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DICK'S PICKS EIGHTEEN
The Grateful Dead
(Grateful Dead Records GDCD4038)
In many ways, 1978 was a watershed year for the Grateful Dead.
It was the last year before the husband and wife tandem of Keith and Donna Godchaux quit -- or were asked to leave, depending on who you talk to.
In September, the band played a historic three show run at the foot of the Pyramids in Egypt, managing to steal headlines away from then-President Jimmy Carter and his simultaneous visit to Camp David.
And in November, The Dead appeared on "Saturday Night Live", treating a national viewing audience to a stellar version of "Casey Jones".
Overshadowed by those events were a series of performances at small music halls, college gymnasiums and aging hockey arenas across the U.S. that truly captured the essence of the live Grateful Dead experience.
More than any other touring outfit, The Dead, night after night, laid it all on the line, resulting in some of the most startling live rock 'n' roll ever produced. While their musical counterparts were entrenched in the thinking that live concerts were supposed to be precise, polished presentations, The Dead subscribed to another school of thought entirely.
They used the concert stage to explore new musical ground. Constructing an improvisational landscape that was impervious to the shifting winds of musical trends, The Dead were free to explore their collective musical conscience.
More often than not, the interplay of Jerry Garcia's unique phrasing, Bob Weir's rhythmic guitar playing, Phil Lesh's sensitive bass lines, and the hypnotic percussion of Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann succeeded in transporting the audience to another time and place.
"Dick's Picks Eighteen", a three-CD release culled from two shows in February of '78, manages to do exactly that. The latest release from the Grateful Dead tape vault, it manages to capture the band at their improvisational best.
The first CD kicks off with a pair of fast rock 'n' roll tunes: "Bertha" and the Rascals' hit "Good Lovin'". From there, The Dead reach way back to their first recorded album for the venerable "Cold, Rain And Snow". Both airy and concise, it gives way to "New Minglewood Blues" and an understated reading of the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter penned chestnut "They Love Each Other".
Again and again, Weir demonstrates the depth of his vocal range, belting out tunes as diverse as the Bobby Womack rocker "It's All Over Now", the tender "Looks Like Rain", and the sultry "The Music Never Stopped".
On disc two, The Dead shift into jam mode. And jam they do, as a 12-minute version of Weir's reggae-like "Estimated Prophet" glides effortlessly into the jazz-inspired "Eyes Of The World". The juxtaposition of those two numbers -- and the fact The Dead often paired them together, each time etching out new musical ground -- lends credence to their genius. At 14 minutes, "Eyes" is fully developed and beautiful, climaxing with some thunderous playing before twisting off into another direction altogether.
That direction takes the form of a 24-minute version of "Playing In The Band". From its jazzy depths emerges Garcia's "The Wheel". Ten minutes later, the band pulls a U-turn back to the melody of "Playing" to sing its final verse. All in all, the "Estimated-Eyes-Playing-Wheel-Playing" medley clocks in at a monster one hour and six minutes!
The third disc kicks off with a subdued version of the old Reverend Gary Davis standard "Samson and Delilah". From there, it's back to jam mode.
Weir's signature rhythmic guitar playing, coupled with the syncopated percussion of the Hart/Kreutzmann duo, kick-starts a funky version of "Scarlet Begonias". The band plays some exquisite fills and jams in between verses, lending perfectly to the song's poignant narrative. They really stretch out here, taking the song into improvisational territory it had never seen before. And just when you think they're leading you in one direction, they veer off the path once again and head down another, as they move directly into a ferocious rendition of "Fire On The Mountain".
The transition is seamless, as they transform the understated "Scarlet" into a mind-bending version of "Fire". The "Scarlet/Fire" medley, a personal favourite that I saw performed several times, is quintessential Dead. At 30 minutes in length, the band travels far beyond the recorded boundaries these songs were bound by on 1974's "Mars Hotel" and 1978's "Shakedown Street", rendering them totally unrecognizable.
The CD is rounded out by the psychedelic "The Other One", the sombre Garcia ballad "Wharf Rat", and the break-the-door-down-set closer "Around And Around". Weir comes totally unglued at the end, belting out the lyrics to the Chuck Berry number in a frantic state.
This is a must-have, not only for Dead Heads, but also for anybody who wants to know what all the fuss is about.
Full review of Dead tribute album "Stolen Roses"
Track Listing
Disc One
Bertha (6:42)
Good Lovin' (6:15)
Cold Rain and Snow (6:17)
New Minglewood Blues (5:42)
They Love Each Other (7:42)
It's All Over Now (7:40)
Dupree's Diamond Blues (4:37)
Looks Like Rain (7:59)
Brown-Eyed Women (5:34)
Passenger (5:41)
Deal (6:35)
The Music Never Stopped (8:06)
Disc Two
Estimated Prophet (12:16)
Eyes of the World (14:38)
Playing in the Band (24:35)
The Wheel (5:44)
Playing in the Band (9:02)
Johnny B Goode (4:38)
Disc Three
Samson and Delilah (11:22)
Scarlet Begonias (12:46)
Fire on the Mountain (17:03)
Truckin' (9:17)
Drums (1:57)
The Other One (9:02)
Wharf Rat (8:58)
Around and Around (8:35)