Grateful Dead

A very good idea to see again that beautiful bird from the Wake,but this time on a sailboat!

Thanks for the listen

Hey Man, Right on! raven on top of Center Cluster with rigging above cool Cheers DL shwack in nh

This was my first show. The show lasted seven hours! Phil played Seastones after a break. There was a guy who had a booth set up in the stands selling weed. What an event!

My favorite feelin' groovy jam of all time.

I am to assume Seastones is omitted or part of Let it Grow? Dave mentioned the complete show, yet there is no listing. False advertising if it is not included as this is why I wanted this show. Can anyone out there confirm or deny the inclusion of Seastones? Thanks!!

Yes, unfortunately that's correct - NO SEASTONES! on Dave's Picks Vol. 2, it won't be part of "Let It Grow" and it won't be on the bonus disc either.

Take a closer look, it looks to me like the bird is perched atop the 'wall of sound' in the cover artwork. Really quite fitting if you think about it!

So not a complete show. Will Rhino or Dave please tell us in the future when they are providing inaccurate info or better yet indicating they are making a false promise in order to ring the register? Totally sucks and stupid me for not asking. But Seastones is like maybe the FIRST thing the old crowd thinks of when somebody talks up the whole trip from that time. It's wrong Dave and what's worse you know it's wrong.

lacking Seastones compared to my lacking most memory of the 89 concerts (have the stubs) i was at; well, one tune---its the many trips they took me on i covet. i've reached my destination; the one their many trips played a part in taking me to. highlights of the many trips blend and blur and now its as if a recording of a specific voyage is dropped in my lap to re-live. so what if a bit of it is missing?

Phil and Ned is not the Grateful Dead. It is the complete Dead show.

Seastones is not the Dead. If folks really want to hear some Seastones, why not petition the dead office with requests? Im not sure it would sell much - it was interesting hearing Seastones once, but I dont have interest to going back for another listen. YMMV

Well, we collecting heads are a tough bunch to please. A complete, beautiful sounding '74 show (first one, I believe, after some nice, incomplete Dick's Picks and the wonderful Dead Movie compilation), and Dave still gets grief. I for one am ecstatic. I've been waiting for a full '74 show, since I like the 1st sets as much as the mind-blowing jams of the 2nd sets. Can't wait for this one, and after the selections so far, I'm likely to buy into the subscription idea next year. Can I please have a year-one bonus disc as advance reward? ;-)

...for my dad last week he asked what the hell it was (DP 12). Personally I like to have the eeps and blurps, etc.

These anal compulsive deadheads just make me laugh and laugh. I can just envision this guy's wall of CDs, all lined up chronologically and geographically, catalogued and numbered, absolute full tours all - except, there is a gaping hole in the 1974 collection, his soul is torn, a half hour of incomprehensible feedback is missing! How can he live with this insult to the concept of the complete show? It is not something anyone in their right mind would ever actually listen to, but BY THE MIDDLE FINGER OF JERRY THIS WAS TOUTED AS A COMPLETE SHOW!!! I believe a class action lawsuit and possibly a congressional investigation is in order, take it to the supreme court, this outrage will not stand! "...nothin left to do but smile smile smile..."

A photgrapher named Jim Anderson posted some beautiful shots from this show: http://www.photog.com/gdead/70s/74/7-31/index.html

I just passed Seastones. Damn, those things had been rattling around down there since '74! By the middle finger of Jerry?? Too funny ssg!

Got it, complete Grateful Dead performance. Complete Dead show? Trippers, twirlers, tour hounds and electronic music fans might beg to differ. There were SO MANY chances to indicate that this was to be a complete GD performance, MINUS Seastones. I've seen the Dead with a few (2-3) band members playing steel drums during a set break, saw musicians sitting in, saw Mickey and Bill playing percussion inside a ring of jugglers, all sorts of interludes and all PART OF THE COMPLETE SHOW, just like Seastones. It goes with the "There's nothing like a GD concert" territory. What was Infrared Roses? It was the Grateful Dead. And check Bralove's credits. But thanks for coming back to tell us you guys had it right all along here.

Few, if any, have been as outspoken as I against the tyranny of the Complete Show Totalitarians. But this time they're right. Dead right. And they even have a legitimate gripe about the advertisement of a complete show when it isn't.Seastones was the quintessential Wall of Sound experience. As one who personally witnessed Phil and Ned "play the system" I can say that it was the trippiest, least predictable, most unusual aspect of Dead shows of the period. It was a unique performance each time and should have been included. Indispensable to the 1974 vibe."Trippy," "unpredictable," "unusual," "unique." Isn't that why we keep coming back to this music? I'm starting to wonder about Dave's sensibilities and preferences. His first two Picks are not up to Dick's standards. These are fairly run-of-the-mill shows. I suppose it is distinctly possible to run out of release-worthy shows. I doubt this has happened quite yet, but hopefully good taste and forbearance will eventually prevail and not market exploitation. And now he edits out Phil and Ned from a "complete" 1974 show? I wonder if he ever saw this phenomenon in person. Likely not or he'd understand how incomplete this show is without it. While I'm here, I'd like to renew my call for more early stuff. Why has there never been and official release of a 1967 show, in part or complete? C'mon, Dave! We know there are more Touchheads than old hippies who buy this stuff, but don't let that determine the selections every time. We've got plenty of 70s for the time being. More 60s, less 90s and go easy on the 80s.

exactly, sffct or however you pronounce that. I don't care about complete releases, hell I would still be buying not one but two subscriptions (strange and unique gifts, if you must know) even if I knew Seastones was missing. I did get a bit fired up assuming it would be there. I don't like misrepresentation here (and I didn't see a "gee, sorry we didn't mention this"), and I generally don't like anybody's bitching, least of all mine. I care that they know that some of us really do care about communication. OK moving on.

Just wanted to say that I was not going to buy the first Dave's Picks but then watched his live chat and was so impressed I signed up for the subscription. It seems to me that Dave really "gets it" as far as what most Deadheads really want. These first two picks are right on: complete shows, uninterupted and (can't believe I even have to mention this) in order. And, obviously they're from great years for Dead shows.Here's the big But, or maybe not so big. While I can see Blair's point that Phil and Ned are not technically the Grateful Dead, I still think of that as part of the Grateful Dead concert. Maybe I think that way because Phil and Ned is listed (seemingly) as part of the show in Deadbase. On the other hand Deadbase also often lists opening acts and that's not part of the Dead show. Anyway, I think it should have been mentioned that Phil and Ned is not on this CD. My guess is it wouldn't have been a deal breaker for most buyers but would have lessened the dissapointment of those hoping it was somehow on the release but not listed. I ended up loving the first Daves Picks and this one looks even more to my liking. More 70s is what I'm hoping for although that seems doubtful for the next release or two, but I'm willing to bet, via the subscription, that Dave will come up with something great for dapicks 3.

Count me as one who would have liked to see Seastones included on this release. I saw Phil and Ned about a week after this show in Philly and I agree that their performance is the thing that took absolute, full advantage of the Wall. That said, I certainly understand that Seastones is not for everyone and even without it, I'm certainly looking forward to this release.

Shows like this contributed to the Dead's resignation that they needed to take a much needed hiatus after the October shows in 1974. Jerry is sloppy as hell, not at his best at all. The shows in England were similar. Where they were sharp as diamonds in 1973 they started to slowly slide downhill from there. I used to think that the shows in 73 & 74 were all the same but this is just not the case. Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing shows in 1974. 02-24-74 or ironically 06-16-74 surpass this show by miles. Check out Jerry's "Ive been working on the railroad" quote during the china/rider from the latter show and then listen to the version of china/rider on this release - sad. 06-16-74 or 6-18-74 are much more deserving of the full show release treatment. I know that Dave does his best but either he isn't listening carefully enough or just doesn't get it. "Shining Star" the live Jerry Garcia Band compilation is probably the worst/best example on how Dave has been way off on his picks. 1974 was a tricky year and somewhat uneven however I feel that this show was picked with the idea that the shows in 74 were all good which is not true. There are times during this show where Jerry is clearly not doing well. He can sing real good but his guitar is all over the place - hitting bad notes - the china/rider sound sample pretty much proves this. Prophetic considering this is how things were in 1995 as well.

Didn't go to this one, as my first was a couple years down the line, but I gotta agree with pwfurther's comments above...I've seen so many amazing shows, but the wrong notes, sloppiness in China Cat, right off the bat, tell me I've heard enough. Just not quality archive stuff... unlike the release from New Haven a couple years back... a show that I saw/recorded, always claimed was stellar...which the release some 30 years later bore out. Still have the original cassette tape, recorded from the 15th row, and it sounds so much better than this show! I'm afraid that I too would have to say that some folks just don't get the essence of what a killer Dead show encompasses...and that many shows just weren't...all there. I too wonder what Dave was thinking. After hearing what I've heard, I wouldn't buy it. Love you guys, though!

1973 and 1974 performances were arguably the best years of their career: what have you been smokin?? Sure wish I could've been in Hartford or Landover that summer. I did get to witness the Louisville show. Is there a better Eyes of the World out there?Cudos to David for his listening, analyzing and choosing efforts. I guess if you don't like what you hear, craigslist or eBay will be an avenue for you to consider. I Know You Rider is really good, so go back and hear it again! Gonna miss me when I'm gone!

pwfurther: Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing shows in 1974. 02-24-74 or ironically 06-16-74 surpass this show by miles.<<< Ironically? What's the irony? That the Dead could play a great show somewhere besides the coasts?

eddpao: you said: "I'm afraid that I too would have to say that some folks just don't get the essence of what a killer Dead show encompasses" You should be 'afraid' to say such a thing.. I wasn't aware that ANYONE except for ME could make ME aware of what the 'essence of what a killer Dead show encompasses' to ME. Everyone takes from a show (or anything for that matter), what they want - NO ONE can define what any one else should or could take from a show. Some people try and define the 'norm' for everyone else as if their opinion matters more than the next. Next time I need to know what the essence of a killer show is I will consult with you so that I can know if I enjoyed it or not??? Let there be songs to fill the air.

Please don't dominate the rap,jack, if you got nothing new to say....There's no way everyone will be happy about a release....I have no problem with the complaining at all, but please refrain from telling me or anyone else that "we just don't get it"...That is so much BS....

Man, hearin people rag on this show is crazy. People should be psyched to get a high quality show from 74. Wake up folks, this stuff is finite, and in short supply! Gettin this show is a treat. You may like others sweeter, but it doesn't diminish this show. Now to be more specific: you're nuckin futz if you don't get the Eyes or WRS. Sorry, couldn't resist.

So a group of musicians that admittadly experiment regularly with voice, instruments and equipment get criticized when they do just that? Or after touring almost nonstop for seven years get on stage and play a note off key or forget a word your ready to throw the entire show away? Really? How many times have you critics taken the stage? What part of the Dead's mistakes or experiments have they ever hidden from us? You will never fully enjoy this music unless you try to understand the shared attitude of the Dead towards their endeavor.

Put me in the camp for complete shows, warts and all. (Please, no more compilations if the complete show can be delivered.)Of course some great moments exist on incomplete vault tapes, AUDs, etc., but put them on a "best of" disc. I think I am like many who want to go back to a show and melt in. Nothing better than a kick ass first set, building and weaving into a second set where we all end up deep in the goo. Yeah really. As for Seastones, I can live without it, but it was part of the trip. Shoulda mentioned the omission for the Nedheads. But I am glad to get a 74 show, despite all the challenges the WOS created for live recordings. We are a tough crowd, but I for one appreciate the effort. Of course more Pigpen would be cool:)

I liked the Road Trips series because the fellas unearthed tape which was good but incomplete. Not everything in the Vault is complete, not all of the concerts were good. I wonder in jest what would happen if the folks released a shitty show, of which there were plenty. I bet many would clamor and yell for EVEN mostly complete shows; recorded to CDs, downloads; which also included other snippets from shows from the night before (which, for some reason, may not be complete either). Dave, I'm paying attention! Incomplete concerts which are treated well (you gentlemen deserve much thanks!) and added to other date-appropriate material is fine. I'll take what's on the cutting floor when the concerts are gone. I don't think this will be a probability, however. So, onward to full concerts...Dillon Stadium! Dave's Picks Vol. II is a clean, intact piece of history unearthed for Dead fans everywhere. I'm just picking my seat about now. This'll be worth it! Andrew

Right on 10.14.83. As Jerry once said when an interviewer brought up the topic of "sloppy leads"- "if anyone's counting, f*ck em "-

I ordered 3, yes 3 copies of this show for personal reasons. They say im ok to listen to 70s concerts now, just not have any sharp objects though. I was there with some very special friends. Two are maried and the other1 and I are not. Gonna give 2 copies away and they wont believe it all these years later. Still see them all regularly and her daughters were just asking me and some of her other old friends what her youth was like. This would be a window into it. We used to play accustic guitars together. A few years after we broke up, she was forced to quit her job and just about everything else to run the family dairy farm. Dairy farming is pretty much a 24/7 way of life. We all still do the county fair circuit with cattle and stuff. I think the cds will go to the kids first and quite honestly Seastones would loose them and they would wonder how stoned we realy were. I had the demo Seastones and the album and I swear the album had 3 sides. Most of the time it would play one track on one side but sometimes it would hop into a differeny groove and play a completely different side or I dont know, maybe it was the doses. O yeah, and with 3 sets I can count on being able to get a copy of any disk I screw up.

I have been clamoring for a full show from '74, a year I love, and am absolutely stoked about this release. But if a couple heads feel this is a less than stellar choice I'm very interested in their thoughts. I might not agree with them completely but doesn't this really show how high the bar was set in '73-'74? Personally, I don't need a new release to be "one of the all time great shows", I'm happy to listen to a snapshot of what the Grateful Dead were like when still touring; after all, I was never let down after going to a show just because it wasn't among the all time best. But the criticism does not reduce my enthusiasm. I love what I've heard from '74 but maybe with a closer look, it's not quite as good as '73. I'll have to dig a little deeper to see if I agree with the critics and I should thank them for that. In any case, you have to love the passion that the Grateful Dead brings out in people, even after all these years.

...Kezar Stadium '73...whole show? Or...Watkins glen...whole show including sound check?

Deadheads have to be the most spoiled bunch of music fans on the planet. I can't believe how many complaints I'm reading about this release. My favorite comment has to be the one about '74 being an uneven year. I suppose that's correct in a sense, as the shows tended to vary from amazing to absolutely f**king mind-blowing. I got my copy of Dave's Picks 2 in the mail yesterday. I've gotten through the first hour , and so far, this release is a gem. The performance is exemplary '74 Dead, and the sound quality of the recording is as good as it gets for this type of release. It's crystal clear with all of the highs and lows intact. On many soundboard recordings, the high frequency edge of Jerry's guitar doesn't come through, but it does on this one. There's also a wide stereo separation, and each instrument can be heard clearly. They've done a phenomenal job on this one. Keep up the good work, guys!

I have given this two careful listens now and I have to say that it is a nice document of a typical 1974 show. The re-mastered sound is clear and well-balanced. The performances are consistent, despite many little flubs and clams. The set list itself covers a lot of ground and includes some of their best Wake of the Flood and Mars Hotel songs.That said, this show lacks not only the peaks of a great Dead show, but generally cruises along at a low level throughout. There is not one track that rates with the best versions of the song. It's just not an exciting or compelling show. Maybe a consequence of a midday, outdoor atmosphere. Grateful Dead as background music. It's not why I like the group and certainly not why I spend money to buy CDs. The same was true of Dave's #1 and it has got me wondering we've now heard all the release-worthy shows. Probably not, but the '70s are now so well represented that there can't be much more from that decade. Do you Complete Show Absolutists really prefer a whole mediocre show to a partial thriller? Because that's what we'll get from Dave from now on. I am going to have to get something more compelling with #3 or I will begin to despair of Dave's sensibilities and perhaps even his motives.

Oh well, I guess Dave can't please us all.

I must say that I'm the polar opposite of sffct. If you consider these first two Daves Picks mediocre shows then by all means, YES!, I prefer mediocre shows to what you call "partial thriller". I respect your opinion, but for me, these two releases are RIGHT ON! As for what's coming up next, it will probably be Pigpen era and an early Brent for picks three and four but if Dave is listening, Portland '74 sooner rather than later. One of my top three all time faves, can't wait for it to come out.

...capturing a very good show. The show is not special for me like a few others from '74, such as Louisville (my pick for best of '74), Philly, Miami, or the retirement shows -- all picked over and somewhat released. But I like DP2 as an exciting release and I am listening to it and enjoying it. I think for the era, it's Kezar '73 that equals the heights of '72 and '69-'70. '74 is a good vintage, but it's music that sounds just plain weird to me, e.g. cardboard-y snare drums, muffled vocals from an earlier low-fi era.

IMO, Seastones is not really part of the official GD show unless it morphs into the full band, as it does somewhere (can't remember what show where the boys join the end of Seastones and it jams into Eyes or Wharf Rat). I would bet dollars to donuts that the main reason Seastones wasn't included here are business ones: 1) It would have required a fourth disc, and 2) It would have required some payment to Ned If they had added Seastones to this release, forcing it to be a 4-discer, and turning a future 2012 release into a 2 discer, can you imagine the uproar? You can't please everyone, and pleasing a bunch of Deadheads (myself included) who care enough to post here on dead.net, is nay on impossible. You make your decisions, release what you think makes the most sense (musically, business wise, etc.) and wait to take your lumps here on dead.net.

DP2 features some really tasty Keith Godchaux piano. It's a huge bonus for me to hear it mixed so prominently. The Eyes jam is absolute heaven.

Any word on what show # 3 will be? When can we expect announcement

Any word on what show # 3 will be? When can we expect announcement The rumor I'm hearing is that TPTB have closely monitored what is said here and have adjusted accordingly. That is why, for instance, there are now digipaks for the CDs. The third release of 2012 is going to be a compilation. Wait.......before you get upset.......listen to the details. It's going to be a compilation of every Seastones performance of 1974 along with the missing tuning between jams from 7/31/74. So while it's a compilation (boo hiss), it will allow completists to piece together not only 7/31/74 with the Seastones intermission segment, but also the several minutes of tuning between each and every song! Given that so much of 7/31/74 was individual songs, this will add A LOT of tuning. Finally, Humpty Dumpty will be put back together again! And then to have ALL the '74 Seastones performances in one digipak? I don't see how anyone can complain about anything, especially about TPTB not listening to its core audience. Yeah!

How 'bout squeezing some of the missing songs that didn't make the cut from the Dick's Picks series as filler on discs that run short? To Terrapin Disc 1 was short enough to include several songs of filler from 5-22-77 which would have been appropriate. I'd also like to hear more from the Fillmore East Feb. shows and there are plenty more Ohio Theater DP 2, Alexandra Palace DP 7, Cow Palace DP 24 - - even the Road Trips series that were cut and pasted. I can't imagine the choice to collage were always made based solely on available tape, subjective choices had to be made somewhere.

We've had a super solid '77 show. An unexpectedly sloppy and sublime '74 show. I know E72 came out earlier but post E72 shows are pretty amazing. i'm enjoying 9.28.72 tonight on archive and wishing I had this one all spiffed up. I know there are many Dick's Picks from that era but one more would be nice.

you slay me, 'cuse78 based on news of your post, the dow jones has plummeted; NYC, Chicago, and L.A. are burning; there's widespread rioting across Europe; dogs are howling; men are crying; women are pulling their hair out; and small children have been left to their own devices for dinner tonight...

Logged in for some good old entertainment, indignant-Deadhead style. Was not disappointed! Bewildered by anybody whose mind is not blown by this show. I still remember the first time I heard it - driving into the mountains of southern Idaho, that marvelous audience tape capturing peak after peak. The DP(2)2 sounds even better. Guess that's why they make 31 flavors!

After listening to this show several times, I have grown to love it, I'm very happy with Dave's Picks Volume 2. I was somewhat disappointed that the "Phil & Ned" segment was not included, but that's okay, it isn't an essential part of the show, in my humble opinion. I still think that I would probably would enjoy listening to this 7/31/74 performance of Seastones once or twice, maybe even three or four times. There was room enough on discs 1 or 3 to add a portion of this performance to this release.Thank you very much for releasing this show in its (almost) entirely. Great package of some of the sweetest music, very good essay by Blair Jackson, very good photos contributed by Jim Anderson, John Cantamessa & Mike Thut. EXCELLENT bonus disc from the 7/29/74 Capital Center show. I'm looking forward to the announcement of Dave's Pick's Volume 3 sometime in July.