I saw Roy ayers open for them along with patti Smith at Amherst in 79. He was really good but the dead crowd didn't pay much attention to him.
I think he just didn't give a fck. Based on the songlists on the releases and his handwritten setlists I've seen online, he seems like one of those collectors who considers that anything that isn't a proper song is encapsulated in the "->" or the word "jam."
Regarding the sound, check out the updated Charlie Miller SBD, it blows away the DiP. Vocally, I thought they started out rough, and Bobby was certainly not at his best, but beginning with Althea I thought Jerry's vocals were very good to excellent. Althea, Scarlet>Fire, and Stella Blue were all sung beautifully, although Tennessee Jed was a bit rough.
I loved Brent's keyboard choices on this pick - mostly B3 early, and mixing it up in the second set. I liked the faux-marimba as well in that spot.
Wild speculation: Lesh/Cutler were wary of this issue (see the interview where they downplay the idea of the MLB jam being related to the song from the Baron von Tollbooth album) and we know they had lots of say/veto power over the DP releases, so using wrong or strange names was a way to placate them but also nod to the tapers who had names for all sorts of jams.
Thread guide List of releases By Release Date One from the Vault (1975-08-13 San Francisco, released 1991-04-15) Infrared Roses (1989-1990, released 1991-11-01) Two from the Vault (1968-08-24 San Francisco, released May 1992) Dick’s Picks 1 (1973-12-19 Tampa, released 1991-10-31) Dick’s Picks 2 (1971-10-31 Columbus, released March 1995) Grayfolded (1968-1993, released 1994 and 1995) Hundred Year Hall (1972-04-26, released 1995-09-26) Dick’s Picks 3 (1977-05-22 Pembroke Pines, released 1995-11-07) Dick’s Picks 4 (1970-02-13, 14 New York, released 1996-02-23) Dick’s Picks 5 (1979-12-26 Oakland, released 1996-05-30) Dozin' at the Knick (1990-03-24 Albany (mostly), released 1996-08-29) Dick's Picks 6 (1983-10-14 Hartford, released 1996-10-07) By Concert Date Various (released 1994 and 1995 on Grayfolded) 1968-08-24 Los Angeles (released 1992-05 on Two from the Vault) 1970-02-13, 14 New York (released 1996-02-23 on Dick's Picks 4) 1971-10-31 Columbus (released 1995-03 on Dick's Picks 2) 1972-04-26 Frankfurt (released 1995-09-26 on Hundred Year Hall) 1973-12-19 Tampa (released 1993-10-31 on Dick's Picks 1) 1975-08-13 San Francisco (released 1991-04-15 on One from the Vault) 1977-05-22 Pembroke Pines (released 1995-11-07 on Dick's Picks 3) 1979-12-26 Oakland (released 1996-05-30 on Dick's Picks 5) 1983-10-14 Hartford (released 1996-10-07 on Dick's Picks 6) 1989, 1990 (released 1991-11-01 on Infrared Roses) 1990-03-24 Albany (mostly) (released 1996-08-29 on Dozin' at the Knick) This week: 1974-09-09, 10, 11 London (released 1997-03-04 on Dick's Picks 7) Next week: 1970-05-02 Binghamton (released 1997-06-14 on Dick's Picks 8)
Dick's Picks Volume 7 Recording date: September 9-11, 1974 Recording location: Alexandra Palace, London, England Release date: March 4, 1997 Recorded by: Bill Candelario Disc 1 "Scarlet Begonias" (9/9) (Garcia, Hunter) – 9:29 "Mexicali Blues" (9/9) (Barlow, Weir) – 3:36 "Row Jimmy" (9/9) (Garcia, Hunter) – 8:21 "Black-Throated Wind" (9/10) (Barlow, Weir) – 7:20 "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo" (9/10) (Garcia, Hunter) – 8:48 "Beat It On Down the Line" (9/11) (Fuller) – 3:30 "Tennessee Jed" (9/11) (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:59 "Playing in the Band" (9/11) (Hart, Hunter, Weir) – 23:30 Disc 2 "Weather Report Suite" (9/10) > (Anderson, Barlow, Weir) – 18:18 "Stella Blue" (9/10) (Garcia, Hunter) – 8:32 "Jack Straw" (9/11) (Hunter, Weir) – 5:19 "Brown-Eyed Women" (9/11) (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:07 "Big River" (9/11) (Cash) – 5:14 "Truckin'" (9/9) > (Garcia, Hunter, Lesh, Weir) – 10:31 "Wood Green Jam" (9/9) > (Grateful Dead) – 5:56 "Wharf Rat" (9/9) (Garcia, Hunter) – 11:13 Disc 3 (9/10) "Me & My Uncle" (Phillips) – 3:30 "Not Fade Away" (Holly, Petty) – 16:27 "Dark Star" > (Grateful Dead, Hunter) – 24:08 "Spam Jam" > (Grateful Dead) – 7:13 "(Walk Me Out in the) Morning Dew" (Dobson, Rose) – 13:15 "U.S. Blues" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:41 The seventh Dick’s Picks offered highlights from a three-night 1974 London run. A new artwork style graced the cover; changing the theme after every six volumes would become a hallmark of the series. While the 1972 European tour is considered one of the band’s best by most fans, the 1974 European outing is not held in such high regard; I’m sure there have been discussions about this in other forum threads. But this release will show that there is some fine music to be found. Each disc is organized like a set. The first and second discs contain a mix of songs from multiple nights, while the third focuses on the second show’s main jams. The Pick starts with a strong Scarlet Begonias, although Donna’s vocals don’t help the song. Mississippi Half-Step is an obvious highlight. But the disc’s highlight is a long, mellow Playing in the Band; it doesn’t really go anywhere, but that’s not the point. Just sit back and let the music flow. The second disc starts with the gentle opening of Weather Report Suite from the middle night of the run. It builds as expected, then falls into a nice Stella Blue. A few short songs follow, including a strong Jack Straw and a really hot Big River. The rest is from the first night. A lively Truckin’ segues smoothly into an unusual jam, very energetic and not following well-known themes to my ears; it seems very open-ended. It all too quickly moves into Wharf Rat, a gorgeous version; Keith is particularly prominent in the extended closing section, and Phil shows why he’s such a great player throughout. This is great stuff. Disc three starts with a standard Me and my Uncle, followed by a long standalone Not Fade Away. Dark Star has a feeling of urgency to it. It goes through a series of fairly free jams, far from any obvious structure. It breaks down into a very quiet passage led by Jerry, finding its roundabout way back to the first (and only) verse more than 20 minutes after it started. It then quickly turns into a full-on meltdown (the Spam Jam), almost frightening in its intensity. Morning Dew arises quietly out of the ashes, building to a wonderful conclusion. While there is plenty of good music on Dick’s Picks 7, this is the heart of the release and the part that a listener will return to over and over. The recording is rather dull with the infamous 1974 vocal sibilance rather prominent; it’s enough to be distracting to casual fans. Artwork is very simple - no essay and not even a photo of the band. As a first 1974 release, it was of great interest at the time. In retrospect it’s puzzling; there are many shows that have much better sound quality, and performances at least as good. Maybe the intention was to get a rare 1974 Dark Star out, and that remains the main reason to own this release (and it’s a compelling one and a stunning sequence). In my opinion, most listeners can find better 1974 options than this compilation; one of them will come up in just a few picks. But for the dedicated fan, there is plenty to enjoy here.
Did I read somewhere that these Ally Pally shows were conceived in a pub? Love the extended Not Fade Away.
As a huge fan of '74 GD, I consider DiP 7, 12 and 31 the three most essential releases in that series. To me, the only flaw of DiP7 is that there isn't a fourth disc containing the amazing Seastones Jam>Eyes>Space Jam>Wharf Rat sequence from 9/11. Had the album been released a couple years later, I have to believe that a fourth disc would have been included. Given how great the London and Dijon shows were, I don't rate E74 as less important than E72; there's just not as much of it, and the tour ended on a sour note with the subpar Paris shows. To me, the three full London shows belong in a boxed set together with Munich and Dijon. I wish GDP would rethink their apparent policy of not revisiting shows that were partially released on DiP albums.
It was a short tour, there was some discord in the band and for a while there were few good tapes available from it. (I think the 9/18 Dijon show surfaced earlier in the 90's.) I think Dick still usually wanted to pick shows people didn't have, which may be why he went for this rather than some of the popular U.S. shows. What I liked most at the time was "Playing," the first officially released 1974 version (aside from the Grateful Dead Movie) and with some nice interplay between Jerry and the electric piano, which I think was Ned Lagin (uncredited) rather than Keith.
Based on what I've seen, that was released on 6/17/97, between Dick's Picks 8 (released on 6/14/97) and Terrapin Station Limited Edition (released on 9/30/97). So that's when we'll cover it.
You can stream it on YouTube (or Spotify, if that's your vehicle). At this point, though, you might be better off just heading to the Archive or to Relisten and check out the three shows in their entirety. The Charlie Miller masters are possibly better sounding than the official release of this, anyway. Either way, you really need to check this out eventually.
Do you stream? I just recently noticed that amazon music has most (all?) of the Dick's Picks available for streaming so I'm assuming the other big streaming services do as well if you don't have access to amazon.
Dick’s Picks Vol. 7 – 9/9-11/74 Volume 7 was kind of an annoying curveball pick when it came out. I assume Dick chose to compile this run because it was relatively unknown and uncirculated at the time. Be that as it may, I was disappointed that he didn’t choose one of the other top shows from '74, which were crying out to be picked and would have kept things on the ‘whole show’ level. These hang-ups prevented me from ever really digging into it, which is unfortunate, because this is still '74 (aka one of their best years), and a comp of highlights at that. I’m glad I finally gave it a fair shake, because upon further review, I found some good things in here. Notes and highlights: Shows from '74 always sound a little weird to me -- I think it's the vocals, they always sound a bit compressed, and the drums are often a tick too loud and thuddy. I do like how high and clear in the mix Phil tends to be during this year, though, and Keith is generally on fire throughout – he was at the peak of his powers, and ’74 is his best and most versatile year, in my opinion. All the songs on the first disc are well-played, although besides the Scarlet and BT Wind, nothing really jumped out at me until a well-jammed Playin' closes it. I’ve certainly heard wilder versions, but Phil keeps things moving and Keith (or is it Ned?) provides nice accompaniment on the Rhodes. Hearing the keys in the right channel is the perfect counterbalance to Jerry on the left. I've always found the first two thirds of Weather Report, which opens the second disc, to be ponderous and hokey, and I never missed it once they (wisely) dropped it from the rotation. The Let it Grow portion on this Pick, however, is a good one, owing to some really nice Jerry runs, more excellent Rhodes from Keith and even some funky Phil in the back half. I didn’t look at the tracklist before I put this on (if I can help it, I like not knowing what’s coming when I listen to the Dead), so I was pleasantly surprised to hear a great Stella emerge from Let it Grow. That's one thing I love about '73 and '74: almost any song can appear at any time, with a few obvious exceptions. As this is a compilation, I checked the show's setlist, and this Stella did indeed arrive right in the middle of it. Excellent Truckin’ > Jam > Wharf Rat sequence to close out disc 2. Using the Truckin' outro as a platform for exploration always seems to lead somewhere interesting, and the jam takes off in a few different directions before settling into a very nice Wharf Rat. I love the repetitive chiming notes Jerry hits on the outro, it's an approach I haven't heard him use very frequently in that spot. A super-hot jammed out NFA, featuring great exploration from just about everyone, is the first highlight of disc 3. This is certainly one of the best standalone versions of this song I've ever heard – does anyone know offhand how often they did isolated versions like this? I don’t think I’ve heard that many. This is a fairly interesting Dark Star with some cool passages, most notably starting around 9:30 when a jazzy jam kicks in with Jerry sprinkling in some unusual, almost eastern-sounding chord progressions. After that it almost sounds like they're heading for a Death Don't until it goes to the verse. I never really need the extended dissonant meltdowns like the one that follows, but the juxtaposition is also fun when they resolve into something like Dew. The Dew is a scorcher and you can clearly hear the song starting to evolve into what it became in ‘77 -- really nice dynamic version with excellent solos. Hot way to end the set. While I view this pick as more of a nice-to-have supplementary release than an essential one (almost every other ’74 DiP or DaP is more essential than this, and has better sound quality to boot), it’s aged better than expected for me. My irritation upon its release in 1997 has turned mostly to affection, since there is some really, really good music on it. A lot of the shows I had been hoping for in its place have been subsequently released, so at this point that’s a non-issue. Even if isn’t the first thing I grab when I get a hankering for ‘74, I’m happy to have it in the fold.
The crowd "requested" NFA by clapping the Bo Diddley beat when they played London 5/26/72, and again in 1974. As far as I know this never happened anywhere else.
Don't skip the second set jam sequence from 9/11, mentioned above, which didn't make it onto the release but should have been Disc 4.
One that comes to mind is Kansas City 2/9/79. One of our Forum members was the instigator from the front row.
From what I've seen, Amazon has every commercial Dead release except for Dave's Picks and RSD releases.
