Customer Reviews

Dick's Picks, Vol. 24: Daly City, CA, 3/23/74

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm of the opinion that nearly any Grateful Dead concert recording dating from the years 1967-1977 is automatically worth hearing if you're a fan, but it's also undeniably true that some are far better (or worse) than others. Where to start? Well, the Dick's Picks series theoretically makes the aspiring Deadhead's job a little easier by culling a select group of particularly great, or noteworthy, or rare shows and giving them official release.

I say "theoretically" because every now and then you'll happen across a Pick that just seems musically substandard relative to the others. Dick's Picks 24, a 2-CD set drawing from highlights of the group's March 23rd, 1974 show at the Cow Palace outside of San Francisco, is sadly one of the substandard ones.

The inescapable fact is that this concert only saw release as a Dick's Pick because of its historic nature: it marks the debut of the Dead's legendary "Wall Of Sound" concert sound system, featuring (I believe) 480 separate speakers as well as the ability for each musician to individually adjust the levels on their instrument. Ironically enough, while the Wall of Sound reportedly provided a wonderful experience for concertgoers, the sound quality of the TAPES produced during these 1974 shows is notably inferior to those from earlier and later years - the one exception in the series seems to be Dick's Picks 12 6/26-28/74 - resulting in a compressed drum sound and papery vocals, among other things.

But aside from questions of sound quality, what sinks Dick's Picks 24 is the largely pedestrian nature of much of the performance. The occasion might have been memorable, but frankly the music itself wasn't. As an earlier reviewer very perceptively pointed out, this is largely down to Jerry Garcia's guitar playing. Face it, sometimes Jerry had an off-night, and this happens to have been one of them. The "Morning Dew" here is one of the most lackluster available, and he even fails to engage on songs which are usually automatic on most nights, like "China -> Rider." The fact that this release is top-heavy with shorter "first set"-type material that's only decently played also hurts.

I don't want this review to be entirely critical, as there are some fine musical moments. This disc features the first-ever performance of Bob Weir's "Cassidy" (it's a pretty good one, and also the LAST time they'd play for two years), as well as a great rendition of the "Weather Report Suite" that includes one of the better "Let It Grow"'s I've heard. The "Playing In The Band," while not one for the ages - I feel like they were beginning to lose the heart of this song by this time in its career - is nevertheless excellent, as is the "Uncle John's Band" jam.

But these are only standout MOMENTS which occur over the span of an otherwise undistinguished set. As a lover of live Dead, I'll admit I enjoy listening to this release every now and then, but since I can say that about most of their concerts from this period, that just doesn't pass the threshold needed to give this a strong recommendation. Of the new batch of six Dick's Picks just released to the retail market, this is one of the weakest.

Recommended alternatives for those looking for better live Dead from this era (some are available retail via Amazon, others must be purchased directly through the Dead's official site):

- Dick's Picks 12: June 26th-28th, 1974
- Dick's Picks 19: October 19th, 1973
- Dick's Picks 31: August 4th-5th/6th, 1974

Disc One:
U.S. Blues (6:16), Promised Land (4:04), Brown-Eyed Woman (5:27), Black-Throated Wind (7:05), Scarlet Begonias (7:13), Beat It On Down The Line (3:46), Deal (5:29), Cassidy (4:09), China Cat Sunflower (8:41), I Know You Rider (6:02),
Weather Report Suite (15:35) Prelude (1:25) Part I (4:23) Part II - Let It Grow (9:46)

Disc Two:
Playing In The Band (14:11), Uncle John's Band (9:16), Morning Dew (12:31), Uncle John's Band (6:27), Playing In The Band (4:11), Big River (5:54), Bertha (6:35), Wharf Rat (9:29), Sugar Magnolia (8:57)

Okay, 2.5 stars. This Pick took me quite a while to get into but there is some nice stuff in places here. Is this the best '74 you've ever heard? No, but if you own most or all of the Dick's Picks you already own some worse Picks than this one.

I know this is never the popular view, but during the times where this Pick suffers, it's because of Garcia. There are some stretches here where he just doesn't have any interesting or emotionally engaging ideas. His playing is atrocious for most of this Morning Dew. Phil is dropping some thunder on this version but Jerry plays very badly almost the whole time. Jerry had a bunch of amazing nights in '74, but aside from a few tunes here, this isn't one of his better performances, which is pretty depressing actually, as Phil and Billy in particular are doing their thing here. It would have been nice if Jerry had been playing off of them better on this night.

To be fair though, on the highlights of this set (Let It Grow, the first Playing In the Band, and the minor rhythm jam segment of Uncle John's Band) Jerry does contribute nicely to the festivities. This Let It Grow is certainly no 6/18/74 but it's still a nice one that I'm sure was loved by everyone in attendance. It's my favorite track of this Pick.

All in all, I would say this was a mediocre performance with some very bad moments and some nice moments, though still there is nothing here that elevates it to the level of any of the phenomenal performances from May and June of 1974. The sound is good. Everyone is quite present in the mix, though there is a bit of a sterile feel to it.

This is not an essential Grateful Dead purchase, especially given how absolutely brilliantly the entire band plays on Dick's Picks 23 (9/17/72), and how great that Pick sounds.

I have to disagree with several issues raised in the first review.
I got this Pick about two years ago, and at first I didn't take to it. The first reason was the sound; at the time I didn't know much about the Wall of Sound (the pictures in the booklet give you some idea about the system's dimensions).
I agree with the first review that the sound board recordings off the Wall of Sound can be treble heavy, light on bass, and with compressed sounding vocals. Yet, for this Pick, the sound wizards who put the Picks together have worked their magic and produced a beautiful, rich sounding '74 show (the vocals still sound a bit compressed, but hey, this is a Dick's Pick).
The second reason I didn't take to this Pick immediately was that I wasn't familiar with the 1974 version of the Dead. By this point the band had developed a free jazz style to their jamming and were less obviously blues or rock orientated.
A lot of the songs the Dead were writing around the early '70s had a leisurely tempo to them. With some of their songs (such as Bertha), they had slowed the tempo down revealing different aspects of the songs. However, I am not saying that the tempo to the Pick is sluggish! This Pick represents a muscular and powerful show.
The first CD is fantastic; it contains one of my favourite versions of Brown-eyed Women, the first performances of Scarlet Begonias and Cassidy, and a blistering Deal. The China Cat>I know you rider is a bit sedated, but it is followed by a beautiful Weather Report Suite.
The second CD contains one of, I believe, only three versions of the Playing>Uncle John's>Morning Dew>Uncle John's>Playing sandwich/grouping. It is as fantastic a demonstration of the improvisational skills of the Dead as ever you'll find. Unlike the first reviewer, I think the Morning Dew floats along at a nice pace, Garcia taking his time and allowing the others to do their stuff. When I first heard this, I didn't fully understand what they had done, but give it a few listens, and you will be carried away with the music.
Overall, I think the Pick is one of the best that I have heard and I would highly recommend it. And, as this is only a composite of the full show they played that night, it makes me wonder about all they left off! It could easily have been a 3 CD Pick!

For the uninitiated, Deadheads can be extremely opinionated and the reviews on amazon show it.

I don't know, but I'm guessing that this show made the Dick's Picks cut because the sound quality was high and someone inside Dead Incorporated liked the Playing in the Band > Uncle John's Band > Morning Dew > Uncle John's Band > Playing in the Band sandwich from the second set. I do too, it's excellent. Yes, I can pick at various parts and say the band played this particular section better at a concert two years earlier or three years later, but there aren't that many 45 minute plus jams that are this tight. Jerry finds a very nice line to jam on in the first segment of PITB, the segues between songs are as effortless as any I have heard, and I am sure the crowd was simply blown away at the end.

I'm a recent arrival to Deadhead status - I'd say I deserved that title as of a few months ago when I finally ejected my mix of various artists from my portable CD case, and began filling that case with Dead CD's, including a lot of Dick's Picks.

Honestly, this is one of the rougher shows I've ever heard. I bought it without reading any reviews, and I regret that. Between technical problems and some genuinely confused Jerry solos, it seems to me that this show may not quite merit Dick's Pick status. It has its wonderful moments (after all, this is the Grateful Dead,) but there are many much better shows available out there. Also, there are moments here when Donna, (who I usually like,) sounds a bit shrieky. Perhaps the energy was just bad, but this is not one of the legendary shows in my opinion.

I've currently been enjoying Dick's Picks 12 - Providence Civic and Boston Garden, June 1974. Far more pleasurable and coherent.

There are a lot of reviews of this particular show from '74, saying it is not up to snuff. While I'm not going to argue it's the best show of that year (or even in the top fifteen), what I will argue is that it's not a bummer either. There's a great Weather Report Suite to end the first set and the entire second set is a jamfest.

There's no point in my pouring over each nuance of why this set is worth buying. All I'll say as a longtime Deadhead is that this set surprised me. I had expected it would suck and it didn't. Quite good actually. Which is no surprise, since it comes from the early '74 period. Papery vocals (early Wall of Sound) yes, but overall a good pick. Definitely not the best of the DP series - not saying that at all - but not merely a wart in the series either, as has been suggested by other reviewers. It will satisfy most Deadheads wanting some good '74 jammy stuff.

You have to ask yourself...is it worth it to purchase Dick's Picks #24 when the only tracks worth listening to are tracks 1 through 5 on CD 2? For me, the answer is DEFINITELY YES. The band ascends to levels of sheer magic on these tracks. There is a similar set of songs on the box set Winterland 1973...but I like this one even better...it has a real trippy sensibility...it carries you away. So don't waste your time with CD 1... go directly to the first 5 tracks on CD 2. That's when everything "kicked in" and the Dead perform like shamans. I even love the false start!

i JUST PLAYED IT AND BLOWN AWAY-GREAT SOUND QUALITY AND THE BAND IS COOKING....REALLY ON TARGET SO DONT BE OVER-CRITICAL.iTS REALLY good>>>>>

File me in with those who think that this Pick is great! Sure, it's not the best '74 out there, but nevertheless it is a great sampling of the Dead, and I would recommend it to anyone discovering the boys, as well as those simply looking for a great show.

All in all, the great moments surely outnumber the mediocre. A great opening "U.S. Blues" which really catches fire about halfway through, with an energy-laden, raucous close-out -- the way a great "U.S. Blues" always is. The "Promised Land" is also high-energy. One of the great highlights of this disc is the very first live recording of "Cassidy", which is simply beautiful, no other way to describe it. Also, this show contains one of the best recordings of "China Cat/Know you Rider" -- very intense and an impeccable display of the Dead at the top of their game. Also a very fine version of "Weather Report Suite/Let it Grow".

While it is true that the versions of "Wharf Rat" and "Sugar Magnolia" are not the greatest, the rest of the show is pure fun, a great "Bertha" in there near the end also. All said, this show is highly recommended and not to be missed if you are getting into the Dead. Deadheads, I know, don't need convincing on this particular show. Phil's playing is at his best, a classic showcase of where he was at in '73/'74, and of course Billy is at his usual best. A couple of the reviews here say that Jerry's playing is not terribly inspired or on-the-mark, and I also disagree with this in general. It's true that there are times when he seems just touch-and-go, however, he finds his mark, I think, early in the show and he keeps it from there on out. Great show!

I love the Dick's Pick series. Finally, someone who loves the Dead to have the freedom to put out the goods. However, that being said this is probably one of the biggest disappointments of the series. Dick Latvala died in 1999, while this was released in 2004, which may have been the problem. The biggest problem with this release is Jerry Garcia sounds like he is having a complete mind cramp. While the rest of the band has their act together, Jerry can't complete a musical thought, until about 2/3 way through the show. Unfortunately, it was a bad night for Jerry. Yes, it happened now and then. What's more unfortunate is nobody put a stop to this release. The real shame is there are better shows from 74', any which would have been better a choice (later releases prove this.) Oh well, scratch your head on this release and move on to something better. Keep on Keepin' on.