July 31, 1974
SOLD OUT
Subscriber's Only
Bonus Disc Cover.
Dave’s Picks Volume 2 is officially SOLD OUT.
Stay tuned for an upcoming seaside chat with David Lemieux as part of our Dave’s Picks series.
ABOUT VOLUME 2
We warned you. We said there was a chance that the limited edition Dave’s Picks releases could sell out. And sure enough, Volume 1 is a goner. No copies left. (OK, even we were a little surprised it sold out so quickly.)
Which brings us to Dave’s Picks, Volume 2. The thousands of you who bought the full-year Dave’s Picks subscription have nothing to worry about. Your CDs (and the bonus disc that comes with this one for subscribers) will be winging their way to you shortly. But NOW is the time when all you other good people who are interested in purchasing this potent slice of Dead history can submit your orders.
The show in question is a three-set wonder from Hartford’s Dillon Stadium during the heart of the Wall of Sound era, July 31, 1974, four days after the release of the Dead’s fine Mars Hotel album. Dwarfed by the Wall’s irregular columns of speakers on a hot and humid Wednesday afternoon, the band thrilled the sold-out crowd of 20,000 with a far-ranging collection of tunes and jams that showed how far they’d come as musicians, songwriters and interpreters of others’ songs in their decade together.
The 12-song first set kicks off with the still-new “Scarlet Begonias” (opening a show for the first of just three times in the Dead’s entire history), and includes such other early ’70s favorites as “Jack Straw,” “Brown-Eyed Women,” a pairing of “Mississippi Half-Step” and “Must’ve Been the Roses” and “Row Jimmy.” The '73-’74 versions of “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” have a unique character, and this one exemplifies that nicely.
Things start to open up a bit more in the second set. An expansive “Eyes of the World” is partnered with a particularly fragile “China Doll” mid-set, and the concluding take on the complete “Weather Report Suite” is filled with impressive shifts in dynamics and purposeful jamming during a 12-minute “Let It Grow.” That set also has a good “Big River” and an excellent “Ship of Fools” (another new song that year).
Set Three starts with a couple of short selections, hits an early emotional peak with one of the better versions of “To Lay Me Down” from that era, and then really goes into gear with the onset of “Truckin’,” so often a gateway to wondrous possibilities. This one rumbles and wanders and flits and crashes and dashes all over the place during a half-hour exploration that includes what is popularly called the “Mind Left Body” jam and a full-blown Spanish jam, before eventually winding up at the docks for a deep “Wharf Rat.” The set closer, “U.S. Blues,” was one of the anchors of the Mars Hotel album (and an FM radio hit at the time); a perfect summer anthem.
All Dave’s Picks releases are mastered to HDCD specs from the original vault tapes by Jeffrey Norman, and include a booklet containing an essay about the show and period photos. The Digipak is made of 100% recycled and PCW materials on heavier paper stock due to high demand. The limited edition consists of 12,000 numbered copies.
— Blair Jackson
DAVID LEMIEUX ON VOLUME 2 & MORE
David Lemieux sits down for a seaside chat about his favorite moments on Dave's Picks, Volume 2: Dillon Stadium, Hartford, CT - 7/31/74 and sheds a little light on how Dave's Picks are selected. Watch the video here:
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Well Looky There...
Cover looks pretty cool.
Glad I got the prescription...I mean subscription.
Cool, I'll have to get this.
Cool, I'll have to get this. One of those "I was there" moments. :-)
Bring it on!
Looks great, glad I got the subscription. I bet many will wish they had and not waited. This looks like a super show, can't wait to crank it up. LONG LIVE THE DEAD!
Coconut Phil
Great cover! I hope there will be a t shirt!!
Cool cover for a great show. I have to admit that I didn't care for the last cover but this one is out of the ball park.
The Gift that keeps on giving!
My Christmas gift to me! The subscription was as awesome an idea as I ever had! Lookin' mighty good Dave!
Bonus disc cover!
Thanks to whoever decided to post the bonus disc cover.
Is it still possible to get GOOD versions of the first 8 or so road trips covers and the bonus discs? Please!?!
Seastones (Phil Lesh and Ned Lagin)
The experimental performance of "Seastones" is on my old discs, right before "El Paso." But it doesn't seem like it's on this release.
Can't Wait!!!
I am so excited for this release! I'm loving the album art on the bonus disc too. This can not arrive at my door step any sooner!!!
Also, as cryptical70 mentioned, will "Seastones" be included??? I really hope so..
can't wait!!!
All right....
....pre-order at last....and still a few left!
Didn't subscribe this year, but this sounds great. Looking forward to the book, too, after hearing from Dave.
Here's hoping the four shows he's whittling down land on either an '84 (Merriweather? Augusta? Greek?), an '85, or a Fall '68.....
But that's for the end of the summer. Can't wait to hear this Springtime release. I love Dick's 31, and the photo gallery & stories about this show have really put my psyched factor over the top.
Stone the crows
that bird on the cover looks like it's been overdoing it!
and while we're talking ornithology, those were indeed Canada Geese.
are those Canadian Geese?
The only real way to know for sure, is to check their passports.
:)
Toungue-in-cheek humorous cover
I laughed out lout when I saw the cover art, an unhealthy wasted looking crow on top of the semi-circle speaker array that hung above Billy and his drums in the wall of sound set up. It's great, I love it.The most important component is the music itself, a great show, and finally a full show from 1974! It's excellent and thank you for releasing this show.
YES YES
Went to this show at Dillon Stadium which was below Colts Park, named after the famous Colt Firearms Factory nearby, that made the gun that won the west and also the M-16 used in Nam. Colt's actually was the first place to use the assembly line. To make it much better, we owned a bar up the street from Dillon. A DEAD show with booze before and after. Not too fine. Memories for my old age are a waken.
Bonus Disc...
Just wondering if anyone knows what material is on the bonus disc? Thanks! (I am VERY pumped about Vol. 2! Please Mr. Postman! Bring it to my door!)
bonus disc
In the video embedded on this page, David Lemieux says the bonus disc includes The Other One from the previous show at the Capitol Center in Landover. No other details were given.
Regarding Volume 3, he has it narrowed down to 4 shows from very different eras. Further details in May.
Bonus Disc
To the best of my recollection, the Bonus Disc, from Landover, MD on 7/29/74, includes:
Sugaree
Weather Report Suite
He's Gone
Truckin
Nobody's Fault
Other One
Spanish Jam
Wharfrat
Wondering Why
Can anyone tell me why these releases are limited edition only?
I have been an avid tape trader since I was given my first dead tape by my father 17 years ago. In that time I have enjoyed trading tapes (now cds) with fellow deadheads all over the world. I also egerly awaited every Dick's Pick's release, and bought every one. I have always respected, and celebrated, the Dead's right to produce and sell shows from thier vaults. Since the inception of the new dead.net A group of us have been sharing shows amongst each other here in the "Vineyard", in the forums section. We have a strict code that no show released officially by the band be vined. Until now I've been happy to supplement my collection with officially released high quality recordings. But knowing that these recent releases will not necesarily be available for me to purchase when it is convenient for me (I have a job in a library and my income is modest) I'm left with a quandry. I can't trade them because that would be unethical, and I have too much respect for the band I love than to go against thier wishes. I can't purchase them because they are sold out. What's a poor deadhead to do?
bonus disc
Ah yeah, the details were tacked on to the end of the "now shipping" announcement dated 1/31/12 for Dave's Picks Vol. 1.:
With Volume 1 on its way out the door, we're hard at work mastering Dave's Picks Volume 2: Dillon Stadium, Hartford, CT, 7/31/74. At the same time, we'll be polishing up hand-picked selections from the fantastic 7/29/74 Capital Center, Landover MD show including "Sugaree," "Weather Report Suite," "He's Gone>Truckin'>Nobody's Fault But Mine>The Other One>Spanish Jam>," and "Wharf Rat" for our subscribers-only bonus disc. This disc will not be available anywhere else ever again. [...]
Dave's 3
YO! Great news on the Bonus Disk. Cannot ever have enough of lovingly remastered WOS shows from Summer 74. I still am a devotee of the Louisville show with its "My Old Kentucky Home" riff in BIDTL.
Not sure what kind of insider CBS3 is (folks "in the know" have been around as long as I have - - first show, 10.30.77), but that is also good news. No knock on Brent, but I prefer the Godchaux years the most - fall 71 to fall 78. WOuldn't mind at all though something from 1989.
Thanks DL2 for the work . . it is VERY much appreciated. And, if you are following this line, who is your team now that the Expos are the Nationals? It's looking like a GREAT year for my Reds. And, to all you fellow Kentuckians out there, how's it feel to be a National Champion?! GO CATS!
DCFHOF
Man, I was sure there was
Man, I was sure there was going to be a tease in this video for the next vault/box/tour release. We haven't had a vault (i.e., multi-track) release since Hampton and Crimson, White & Indigo. I wonder if that series is now on hold? Are there going to be any other smaller boxes like Winterlands, Hampton, or will the next few be entire tour boxes like Europe '72?
Looking forward to DaP 2!!!
10-30-1977
Ahhhhhhh, good ol' B-Town. My favorite place in the whole wiide world.
Is this the complete show
Can someone confirm or deny Seastones on this release please. Dave said it was the complete show so I assumed it was on there after Let It Grow. A 20 minute version of this Seastones is why I even got this. Refer to Archive.org to see what I mean. Thank you very much.
No Seastones
Yes, unfortunately that's correct - I believe it's Rhino that says NO SEASTONES! It won't be on Dave's Picks Vol. 2, and it won't be on the bonus disc either.
If you want it grab it from the archive before it gets taken down.
Seastones
I too was relying on this release to have seastones. This is very--very--disappointing to me. A full show is a full show, and I expected the full show. Not only is the marketing thereby misleading, but the musical judgment is distasteful: things like seastones are part of the Dead's most interesting legacy musically, and to treat seastones as if it were an appendix or appendage is aesthetically perverted. I found Dave's Picks Vol. 1 disappointing but attributed that to a fair discrepancy of taste; withholding seastones from Vol. 2 I do not find to be a valid difference of taste or opinion but an unacceptable amputation of a daring aesthetic and conceptual legacy that Dave apparently has failed or is unable to live up to.
And, by the way, this
And, by the way, this "limited edition" stuff is also offensive. Since when did the Dead become invested in creating commodities numbered for the select group able to make the purchase in time? Why would they even want to apply a concept like "limited edition" to music in the first place? Why would anyone want to limit those editions, except, of course, as the cheapest stunt to get consumers to purchase and to purchase quickly. I'm having a hard day with dead.net today. And please, please, don't give me the: 'we all need to make money somehow' line--the logical and ideological problems would abound.
A promising volume
I wish this volume included the Seastones sections too, but we have to understand that it IS an appendix indeed. That doesn´t mean is musicaly inferior, but that it is not a GRATEFUL DEAD project really. Maybe, time limitations on this set didn't allow that section to be included, I don´t know. Anyway, the set list fills me with anxiety, I would like to have this Dave's Picks right now. Even though the sound quality of '74 releases is not the best (the only exception being "The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack", of course), it is always a pleasure listening to a show from that year. I am against all this "limited edition" crap, though. I bought a subscription just because of that, even knowing that I was paying for records I was not going to like, for, see, I'm not interested in post-'78 Dead. I was lucky with the first volume of these series (despite the fact '77 is not my favorite year). Now I'm really lucky with this one and the bonus disc, but I know the next volume is probably not going to be the case.
Thanks for No Seastones
This is a complete Grateful Dead show. Seastones is not the Grateful Dead, it is Phil and Ned. That's like saying a complete 1970 show is not a complete show if it doesn't include the NRPS set (not that I would mind a release that included that mind you :-)
Since this was a three-set show, I'm assuming that the 20 minute Seastones would have required a four-disc release. So THANK YOU David, Rhino, etc., for keeping this a three-disc release.
Not that I mind listening to some Seastones at times, but I prefer it in the wonderful '74 AUD recordings - listening to the moans of surprise and terror from people in the audience is at least as entertaining as Phil and Ned... heh.
Seastones
I would have liked Seastones myself for the historical aspect as it was part of what was going on at the time and the series is presented as complete shows. This experiment feels much like Brian Eno's ambient albums which you really have to be in the mood for. I personally wouldn't want to hear Seastones every time I listened to the show but wish it was an option.
Surely Rhino Records understands that it's not everyones cup of tea though and it could have a negative impact on sales. In fact you can hear some people shouting get off the stage during Seastones if you listen to some of the AUD recordings from this show.
Seastones certainly presents release complications. If you think about it's 20 min long which would require an extra disc, adding to the overall cost. Ironically, however, Dave's Picks Vol. 2 includes a bonus disc to series subscribers, this is an extra disc!!! Seems it would have been an ideal opportunity to offer Seastones up to only series subscribers by putting it on the bonus disc. AFAIK the only official release of a "Seastones"Live is on Dick's Picks Vol. 12 and it's just under 5 min long.
Personally...
I never enjoyed Seastones and I'm glad it's not taking up space on this release. To the point about the bonus disc as a potential place to release it I am THRILLED that did NOT happen. The bonus disc as presented looks awesome. Regardless of what was decided people are bound to complain so it's a lose-lose situation. In that caseit makes sense to do what makes the most logical sense and appeals to the widest possible audience. Why some tend to take releases as a personal affront, I have no idea, but that's how the internet works. I get the impression that Seastones fervor is limited to a vocal minority.
On a separate note, there was a blurb in Rolling Stone a few months ago about another box set project coming from Rhino this year. I emailed DL about it, but he didn't have any knowledge of it at that point. I tend to think that something is on the way. (I'm hoping for Spring '90 tour!)
rolling stone blurb
Seems to be from this article:http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/business-is-booming-for-the-grat…
"And later this year, the band will release a multidisc box set with multiple shows from one tour."
Hopefully it is sized more like the Warlocks and Winterland boxes, or even a little larger. 2-6 shows on 6-18 discs costing between $60-$150 sounds good to me.
Seastones
I witnessed Seastones live in the summer of '74 and thought of this as electronic noise and feedback, loud back round noise ment for partying with your friends at the shows.
Why did I purchase the LP in '75 ? Don't know, it's hard to listen to it all the way thru, so I quess to surport the Round Records lable. The 1990 Ryko Disc CD release of Seastones has 2 versions credited to Ned Lagin. 1st is Dec'75 (unreleased) at 31:06 and 2nd is Feb'75 (Round Records release) at 42:34. Samething has to be said for the CD, only 2 X as hard to listen all the way thru.
Have a copy SBD of the 74-07-31 Dillon Stadium show I've been listening to the last few months and listened to the Seastones only once. I'm glad this hasn't been included on this new Dave's Picks Vol02 version of this show.
Seastones via Optional Download???
Hmm, another plausible option would be to make the Seastones from this show available for a 1 time only download using a code supplied to all those who purchased. Especially since these are limited releases and only available through dead.net this option could still be implemented and allows most who want Seastones to be able to have it and those who don't wouldn't bother with the download.
There is of course always the possibility that Seastones was not recorded on the master tapes along with the rest of the show. But even a re-mastered copy of the source used for the SBD recording that's on the LMA would be a nice option to download if that's possible.
"Moans Of Terror": Phil & Ned (Seastones)
A quick perusal of Deadbase has Phil & Ned listed in 24 shows from Springfield, MA onwards to The Last One at Winterland in '74.
I forget where it is on archive, but somewhere is a posting/raving from somebody(?) about Ned Lagin and his relationship to the Grateful Dead. I really have no idea about this relationship and what is up with Ned Lagin these days but I think something would had to have been worked out for Ned to receive royalties (unless he gave them away) for Seastones to have been included.
Claney's comment has me wondering just how Seastones was received on tour by the heads of who witnessed it.
Phil & Ned (Seastones)
A litte info from the Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Lagin
Seastones cont...
Thanks for everyone who has given their input regarding this topic. I realize the song was played between sets, but it was still part of the experience. I really would welcome a one time download. I always wondered about the royalties being paid out to Ned and if the relationship has somehow been damaged. However there is a tiny version of Seatones on DP 12. So I am sure it is feasible for a HD download.
A multi-show boxed set sounds cool. I guess my hopes of October 1980 is out the window.
Seastones cont...
Thanks for everyone who has given their input regarding this topic. I realize the song was played between sets, but it was still part of the experience. I really would welcome a one time download. I always wondered about the royalties being paid out to Ned and if the relationship has somehow been damaged. However there is a tiny version of Seatones on DP 12. So I am sure it is feasible for a HD download.
A multi-show boxed set sounds cool. I guess my hopes of October 1980 is out the window.
Seastones via Optional Download
Hey DigiGal, an optional download is an excellent idea for this Seastones. My ideas for this is a FREE (no additional charge) d/l, either 256kbp/s (or higher) mp3 or FLAC or other lossless format. That too, should be without charge for a limited time and for those who who bought it on the subscription plan.
My oh my
Hey borncrosseyed56, may I ask why you think it should be for members only? The subscribers got the bonus disc for joining. I do think it should be available to those who purchase DP vol. 2. I seriously doubt any of it will come to frutition.
Despite the lack of Seastones, this should be a spectacular release. I am just glad we get another version of Eyes. I have yet to find a '74 release to live up to the sound quality of The Grateful Dead Movie. I hope this release meets or exceeds that.
A cascading stream
I really don't want to jinx it, though surely the following isn't really news anyways. 5/25/77 still exists on archive.org for streaming purposes- I hope this is a trend and not an exception. Removing shows from archive.org- for instance Winterland June 1977- is understandable if the intent is to encourage people to buy the official release. But it makes little sense to remove a whole show if only part of it is released, or if the show is no longer available for purchase. Here I'm speaking of the February and March Fillmore West 1969 shows specifically. These complete shows are no longer for sale here nor can they be listened to on archive.org. Please, please provide us with the opportunity to stream these shows.
Limited Edition Of Unknown Content
When me and 9,499 other people bought this set we took a chance that the band and the management at Rhino would put 3 more great shows together sight unseen. No solid info about the content except for the Mosque show. So for about $120.00 we would get 12 discs plus a bonus disc only for those who bought the whole years worth of music. Also this is an exclusive one time only limited edition of 12,000 units. To my best memory this is the first time a set was offered without us knowing what would be chosen for 3 of the 4 concerts.
When the 1969 box was sold for $75.00 it included 10 discs plus 1 bonus disc. The number of boxes made was 10,000. The demand was so great it sold out immediately. They probably could have sold another 10,000 easily but they stood by the number they said they would make. When the Europe 72 box went on sale dead management/Rhino were shocked at the speed at which it sold out. So they took the box set and ended up selling the music unboxed for the same price. Some saw this as a screwing, others an opportunity to buy more great music that they love. No one said that they would be for sale on an individual concert by concert basis some time after that. Looking back at this it seems that the case that holds the 22 Europe '72 concerts is the rare piece and the music is available en mass.
Having read a January 2012 article on the remaining members of the band agreeing to sell and develop to sell a shit load of "stuff" I am concerned that problems like the Seastones omition from the cd might become a new opportunity to sell the omitted content for a premium. Was the widow Garcia present at that meeting too?
'74 Sound and GD Movie
Stopbath - I agree that no '74 releases sound as good as the GD Movie soundtrack, but that is because it was multi-track, and the other releases are 2-track. The Wall of Sound is not kind to 2-track vocals, because of the mics they had to use. (But listen to some good AUDs to get a sense of how awesome the WOS was).
But this reminds me of something I've wondered about for a while. Can anyone answer this for me (please :-): Bear and others have written in the past about how terrible the GD Movie recordings were, Bear (with typical understatement) said they were "unusable." This was generally cited as the reason why the SYF album sounded so bad. BUT, they why DOES the GD Movie soundtrack sound so great? Did Norman fix horrible source recordings somehow?
Thanks in advance if anyone knows!
WOS Road Trips
PS - Not to say I agree that the 74 2-tracks sound bad, it's just the vocals. And I should add that I think Road Trips 2.3 (the WOS 6/16-18/74 release) sounds pretty damn awesome if you haven't gotten that one yet...
It is just one idea
Stopbath, By "members only", what I really meant was those folks who bought the subscription package. This Seastones performance track could be made available to all who ordered this limited edition release, either as mp3 or a lossless format, such as FLAC.
It's just one idea, that can be reworked differently, by the-powers-that-be who keep an eye on these comments. It's possible, but highly unlikely that this Seastones performance track will get a separate release, if it is release-able. I would only want it because it is really a part of this show. This is the first (mostly) complete 1974 show to see official release.
The sound quality should be about the same as the Road Trips Vol. 2 No. 3 - Wall of Sound or Dick's Picks Volumes 7, 12, 24 & 31. The GD Movie soundtrack is from multi-track tapes, as other folks have commented on.
I am looking forward to this release for yet another '74 Eyes, and that this will be the first (mostly) complete 1974 show.
The best Seastones on cd
Here's an idea, how about picking the three or so best live Seastones and give them their own release on a cd. Some are quite varied and can be rather nice to listen to.
I agree
Hey borncrosseyed56,
No it is a great idea. I think if a person has the $$ to be a subsriber, then there should be extra perks. Maybe Dave will hone in on this idea next time. Would it kill Dave to actually tell us the years at least for the next subscription option. I don't need actual dates, but a year would make me feel better about the subscription.
Thanks claney for the '74 information. It makes sense now why the Dead movie is so great! I didn't buy many of the RT series, but the WOS was one that I did get. Despite the vocals, the jams are killer. There are some oints where it sounds like Ned is playing too, unless it's Keith getting funky.
Does anyone remember the posting during the origibnal E72 trunk that those who bought it would be entilited to special deals on other merchandise? What a load of BS that turned out to be.
I hope you all survived last weekend of weather!! It has been crazy.
Till next time-