Grateful Dead
Dave's Picks #51:
April 13, 1971 Scranton Catholic Youth Center
** out of *****
Standard disclaimer: When reviewing the Dave's Picks series, and really any Grateful Dead release at this point, it needs to be noted that a lot of the truly great shows from the band have already been professionally released. (If new to the band, check out RtBE's Beginners Guide to The Grateful Dead Part's one and two.) With their vast back catalog on archive.org and all of their previous releases, the band's selections are running thin when it comes to must own, professionally released shows.
That said, this series still exists for a reason, obsessive fans (like RtBE) will always listen to anything from The Grateful Dead as Dave and his team continue to unearth rare gems.
Every year there are four Dave's Picks released and most years have been pretty great with the producers finding off the beaten path, high quality shows or longtime fan favorites.
While the previous release in 2024 was fairly good, the first of the year tried a mid-80's offering that just didn't work to these ears. With the announcement of the third offering being a 1971 show with the original lineup of Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals, Bill Kreutzmann – drums, Phil Lesh – bass, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan – keyboards, harmonica, vocals, Bob Weir – guitar, vocals, RtBE's hopes were high when Dave's Picks 51 arrived.
Unfortunately sound issues from the original recording, particularly a hot microphone, and overall just not very inspired playing all around, makes this entry into the series a bit of a head scratcher. Perhaps it was the unusual show location that drew the archivists eye, but there are much better Grateful Dead shows to be found.
Even if RtBE didn't personally enjoy it, Dave's Pick 49 made sense, as the mid-80's are underrepresented in the DP series. On the flip side, 1971 has had a bunch of releases, including one of our recent favorites, Dave's Pick 48. Granted, a lot of the '71 releases are from the end of the year when the band was cooking with new member Keith Godchaux, but it feels like a different show could have been selected.
As the release stands, the band starts things off with a fun "Casey Jones" with good bass sound from Phil but soon after they get rolling the vocals hit piercing levels as microphone issues hamper "Loser" and "Big Boss Man" has an overly hot harmonica from Pigpen. The highlight of the first disk, and the Scranton show as a whole, is the groups take on "Bertha". This version of the tune is cooking with raw energy, dynamic playing and a vibrant tone, led by Lesh's bass.
Unfortunately when a show's highlight is "Bertha", that doesn't speak too highly for the rest of the offerings. "Playin' In The Band" is rough all around, and thankfully truncated, while "Hard To Handle" is OK at best and the raw sound issues really hamper "Sugar Magnolia". The second set does have a fairly solid version of "Good Lovin'" that uses Garcia's wah-wah along with a sense of upbeat funkiness, and the rare cover of "Second That Emotion" is fun to hear.
A pretty version of "Uncle John's Band" ends the short and underwhelming show from the band while the second CD also has filler from October 24, 1970 Kiel Opera House. There is not much here worth seeking out, the rumbling "Cold Rain & Snow" is the best of the bunch from the St. Louis filler.
Dave's Picks 51 wraps up with a bonus disk April 12, 1971 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh from the night before and while the sound issues are better things don't start off soaring, thankfully they do finish strong. A fine "Truckin'"opens leading into "Drums", before an exploratory and cool "The Other One" proves the band is in better form than in Scranton. However, an early version of a very clunky "Wharf Rat" and a cover of "Me and Bobby McGee" with some wonky Garcia guitar, does not keep that positive vibe alive.
This release would be entirely skippable if not for the final three efforts where the Dead really come alive. "Not Fade Away" has some hot sound issues and super loud bass, but really starts moving as the energy is palpable from the players as they get rocking, then dig into "Going Down The Road Feeling Bad". The tune really flows as Garcia and Lesh dance with each other leading to a gorgeous jam to end that is just top notch.
The band shift gears into "Turn on Your Lovelight" which burns with Lesh and Garcia (using great wah-wah) continuing to lead things before Pigpen stops the band mid-jam, only to rev it back up to close in crackling fashion. While probably not worth the full price of the release, this final trio of tunes is very good, on a disappointing overall entry into the series.
There is one more Dave's Pick coming in 2024 (as well as a 1978 Box Set) so here's hoping the selections improve as we wrap up the year.
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