Grateful Dead Dave's Picks 2021 Subscriptions

Seaside chat up for 2021

 

4/15/78!

 

Show #2 in the series from my alma mater, pretty cool!

 

Thats fun I'm playing 4/10/78 right now. I'll have to watch this later on.

 

Seems like it's a good time to compare both "Picks" series as they are both at #35! Who would have thought we would get so many official shows in our hands after getting that 1st Dick's Picks in the mail!!?? Dave's been taking a lot of crap for releasing another 80's show(s) right on the heels of the last release from 1984. However when you compare their releases side by side there are some interesting things. For instance if we just look at shows from the Brent era, we see that Dave only has one more pick than Dick.

Dick's = 12/26/79, 10/14/83, 5/6/81, 11/1/85 and 8/7/82

Dave's = 11/30/80, 12/9/81, 9/2/83, 12/3/79, 4/19/84 and 3/26/&27/87

Dick breached the Vinny era with 3 releases. 9/16/90, 9/25/91 and 12/16&17/92 while Dave has steered clear of that era all together. Now the internet was completely different back in 2003 when Dick's Pick Volume 27 ( 12/16&17/92) came out but can you imagine the **** storm Dave would have received if he released the same show now???!! Internet assassins were still honing their craft back then so onslaughts of rage about such important, vital things were not as loud as they are today.

Dick and Dave spread their selections out pretty evenly. One thing to keep in mind is the inclusion of the Bonus Disc for people who bought the yearly subscription. There are 9 bonus discs and I'm going to include them in the totals as Dave picked them as well. It does tip the scales a little bit but the picks make sense. They aren't 'filler' so to speak. The can stand on their own as single releases.

We all know that 1977 is a popular year however at times it seems like there has been an abundance of releases from that year. Especially from Dave. However if you look at both series you'll see that they've both released 5 shows each from 77. Another year that gets a lot of attention is 1972. Looking at the score card we see that Dick chose 4 shows from that year while Dave has picked 3. Pretty close. Going Down the Line we see that the picks are pretty consistent. If we look at the years 1968 to 1992 we see that every year is represented with at least one show except 1975, 1986, and 1988.

The only years where there are notable differences in the offerings is 1971 and 1974. Dick chose 2 shows from 1971 while Dave picked 3. Add 2 more shows that were put on Bonus Discs and that puts the count 2-5 in Dave's favor. I attribute the difference in 71 to the returning of some of the Betty Boards to the Dead. These recordings were missing from the vault so they weren't circulated or heard for the most part thus making their releases desirable and important and urgent. Dick never had access to them.

That leaves 1974 as the biggest difference between the 2. Dick chose 4 shows from 1974 while Dave picked a whopping 7! That's the biggest discrepancy between the two series. Two Bonus Discs are what made the difference here. So for those of you playing at home that makes 1974 with 11 shows the most popular release year with 1977 coming in 2nd with 10 shows. 1972 and 1973 are tied at 3rd with 8 shows each.

Dick Dave Bonus Total

1968 1 o 1 1
1969 2 2 2 6
1970 2 2 1 5
1971 2 3 2 7
1972 4 3 1 8
1973 4 4 0 8
1974 4 5 2 11
1975
1976 2 3 1 6
1977 5 5 0 10
1978 2 4 1 7
1979 1 1 0 2
1980 0 1 0 1
1981 1 1 0 2
1982 1 0 0 1
1983 1 0 0 1
1984 0 1 0 1
1985 1 0 0 1
1986 0 0 0 0
1987 0 1 0 1
1988
1989
1990 1 0 0 1
1991 1 0 0 0
1992 1 0 0 1

I'm a little surprised that there isn't anything from 1988 and 1989. Commercially they were never better. They were selling actual records and selling out concerts. Bobby loves that era. They played a lot of good shows those two years so it's strange that there hasn't been a "Pick" from them. But there are releases from some Hampton shows from 88-89( Download Series and Formerly The Warlocks), a show from the Meadowlands in 89 ( Nightfall of Diamonds), the Giants Stadium Box and the RFK Stadium Box, a handful of Views From The Vault, The Downhill From Here video so those years are pretty well represented elsewhere.

Something to consider....How have the big box sets like The Fillmore West, Europe 72, May 77 or Spring 90 influenced what has been released? There is the danger of over-saturation. Dave is not going to release a show from 1989 or 90 right after the band released an 18 CD box set from the same time period. Sometimes his hands are tied to other things the Grateful Dead organization has planned. There are a lot of variables that need to be met in order for a release to be green-lit. It would be interesting to know what the template is for a show or box set to be released vs a Dave's Pick? Both Dick and Dave have hit it out of the park in my opinion. They have brought out some of the best music the band ever played thru all eras and personnel changes. Since the band allowed taping it really is quite remarkable that they are able to sell out of all these. We are everywhere I guess!

Don't know what I'm doing wrong on my little table up there. Everything is compacted and won't spread out. It looks fine in my preview screen but when it posts it's all smooshed together.

Also I add DP 37 to the count.
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I don't subscribe usually but I was thinking if they did 4-16-78 I would probably be enticed.

415 is a good show, but not enough for me to buy.

Actually the more I think about it it seems like there won't be an April 78 box set now....

 

Love 4-15-78. A favorite from the cassette days. Really good "Playin>space" and "NFA>Morning Dew" in the second set, and great versions of "Half-Step" and "Let it Grow" in the first set.

 

It's an interesting pick because Dave had been on a streak of doing a lot of shows I'd consider "fan favorites", e.g. 2-26-77, 1-3-70, 6-23-74, 3-24-73, etc.

Now, coming off of two 80s shows (which I love, but obviously aren't as popular as the 70s release) he picks a more-obscure Spring '78 show (the following night is much more well-known, IMO).

Good for him, I think he's picking great shows, but I wonder if it will soften sales at all.

 

I'm in for a subscription for the first time, thanks to the Wife for the early Christmas present!

 

Just preordered! The brown eyed women from 4/15/78 is wild. The drumming is different from every other version I’ve heard.

 

Ordered and in for year 2021 of Davy's Picks.

 

I just finished my order for the 2021 subscription. It was quick and easy, no problems or hassles.

 

It sounds like one of the drummers is playing "backwards", i.e., starting on the "3" instead of the "1". Or something.

 

That's what Dave said on the chat.

 

Ordered promptly. Even if the last 3 picks are from the 90s it will be worth it.

 

Morning Dew

 

Wonder which show the filler is coming from Dave mentioned it was from the same run but not which show

 

I would love it if the last 3 picks are from the 90s! Variety is the spice of life.

 

I'm in. Website ordering trouble free (not always true in the past).

 

gotta say, I'm not all that excited about this. I'm reading the review of april 15 1978 in that 'deadheads taping compendium' book, and its a not-very-good show, according to that reviewer (i know, mileage varies, a lot). SOmehow it seems like the setlist is kind of 'same old same old'- songs I have so,so, so many versions of already. I was hoping it'd be something from '70 or '72, --or if 78-79, then something with a 'shakedown' (which they started playing fall 78, this show is from the spring).

Subscriberd the last three or four years, but honestly im not sure i'm going to this next year.

Does anyone know- when is that 'early bird special' price of $99 is good until? (and is it still free shipping in the US?) Will have to think about this one...

 

I didn't have a chance to listen to the seaside chat, and won't for a while. Did he just announce 4/15/78 (woohoo!) as DaP 37, or did he also announce DaP 38 and the bonus disc?

 

That reviewer is objectively wrong. Go listen to the show on relisten.net.

 

No, but he said (spoiler) that he might like the 2021 bonus disc better than the 2020 bonus disc from Miami '74.

 

Just 37 so far, and didn't even say which show would have the bonus filler tracks, just said an hour from another show in the tour, that is under the radar.

 

Thanks. Well, that clues me in that it's probably a show from somewhere between '67 and '91 or so.