Given that 1977 has become one of the most highly regarded epochs in Grateful Dead history, it only makes sense that Volume 50 of Dave’s Picks is devoted to two shows from that year. After all, the concert from May 25 at The Mosque in Richmond, Virginia, was the initial exhumation from the vault for this archive series back in 2012.
Nevertheless, taking into account the gravity of those dual milestones, the fact that almost but not quite two complete shows are captured on the three-CD set plus the bonus disc is somewhat confounding. In his effusive essay, Dave Lemieux himself oddly doesn’t go into much detail about the contents of this triple-fold package suitably adorned with gold foil on the front.
A bit more practical insight would be preferable to explain why, across the expanse of the four CDs as issued, a small handful of selections from the two consecutive nights are not included. With those in place, plus the inevitable filler the value-added curators are wont to include, a five-compact disc set –sans the clumsy sequencing on the three as issued–would reasonably (and proportionally) commemorate the milestone.
As it is, on CD two, “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” fades in from far less than perfect sound quality. Online search, both cursory and sustained, doesn’t reveal much insight into whether the tapes were intrinsically faulty or had deteriorated before final production. But those concerns dissipate upon hearing the pinpoint precision of “Jack Straw” and “Row Jimmy:” By and large, the audio quality is certainly up to the standards of the legendary Betty Cantor-Jackson as well as mastering engineer Jeffrey Norman.
The generally concise timing of most selections further illuminates that point, too. It also sets out in some tangible relief the Dead’s altered approach to live performance following their return from hiatus begun in late 1974. A scant few shows in 1976 no doubt warmed the band up, and the rigorous discipline applied in studio sessions by (Fleetwood Mac) producer Keith Olsen for Terrapin Station brought them to a level of collective synchrony perhaps unequaled in their history (to which they begrudgingly admitted at least at the time).
Such was the collective level of expertise the Grateful Dead then applied to what is arguably a greater wealth of original material available than at any other time in their career. Having recorded three studio albums since 1973–in yearly succession, Wake of the Flood, From The Mars Hotel, and Blues For Allah–the sextet had access to a treasure trove of their own songs. And there were also exhumations of covers like “Good Lovin,'” sung during the 1960s by Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, plus those outside selections fronted by Bob Weir such as “Me And My Uncle,” and “Big River.”
Plus, there’s the pair from Chuck Berry. “Promised Land” and “Around And Around.” are auspiciously placed at the beginning and near the end of this two-night stand, thereby demonstrating the almost unwavering logic of the musicianship documented in Dave’s Volume 50. Nevertheless, Phil Lesh’s observation(s) about the group’s post-hiatus musicianship still come to mind: ‘..something was missing…’
That said, the customary coupling of “Lazy Lightning” and “Supplication” is less telling than the long strings of straight and to-the-point renditions of a wide range of choices, including an ever-so-casual “Deal” and “They Love Each Other” rife with affection: has Jerry Garcia’s voice ever sounded more vulnerable than on the latter?.
Less pervasive with the adventuresome spontaneity and invariable surprise to which the bassist’s aforementioned comment alludes, the Grateful Dead had hardly ever sounded so conventional (in their own inimitable way) since early in the decade via the two famous studio albums, Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty and the now mythic concert collection Europe ’72.
But during that period, when the group was emerging from the prevalent psychedelia of Aoxomoxoa and Live Dead, there was still no shortage of overarching segues, the likes of which distinguished those near the end of Lyceum Theatre, London, England 5/26/72. The same is true in the case of this Volume 50 package as well: the final set of each night brings a sense of release for both performer and audience, proportional to the practiced authority that precedes it.
Unfortunately, present on the extra disc available only to subscribers to Dave’s Picks, the denouement of 5/4/77 is even more exquisite than its counterpart. “Scarlet Begonias” melded with “Fire On The Mountain,” then “Terrapin Station,” with two segments of “Playing in the Band”> sandwiching “Comes A Time.” may look implausible on paper. Still, it makes perfect sense as the Grateful Dead sing and play: they evince a radiant confidence, not the least of which appears in the rhythm deviltry of drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart.
Transitions no doubt account for the attractions of this particular year in the psychedelic warriors’ history. But it’s the looser attitude at work in those intervals that contrasts so effectively with deliberate progression(s), including the seemingly effortless loping through “Bertha” and “Sugaree;” the linear approach is one that, while it unfortunately sacrifices a little of the spirit-of-the-moment wonder in recordings like those comprising Pacific Northwest ’73–’74: Believe It If You Need It, is nonetheless provocative in its own way.
Juxtapositions such as that of a heartbreaking “Ship of Fools” with a quietly celebratory “The Music Never Stopped” command close listening. While the absence of recurrent abandon arising from the group’s actions certainly lessens the drama, it also highlights the somewhat unobtrusive virtues in the performances here.
Donna Jean Godchaux has arguably never sounded better in the dulcet tones she supplies with her vocal harmonies, while her spouse Keith offers multiple keyboard accents throughout these approximately five hours. And the man’s solo on his main instrument, the piano, during “Friend of the Devil” has got to be one of the most elegant he ever offered during a tenure with the group that was, ironically, to conclude the very next year.
In the end, May 3 and 4 of 1977 at The Palladium finds the Grateful Dead taking different kinds of chances but still making them pay. Consequently, this Dave’s Picks is another affirmation of the iconic ensemble’s evolution, suitable for filing next to Terrapin: Hartford ’77 (released in 2009) and, of course, the mythical Cornell 5/8/77 (out eight years later). Along with more off-the-cuff titles like Volume 49 Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA (4/27/85 & 4/28/85), it’s worth savoring for what they all represent within the course of the Grateful Dead’s thirty-year performing history.
