Dick’s Picks Volume 25 contains most of two concerts the Grateful
Dead performed on May 10th and May 11th, 1978. This
four-disc set is missing only two songs from the first show (“It Must Have Been
The Roses” and the encore, “U.S. Blues”) and three songs from the second show
(“Mexicali Blues,” “Mama Tried” and “Peggy-O,” all of which were in the first
set).
The two concerts
contained in this set find the band in top form. The song selections are
excellent, and there are some incredible jams, as well as some seriously good
vocal performances.
This was an interesting year for the Grateful Dead. A few months after these shows the band would play in Egypt, near the
pyramids. That year saw the release of Shakedown
Street, which some folks dismissed as disco, while others loved it. This is
also the year that saw the closing of Winterland, one of the Dead’s favorite venues. And this would be Keith and Donna Godchaux’s final year with the band.
Disc One
“Jack Straw” was always a nice opener, and
this is a really sweet version, particularly in the vocals. Then the song gains
a tremendous energy, and they really belt out the lines, “Jack Straw from Witchita cut his buddy down/And dug for him a shallow grave
and laid his body down.” Bob even shouts “Yeah.” The crowd understandably goes
nuts. What a fantastic way to kick off the concert. The band was really on,
straight out of the gate.
There’s some good stage
banter on this CD, which is always appreciated. Bob tells the crowd, “We’re all patiently waiting for Jerry to get
his act together, decide what he’s going to do next and all that.” Jerry
decides on “They Love Each Other,” and this rendition has a nice easy, sweet
jam. Bob then says, “We’re carefully
weeding out all those tiny little bothersome technical imperfections that we
just can’t stand. Real soon everything will be just exactly perfect.” Oh
yes.
Bob then goes into one of
my favorites, “Cassidy.” This song always lifts my spirits, and this is an
excellent rendition. A few years ago I met John Barlow, the song’s lyricist,
and this is the one song I had to mention to him. He said it’s one of his
favorites too. “Let your life proceed by
its own design.”
The first set also
includes a fun “Ramble On Rose” (though Donna’s yell sort of comes out of
nowhere) and a version of “Big River” that’s seriously fun, as well as a sweet
“Peggy O.” A pretty intense “Let It Grow” leading into a cool, high-energy
“Deal” round out the first set.
The first disc also
contains the first two songs from the second set – the always-fun “Bertha”
straight into “Good Lovin’.”
Disc Two
The second disc opens
with one of my favorite pairings – “Estimated Prophet” into “Eyes Of The
World.” And I love the versions of “Estimated Prophet” from this time, with
Donna’s vocals on “Fire wheel burning in
the air” sounding so sweet. Bob’s vocals have a great energy on lines like,
“Might and glory gonna be my name.” Jerry’s playing is
fantastic, reaching some great peaks, and then becoming deliciously sprightly
once the song has settled into a good groove. This is one of the best versions
of “Estimated Prophet” I’ve heard.
The transition into “Eyes
Of The World” isn’t quite as smooth as at other shows, but it’s always
wonderful to hear those first notes. “Eyes Of The World” always gets me dancing
– this song has such a palpable joy. “Sometimes
we live no particular way but our own.” Even through this version is more
than twelve minutes, the jam after the final verse is quite short, and it soon
leads into a drum solo. And what a drum solo! Eighteen minutes, giving Bill and
Mickey plenty of time to explore several avenues. There are actually some
pretty moments, as well as some tense moments.
And the way it slides
into “The Other One” is great, with starts and hints from various band members
– but no hurry, man. I love Phil’s bass playing, just bits of that intro,
finding new things to do with it, a new groove. And even then, they’re skirting
around the song, until finally with a great burst of energy the song begins.
And then, holy moly! (Okay, seriously, is there a bit of The Monkees’ “Steppin’
Stone” just before the vocals come in? I think there is.)
And then a moving and
powerful rendition of “Wharf Rat” and a good, energetic “Sugar Magnolia” finish
up the second set.
Disc Three
The second show opens
with “Cold Rain And Snow.” “Well I married
me a wife, she’s been trouble all my life.” There is a nice slow, sweet
“Friend Of The Devil” with a pretty jam (featuring some nice stuff on keys by
Keith Godchaux). Bob then goes into “Looks Like Rain,” his vocals blending well
with Donna’s on this beautiful rendition. “I
only want to hold you/I don’t want to tie you down/Or fence you in the lines I
might have drawn.”
The first set also
includes a seriously good version of “Loser.” And the jam in “Tennessee Jed” is
wonderful. The first set concludes with “Lazy Lightnin’” into “Supplication,”
and that jam too has some great stuff.
The third disc includes
the first two songs from the second set, and they are that great combination of
“Scarlet Begonias” into “Fire On The Mountain.” I always enjoy these two songs,
but this is particularly good “Fire On The Mountain.” And there is some playful
stuff in the vocals toward the end that I don’t recall hearing in any other
version of this song.
Disc Four
A vocal miscue on Bob
Weir’s part at the beginning of “Dancing In The Streets” leads to lots of
wonderful silliness. Donna even cracks up while singing. As a result, this is a
ridiculously fun rendition of the song. You can hear the crowd having a great time.
And the energy during the jam is fantastic. And there is some more playfulness
toward the end of the song. I love it.
And it leads into
“Drums.” How do you try to beat that great eighteen-minute “Drums” segment from
the night before? With a twenty-minute drum solo, of course. Toward the end,
they play around with the “Not Fade Away” beat.
And then the band goes
into a pretty wild rendition of that song. You’d think a transition from “Not
Fade Away” to the beautiful “Stella Blue” would be difficult, but the band is
totally on, and do it with ease. This is a really good “Stella Blue,” by the
way.
The first set ends with
Chuck Berry’s “Around And Around,” in which at one point Bob Weir does some
silly faux-stuttering. Folks that night got two encores: “Werewolves Of London”
and “Johnny B. Goode.” This was an early “Werewolves” for the band, as they
introduced it into the set lists just a month earlier. And there is more
delightful silliness in the vocals toward the end of the song. Wonderful!
CD Track List
CD One
- Jack Straw
- They Love Each Other
- Cassidy
- Ramble On Rose
- Me And My Uncle >
- Big River
- Peggy-O
- Let It Grow >
- Deal
- Bertha >
- Good Lovin’
CD Two
- Estimated Prophet >
- Eyes Of The World >
- Drums >
- The Other One >
- Wharf Rat >
- Sugar Magnolia
CD Three
- Cold Rain And Snow
- Beat It On Down The Line
- Friend Of The Devil
- Looks Like Rain
- Loser
- New Minglewood Blues
- Tennessee Jed
- Lazy Lightnin’ >
- Supplication
- Scarlet Begonias >
- Fire On The Mountain
CD Four
- Dancing In The Streets >
- Drums >
- Not Fade Away >
- Stella Blue >
- Around And Around
- Werewolves Of London
- Johnny B. Goode
Dick’s Picks Volume 25 is scheduled to be released on 12 through
Real Gone Music.
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