Dick's Picks, Volume 22

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Grateful Dead

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Dick's Picks 22 (King's Beach Bowl February 23rd & 24th, 1968- disc 1 is thought to come from the 23rd and disc 2 from the 24th) was greeted with hosannahs by the Grateful Dead fanbase when it was first announced. Why? First, because it came as a COMPLETE surprise - nobody in the trading community had any reason to believe the tapes of these shows existed. Second, because it came from such a "prehistoric" and undocumented period in the band's career. Third, because it featured such an insane line-up of songs. A 19-minute "Viola Lee Blues?" Check! The entire Anthem of the Sun album, including "Born Cross-Eyed" (first-ever release) and a "That's It For The Other One" suite that was only 7 minutes long and featured one drummer? Check! One of those early Dark Star > China Cat Sunflower > The Eleven sequences, from before "St. Stephen" was written? Roger that. And - sweet jesus, what's this? - Alligator > China Cat Sunflower > The Eleven > Alligator > Caution > Feedback?? A completely unique sequence of songs, never before and never again duplicated.

But the reason DP22 is so highly regarded among Deadheads isn't just because of its previously uncirculated nature, or even because it comes from the alluring early years of the Pigpen-era band, before establishment of the standard "1969 sequences" (e.g., Dark Star > St. Stephen > The Eleven > Lovelight/Death Don't Have No Mercy, etc). No, with Deadheads it's ultimately about the quality of the show itself, and DP22 is a piker. This set is magnificently performed, full-to-bursting with spiky, rough-edged energy that makes it clear how HUNGRY this group was. And how confident, too. Listen to the joyful noise Garcia creates on "Turn On Your Lovelight," tossing out acid bop melodies with sweet abandon: he's finally FOUND himself in this song - so has Pig - and you get to hear him revelling in it. (It remains one of my favorite "Lovelights" ever.) I've always been of the opinion that the Dead never played their blues numbers quite as well as they did during this early period - the heaviness of the ensemble's sound, mostly a function of the Gibson Les Paul Garcia was playing, is part of the reason - and great versions of "Viola Lee Blues" (19 minutes of sheer madness), "It Hurts Me Too," and especially "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" are affirmations of that.

But in the end, it's the jams which make this Pick so wonderful (this is the Dead, after all). On disc one, the Dark Star > China Cat > The Eleven > Lovelight sequence is fully realized, with the transition between "Dark Star" and "China Cat" being especially deft. And wow...at the risk of sounding like one of those annoyingly hyperbolic fans who you can't trust (because they declare everything by their favorite band to be "THE BEST EVER"), I will pronounce the "Alligator" sequence on disc 2 to be one of the finest moments of live Dead music I have ever heard. It's effervescent, disciplined yet casual, clearly driven by spur-of-the-moment impulse (after the end of the "Alligator" verses Weir takes charge and decides to send the song into "China Cat" and "The Eleven") but never out of control, and wonderfully played. The "Alligator" reprise is actually BEAUTIFUL, which is not a word you associate often with Primal Dead (they weren't much into "delicacy" or "beauty" at this stage of their career): it has the first-ever playing of the famous "And We Bid You Goodnight" theme and oh is it ever played well.

Okay, the praise is clear, but some warnings are in order: there are some real sound flaws on this Pick. Not in terms of actual sound QUALITY - actually I find the analogue tape to be quite inviting in its warmth - but rather in terms of microphones. Sometimes they didn't work. Sometimes Pig, Bobby or Jerry stepped away from them, or maybe a connection wasn't quite plugged in. There's nothing that will really bother a serious fan (though listeners with sharp ears will notice that a missing section of "Turn On Your Lovelight" from disc 1 was inconspicously patched with material from another show), but this sure as heck ain't Two From The Vault, either.

If you're a prospective Deadhead who's never heard the band outside "Casey Jones" and "Uncle John's Band," but wants to jump right into the live material, this shouldn't be your first purchase. (Go get Live/Dead and Europe '72 instead...buy both at the same time, too.) But for anyone else who ever considered themselves a fan of Primal Dead, this is literally an essential purchase, arguably the greatest Pick that has yet been released. It fulfills all the criteria: it gives us a show we had never had, it hails from a relatively undocumented period, it features rare performances and unique sequences, and it's BRILLIANTLY PLAYED. If you're at all a fan of this era of the Dead, this is the biggest no-brainer since the re-release of Anthem of the Sun.

**ATTENTION 10/05/05**

I can finally make a "Further Recommendation" for those wishing to sample more from this fascinating era of the Dead's career, as dead.net (The Dead's online store) has just made available Volume 6 of their new "Download Series": March 17th, 1968 at the Carousel Ballroom in San Francisco. Portions of the first set of this show were used in the creation of Anthem Of The Sun, and the Dark Star > China Cat Sunflower > The Eleven sequence from the previous day's show was included on the So Many Roads boxed set. While Dick's Picks 22 remains the superior release (simply terms of how much you get, and the fantastic setlist), the performance of the 3/17/68 is fully the equal of 2/22-23/68. If you have a broadband connection, I *STRONGLY* recommend it for those who wish to further explore this era.