''Dick's Picks Volume 1'' is the first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

in the '' Dick's Picks'' series of live releases by the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. It was recorded on December 19, 1973 at

Curtis Hixon Hall Curtis Hixon Hall was an indoor sports arena, convention center, concert venue, and special events center which was located at 600 Ashley Drive along the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa, Florida. It opened in 1965, and was the primary con ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

, and contains a rare recording of the band playing the blues standard "Nobody's Fault but Mine". As the first of the ''Dick's Picks'', the album was considered by

Deadhead A Deadhead or Dead Head is a fan of the American rock band the Grateful Dead. In the 1970s, a number of fans began travelling to see the band in as many shows or festival venues as they could. With large numbers of people thus attending strings ...

s to be a significant breakthrough. All previous live Dead albums (except '' Vintage Dead'' and '' Historic Dead'') had been based on

multi-track recording Multi-track may refer to: * Multitrack recording, the process of mixing individual sound sources to a single recording * Multi-track diplomacy, a method of conflict resolution * Multi track, a process of civil litigation in England and Wales ** ...

s, which can be remixed extensively before being commercially released. ''Dick's Picks'' were created using

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

(two-track) concert recordings. This made possible the release of many more Dead shows that exist in the band's extensive tape vault. The series was named for Grateful Dead tape archivist

Dick Latvala Dick Latvala (26 July 1943 – 6 August 1999) was an American tape archivist for the Grateful Dead. He started the CD series ''Dick's Picks'', a series that selects live music from Grateful Dead concerts. The first volume of ''Dick's Picks'' w ...

"Caveat emptor"

Each volume of ''Dick's Picks'' has its own "

caveat emptor ''Caveat emptor'' (; from ''caveat'', "may he/she beware", a subjunctive form of ''cavēre'', "to beware" + ''ēmptor'', "buyer") is Latin for "Let the buyer beware". It has become a proverb in English. Generally, ''caveat emptor'' is the contrac ...

" label, advising the listener of the sound quality of the recording. The label for volume 1 reads: "The recording herein has been lovingly remastered directly from the original two-track master tape and is therefore not immune to the various glitches, splices, reel changes and other aural gremlins contained on said original. Dick's Picks differs from our ''From The Vault'' series in that we simply did not have access to complete shows (nor the modern mixing capabilities afforded by multitrack tapes). But we think the historical value and musical quality of these tapes more than compensates for any technical anomalies... In other words, what you hear is what you get. And what you get ain't bad!"

Track listing

Disc one

#"Here Comes Sunshine" (

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

Robert Hunter Robert Hunter may refer to: Arts * Robert Hunter (painter) (died 1780), Irish portrait painter * Robert Hunter (encyclopædist) (1823–1897), British editor of the ''Encyclopædic Dictionary'' *Robert Hunter (author) (1874–1942), American sociol ...

) – 14:13 #" Big River" (

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

) – 5:23 #"Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo" (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:29 #"Weather Report Suite" (

Eric Andersen Eric Andersen (born February 14, 1943) is an American folk music singer-songwriter, who has written songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, the Grateful Dead and many others. Early in his career, in the 1960s, he ...

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 Perry Barlow John Perry Barlow (October 3, 1947February 7, 2018) was an American poet, essayist, cattle rancher, and cyberlibertarian political activist who had been associated with both the Democratic and Republican parties. He was also a lyricist for th ...

) - 15:56 #"Big Railroad Blues" ( Noah Lewis) – 4:06 #"

Playing in the Band "Playing in the Band" is a Grateful Dead song. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and rhythm guitarist Bob Weir composed the music, with some assistance from percussionist Mickey Hart. The song first emerged in embryonic form on the self-t ...

" (Weir,

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 ...

, Hunter) – 21:11

Disc two

#"He's Gone" (Garcia, Hunter) – 10:48 → #"

Truckin' "Truckin" is a song by the Grateful Dead, which first appeared on their 1970 album '' American Beauty''. It was recognized by the United States Library of Congress in 1997 as a national treasure.''Grateful Dead: The Illustrated Trip'' . Jake Woo ...

" (Garcia, Weir,

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940) is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career. After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of ...

, Hunter) – 9:18 → #" Nobody's Fault but Mine" ( Joseph "Blind Willie" Johnson) – 5:53 → #"Jam" (Garcia, Keith Godchaux,

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 ...

, Lesh, Weir) – 8:11 → #"The Other One" (Weir, Kreutzmann) – 1:57 → #"Jam" (Garcia, Godchaux, Kreutzmann, Lesh, Weir) – 6:12 → #"Stella Blue" (Garcia, Hunter) – 8:45 #"

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 Stones ...

" (

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

) – 5:37

Personnel

Grateful Dead

—

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the feature ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

* Keith Godchaux — keyboards *

—

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

—

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

, vocals *

—

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

, vocals In the CD liner notes, Donna Jean Godchaux is listed in the band lineup and credited as "giving birth"; she had temporarily stopped touring with the band as she was about to have her first son, Zion.

Production

*Kidd Candelario — producer, recording *

— tape archivist *Bruce Polonsky — photography *Gekko Graphics — design *special thanks to Nagra 2791 and Jeff Briss

References

{{Authority control 01 1993 live albums