Customer Reviews

Dick's Picks, Vol. 7: Alexandra Palace, London, England, 9/9-9/11/74

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have all 19 Dick's Picks. Most of them have a few songs I consider the "best version available", and some I usually skip. DP 7 has neither! It's just a real good show, with fun song selection, sharp playing and no rough patches. Some of the high lights include a great Scarlett Begonias, and a Not Fade Away that really moves. There are several good versions of "first set" tunes, like Mexicalli Blues, Half Step Miss. Uptown and Brown Eyed Women. Big River and Wharf Rat are also here. The band was tight, their voices were clear, and even with Dark Star, the mood was not very spacey. When I want some solid, easy listening Dead in the background, either in my office, in the car or at home, I often reach for DP 7, and I'm always happy I did.

Basically I'd like to support Alan Sandler's review. My only qualm with this set is that with better Dick's Picks out there including 4,8,10,11,12,14,15,16 and 18 to name a few, casual fans would be best to hold off on this one until they amass a decent Dick's Pick's collection. If you have most of those shows, then by all means pick this one up. Phil's bass thunders on Scarlet Begonias, Not Fade Away, and especially Wharf Rat. Also listen for the King Bee tease during the jazzy outro jam of a veteran Weather Report Suite. For those interested, these shows come from a three-night stand at Alexandra Palace in London from 9/9/74 - 9/11/74.

Here is a collection of music that is for the hard-core dead heads. There are some short simple songs,along with the long jams. The best parts are the long jams. This is what made the Dead different from all other bands, the ability to jam on and on and on. Who else could play Not Fade Away for 15 minuets or longer. The Truckin jam has Phil Lesh showing the world why he is a world class musician. Dark Star is vintage Dead with song structure being unimportant, but the ability to improvise while maintaning focus and make tremendous music is sheer brillance. Capped off with the the most touching version of Morning Dew makes this worth the price alone. Playing in the Band gets the royal 20 minuet space jam treatment as well. Execpt for the off key screaming of Donna everything is played with confidence and passion.

Not as jazzy as the epic DP 31, but a thoroughly solid effort from my favorite era of Dead (1972-1974). Underrated by others here...a gem and true value relative to other available used DP's.

I like 1974 Dead a lot, and this has some fine music. I think the DP12 showcases more innovative music, however DP7 is one I do play a lot.

The Scarlet Begonias is very nicely played, as are all the long jams. The long jams are the main attraction in this release...

...because when I first listened to this I was pleasantly surprised.
I am a Deadhead with arguably too many different versions of the same songs(although I love it; and many would relate), and being somewhat of a completist, especially with Dick's Picks, there was no question about buying this.
I have 'read it said' several times that the band sound tired here. Well, maybe,
but I can't help thinking that they were probably tired during countless concerts that have been appreciated with that familiar Dead joy.
I find this mellow, fat and spunky. Perhaps it is this mellow aspect where some perceive the fatigue. Maybe the recording: it is a little cloudy, but to me it does not detract.
Some highlights are the compact and tight jams; the Dark Star -not represented on many official 74' releases- which has the sounds of the year written all over it, making it unique to the "Wall of Sound" era; and the hint at "Not Fade Away" with just a couple of Bass notes from Phil and the beat on just the drum pedal from Bill, which gets the London crowd clapping the rhythm before the song starts proper and then the band are all in and off we go. Really nice and a fascinating glimpse of the Deadhead network operating far and wide before the more mainstream popularity of the Grateful Dead.
I love this and am so grateful.

These shows were played after the band had had some time off. They were A)Rusty and B)Completely strung out/burned out. Very ragged playing, especially when compared to Summer '74. This set's redeeming grace is the Dark Star->Morning Dew which is very powerful. Recording quality is among the worst of the Dick's Picks series. Lots of hiss, not alot of high/low frequencies which is too bad, because that DS->Dew really shines... Steve Urbauer Stephen Urbauer

Not a spectacular but a solid performance. For the fan who want the complete Weather Report Suite rather than just the "Let It Grow" portion of the song, this album offers a very strong and sungularly beautiful performance featuring Bobby playing electric rhythym guitar in an almost acoutic mode. Very interesting and very good (save the off key Donna-jeez what was Donna doing in this band ever). The rest of the album is very good but not as full throated as the bands later year performances or as full of energy and experimentation as the early years.

I own about 3 dozen commercially produced live Dead recordings and this is probably my least favorite of them. It doesn't suck, but it also collects a lot of dust. The highlight of this CD for me is Wharf Rat, but that doesn't mean there aren't better versions of the song out there. I mostly agree with the other reviewers that this is a "good" concert but there's nothing special about it to me; nothing stands out. You could do a lot better with just about any other Dick's Pick.