Published on May 25, 1998
With Jerry Garcia gone now for almost three years, the legion of
fans of the Grateful Dead have the recorded live shows to fall back
upon for some time. Even if one isn’t part of a tape trading
network, the band’s own label continues to comb through their tape
libraries to make sdhows, or parts thereof, available on a regular
basis – the
Dick’s Picks series.
So far, the only volume in this collection that has reached mass
distribution has been
Dick’s Picks Volume One, a two-disc set taken from the
Dead’s performance in Tampa, Florida on December 18, 1973. The
other volumes are available through mail-order or the Dead’s Web
page. (Memo to the good people at GDM: How’s about releasing some
of the other titles to the stores for those of us who don’t have
credit cards… and I will personally
kill
the first SOB that sends me credit card information via
spam.)
1973 hasd not been a spectacular year for the Dead. Their first
keyboardist, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, had died that March of liver
disease, a result of a life of hard drinking. The band was still
with only one drummer, founding member Bill Kreutzmann, and a
recent vocal addition to the band, Donna Godchaux, was not
travelling with the band due to her pregnancy. (The liner notes
credit her with “giving birth” on this album.) In less than twelve
months, the Dead would “retire” from the concert stage to regroup
and work on solo projects.
But this particular set (which does not highlight the entire
show, unfortunately) features a stripped-down version of the Dead,
led as always by Garcia and his jazz-on-speed guitar licks. The
show puts a lot of focus on tracks from their most recent album of
the time,
Wake Of The Flood, and puts these tracks in a whole new
light. I must admit that
Wake Of The Flood is not one of my favorite Dead albums, but
the performances of tracks like “Here Comes Sunshine,” “Weather
Report Suite” and “Mississippi Half Step Uptown Toodleoo” do sound
a bit fresher when taken in the perspective of the circa-1973
Dead.
And it seems funny to me that the stripped-down version of the
band actually drew more attention to the work of keyboardist Keith
Godchaux, whose playing is much clearer on this release than I ever
remember hearing him in numerous other live tapes. (Even on
The Grateful Dead Movie, it sounds like his piano work was
buried in the background – pity, ’cause he was an underrated
keyboardist.)
“He’s Gone,” a track that opens up the second disc, takes on a
whole new emotional level after the death of McKernan nine months
previous – though I’m sure performances of this song right after
McKernan’s death were much more emotional. The second disc, for the
most part, is one extended jam, with songs leading into other songs
leading into jams. The version of “Truckin'” on this volume is
especially intriguing and pleasurable.
There is only one truly sour note on
Dick’s Picks Volume One, besides the fact that this isn’t a
complete show. (Sorry, I’m kind of anal about that when it comes to
the Dead.) The final song of the set, “Around And Around,” features
rhythm guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir screaming during the song as if
he had been kicked in the manhood. Sorry, Bob, but these screams
were really not needed, and were the low point of this experience –
to the point that I could live without listening to this particular
performance of “Around And Around” again.
I guess I should mention bassist Phil Lesh, seeing I’ve talked
about everyone else in the band so far. Lesh’s bass lines, on
occasion, ring out powerfully, showing that he is one of the most
technical, understated bassists in the world of rock music.
Dick’s Picks Volume One is really a disc for the diehard
Deadhead – those people who want to hear every recorded note in the
band’s history. It is an interesting slice of the band’s history,
and it makes me want to pick up the remaining volumes in this
ever-growing series. (Side note: My wife gave me the second volume
for Christmas last year; I’ve purposely held off on listening to it
until I finished the first volume. Maybe she’ll buy me the third
volume for Father’s Day.)