEAD, a splash of AMERICAN BEAUTY, a great foreshadow into what would soon appear on SKULL & ROSES. And you'll need nearly all those fingers (or those toes) because - count 'em - there's eight classic covers ("Mama Tried," "Hard To Handle," and a rare "I Second That Emotion," to name a few) done as only the Dead could do them with Mr. McKernan and his magical harmonica.

    Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 51: SCRANTON CATHOLIC YOUTH CENTER, SCRANTON, PA 4/13/71 has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering.

    P.S. We had a little extra room on Disc 2, so please enjoy the final five DP48 bonus tracks to complete 10/24/70, St. Louis, MO.

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  • 1stshow70878
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    52

    Since I am clueless on the stats I'll just pick some shows I attended.
    For a Bruce: 12-9-90
    For a Vince: 3-6-94
    Just for fun: 6-8-80
    Why not?
    Cheers

  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    52

    Now that the Box is out, it’s just 52 and Black Friday RSD to be announced.
    And then time to subscribe for 2025.

    A Bruce show for 52 would be grate.
    10-31-91
    It’s got a Dark Star…..

    For a post-Bruce Vince release 3-30-94 would be nice.
    It also has a Dark Star.

  • RyXs
    Joined:
    Deadhead Statistics

    Dave has come to a point now where legitimately he could spread the release years around more equally. Being that so much has been released now to date over multiple years and numerous compilations or series. Not to mention big and mini Box Sets!

    Well, 1977 is picked close to the bone, so has 1974 which had less shows done overall {Wall O'Sound}. 1976 has only half a years worth of shows, and only 3 have been Dave's releases so far {1976 is also a first year Dave's Picks representation}. 1972 still has some early springtime shows {Academy of Music} remaining before the Big {Massively released} Europe tour, and then after getting back stateside there's quite a bunch left during the midsummer to autumn and winter `72. The years 1973 & 1978 still have much shows left each for their year as a whole, with also some major variations in set lists and style during said years. Only 1973 has a big chuck gone, the summer shows.

    So all that said, on any given year now, Dave could release at least one, maybe two Kieth & Donna era shows, {pre & post hiatus} then at least one, maybe two Brent era shows, {For one show pick from 1984~`86, with two shows pick from {1979~`83} & {1987~1990}.
    That leaves room for either a Pig era show or a Vince & Bruce era pick, maybe both depending on how many Brent or Keith & Donna shows got done for that year.

    This is the good math!

    P.S. Gimme your bets for Dave's Pick #52! He already hinted that it would be a post Brent 1990s show. My money's on Nassau 3/27/91, too many unique aspects to pass on.

  • Obeah
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    #52 redux

    Good points, all, Deadvikes. Dave is indeed unpredictable.

    It probably surprises no one to observe that 1977 leads the way in the DaP catalog of releases with 8 shows to date. And it's most welcome to note that 1974 comes second with 6. But 1971 now has 5. All three of those years were represented in the very first year of the DaP series, so empirically it might seem that Dave has a strong affinity for each one.

    And yet I also recognize that some of his decisions were governed by what's in the vault (or maybe what was repatriated to the vault!); what is available in a very high-quality recording; what was already released in other series or box sets, and so on. One thing we can probably all agree upon, though, is that Dave truly has one of the most interesting jobs in the world. He's like a real-life version of that Dos Equis guy. Except Canadian and clean-shaven.

  • billy the kiddd
    Joined:
    9/20/70 Fillmore East

    Great show! Lets get this one released. Please.

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Muffed beginning to Brokedown

    They muffed the beginning of Brokedown Palace when they played it as an encore when I saw them on 3/27/81, too. Looking in The Taping Compendium to jog my memory, after playing the opening chords, Jerry came in with the wrong verse. To quote the good book -
    ""Sorry! Premature senility," says Jerry with a grin, before playing and singing it so soulfully that I'm reduced to tears for the second time in one night."

  • carlo13
    Joined:
    Blue crow

    That's it, thanks. Believe it or not, but I typed in BP first but China somehow came to mind. It's pretty rare to hear Jerry talk much at shows, except for his sweet lyrics.

  • DeadVikes
    Joined:
    #52

    Obeah,

    The one thing we know for sure is Dave can be unpredictable at times. Never thought he would release another 71 show for #48 and release this Scranton show two releases later. Who knows, maybe he will release another 71 show for #52.

    Would love to see an 88 or 91. It is time.

  • bluecrow
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    Carlo13

    Not sure about a China Doll - maybe you're thinking of Brokedown Palace at Telluride 8/16/87? Double encore - as they start Brokedown out of Touch It slowly grinds to a halt and Jerry exclaims something to the effect of - "Wait a minute! This is all fucked up! We're in then wrong key! You folks are used to this - oxygen deprivation. Forget that all happened!" And they start Brokedown fresh.

  • Obeah
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    9/26/91 or...?

    Well, for three of the last four years, the last DaP of the year was a later-era show - Vol. 36 was 1987 and then Vols. 40 and 44 were both from 1990. So it seems a reasonable supposition to think he might dip into '91 for Vol. 52.

    On the other side of the coin, this year Dave already cracked open 1985 for the first time (Vol 49) - you have to go back to Vols 35 and 36 for the last time he broached two new years (new for the DaP series, that is) in one calendar/subscription year. Would he really end the year with a 1991 release? People have been speculating about 9/26 for some years now, but it never really sounds like informed speculation but just more of "I was there" and "this was the best night of the run" chatter. And ofc one of Dave's first releases when he took over the Dick's series was 9/25, so he surely considered the 26th back then but passed.

    My own feeling is that while '91 is the last strong year for the band, the energy did wane as the year went along. I think the March shows, or perhaps Vegas in late April, have more to offer. The August Shoreline shows have some fire to them. But for any of these it's not hard to imagine that Rhino will struggle to shift 25,000 copies. And if they are willing to risk a Fall '91 release, one of the MSG shows (8 still unreleased) seems a safer sales bet than Boston.

    But there's still no Dave's from 1989, nor '88. Either would likely sell better than a '91. And I note that the last '76 released (notwithstanding the 2020 box set) was Vol. 28.

    Oh well, I'm always wrong when I play the "guess what Dave will release" game. Since I didn't mention it, it will probably be '73.

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Dave's Picks Vol. 51: Scranton Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, PA (4/13/71)

Look out Big Boss Man, Pigpen's on the loose! We're shedding our lovelight on the not-to-be-overlooked Spring 1971 tour with DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 51, featuring the complete unreleased show from the SCRANTON CATHOLIC YOUTH CENTER, SCRANTON, PA 4/13/71 AND the 2nd set from the previous night at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, PA on 4/12/71.

These gems find the original Grateful Dead quintet delivering some of their most inspired, energetic, and tightest performances. There's a dab of WORKINGMAN'S DEAD, a splash of AMERICAN BEAUTY, a great foreshadow into what would soon appear on SKULL & ROSES. And you'll need nearly all those fingers (or those toes) because - count 'em - there's eight classic covers ("Mama Tried," "Hard To Handle," and a rare "I Second That Emotion," to name a few) done as only the Dead could do them with Mr. McKernan and his magical harmonica.

Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 51: SCRANTON CATHOLIC YOUTH CENTER, SCRANTON, PA 4/13/71 has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering.

P.S. We had a little extra room on Disc 2, so please enjoy the final five DP48 bonus tracks to complete 10/24/70, St. Louis, MO.

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A delayed first listen because I was holding off for yesterdays car ride down to Deer Creek for this weekend's Phish shows. With the first set, the drive was straight toward a massive thunderhead that just sat there on the horizon getting bigger and bigger. And when I got into the second set Drums, somewhere near a place called Angola, things started to get really dark..... caught some ripping lightning bolts tear down from the sky. Was an absolute thrilling match to the garage-rock style energy of the show.

Is there a Big Railroad Blues that rocks harder than that? And how about Phil?!? He's absolutely on fire here. Effortlessly playing both the pocket and the leads.

I'll have to go back an listen to the Pittsburgh material as it was sort of a let down following up after Scranton.

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In reply to by FiveBranch

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1STShow - I went to nearly all the March and October shows at the Rainbow. It was an elaborate old cinema which played host to loads of great bands, including a great run of shows from Dire Straits. I lived in Highbury at the time, just a short walk away. Next time I saw Grateful Dead was in Paris 1990 when a group of people loosely associated with the fanzine Spiral Light hired a coach over. And then the final ever UK shows at Wembley. Fun times.

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In reply to by frankparry

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Time for a Bruce release.

Yeah, my DaP51 still has that new plastic smell.

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Just got to the liner notes. Pretty cool story about the Kiel Opera House show and the recording.

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In reply to by icecrmcnkd

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Too funny.

Thanks for the smile.

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Let the guessing games begin.
Maybe somewhere in the 88-91 era?
But it could be anywhere. Dave has tricks up his sleeve and cards he isn't showing, lol. It's all welcome if he thinks it is worthy.
Cheers

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Check email and IM.

All requested items put up.

Let me Know if gotten.

Dennis

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Let me say this: The King was a pretty big influence on Weir's vocal style, if ya ask me. Cue up just about any version of Around and Around and you'll see what I mean.

Last five!

McCoy Tyner: Sahara
TTB: Let Me Get By
Dap #51
Lee Morgan: Cornbread
Dylan: 11/19/75 (from the Rolling thunder box)

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I don't recognize any Elvis influence in "Not fade awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"

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One more: think of the way Elvis would sing Looks Like Rain. And then think of how Weir does sing it. And maybe imagine Bobby handing out scarves to women in the front rows.

Too bad Elvis didn't do a Dead tribute album. Maybe if he'd lived longer. He could've crushed Big River, Love Light, Fire on the Mountain. Would've been fun to hear him try The Other One.

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was a song that I thought Bobby would like to cover.

"Chance favors the prepared mind." - Phil Lesh

They shared a few covers - Johnny B. Goode, Promised Land and See See Rider come to mind. Also Hey Jude. Hard to decide which of them did the worse version of that one!

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Dont forget; Garcia did "Thats all right, mama" and "Mystery train" - with his solo-bands - the "King" and the Dead also shared Madison Square Garden - Elvis did a live album there in 1972 - one of (if not the..) the first full, uncut shows to make it to vinyl - back in the day..

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A drummer! Still blows my mind that Ronnie Tutt was the drummer for 2 guys in the mid-70s, Elvis and Jerry. He was a tasteful, masterful drummer. Jerry treated him pretty shabbily on his firing, not letting him know, which was compounded by Elvis's death months before, but they made pretty awesome music together.

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sang with Elvis and the Dead. Elvis and the Dead both played at the Cow Palace(probably a lo of other places too).

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yeah man, got em, thanks a bunch, just so...awesome.

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Future Dave's Picks...? If they have the reels?
03/17/67- Winterland Arena - San Francisco, CA
03/18/67- Winterland Arena - San Francisco, CA
03/19/67- Fillmore Auditorium - San Francisco, CA
Would make a grooovy cover too!?

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This sampler cd from the Archives Vol III ( and a pin) arrived in the UK less than 8 days from the first mention that it was on the way. Well done Greedy Hands and DHL.
Even more unusually, both the NYA and Rhino sites said that these items would only be sent out in advance to customers in the US, overseas customers would get them with the box. I hope that dead.net continues to use DHL for their deliveries.

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9/26/81

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In reply to by daverock

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Got to remember he didnt like hippies or "drugs." He got some DEA token/badge from Nixon. He didnt have problems with the Dr prescribing his drugs but hated that others didnt take the same path.

I love him and his music, but the person, uuhmmm.

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He could sing.

End of story.

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In reply to by PT Barnum

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Great documentary with Donna Jean in it.

Great stories.

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Got 51 today - fine slice of the "5-man-bar-room-Dead-band" 1971 - keep 71 comming.. Elvis recorded "Big Boss Man" in September 67, and did it (a lot..) live in 1974 and a little in 75/76/77.. BW from Copenhagen

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Didn't see any good versions of Steve Vance’s cover art for Dave's 51 online. I was about to scan mine that had just arrived, when Copperdomebodhi came to the rescue. He made three versions: 1) Scranton, PA 4/13/71 (art from the CD cover & booklet); 2) Pittsburg, PA 4/12/71 (set 2); 3) St. Louis, MO 10/24/70 (the 5 final tracks that complete Dave’s 48). Plus I snagged the gif from one of the deadnet newsletters. You'll have to scroll down:

"3 w dot"
dropbox "dot" com/sh/qx5j9ydoc7bzm8z/AAD8yK_vCv_kQ-oLkLJQVCEla?dl=0

Enjoy, pass ‘em around, and let the music play (LOUD!)

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Is this true? I would love more 1981 releases. Great energy.

I just ordered the MSG box. Arriving this week. Looking forward to some good early '80's...

THIN

I would assume everything is speculation or hope right now...

Thank you Jeff I got the email from D box, I did make my own cover art this time though with a photo I took for the first time, it came out pretty good.

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Thin.. you dont think it is 9/26/91..

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Who put this out there and even showed a script type picture shot of this being the 2024 Box Set?!? IT was on the picture of the script actually showing it as an store.dead.net blah blah....obviously someone found this behind the IT wall or something???
WHY the f is this not the box set this year??? I mean I get it that those April 1978 shows are popular, even gimmicky(Jerry at Duke), and OF COURSE Betty Boards....but lets be honest: the setlist are VERY repetitive, Jerry sounds out of tune in most of the shows, and a bit...ummm, tired, Keith sounds like he is simply plunking notes on a 1978 Sears electric piano(he sure doesn't sound like late-1971 when he joined, and Donna is simply high-pitched screaming on a lot of tunes.
BOTTOM LINE - How was the above title showing up as a dead.net exclusive on that javascript pic shot, and now it's not the 2024 BOX SET- maybe later this year?!?!?!

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In reply to by Thin

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MSG box is way better than most that do not have it realize. Sure the sound is different from a Betty Board as it is on cassette. But, it does have a great stereo image. That image, in my own opinion, does have the line arrays embedded in it. To date, I havent even run the MSG box thru the equalizer, but I am going to. Just thought of that now.

My home town arena is 50% the size of MSG. And I mean 50%, as the local arena was built with MSG's blue prints; only, dimensions are 50% smaller. When listening to great sounding groups, say like Yes, we always sat in the upper deck directly in the middle (straight on shot of the stage.) This allowed us to have great stereo sound out of an old concrete arena.

The playing within the box is superb.

G

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It's easy to make a script, put it up on a monitor and make a screenshot of it. That doesn't make it genuine. Various punters searched for the script but none found it. The conclusion was that it was a fake, but some people obviously believed it.

Conclusion: Never trust a Prankster.

Archiving 7 18 89
First set nice
Will do 2nd later

"Ain't noways tired" Jerry ain't tired during US Blues 4 12 78
Jumpin' Jer Flash

I know it's 2024. But hearing 7 18 89 makes me yearn ("I yearn, George") for being AT a GD show. 35 years gone.

Whoever did the shorelines beckon prank needs to be...

Remember, it's shoreLIGHTS, not shorelines. The prankster let loose a tell.

A few hours of work and then back to Alpine

One more: the cover art for the sleeve of the 5/4/77 is totally off the mark for the glorious GD on the disc. I really dislike the tagger image (taggers deserve to have their fingers broken). Opportunity to create my own cover art, I say.

Oh boy, “that would be something”
Fine show from another great under represented year!
Yep, need to hit that MSG box again soon…

Baked Alaska: as much as I’d enjoy that fantasy box, I’d much rather have this April 78. The Alaska shows are good, but I think I recall only one being exceptional? And I’m unfamiliar with the 70 shows, but even IF they were on primo recordings, would that be enough to justify using up a coveted “once a year only” box slot?
But hey, sorry your not happy this go round. Maybe it will be a late addition, perhaps just in time for the holidaze? Remember when they used to market for the holidaze? And maybe sometime you’ll get shown the light and find a new found affinity for April 78? Whatevs…it’s all good!

The Golden Road (to Unlimited Devotion.)

I Second that Emotion.

Not Fade Away.

The Call of two songs and the response of one.

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In reply to by Gary Farseer

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....play a Dicks tonight.
I picked out #30. Bo Diddly y'all!

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had to be towed to mechanic. (Of course towed is an out dated word)

After car was loaded, the drive said "Thank You Big Boss Man."

Nice.

It is amazing how 99% of the people react when meeting them, you treat them with kindness.

Of course, you have to learn how to watch and scope manipulators.

He was genuinely kind also.

That is all.

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In reply to by Vguy72

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Did Dick's 30 a couple of weekends back. Just love the Bo Diddly.

Cant remember which song he has a minor discussion about you got to "Eat it, eat all of it." If memory is correct.

Has to be a reference to we ate the acid, especially at that Hell's Angel benefit. Haha benefit, right.

This is a very good Pick, one of my favorites. Very raw era, with just guitars and drums and vocals. Sometimes the recording goes into the red (surprised it doesn't happen more often, honestly), but a wonderful delight for Phil plans, of which I am a huge one. You get to clearly hear some of his unorthodox choices, Me & Bobby McGee is especially revelatory; with no keys, Phil has to be more of a rhythmic anchor, and he adapts to it well. I get why Doc loves this era so much. Very potent. Not a huge fan of Sugar Magnolia, but was digging the ones on here quite a bit.

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I've listened to this release 3 times. Each time when it gets to Big Boss Man I think "Is that Jim Morrison singing?" Anyone else get that sense?

I think the fake out has to do with Pig sounding a little extra soulful / sexy on this tune. Plus the vocals are pushed forward, yet a good warm vocal mix.

All said, really digging this release. good energy, good vibes!

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LATVALA

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Too early to talk about 53?

2/21, 22/73 Assembly Hall perfect four disc Dave's Pick.

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