Just in case you haven’t already thoroughly explored 1970s Grateful Dead shows, Real Gone Music announced the continuation of its reissue series with a new three-CD set of Dead shows previously released as part of the Road Trips and Dick’s Picks vault series.
This set contains Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 3 — Summer ‘71 and represses of Dick’s Picks Vol. 3 and Dick’s Picks Vol. 12.
The Road Trips set captures a point in time in the Dead’s history when Pigpen’s health was failing, and drummer Mickey Hart and keyboardist Tom Constanten had just left the band. The reissue comes with one disc each dedicated to the July 31, 1971 show at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn., and the August 23, 1971 show at the AuditoriumTheatre in Chicago.
“This stripped-down version of the Dead delivered some of the most musically satisfying shows of the group’s entire career,” a Real Gone press release says.
Dick’s Picks Vol. 3 is taken from the Dead’s stop on May 22, 1977, in Pembroke Pines, Fla., which the band’s former archivist Dick Latvila considered the band’s greatest performance from its legendary May 1977 run — take that, Ithica fans.
Dick’s Pick Vol. 12 combines the second sets of two New England shows from 1974 — June 26 and the Providence Civic Center and June 28 from the Boston Garden.
The press release says this Dick’s Picks set includes “possibly the greatest version of ‘China Cat Sunflower’ ever recorded, and a “flawless ‘Weather Report Suite’ … leading into a 27-minute jam that is simply telepathic.’”
Not sure if telepathic is the best description of music, but Deadheads will get what it means.
Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 3 can be streamed right now on Spotify, as can Dick’s Picks Vol. 3 and Dick’s Picks Vol. 12.
Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 3 —
Summer ’71
· The Successor to Dick’s Picks, Road Trips Offered More Unreleased, High-Fidelity Recordings of Stellar Grateful Dead Concerts and Tours
· But Unlike Dick’s Picks, None of the Road Trips Volumes Ever Went to Music Retail
· Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 3 Captures the Dead During a Particularly Fraught Period, When Mickey Hart and Tom Constanten Had Left the Band and Pigpen Was Suffering Serious Health Problems
· But This Stripped-Down Version of the Dead Delivered Some of the Most Musically Satisfying Shows of the Group’s Entire Career
· Includes a Disc Each Devoted to the 7/31/71 Show at the Yale Bowl in New Haven and the 8/23/71 Show at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago
· Previews a Number of Tunes, like “Wharf Rat,” “Sugaree,” and “Bird Song,” That Had Yet to Appear on LP
· The Pairing of “Dark Star” with “Bird Song” Is Peak Dead, Proof That in 1971 They Were Arguably the Greatest Live Band in the World
· Includes Liner Notes by Blair Jackson That Set the Scene
· Recorded by Rex Jackson
· Mastered in HDCD Sound by Jeffrey Norman
· Never Before Available at Music Retail
Dick’s Picks Vol. 3—
Pembroke Pines, Florida 5/22/77
· Dick’s Picks Was the Groundbreaking Series of Live Shows Chronicling the Grateful Dead’s Long, Strange Trip Through Venues and Eras
· The 5/12/77 Show from Pembroke Pines, FL Captured on Dick’s Picks Vol. 3 Was Considered by Dead Archivist Dick Latvala to Be the Finest Performance from the Legendary Spring 1977 Tour
· Features a Never-to-Be-Repeated Medley of “Estimated Prophet”/“Eyes of the World”/ “Wharf Rat”/“Terrapin Station”/“Morning Dew”
· Also an Exceptional “Help on the Way”/“Slipknot!”/“Franklin’s Tower”
· Long Out of Print 2-CD Set
Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 3 —
Summer ’71
Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 3 —Summer ’71
· The Successor to Dick’s Picks, Road Trips Offered More Unreleased, High-Fidelity Recordings of Stellar Grateful Dead Concerts and Tours
· But Unlike Dick’s Picks, None of the Road Trips Volumes Ever Went to Music Retail
· Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 3 Captures the Dead During a Particularly Fraught Period, When Mickey Hart and Tom Constanten Had Left the Band and Pigpen Was Suffering Serious Health Problems
· But This Stripped-Down Version of the Dead Delivered Some of the Most Musically Satisfying Shows of the Group’s Entire Career
· Includes a Disc Each Devoted to the 7/31/71 Show at the Yale Bowl in New Haven and the 8/23/71 Show at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago
· Previews a Number of Tunes, like “Wharf Rat,” “Sugaree,” and “Bird Song,” That Had Yet to Appear on LP
· The Pairing of “Dark Star” with “Bird Song” Is Peak Dead, Proof That in 1971 They Were Arguably the Greatest Live Band in the World
· Includes Liner Notes by Blair Jackson That Set the Scene
· Recorded by Rex Jackson
· Mastered in HDCD Sound by Jeffrey Norman
· Never Before Available at Music Retail
