Search - Grateful Dead :: Dick's Picks, Vol. 4: Fillmore East, New York, NY, 2/13-2/14/70

Classic Grateful Dead

gratefulshrink | NY USA | 07/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Dick's Picks series is immortalizing the the Dead's concert experience. The Dead were the first band to wholly embrace bootleg recordings, rather than to be afraid that they would lose profits from such unofficial "albums". This was partly due to the fact that they were never concnerned about lack of sales at record stores (their albums typically did not sell well), and were able to make alot of money by touring. That being said, over the last 35+ years several of the bootlegs have become undergound classics. The shows at the Fillmore East on 2/13 and 2/14/70 were such shows. Many deadheads will argue that the Dark Star on this disc is "top five" (if not the best), which is no small feat, given that they played it live hundreds of times. The music shifts through many moods, akin to a symphony. Note the happy upbeat segment somewhere in the middle -- deadheads refer to this as the "feelin groovy" jam, as it has a similar chord structure to the Simon & Garfunkel tune. The continuous jam on Disc 3 is amazing -- this kind of jamming from one tune into (and often back into) another is what made their concerts so exciting: you never knew what was going to happen next. While I admit that the first disc is the weakest, people should know that the philisophy behind Dicks Picks is not "greatest hits Live", but rather presenting the music, as played, and as in a much entirety as possible. I suppose I could give 4 1/2 stars because the first part of Disc 1 is weaker, but having Discs 2 and 3 keeps it as five stars (just stick with these two and you'll be ok)."

Dick's Picks Volume 4 shows Dead at their peak

gratefulshrink | 12/07/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although not as learned in Dead-science as many of my fellow American Deadheads, the Dead has been my favourite band for a decade. Nevertheless, I'm not very easily satisfied when it comes to music, and sometimes even the Dead must be judged harshly. Experience has taught me to buy anything the Dead produced before 1971 - I just love the early years. After '71, it got more mellow and less fierce and energetic, and although they've written a great many nice songs since (like those on "Blues for Allah", or songs like "Althea") the music doesn't have that primal urgency and those unexpected twists and turns that I like so much. Dick's Picks Vol.4 shows them in what I think is the best shape they've ever been. All 3 cd's are just great, and if I had to pick one Dead album to take with me on some deserted island I'd pick this one (leaving behind my former favourite "Live Dead" with some pain in my heart).The "acoustic" songs on cd 1 are great, while cd 2 features a splendid version of "The other one" and a "Lovelight" that might have ended sooner. cd 3 has no flaw whatsoever - great dynamics and inspired playing throughout, and the song choice is wonderful (I've always loved any song off the "Anthem" album). And if that wasn't enough, we're presented with the best "Dark Star" I've ever heard - and I thought the "Live Dead" version couldn't be surpassed ! This is really magical stuff !Many will urge you to buy records like "American Beauty", "Workingman's Dead", "Live Dead" or even "Reckoning", and I think you should. But if you want the Dead's rolling thunder at its mightiest, don't hesitate. Buy Dick's Picks Vol. 4. Hans Wigman"

Best dead era, to these ears

gratefulshrink | 01/24/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A couple of very good nights at the Fillmore for the Dead here, the same two nights which produced the oddly chosen "Bear's Choice" album for Warners.
This collection does show off the best qualities of the entity known as the Grateful Dead, before the country and jazz influences began to permeate their music and eventually turned the band into an awful self-parody, grasping for a sound and a direction. The Dead were never a very good blues, jazz, or country-rock band; they were simply at their best as an out-of-tune, way-too-loud, psychedelic noise machine, and this collection gets those moments down for posterity.
The version of "Dark Star" represented here is considered by many fans of the group to be the best version they've ever played, and I'd have to agree. What I admire about it is the restraint: after the first verse (approx. at the 11-minute mark), the band sound disintergrates into silence occasionally punctured by a cymbal wash, a scrape of the strings, or a slight whisper of feedback, while the audience remains completely hushed. This is something that never could be pulled off live today, and it's amazing to hear how quiet the band could become as well as how attentive the audience is. The rest of the song eventually finds its way into a well-structured jam, based on a chord progression not too far removed from Simon and Garfunkel's "59th St. Bridge Song", which is pretty novel.
Guitar players will notice that Jerry Garcia is using a Stratocaster on this set, as opposed to his normal-for-the-time Les Paul or SG, and I think this sound suits him better and cuts through the rest of the rumbling rhythm section to great effect.
And of course, there's bassist Phil Lesh, who has a deep, rich tone, as well as a musical imagination and good enough set of ears to take the band other places besides the mixolydian mode, driving the group hard with his surging, almost contrapuntal lines and his gut-punching double-stops. Lesh was obviously the catalyst for the band's more adventurous/avant-garde moments, and his influence and spirit are well-documented here.
"Feedback" is an improvised tail to "Caution: Do Not Stop on Tracks", and this is another rare Dead-moment of novelty; the howls and screeches of feedback would probably be totally acceptable at a Sonic Youth show today.
The acoustic set is nothing to write home about, and I do think "Lovelight" is somewhat overrated and overdrawn at 31 minutes of vamping, and beware the sour vocals due to what was probably the Age of Bad Monitors, but overall this is a terrific set, and if anyone asked me what the Grateful Dead sounded like, I would point them to this volume of Dick's Picks."