Grateful Dead
Dick's Picks Volume 24
Cow
Palace, San Francisco, CA
March 23, 1974
Review by Barry
Small © February 17, 2002
Dick’s
Picks Volume 24 will no doubt get complaints as being incomplete since ten
songs of the concert are missing, listed below. Personally, I would
have rather paid more for a three-disc release, and if there's room at the end
put some filler on it, however, I'll gladly take what Grateful Dead Merchandise
has released. The music on these CD’s was performed on March 23, 1974, at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA.
The
first disc on Dick’s Picks Volume 24 is from the first set of the concert
(four songs from it were omitted). The show starts off with "U.S.
Blues," a song that was at it's best in 1974. Two songs were debuted
this evening, "Scarlet
Begonias" and "Cassidy." They
are good, but don't “open up” as they do in later versions after the band
became more familiar with them. For sure, the highlight of the set is the
"China Cat Sunflower" > "I Know You Rider." This song was
spectacular in 1974 and this version is evidence of it, complete with the
"Feeling Groovy Jam" and the climatic peaks that make this song great.
Following it is another extended song, "Weather Report Suite" that
clocks in at over fifteen minutes and featuring plenty of jamming.
The
second set begins with the third and final sequence of the Grateful Dead’s
famous "Playin’” medley, that is, "Playing In The Band" >
"Uncle John's Band" > "Morning Dew" > "Uncle
John's Band," > "Playing In The Band." This
is the third and final version of it and it is certainly awesome; the release is
worth buying for it alone.
The
first part of "Playing in the Band" is surely the most experimental
music of the whole show. After taking their time it leads into to a great
"Uncle John's Band." The transition is tight, but not as
seamless as the next three within this masterpiece. The ending jam of
"Uncle John's Band" has Garcia peeling the notes from his
instrumental, incredible, how does he do that? The jamming continues and gets
more intense and it begins to sound like they are still performing "Playing
In The Band" and that the current song, "Uncle John’s Band" is
an illusion. The spacey playing continues as it transitions effortless
into "Morning Dew."
There
have been many great versions of "Morning Dew" released; we now
have one more. This one is quite different than the others from this period such
as Dick’s Picks Volume 19, Dick’s Picks Volume 14, and Dick’s
Picks Volume 7. Clearly all the band
members make themselves heard throughout the song. The second instrumental
passage, especially towards the conclusion, is much more focused on rhythmic
phrasing than the note building and the peaks and plateaus that the song is
known for. It also includes some great interplay between Jerry and Bobby. The
mighty crest that leads to "I guess it doesn't matter anyway" is
left out as it replaced with a smooth transition back to "UJB."
The
next ten minutes require the band to find their way back! Several minutes
of jamming on the "Uncle John's Band" theme leading back to a power
building "Playing in the Band" conclusion brings the band and audience
home, what a musical journey!
Dick’s
Picks Volume 24 is a great performance with great sound!
A -
Songs played at the show, but omitted on the release.
From Set I:
Mexicali Blues (3:32)
Tennessee Jed (8:19)
It Must Have Been The Roses (4:57)
El Paso (4:42)
From Set II:
Ship Of Fools (6:09)
Ramble On Rose (6:47)
Me & My Uncle (3:09)
Around & Around (5:06)
Casey Jones (8:01)
Send me your review or comments of this
release.
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