Album Review: Grateful Dead - Dave's Picks 58: 12/18/73 Tampa, FL

Grateful Dead

Dave's Picks 58: 12/18/73 Tampa, FL 

***and1/2 out of *****

Standard disclaimer: When reviewing 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 you are new to them, 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, including the ongoing Dave's Picks, the band's selections are running thin when it comes to must own, professionally released concerts.

That said, the Grateful Dead organization still release shows because rabid fans (RtBE included) will listen to everything they put out. So let's dive in...

The newest Dave's Pick harkens back to the original Dick's Pick as that show was 12/19/73 and this new offering is the night before, 12/18/73. First things first, the production is wonderful for this release. It seems like the sound gets better and better for this series as it goes on. While this show is not a must hear, the dynamite sound quality alone makes it a worthwhile listen at any time. 

1973 was a very strong year for the band who morphed and were playing as a five piece with Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals, Keith Godchaux – keyboards, Bill Kreutzmann – drums, Phil Lesh – bass, vocals, Bob Weir – guitar, vocals, to close the year. This scaled down line-up produced some of the best shows in the band's history (see Winterland '73) and seemed to move a bit lighter with just Kreutzmann on drums. 

On this night the showcase seems to be Keith's piano which is front and center in the sound with excellent fills all evening. Overall, the playing and link up between the quartet just seems a touch off, things are OK, but the magic doesn't really click until towards the end. 

The show starts with a fine, if sterile "Tennessee Jed" before moving to the first Godchaux highlight, "Me and My Uncle" which is a fun cowboy ride indeed. The first set (and show as a whole) is a bit wonky ("Looks Like Rain", "They Love Each Other", "Brown Eyed- Women") and while a touch disjointed, nothing is particularly bad. There is nice bass work from Lesh on "Beat It On Down The Line" and good harmonies from Weir and Garcia during "Me and Bobby McGee" but things don't really click until "China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider" which works very well indeed. 

After a set break, the band navigates all the flowers tossed on stage to start with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Promised Land" but things stay a bit just off-kilter as efforts like "Bertha", "Row Jimmy" and "Weather Report Suite" never catch fire. Garcia leads a great jam during "Greatest Story Ever Told" but nothing else is really must hear. 

Then comes "Dark Star" and while the band seemed to be just out of sorts for the whole show so far, that slightly aloof feeling works wonders for the Dead's most exploratory song. This twenty one minute version is a delight as the band meanders and talks to each other through their instruments. Garcia finds feedback at the thirteen minute mark and things begin to disassemble, creaking and falling apart into a brief drum solo that kicks into a very strong "Eyes of the World" which features amazing work from Lesh and Godchaux as the band is on point.      

The connection continues into a glorious "Wharf Rat" which unfortunately has an ill-timed drop out of quality as the producers were forced to use an audience patch to have the complete version here. This fifty minute run  of "Dark Star > "Eyes of the World" > "Wharf Rat" is prime '73 Dead and makes up for what is other wise just an OK overall selection. 

Adding to things though is a bonus disk, which features more '73 goodness. December 12, 1973 – Omni Coliseum gets a bit of airing here as the band deals in a few of the same songs as the proper release ("China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider", "Weather Report Suite", "Eyes of the World", "Wharf Rat") and the versions are fairly comparable. 

The major highlight of the bonus disk is the groups spin through "Playin' In The Band" as the almost twenty four minute version is a fun, jazzy exploration that finds Garcia's searching guitar lines pairing winningly with Keith's keys, and Billy's drumming. Another unfortunately timed audience patch may keep this from being an all-time version, but that is not the fault of the band who uses this tune in the same vein as "Dark Star" from the main show.   

Another great sounding archival release from David Lemieux and his crew, Dave's Picks 58: 12/18/73 Tampa, FL is far from best of the Grateful Dead that year, but still an enjoyable listen for all levels of fans. 

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