This "China Cat" from Providence probably is my favorite. Usually, it seems like just the prelude to "I Know You Rider," and the transition between, but here they really take their time with it. I love that spacey, drifting quality, like it's a "Dark Star." It feels more psychedelic than usual, too. "China Cat" reaches its full potential, fully evolved, all that it ever could have been, and always was meant to be. Funny that some of the band have complained that the venues got to be too big in '73-74, they felt cut off from the audiences and each other on stage. Just before the 6/28 encore, Phil even compared playing Boston Garden to doing work in a garbage can--and yet they were at their most magical in this period. Closely attuned to each other as well as the cosmos. The greatest, heady Psychedelic Jazz-Rock and Americana band ever. The evidence is right here. Providence and Boston are worth hearing in full, but I appreciate how Dick shows his usual good programming sense and gets right to the heart of things. He also liked 6/30 Springfield ("The Springfield show on 6/30 is quite a raucous affair, and may itself someday be a subject of release. Well, maybe not"). While you're in the area, I recommend that to complete the run. Curious that they did move on to Springfield, instead of playing two nights at Boston Garden, btw. Maybe the Garden was booked on 6/29, but the NBA and NHL seasons were done in May. I guess they probably had a sweet deal with a promoter to bring the show to Springfield. They played the Springfield Civic Center Arena each year from '72-74, and again from '77-80, before doing a final two-night run there in 1985. Anyway, I love this Pick, but especially the sequence from Providence. The Dead at their best.
Dick's Picks Volume 13 Recording date: May 6, 1981 Recording location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York Release date: March 5, 1999 Recorded by: Dan Healy Disc 1 First set: “Alabama Getaway” (Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter) – 5:01 “Greatest Story Ever Told (Mickey Hart, Hunter, Bob Weir) – 4:25 “They Love Each Other” (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:08 “Cassidy” (John Barlow, Weir) – 5:17 “Jack-A-Roe” (traditional) – 4:55 “Little Red Rooster” (Willie Dixon) – 9:32 “Dire Wolf” (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:26 “Looks Like Rain” (Barlow, Weir) – 9:05 “Big Railroad Blues” (Noah Lewis) – 3:54 “Let It Grow” (Barlow, Weir) – 10:07 “Deal” (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:33 Disc 2 Second set: “New Minglewood Blues” (traditional) – 7:15 “High Time” (Garcia, Hunter) – 9:48 “Lost Sailor” > (Barlow, Weir) – 6:14 “Saint of Circumstance” (Barlow, Weir) – 42:47 - The song "Saint of Circumstance" ends at 6:35. After 1 minute of silence (6:35 - 7:35), there are two live hidden songs (both recorded on November 1, 1979; Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York): the first live hidden song is "Scarlet Begonias" (7:35 - 26:05); the second hidden song is "Fire on the Mountain" (26:05 - 42:47). Disc 3 “He's Gone” (Garcia, Hunter) – 11:53 “Caution / Spanish Jam” > (Grateful Dead) – 15:24 “Drums” > (Hart, Kreutzmann) – 7:23 “Jam” > (Grateful Dead) – 3:42 “The Other One” > (Grateful Dead) – 6:04 “Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad” > (traditional) – 5:32 “Wharf Rat” > (Garcia, Hunter) – 9:18 “Good Lovin'” (Rudy Clark, Arthur Resnick) – 7:45 Encore: “Don't Ease Me In” (traditional) – 3:27 Dick takes his second dive into the 1980s with this release, a 1981 New York show from a cassette soundboard. The mix isn’t bad, although rather thin and a little hissy in places. But the ears adjust fairly quickly. Despite some immediate lyrical flubs in Alabama Getaway (par for the course), the first set is lively and fun. They Love Each Other has some inventive Jerry leads, and Jack-A-Roe shows that he’s into the music. Little Red Rooster is marred by one of Bob’s awful slide solos but Dire Wolf is bouncy. The set ends with a solid Let It Grow and a very strong Deal. This isn’t top-shelf Dead but it’s an enjoyable set. Set 2 starts out with Minglewood and we get our second questionable slide solo of the evening. The too-rare High Time is next, and despite some rough vocals it’s a joy to hear. I always enjoy a good Sailor>Saint (I know plenty disagree with me here) and this one delivers. The core of the show starts with He’s Gone. It’s slow and relaxed, and at the end enters some very rarified territory. It starts quietly but quickly turns into a crazy jam, going through numerous themes and mutating in very natural ways. There are faint strains of Caution, a distinct Spanish Jam, and other less definable sections. More than once it sounds like it could turn into Drums but Jerry keeps it going. This is inspired and presumably the reason for the release. Eventually it does find its way into Drums, which ends in a simple but interesting pattern. Instead of the standard Space, we get another unique passage. Jerry plays over the pattern which the drummers keep playing for a while. The rest of the band joins them and it slowly builds until it turns into The Other One. This is another wonderful and unique passage. From here we’re back into normal territory for the year - The Other One is short and not very exploratory, and it’s a standard (if well-played) set of songs to finish the set. The end of disc 2 includes a hidden track, a 35-minute Scarlet>Fire from 11/1/79. I like filler tracks, but hiding them is less ideal; I want to hear the main show, but I can’t simply skip to the filler as it’s not a separate track. (Luckily music servers solve this, and it’s now separated and at the end of the release.) Musically, it’s a mixed bag; it’s got some great soloing, but the transition jam is somewhat aimless and Brent overwhelms the proceedings at times. I’m not a musician but it sounds slow to my ears. I’m glad to have it but it’s not a favorite. While it’s not a key Dead show, this is nevertheless a fun listen and worth an occasional spin. This is the first of the fractal covers; this one makes me think of seahorses. It’s another very basic insert with a single black-and-white photo. Note: anything resembling a political comment on Bobby’s second-set announcement will be reported. Don’t go there.
Oo, I just listened to this recently, I can participate! I liked it pretty much but it seems like there's better 1981 stuff...the He's Gone>Jam is pretty good....crap, I guess that's all I got to say. Other One is too short. Big RR and Jack-a-Roe are really good ones here.
I didn’t have that much to say about this one, other than the 2nd set is where’s “it’s” at. Previously posted in The Grateful Thread— Dick’s Picks #13 — Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, 06/05/81. This is one massively energetic Pick that features some mind-blowing, intensely epic, blistering jamming; especially in the 2nd set commencing with He’s Gone (dedicated to Bobby Sands), which is an absolute beast; I think this is the last-ever Caution Jam, which segues into a Spanish Jam—it’s ridiculously insanely good; Drums > Jam continues the breathtakingly epic 25-minute jam-fest; TOO is propulsive and explosive; Wharf Rat is full of heart and soul—oozing emotion; a sweet and fun Don’t Ease Me In closes. Also of note, there’s a hidden bonus track(s)(Scarlet > Fire from 01/11/79) after Saint Of Circumstance.
I was curious re: this when I read your description earlier re: hidden songs, and I agree: not ideal to add filler this way, but who knows--maybe it was a cool discovery back in the day when this orig. came out? From what I can tell there was no mention of it in the credits, so I guess ppl had to sleuth out where it was from? I'm not familiar w/ this Pick so will have to give the whole show a listen....
It is a bit slow. I think all of the official releases from those fall 1979 cassette SBDs are slow. (I haven't heard the 30 Trips version of 10/27/79 yet.)
Dick’s Picks 13 – 5/6/81 DiP 5 had whet my appetite for early Brent shows, but they were still hard to come by at the time, so I was stoked when this Pick was announced. I’m almost certain that I’d never heard anything from ’81, so I was also curious to hear how the band’s sound had evolved since Fall ’79. Notes & Highlights The sound on this is a little muffled, a problem I learned later is common for post-Betty soundboards; would be cool to hear a good matrix of this show. Still acceptable and no real EQ’ing necessary for a good listen. After a standard Alabama > Greatest Story to open the show, TLEO showcases Brent still rocking the Rhodes to good effect. Other first set highlights include a ripping Red Rooster (probably the best one I’ve heard) that even Bob’s slide can’t ruin, an excellent Let It Grow and a fun Deal to close it. The front half of the second set is just meh for me…High Time is good, but kind of out of place as the second song after the opening Minglewood. Sailor > Saint just never seems to fit anywhere, and I’m never really excited to hear it. I remember not noticing that Saint was over 42 minutes long, so it was a surprise when a hidden Scarlet materialized out of the silence. It starts out lazy and languid, but the jam has some really unique and extended interplay between everybody; I still haven’t heard another transition to Fire (which also smokes) quite like this one. In the end it’s the longest version of this pairing they ever played and one of my favorites. While it’s a really nice bonus, the hidden track thing is super annoying and gimmicky and it for sure disrupts the flow of the set…these days it probably would have been tracked and placed at the beginning of disc 2, which would have worked better. The show really finds its footing on the third disc, which opens with an emotional He’s Gone that morphs into an extended pre-Drums Jam (the front half isn’t Caution, and the back half isn’t really a Spanish Jam either). This is the reason Dick picked this show, and it’s an epic set-piece with dynamite playing; Brent really adds a lot here and both he and Jerry jump between a few different sounds and themes along the way. The rest of the show doesn’t reach those heights again, but it’s still fun. The jam out of Drums has a cool desert vibe, and Jerry rips some unusual Mutron between verses in the Other One. GDTRFB cooks pretty good, although the transition into Wharf Rat is a bit rushed. Good Lovin’ and Don’t Ease close it out on a fun if relatively uninteresting note. This was a strange Pick. At the time I really liked it, but I've since cooled on it a bit. Outside of the two jams, it’s something of an ordinary show, albeit well-played with a few other standout moments; I’ve since heard other ‘81’s that I like more overall. He’s Gone through the post-Drums jam is definitely a standout sequence and worth hearing, but other than that, nothing in the 5/6/81 portion is really that essential (unless you love Red Rooster and a ride on the Bobslide doesn't make you nauseous). The bonus Scarlet > Fire is incredible and inspired me to seek out 11/1/79, a great show in its own right, but the Pick is obviously not the only high-quality source for that these days.
Listening to the He's Gone--> Weird stuff for the first time. I don't own this one, nor do I intend to, but this is an interesting excursion. The first section feels a bit like like Caution, but really isn't Caution. About 4:30 into that things get hairy and intense and then veer off into different things that I can't put my finger on. This seems like a true one-off; genuine improv from near nothingness. The closest thing I can come up with is that this could have happened in an '80s Playin' jam. But then it gains structure that's somewhat blues-rock in nature that removes it from the Playin' sensibility and puts it more in post-Truckin' space. Then again, it's post-He's Gone, which is a similar spot to post-Truckin'. I'm curious to see what the so-called Spanish jam brings to the table, so I'll hold off on hitting "post reply" until we get there... ...OK, there's absolutely no hint of Spanish Jam in there but for the last four or so minutes before drums, TOO is being subliminally-ingrained. A very solid and interesting improv segment, but certainly not enough there to purchase a full show from 1981.
Dick's Picks 12 is an awesome, jaw dropping, mind melting release. Comprised of the highlights from a few nights in the Northeast, this album shows how hot the band was in 1974. Disc one, out of the gate, starts off like no other: a spacey jam>ChinaCat>MLB>Rider - obviously Dick left the 1st set standards on the cutting room floor and just handed us the good stuff. After a brief intermission (Beer Barrel Polka) the band launches into a mind blowing Truckin>Other One jam>Spanish jam>Wharf Rat> Sugar Mags. Disc two gives us the end of the Providence show with a solid Eyes of the World. Off to Boston where we start with a clip of Seastones (which is interesting.) Sugar mags starts off set II. On his disc I enjoy the Scarlet Begonias, To Lay Me Down, and Row Jimmy - but this disc feels tame after the killer first one. Disc three:Weather Report Suite>Jam>US Blues - the jam is out of this world, building on various themes and riffs before dissolving into minimalist excursions and then finding a new theme to explore - rinse and repeat. They band finally lands on a sublime transition into perhaps the best version of US Blues, complete with a unique (long) intro. Promised Land is good, the GDTRFB is spectacular and we finally wrap the set up with the bookend Sunshine Daydream. A fine Ship of Fools encore closes everything out. This is a must own album for fans. Disregard the fact that it's not a complete show- the materials here is exceptional. Having partial show(s) has never bothered me personally - I had plenty of tapes/cds with only one set or even just parts of one set. As long as the music is good - right?
Don't think I have ever heard this show (DiP 13) but I think @Crazy Otto sums it up best. Of course an ordinary Dead show its still pretty good. I think this might be one of the earliest Looks Like Rains I don't like. Then again, I did dig Little Red Rooster, Bob's slide solo didn't bother me at all.
Man, I gotta give DiP 12 a listen one of these days. Heard about it for years but never took the time it obviously deserves for a full listen.
I wonder what prompted the full show release of 5/6/81. There had already been some highlights releases by then (only 2, though; many more to come), so it seems like a highlights compilation from 5/6 & 5/8 would've been a good way to get more 81 material out there.
Dick’s Picks 13 – 5/6/81 This is another show that reminds me of my old tape trading days. One of my favorite traders was a hard core old-timer whose collection was >95% pre-hiatus. He only had a handful of post-hiatus tapes, but 5/6/81 was one of them. There was a gold star next to this tape on his list, and he noted that it was the "Caution" jam that made him a believer in post-hiatus. So I always remember that. I haven't had any similar epiphanies with this jam, but I suspect it is only because I haven't listened to it enough, or closely enough, or in the right frame of mind. That's usually the case with me and the Dead. I never fully listened to the bonus 11/1/79 material before today. I never could get past the poor sound quality. But this thread piqued my interest and steered me to the new improved versions. Boy, the Seamons matrix really sounds sweet! I think it might be the best unofficial recording from this era that I've heard. So far this 11/1/79 show seems pretty great to me. Lovin' this thread!
That's the source I listen to, it's great. He did a matrix for 11/2/79 too, which is worth hearing -- incidentally, it has my favorite Sailor > Saint, but that's entirely due to the jam that comes out of Saint.
Dick’s Picks 13, 5/6/81 Nassau Coliseum Like many of Dick’s Picks after 10, I never heard this Pick before getting it for this thread. It didn’t grab me at first listen like the previously epic three volumes did but there are some nice spots after repeated listens. Disc 1 starts off MEH but does have an enjoyable Little Red Rooster and does start to swing a bit more for me with a nice Dire Wolf and a great Deal. I will say that Let It Grow was terrible to my ears until the last jam. Disc 2 is a big yawn full stop. The only reason I even heard the “hidden” tracks is because I let it keep playing while I got a phone call and now I find out from this thread its from 2 years prior. Don’t get the gimmick but the tunes are enjoyable and better than the rest of the disc. Finally some juiciness with Disc 3. He’s Gone and the Jams that follow are fun and infinitely relistenable as Jerry bosses it all with a great tone. Tasty Wharf Rat as well. If/when I revisit this release in 10 years after this thread is done, it will only be for disc 3. On to the next!
This is one of the Picks I sold. The jam in set 2 wasn't enough to get me to come back to the show with any regularity. IIRC there's a similar jam from later in the month (5-16?) that I enjoyed more, but I haven't listened to either of those shows for years. For some reason, 1980 and 1981 are semi-black holes in my collection. Each year has a couple of shows that are among my favorite ever (e.g. 11-30-80 or 8-28-81) and a whole bunch of other shows that I just never listen to. If I had remembered that this Pick had this hidden Scarlet>Fire on it, I probably would have kept it. D'oh! Stupid hidden tracks!
