Caveat Emptor:"The recording herein has been lovingly remastered directly from the original two-track master tape and is therefore not immune to the various glitches, splices, reel changes and other aural gremlins contained on said original. Dick's Picks differs from our From The Vault series in that we simply did not have access to complete shows (nor the modern mixing capabilities afforded by multitrack tapes). But we think the historical value and musical quality of these tapes more than compensates for any technical anomalies... In other words, what you hear is what you get. And what you get ain't bad!"
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Dick Latvala was an American tape archivist for the Grateful Dead. He started the CD series Dick's Picks, an ongoing series that selects live music from Grateful Dead concerts. The first volume of Dick's Picks was released in 1993. The series was continued after Latvala's death, with later volumes being selected by David Lemieux.
Late in the Grateful Dead's performing career, in 1993, Dick's Picks Volume 1 was released on CD. This was a recording of the group's 12/19/73 show. Since the Grateful Dead had an exceptionally large archive of recorded musical concerts, Dick persuaded the group to release recordings of some of their more historically interesting, and youthful, inspired performances.
Dick Latvala died following a heart attack at age 56. After his sudden death, the Grateful Dead continued the Dick's Picks series.
In memory of Dick's known wishes, the Grateful Dead released Dick's Picks Vols. 15 and 16, 9-3-77 and 11-8-69, respectively, which were two of Dick's favorite and most-discussed candidates for future release in his series.
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Dick’s Picks Volume 1 is the first in a series of vault releases that is based on two track recordings. This one features select portions of a live concert performed December 19, 1973, at the Curtis Hixon Convention Center in Tampa, FL. Back up singer Donna Godchaux was not present at the show.
As the first of the Dick's Picks, the album was considered by Deadheads to be a significant breakthrough. All previous live Dead albums had been based on multi-track recordings, which can be remixed extensively before being commercially released. Dick's Picks were created using stereo (two-track) concert recordings. This made possible the release of many more Dead shows that exist in the band's extensive tape vault.
The series was named for Grateful Dead tape archivist Dick Latvala.
We are going to air a different Dick's Picks set in it's entirety each Monday at 5:30 PM and again at midnight. To listen just activate the radio player in the right sidebar or click this link to open Jivewired Radio in a new window.
Each volume of Dick's Picks has its own "caveat emptor" label, advising the listener of the sound quality of the recording and will be listed at the top of each blog.
The first disc of Dick’s Picks Volume 1 includes parts of both sets from the show at the Curtis Hixon Convention Center. It begins in high form with Here Comes Sunshine, arguably the best version ever, unquestionably stellar. Also included are great versions of Big River and Big Railroad Blues. The Mississippi Half Step is brilliant, but incomplete as they never sing the Across the Rio Grande bridge, with the band simply stopping at the conclusion instead of further exploring a jam/segue.
As the release is a compilation, this is a 100% edit, so that is the likely reason. However, in the actual concert, Mississippi Half Step transitioned to Me and Bobby McGee, and a solid version of that song too. For fans of spacey explorations and extended jamming it is hard to find fault with the Bobby Weir songs, Weather Report> Let it Grow, which segues into Playing in the Band on the first disc.
The second disc encapsulates the ending of the show. It begins with He’s Gone, which travels into a small jam. Keith Godcheaux's running piano riff is sublime in it's in effortless and smooth fashion, further transitioning into the next song of the set, Truckin' in an amazing juxtaposition of the entire opus. After the initial verse the song takes off with a jam that has Jerry, Keith, and Phil in perfect unity, leading to an almost explosive peak. The band then submerges itself into a more moodier and blues-driven theme with a seldom-played version of Nobody’s Fault But Mine after a somewhat lengthy introduction. They then follow with a jam that leans heavily on The Other One, and, obviously in no hurry, finally segues into that epic jam. We are then treated with an exploratory spacey jam ala Feedback before the band shift gears into Stella Blue followed by an extremely uptempo close that showcases a highly charged performance of Chuck Berry's Around and Around.
The Grateful Dead have released an abundance of live recordings to choose from. While there are better sounding releases than Dick’s Picks Volume 1, this one has plenty to offer. Though the sound quality is somewhat subdued, the entire mix on this release captures Keith playing with more clarity than anything previously released by the Grateful Dead, and it therefore stands out due to that fact.
Lineup
Production Team
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Release Date: 01-December-1993
Tape Archivist: Dick Latvala
Label: Grateful Dead Merchandise
Total Time: 2h 27m 02s
Get it at:
Amazon | iTunes | Grateful Dead Website
Track Listing:
DISC ONE
01. Here Comes Sunshine (Garcia/Hunter) 14:13
02. Big River (Cash) 5:23
03. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo (Garcia/Hunter) 7:29
04. Weather Report Suite (Anderson/Barlow/Weir) 15:56
05. Big Railroad Blues (Lewis) 4:06
06. Playing In The Band (Hart/Hunter/Weir) 21:11
DISC TWO
01. He's Gone (Garcia/Hunter) 10:48
02. Truckin' (Garcia/Hunter/Lesh/Weir) 9:18
03. Nobody's Fault But Mine (Johnson) 5:53
04. Jam (Garcia/Godchaux/Kreutzmann/Lesh/Weir) 8:11
05. Other One (Kreutzmann/Weir) 1:57
06. Jam (Garcia/Godchaux/Kreutzmann/Lesh/Weir) 6:12
07. Stella Blue (Garcia/Hunter) 8:45
08. Around and Around (Berry) 5:37
Excerpts from David Gans' interview with Dick Latvala:
DL: When these shows were recorded, they weren't recorded for the purpose of someday releasing them live, as live shows. They were recorded so the band could hear them afterward and see, and hear how they performed. Kidd's job was to not only mix that the recording, but take care of Keith's equipment, so we have lots of responsibility on him to do both jobs and in that time see--you know, he'd be busy with Keith, a reel would run out, and you'd miss ten minutes of something or a couple songs, [and] there's millions of technical problems in that era. It's important just to understand that these tapes weren't made with the purpose of releasing them. So editing them becomes a necessity ... sorry, folks, but that's the way it's going to be. They're not going to release material that has got glitches in it or doesn't have one of the mics turned up high enough or something. So we're going to have some shows that have a lot of really good things in them, but the recording might have been screwed up so we can't release them.
So you say, why 12/19/73? It was as good as any. You name another date and, you know, I could tell you why maybe I didn't choose that one. But 12/19 particularly had a lot going for it.
DG: Among the missing items from the set list, according to Deadbase, is the song Sugar Shack.
DL: Yes, that is missing on the master itself. It is not there. I was looking for it. It's even written on the tape box, but it wasn't recorded.
DG: That's a shame.
DL: I have no idea what happened there.
DG: So unless somebody's got an audience tape out there, we'll never know.
DL: Yes, we'd love to hear what that was like. I'm sure it was only a second or two.
But anyway, like this first set you were mentioning. It is edited. And it became apparent to me and others--me and John and Cutler and Jeffrey Norman, who were working on this--that each CD should have a life of its own. This isn't an attempt to recapture the total picture or the whole show. It's a picture of the show, or the best of the show idea, and so it has an entity of its own so we tried to make that disc one have the feel of a first set, but you'll notice that Weather Report is thrown in there and that is actually from the second set.
DG: And so is Mississippi Halfstep, actually.
DL: Yes, right.
DG: So you rearranged a few things to give it sort of the contour of a first set even though it's not, strictly speaking--
DL: Right. Right. And, yeah, it's not going to ever be literal just like it happened on the show itself. You can check DeadBase or your audience tapes for those things.
DG: Well, I've maintained all along that it was going to have to be edited. I can't recall ever hearing a Grateful Dead show that was perfect from start to finish. In fact, One from the Vault is one of the few shows that every moment really is great.
DL: It was. Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.
DG: So it doesn't surprise me and it doesn't particularly annoy me that the Grateful Dead have decided to present an edited version of this. I think it's in their own interests, and if I were the musician responsible, I would certainly want the right to hold back things that I thought weren't excellent and worthwhile.
DL: And believe me, there are. Each musician has those feelings and can make decisions about this at any point, which is another one of the obstacles I faced in getting this one out. To me, this is a coup. This is a real coup to get this material out of the vault. We shall see what happens but, depending on the response to this, you know, more shall follow, I'm sure. But when it becomes real personal--like imagine if you are the one doing this music, how would you feel if you have embarrassing pictures out in the world of yourself. You know, I mean, there has to be some editing.
More interview excerpts posted by David Gans on the Well Wed 13 Oct 93
DG: Do you have a sense of how often these releases will be coming out?
DL: At this point, no. This is really an experiment, this first one, to see how it does, because no one has a clue as to how much interest there is out there to get at this material. This is only mail order, you see. It's not going to be in record stores. So this will be like a little private club, so to speak, you know, that is willing to go that extra mile for the really good stuff.
DG: So if this first one does well, obviously the Grateful Dead will see the interest and be willing to put out some more?
DL: Absolutely. That's what I hope.
DG: Right. You know what that means, listeners.
DG: Oh, how does this affect Dan Healy's plans for additional "From the Vault" releases from multitrack?
DL: That doesn't affect it at all as far as I can tell. At his whim he can go in and attack those multitracks any time. There aren't that many, though. That's one of the problems we ran into with it last year: there's only a limited amount of multitracks. So that's why I think the two-tracks are very exciting, you know. It's just that you have to wade through it. Every show isn't a killer.
DG: Well, they picked the right guy for the job.
DL: Well, thanks, David. I feel like I'm just the luckiest person on earth. I know there could be any number of you out there doing this just as well, but I happen to be here, the one doing it, so that's my goal, to get the great stuff out.
DG: I feel kind of the same way about my gig, you know, but you've been a great associate. It's been great fun. You're the guy that I work with when I go into the vault to get out tapes and it's always been really fun to go in there with you and to compare notes, and I think our knowledge and our tastes are complementary enough that we always have a good time when we're poking around in there.
DL: Yeah, well, we have the same goal--let's get this stuff out to the public, to everyone who wants it and needs it. These rushes are what it's about.
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Dick Latvala was an American tape archivist for the Grateful Dead. He started the CD series Dick's Picks, an ongoing series that selects live music from Grateful Dead concerts. The first volume of Dick's Picks was released in 1993. The series was continued after Latvala's death, with later volumes being selected by David Lemieux.
Late in the Grateful Dead's performing career, in 1993, Dick's Picks Volume 1 was released on CD. This was a recording of the group's 12/19/73 show. Since the Grateful Dead had an exceptionally large archive of recorded musical concerts, Dick persuaded the group to release recordings of some of their more historically interesting, and youthful, inspired performances.
Dick Latvala died following a heart attack at age 56. After his sudden death, the Grateful Dead continued the Dick's Picks series.
In memory of Dick's known wishes, the Grateful Dead released Dick's Picks Vols. 15 and 16, 9-3-77 and 11-8-69, respectively, which were two of Dick's favorite and most-discussed candidates for future release in his series.
Dick’s Picks Volume 1 is the first in a series of vault releases that is based on two track recordings. This one features select portions of a live concert performed December 19, 1973, at the Curtis Hixon Convention Center in Tampa, FL. Back up singer Donna Godchaux was not present at the show.
As the first of the Dick's Picks, the album was considered by Deadheads to be a significant breakthrough. All previous live Dead albums had been based on multi-track recordings, which can be remixed extensively before being commercially released. Dick's Picks were created using stereo (two-track) concert recordings. This made possible the release of many more Dead shows that exist in the band's extensive tape vault.
The series was named for Grateful Dead tape archivist Dick Latvala.
We are going to air a different Dick's Picks set in it's entirety each Monday at 5:30 PM and again at midnight. To listen just activate the radio player in the right sidebar or click this link to open Jivewired Radio in a new window.
Each volume of Dick's Picks has its own "caveat emptor" label, advising the listener of the sound quality of the recording and will be listed at the top of each blog.
The first disc of Dick’s Picks Volume 1 includes parts of both sets from the show at the Curtis Hixon Convention Center. It begins in high form with Here Comes Sunshine, arguably the best version ever, unquestionably stellar. Also included are great versions of Big River and Big Railroad Blues. The Mississippi Half Step is brilliant, but incomplete as they never sing the Across the Rio Grande bridge, with the band simply stopping at the conclusion instead of further exploring a jam/segue.
As the release is a compilation, this is a 100% edit, so that is the likely reason. However, in the actual concert, Mississippi Half Step transitioned to Me and Bobby McGee, and a solid version of that song too. For fans of spacey explorations and extended jamming it is hard to find fault with the Bobby Weir songs, Weather Report> Let it Grow, which segues into Playing in the Band on the first disc.
The second disc encapsulates the ending of the show. It begins with He’s Gone, which travels into a small jam. Keith Godcheaux's running piano riff is sublime in it's in effortless and smooth fashion, further transitioning into the next song of the set, Truckin' in an amazing juxtaposition of the entire opus. After the initial verse the song takes off with a jam that has Jerry, Keith, and Phil in perfect unity, leading to an almost explosive peak. The band then submerges itself into a more moodier and blues-driven theme with a seldom-played version of Nobody’s Fault But Mine after a somewhat lengthy introduction. They then follow with a jam that leans heavily on The Other One, and, obviously in no hurry, finally segues into that epic jam. We are then treated with an exploratory spacey jam ala Feedback before the band shift gears into Stella Blue followed by an extremely uptempo close that showcases a highly charged performance of Chuck Berry's Around and Around.
The Grateful Dead have released an abundance of live recordings to choose from. While there are better sounding releases than Dick’s Picks Volume 1, this one has plenty to offer. Though the sound quality is somewhat subdued, the entire mix on this release captures Keith playing with more clarity than anything previously released by the Grateful Dead, and it therefore stands out due to that fact.
Lineup
- Jerry Garcia — lead guitar, vocals
- Keith Godchaux — keyboards
- Bill Kreutzmann — drums
- Phil Lesh — bass, vocals
- Bob Weir — rhythm guitar, vocals
Production Team
- Kidd Candelario — producer, recording
- Dick Latvala — tape archivist
- Bruce Polonsky — photography
- Gekko Graphics — design
Release Date: 01-December-1993
Tape Archivist: Dick Latvala
Label: Grateful Dead Merchandise
Total Time: 2h 27m 02s
Get it at:
Amazon | iTunes | Grateful Dead Website
Track Listing:
DISC ONE
01. Here Comes Sunshine (Garcia/Hunter) 14:13
02. Big River (Cash) 5:23
03. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo (Garcia/Hunter) 7:29
04. Weather Report Suite (Anderson/Barlow/Weir) 15:56
05. Big Railroad Blues (Lewis) 4:06
06. Playing In The Band (Hart/Hunter/Weir) 21:11
DISC TWO
01. He's Gone (Garcia/Hunter) 10:48
02. Truckin' (Garcia/Hunter/Lesh/Weir) 9:18
03. Nobody's Fault But Mine (Johnson) 5:53
04. Jam (Garcia/Godchaux/Kreutzmann/Lesh/Weir) 8:11
05. Other One (Kreutzmann/Weir) 1:57
06. Jam (Garcia/Godchaux/Kreutzmann/Lesh/Weir) 6:12
07. Stella Blue (Garcia/Hunter) 8:45
08. Around and Around (Berry) 5:37
Excerpts from David Gans' interview with Dick Latvala:
DL: When these shows were recorded, they weren't recorded for the purpose of someday releasing them live, as live shows. They were recorded so the band could hear them afterward and see, and hear how they performed. Kidd's job was to not only mix that the recording, but take care of Keith's equipment, so we have lots of responsibility on him to do both jobs and in that time see--you know, he'd be busy with Keith, a reel would run out, and you'd miss ten minutes of something or a couple songs, [and] there's millions of technical problems in that era. It's important just to understand that these tapes weren't made with the purpose of releasing them. So editing them becomes a necessity ... sorry, folks, but that's the way it's going to be. They're not going to release material that has got glitches in it or doesn't have one of the mics turned up high enough or something. So we're going to have some shows that have a lot of really good things in them, but the recording might have been screwed up so we can't release them.
So you say, why 12/19/73? It was as good as any. You name another date and, you know, I could tell you why maybe I didn't choose that one. But 12/19 particularly had a lot going for it.
DG: Among the missing items from the set list, according to Deadbase, is the song Sugar Shack.
DL: Yes, that is missing on the master itself. It is not there. I was looking for it. It's even written on the tape box, but it wasn't recorded.
DG: That's a shame.
DL: I have no idea what happened there.
DG: So unless somebody's got an audience tape out there, we'll never know.
DL: Yes, we'd love to hear what that was like. I'm sure it was only a second or two.
But anyway, like this first set you were mentioning. It is edited. And it became apparent to me and others--me and John and Cutler and Jeffrey Norman, who were working on this--that each CD should have a life of its own. This isn't an attempt to recapture the total picture or the whole show. It's a picture of the show, or the best of the show idea, and so it has an entity of its own so we tried to make that disc one have the feel of a first set, but you'll notice that Weather Report is thrown in there and that is actually from the second set.
DG: And so is Mississippi Halfstep, actually.
DL: Yes, right.
DG: So you rearranged a few things to give it sort of the contour of a first set even though it's not, strictly speaking--
DL: Right. Right. And, yeah, it's not going to ever be literal just like it happened on the show itself. You can check DeadBase or your audience tapes for those things.
DG: Well, I've maintained all along that it was going to have to be edited. I can't recall ever hearing a Grateful Dead show that was perfect from start to finish. In fact, One from the Vault is one of the few shows that every moment really is great.
DL: It was. Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.
DG: So it doesn't surprise me and it doesn't particularly annoy me that the Grateful Dead have decided to present an edited version of this. I think it's in their own interests, and if I were the musician responsible, I would certainly want the right to hold back things that I thought weren't excellent and worthwhile.
DL: And believe me, there are. Each musician has those feelings and can make decisions about this at any point, which is another one of the obstacles I faced in getting this one out. To me, this is a coup. This is a real coup to get this material out of the vault. We shall see what happens but, depending on the response to this, you know, more shall follow, I'm sure. But when it becomes real personal--like imagine if you are the one doing this music, how would you feel if you have embarrassing pictures out in the world of yourself. You know, I mean, there has to be some editing.
More interview excerpts posted by David Gans on the Well Wed 13 Oct 93
DG: Do you have a sense of how often these releases will be coming out?
DL: At this point, no. This is really an experiment, this first one, to see how it does, because no one has a clue as to how much interest there is out there to get at this material. This is only mail order, you see. It's not going to be in record stores. So this will be like a little private club, so to speak, you know, that is willing to go that extra mile for the really good stuff.
DG: So if this first one does well, obviously the Grateful Dead will see the interest and be willing to put out some more?
DL: Absolutely. That's what I hope.
DG: Right. You know what that means, listeners.
DG: Oh, how does this affect Dan Healy's plans for additional "From the Vault" releases from multitrack?
DL: That doesn't affect it at all as far as I can tell. At his whim he can go in and attack those multitracks any time. There aren't that many, though. That's one of the problems we ran into with it last year: there's only a limited amount of multitracks. So that's why I think the two-tracks are very exciting, you know. It's just that you have to wade through it. Every show isn't a killer.
DG: Well, they picked the right guy for the job.
DL: Well, thanks, David. I feel like I'm just the luckiest person on earth. I know there could be any number of you out there doing this just as well, but I happen to be here, the one doing it, so that's my goal, to get the great stuff out.
DG: I feel kind of the same way about my gig, you know, but you've been a great associate. It's been great fun. You're the guy that I work with when I go into the vault to get out tapes and it's always been really fun to go in there with you and to compare notes, and I think our knowledge and our tastes are complementary enough that we always have a good time when we're poking around in there.
DL: Yeah, well, we have the same goal--let's get this stuff out to the public, to everyone who wants it and needs it. These rushes are what it's about.