Close encounters in Eugene, Oregon! We are not alone in saying this one could be considered top-of-line Grateful Dead from 1978. Yes, as the tales have been told, 1/22/78 conjured up vibes of the Be-in, Altamont, Yippies, Psychedelia, Woodstock, Free Speech, Acid Trips, heaven for one lucky concert-goer, and of course, aliens. If you wanna know what we’re on about, there’s no better way to experience the show than with this lovingly-restored version from legendary sound engineer Betty Cantor-Jackson’s recordings. Witness sets packed with bright and vibrant gems like a surprisingly heavy “Row Jimmy,” a freshly tender “Ship Of Fools,” and a transcendental “The Other One.” And if you have levitated too far, Jerry’s “Close Encounters” solo (ironic, we know) will reel you back in and set you right up for the powerful crescendo of “St. Stephen” and the band's shake-it-all-about boogie-down finale. Mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman and featuring illustrations by 2017 Dave's Picks Artist-In-Residence Dave Van Patten and liners by Grateful Dead scribe Jesse Jarnow, Dave's Picks Volume 23 is limited to 16,500 individually numbered copies. These releases have been known to sell out in a matter of hours so you’ll wanna grab a copy while you can. 3 Disc set Limited to 16,500 individually numbered copies Mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman Digipak made of 100% recycled and PCW materials Release Date: August 1, 2017 Track List Disc 1 1. New Minglewood Blues [6:20] 2. Dire Wolf [4:35] 3. Cassidy [5:08] 4. Peggy-O [7:23] 5. El Paso [5:21] 6. Tennessee Jed [9:06] 7. Jack Straw [6:08] 8. Row Jimmy [10:37] 9. The Music Never Stopped [8:08] Disc 2 1. Bertha> [6:52] 2. Good Lovin’ [6:26] 3. Ship Of Fools [7:33] 4. Samson And Delilah [7:48] Disc 3 1. Terrapin Station> [11:08] 2. Drums> [7:51] 3. The Other One> [16:57] 4. Space> [3:52] 5. St. Stephen> [7:39] 6. Not Fade Away> [14:09] 7. Around And Around [8:57] 8. U.S. Blues [5:53]
S**H
Dave's picks vol 23 (Eugene OR, 1/22/78)
paid a bit extra for the Dave's picks - the Dead in a great frame of music, the band in excellent shape as was the CD and the materials - great buy
S**Y
Around and round rocks the house
The first show when my soulmate and I really connected. Started dating 40 years ago today! Been married almost 39 years! You know our love will not fade away! Excellent show, awesome outcome.
B**N
Awesome 78 show definitely worth buying
Great product highly recommend to all dead heads!
C**D
Grateful Dead live.
An outstanding performance.
G**L
Five Stars
Awesome
P**.
Three Stars
Not the best of this series by any means...
S**Y
A "desert island" show
You know the old thought exercise question - if you were stranded on a desert island, and could only have 3 recoredings with you, which ones would you pick? This one. OK, maybe not the entire show, but Disc 3 for sure. From the end of drums to the end of NFA are my all-time favorite 45 minutes or so of Grateful Dead music. Since the Dead are far and away my favorite artist, that would make this my favorite segment of music, period.The Other One explodes out of Drums into a dark, otherworldly version of the tune where it truly does feel as though the music plays the band. That flows into a spacy transition jam which evolves the legendary Close Encouters Garcia guitar solo. From there, it bursts into St. Stephen, forgoing the song's usual quiet intro. The jam in the middle of this version is about 3 or 4 minutes of pure joy. The jam's climax is almost like a musical orgasm. But the band is hardly done yet. There's something about the timing of the drums coming out of St. Stephen and announcing Not Fade Away that's just so perfect it gives me chills. And when the band comes in, it has a similar degree of perfection. There's a momentary lull in the energy as the band seems to struggle momentarily with the gtoove. But once they break into the verse, they're right back into the zone. NFA was generally one of the band's premier jam songs during this era, and this is among the best versions. Toward the end, there's even a part that has something of a Dark Star-ish feel to it.The beginning of Around and Around is a little bit clunky and seems to break the mood. But don't let that fool you, because it turns into an exceptionally smoking version of the song. By the time they get to the US Blues encore, it seems like they've just about run out of gas, but they've still got enough to crank out a fun version of the song.I haven't mentioned the first set. which is actually very good and high energy. I don't include it as essential desert island listening because there are other first sets from the tour that are as good or maybe ever better.Before this release came out, I already had a very high quality soundboard recording of this show. However, that recording was missing the first 4 songs of the second set, which was one of the reasons to get this Dave's Pick. Sadly, these songs aren't at the level of the rest of the show with the possible exception of the Samson and Delilah. The Good Lovin' has is prettyy high-energy, but I've never been a fan of this song since the band revived it with Bobby on vocals. The Terrapin that starts the Disc 3 jam sequence is powerful and ominous. I know many Deadheads who consider it the best version ever. The drums segment starts out quiet and introspective and ends up powerful and foreboding, setting the stage for the greatness described above.
D**H
A killer show!
The "Dave's Picks" series of archival releases are offered via the Grateful Dead's on-line website and are sold principally by way of annual subscriptions. They are produced in limited quantities, and after they are sold out, they can still be purchased here on Amazon, but at higher prices. The Dead recently acquired ownership of a treasure trove of soundboard recordings made by Betty Cantor Jackson. These recordings, known affectionately as "Betty Boards," have achieved legendary status as they include many historically excellent shows and are all very well recorded. This release is one of those shows. Before this "official" release, only a portion of the second set was available in good sound, now the whole thing has been nicely remastered by the Dead's in house guru, Jeffrey Norman.I have listened to these discs a couple of times. Based on that exposure, it strikes me that this is one of the best, if not the best, official Dead release from 1978. The show is really akin to an excellent '77 show. The band was really on, and Jerry (Garcia) just plays scorching leads on most every song. His guitar tone has a special edge here. The first set includes an outstanding Tennesee Jed and the whole second set jam, Terrapin>Drums>The Other One>Space(Jerry soloing, including a snippet of Close Encounters)>St. Stephen>Not Fade Away>Around and Around, is a great listen. The sound quality is very, very good for a live recording of this vintage.This is one of the very best releases in the entire Dave's Picks series and is highly recomended. But not at the prices (close to $100) currently being asked by marketplace vendors.© 2017 D.A. Rich
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