Published on Jan 2, 2000
What I’m about to say might get me hung in effigy by the
brotherhood and sisterhood of Deadheads out there, but here goes:
When the Grateful Dead were on, they were incredible. But when they
were off, it could sometimes be painful to listen to them.
I got to thinking about that when listening to
Dick’s Picks Volume Three the other day. This two-CD set
captures Jerry Garcia and crew in concert at Pembroke Pines,
Florida on May 22, 1977. While there still are some great
performances on this set, the bulk of the show tends to be weighted
down in mediocrity that was surprising to hear from the Dead. What
made this show stick out in the mind of the late Dick Latvala (the
beloved tape librarian for the Dead) I’ll never quite understand.
(Hey, are you guys taking resumes?)
Now, I have fond memories of this particular section of the
Dead’s history. I used to be in possession of an audience tape from
a show just a week prior to this particular concert, and the energy
level was so high, it would have buried the needle. It was fun to
hear songs like “Estimated Prophet” as they made their birth cries,
having just been released on
Terrapin Station. More importantly, the band was on that
night. I don’t know what ever happened to that tape, but I miss
it.
Why there would be so much difference between shows one week
apart is surprising, to say the least. It just seems like things
get off on the wrong foot with “The Music Never Stopped,” a song
that was always “iffy,” to say the least, in my mind, and they
never were able to capture the magic.
Oh, it’s not that Garcia and crew didn’t try. Bob Weir inpresses
me with the take on “Estimated Prophet,” a track that could well be
one of the most underrated of the Dead’s numbers. And I’ve got to
admit that I even was enthralled with this version of “Samson And
Delilah,” a song I don’t particularly care for. If the Grateful
Dead can get me interested in
that song, then things have to be going well, you’d
think.
Alas, this isn’t the case. Garcia seems off for most of the
night, even to the point where one of my favorite medleys, “Help On
The Way / Slipknot! / Franklin’s Tower,” is stretched far too long.
Garcia seems to lazily take on the verses of “Help On The Way,” and
“Franklin’s Tower” seems like it goes on for infinity. If I heard
Garcia drawl out “Roll away the dew” one more time, I thought I was
going to put my foot through my stereo speakers. I love that song,
but 15 minutes was pushing it in this case.
For that matter, Garcia seems perfectly happy to stick with the
plodding numbers throughout
Dick’s Picks Volume Three. From the too-slow start of
“Sugaree” (which does have its moments in Garcia’s guitar work) to
the lifeless take on “Wharf Rat” to the almost suicidal performance
of “(Walk Me Out In The) Morning Dew,” Garcia is just off all
night. And some people would agree that when Garcia was out of it,
he could easily drag the band down with him. (And I’m sorry, but I
would not be disappointed if I never again heard “Sunrise”. Thank
you very much.)
There are, of course, going to be those who disagree with me,
and say that
Dick’s Picks Volume Three is the kind of CD that you should
be worshipping every note of. To them I say: go fetch a tape of the
5/15/77 show in St. Louis, listen to that puppy a few times, and
then tell me that I’m off my rocker.