''Dave's Picks Volume 23'' is a three-CD live album by the rock band the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

. It contains the complete concert recorded at

McArthur Court McArthur Court is a basketball arena located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the former home of the Oregon Ducks men's and women's basketball teams, replaced in 2011 by Matthew Knight Arena. Also known as "The Pit" or " ...

at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

on January 22, 1978. It was released on August 1, 2017, in a limited edition of 16,500 copies. ''Dave's Picks Volume 23'' was released as a five-disc LP on April 28, 2023, in a limited edition of 5,000 copies.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Timothy Monger wrote, "Long-running Grateful Dead archival series ''Dave's Picks'' delivers a true gem on ''Vol. 23'', featuring what many die-hard Deadheads claim to be one of the best shows of 1978... Emerging from the wild and jazzy cosmos of 'Space', Garcia and keyboardist Keith Godchaux deftly segue into a particularly spirited 'St. Stephen', which could have easily closed out an already epic show, but instead sets up a relentlessly energetic half-hour finale of 'Not Fade Away', 'Around and Around', and 'U.S. Blues'.... The newly uncovered Betty Cantor-Jackson recordings from this night finally put all the sonic pieces together on this excellent release." In ''Glide Magazine'', Doug Collette said, "... it was during this performance Jerry Garcia quoted the theme of ''

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film, science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François ...

''. Titillating but ultimately ephemeral as is that reference, it is representative of the element of surprise pervading this show.... All of which, of course, comes through with equal punch and depth on this recording of Betty Cantor-Jackson’s.... With additional official releases of this era, this period of Grateful Dead history elevates further in their canon of work."

Track listing

Disc 1 :''First set'' #"New Minglewood Blues" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 6:20 #"

Dire Wolf The dire wolf (''Aenocyon dirus'' ) is an Extinction, extinct species of Caninae, canine which was native to the Americas during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs (125,000–10,000 years ago). The species was named in 1858, four y ...

" (

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

, Robert Hunter) – 4:35 #" Cassidy" (

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with the Other Ones, later known as the Dead ...

, John Barlow) – 5:08 #"

Peggy-O The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie (Roud # 545) is a Scottish folk song about a thwarted romance between a soldier and a woman. Like many folk songs, the authorship is unattributed, there is no strict version of the lyrics, and it is often referred to by it ...

" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 7:23 #"

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

" (

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...

) – 5:21 #"Tennessee Jed" (Garcia, Hunter) – 9:06 #"

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...

" (Weir, Hunter) – 6:08 #"Row Jimmy" (Garcia, Hunter) – 10:37 #"The Music Never Stopped" (Weir, Barlow) – 8:08 Disc 2 :''Second set'' #"Bertha" > (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:52 #"

Good Lovin' "Good Lovin" is a song written by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick that was a #1 hit single for the Young Rascals in 1966. Original version The song was first recorded by Lemme B. Good (stage name of singer Limmie Snell) in March 1965 and writ ...

" (

Rudy Clark Rudolph Clark (October 29, 1935 – September 3, 2020) was an American songwriter credited with hit songs such as " If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody", " Got My Mind Set on You", "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)", and "Good Lovin' " ( ...

Arthur Resnick Arthur Resnick (born 1937) is an American songwriter, record producer and musician. His most successful songs as a writer include "Under the Boardwalk" (co-written with Kenny Young), "Good Lovin'" (co-written with Rudy Clark), and " Yummy Yummy ...

) – 6:26 #"Ship of Fools" (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:33 #" Samson and Delilah" (traditional, arranged by Weir) – 7:48 Disc 3 #"Terrapin Station" > (Garcia, Hunter) – 11:08 #"Drums" > (

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to ...

) – 7:51 #"The Other One" > (Weir, Kreutzmann) – 16:57 #"Space" > (Garcia,

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (March 15, 1940 – October 25, 2024) was an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he developed a unique style of improvised six-string bass guitar. He was their bassist throughout their 30 ...

, Weir) – 3:52 #" St. Stephen" > (Garcia, Lesh, Hunter) – 7:39 #" Not Fade Away" > (

Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, and radio station owner. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. With Vi Ann Petty—his wife and vocalist—he ...

, Charles Hardin) – 14:09 #"

Around and Around "Around and Around" is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. It originally appeared under the name "Around & Around" as the B-side to the single "Johnny B. Goode". Cover versions The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stone ...

" (

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

) – 8:57 :''Encore'' #

"U.S. Blues" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:53

Personnel

Grateful Dead *

– guitar, vocals *

Donna Jean Godchaux Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux-MacKay (born August 22, 1947) is an American singer best known as a member of the rock band the Grateful Dead from 1972 to 1979. In addition to the Dead, she performed with the Jerry Garcia Band and the short-lived ...

– vocals *

Keith Godchaux Keith Richard Godchaux (July 19, 1948 – July 23, 1980) was an American pianist best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead from 1971 to 1979. Following their departure from the Dead, he and his wife Donna formed the H ...

– keyboards *

– drums *

– bass, vocals *

– guitar, vocals Production *Produced by Grateful Dead *Produced for release by David Lemieux *Mastering: Jeffrey Norman *Recording:

Betty Cantor-Jackson Betty Cantor-Jackson (born September 18, 1948) is an American audio engineer and producer. She is best known for her work recording live concerts for the Grateful Dead from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, including live album '' Cornell 5/8/77' ...

*Art direction, design: Steve Vance *Cover art: Dave Van Patten *Photos: Bruce Polonsky *Liner notes essay "McArthur Court Is Melting in the Oort: Close Encounters in Eugene": Jesse Jarnow *Executive producer: Mark Pinkus *Associate producers: Doran Tyson, Ivette Ramos *Tape research: Michael Wesley Johnson *Tapes provided through the assistance of ABCD Enterprises, LLC

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 live albums 23 Rhino Entertainment live albums