Every Deadhead has their own tale of what particular period or year was the most magical for Jerry Garcia and crew. Anyone who’s read my past reviews knows I consider 1977 to be an amazing period for the Grateful Dead; some of the shows they played during this time that have been released on CD have proven to be spellbinding in their own unique ways.

Dick’s Picks Volume Ten, a three-CD set covering nearly their entire show at Winterland from December 29, 1977, doesn’t quite have that same level of magic that other shows from that year had (to my ear, at least). It’s not a bad show by any means, but it doesn’t crackle with energy like earlier shows from that year.

In a sense, it almost feels like Garcia is doing everything he can with his song selection to keep things at a basic plod. “Jack Straw” is a solid enough opener, but going right into “They Love Each Other” just doesn’t feel natural. At times, it feels like the musical equivalent of a tennis match. Bob Weir serves “Mama Tried”; Garcia counters with “Loser.” It’s a strange kind of yin/yang thing, but the audience was eating it up gladly.

The second set is where things finally start to get tighter. Opening things with “Bertha” is always a good start, and stretching “Playing In The Band” across several songs (including throwing in a brief jam before “Drums”) is kinda fun. Having “China Cat Sunflower” resurrected for the first time in several years is also a nice touch.

The question, though, has to be why the late Dick Latvala didn’t choose to present this show in its entirety. Look, I admit I was never the biggest Donna Jean Godchaux fan. But there were so few times she was allowed to lead the band with her vocals; hearing “Sunrise” from the then-recent Terrapin Station album would have been more than appropriate. (“It Must Have Been The Roses” was the other song from the show that didn’t make the cut.) Who knows, maybe the source tapes weren’t in good enough shape on these two songs.

That said, I’m not going to fault Latvala for substituting four songs from the following night’s Winterland performance to round out the set, even if this particular version of “Eyes Of The World” wasn’t necessarily their strongest.

It’s difficult for any band to maintain a high level of excellence on any extended tour, and not every show is going to live up to what someone else views as a highlight. Enough people believe the show captured on Dick’s Picks Volume Ten was a high-water mark for this era of the Grateful Dead; far be it from me to say they’re wrong. Hell, chances are they’d tell me some of the shows I love from this era were ones they viewed as inferior. To my ears at least, this particular set is good, but not quite on the medal stand when it comes to superior performances. As Latvala put on all his releases from this series, “Caveat emptor.” I might not go back to this one as often as I do others in the Dick’s Picks series, but it does have some solid moments, and is enjoyable overall.

Rating: B-

User Rating: Not Yet Rated

Comments