Dick's Picks, Vol. 8: Harpur College, Binghamton, NY, 5/2/70 [Limited Edition, Live]

Grateful Dead | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 11, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 1970
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Limited Edition, Live
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B00004TYB6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,314 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Don't Ease Me In

2. I Know You Rider

3. Friend of the Devil

4. Dire Wolf

5. Beat It on Down the Line

6. Black Peter

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. St. Stephen

2. Cryptical Envelopment

3. Drums

4. The Other One

5. Cryptical Envelopment

6. Cosmic Charlie

See all 8 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. It's a Man's Man's Man's World

2. Dancing in the Street

3. Morning Dew

4. Viola Lee Blues

5. We Bid You Goodnight

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Use Sparingly, April 19, 2007

By 

My Uncle Stu (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dick's Picks, Vol. 8: Harpur College, Binghamton, NY, 5/2/70 (Audio CD)

There are a handful of Dick's Picks I ration out to myself on a schedule. Volume 8 is so special, so fulfilling, I only let myself listen to it once every two years. Any more frequently than that and it would lose the element of surprise, that amazing feeling of discovery.

The first disc is an acoustic set. The band sounds great, even harmonizing like professionals. Following a nice "Friend of the Devil," the crowd shouts out their requests to the band. Jerry settles the crowd: "Relax, man. We've got you all night." And, just like that, we are all held. We can get into a comfortable space and just enjoy. We can enjoy the Dead hitting on all cylinders at a period of time when they were great at getting intense and spacey, but also starting to reign it in a little bit more and bring in a little more of the roots music sound that would characterize American Beauty and Workingman's Dead, their two best studio albums, which were just on the horizon at the time of these shows.

The first set is worth the price alone, but discs two and three are their electric set for the night, following the New Riders. I would have enjoyed having the New Riders material released with it for a more authentic feel of the night, but you can't have everything. But electric Jerry on the second and third disc is absolutely tremendous. Jerry's solos increase a couple notches in intensity during "The Other One," wrapped in a "St. Stephen," "Cryptical Envelope" (times two) followed by a "Cosmic Charley" that some rank as the best version ever. We also get to hear Pig doing his best James Brown, still with a spirited "Dancing In The Streets," the multiple climaxes of "Morning Dew" and "Viola Lee Blues," topped with the always cozy closer, "We Bid You Goodnight."

It is a feast for the autonomic system. The whole band is playing with a rough, raw intensity, which kicks up the listener's sympathetic tone. But Jerry, searing and soaring all the way, also manages to find those dreamy, cosmic places which, in turn, boosts the parasympathetics. So the whole package together increases your arousal and alertness while at the same time relaxing you. The only other things capable of doing that are yoga and nicotine. Nicotine's bad for you, at least in its more convenient delivery systems. And- yes, I know this goes against conventional wisdom- but I've always suspected yoga is bad for you too. Too gristly or something. I don't know, let me think about that one and get back to you.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: They weren't always good let alone great, but when they were great, nothing could be better. This Dick's Pick is everything that was right about the Dead when they were in their prime and having a solid night. Happy Birthday to me.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Pick, June 13, 2003

By 

C. N. White "neilicus107" (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dick's Picks, Vol. 8: Harpur College, Binghamton, NY, 5/2/70 (Audio CD)

I own almost all of the Dick's Picks series, and I can honestly say that this is my favorite by far. It was recorded at a small college in New York in 1970, when they had, in my opinion, their best lineup (Pigpen was still there in full force, and Donna was nowhere to be found.) The show opens up with an amazing acoustic set featuring the best versions of some Dead classics that you will ever hear. ("Don't Ease Me In", "I Know You Rider", "Dire Wolf", "Black Peter", and "Deep Elem Blues" are some of the highlights. For those only familiar with popular Dead songs, great versions of "Friend of the Devil" and "Uncle John's Band" are also present.) This first set is absolutely flawless - rarely will you hear the Dead this on-target and synchronized. But as if that wasn't enough, they come back on the second disc with a nearly 40-minute Cryptical Envelopment that begins with St. Stephen, encompasses Drums and The Other One, and ends with Cosmic Charlie. They follow that with the best version of Casey Jones they've ever done. Period. On Disc Three Pigpen shines with his bluesy version of James Brown's "It's A Man's World" that goes on for almost ten minutes. A wonderful version of "Morning Dew" follows (but honestly, have you ever heard a bad version of this song?) The spotlight of this disc, however, and perhaps of the whole show is the blistering "Viola Lee Blues" that rises to not one, not two, but three crescendos, and eases down with a rather lengthy "We Bid You Goodnight" - they go through the song about two times because the crowd just won't let them leave, and after hearing this show, you can't blame them. If you even remotely like the Dead, I cannot recommend this album enough. I own lots of Dead, but this one gets played more than any of them. It shows them at their absolute best and most versatile. This is some of the best music you'll ever have the privilege of hearing.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Concert, July 13, 2000

By 

Taylor (VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dick's Picks, Vol. 8: Harpur College, Binghamton, NY, 5/2/70 (Audio CD)

The CD really showcases the multiple talents of the Dead. The first CD is the acoustic first set of the concert. It features a guest apearance by marmaduke. The highlights of this CD is "...Rider" and "Uncle John's Band". Disk 2 is the electric Dead. St. Stephen is an excellents version that goes into a short "Cryptical" into a nice "other one" back into a longer "cryptical" and then into a nice "cosmic charlie". This CD is one of the best I have ever heard. Disk 3 does good covers of "Man's World" and "Dancin in the Streets". "morning dew" is kinda typical but still nice. "viola lee blues" is the best version I have ever heard. They do a great job in the song building of to the climax of "goodnight". All in all a great show that showcases the Dead's great talent to go from one extreme to the other in music.