Dick's
Picks
After the vault releases the next archive
series was Dick's Picks. There were 36 editions, before it was
retired.
My favorite period is 1973 - '74
Dick's Picks,
Vol. 12 - Providence & Boston, 6/26 & 28/74
Dick's Picks
Vol. 19 - Oklahoma City, 10/19/73
Must
mention
Dick's
Picks Vol. 14 - Boston Music Hall, 11/30/73 & 12/2/73
From 1972
Dick's Picks
Vol. 36 -
Philadelphia 9/21/72
From 1977
Dick's Picks
Vol. 15 - Englishtown, 9/3/77 Can you say "1/2 Step."
Dick's Picks
Vol. 29 - Atlanta & Lakeland, 5/19 & 21/77
This two show edition is the best bargain in the Dick's Picks
series.
With Pigpen
These three releases are classics.
Dick's Picks
Vol. 8, - Binghampton, 5/2/70
Dick's Picks
Vol. 4 - Fillmore East, 2/13-14/70
Dick's Picks
Vol. 16 - Fillmore Aud, 11/8/69
The
Brent releases and
Bruce releases are
listed in their respective sections.
Dick's
Picks versus the Vault Series
In
the April 2003 Dead.Net newsletter, Monthly Flash, the Grateful Dead
tape archivist described the differences between the various
releases as follows:
"Question: What are the technical differences between the Grateful Dead's "Vault Release" series and the "Dick's Picks" series of audio releases?
Answer: The primary difference between these two series of audio releases is the source material. The "Vault Release" series is mixed from the multi-track master tapes, whereas the "Dick's Picks" series utilizes 2-track master tapes. What this means is that a "Vault Release" can be mixed and manipulated to create as optimum-sounding a release as possible, with each individual instrument and vocal having the ability to be mixed to create as good a sonic blend as possible. The "Dick's Picks" source tapes, having been mixed to 2-track tape live at the concerts, or using the stereo PA tape, cannot be manipulated and mixed in the same way, as what was mixed to this tape is the extent of what we have to work with. The most that can be done in the production of a 2-track tape is to "master" the tape. This may be "equalization" (overall tonal improvements), "compression" (control of excessive dynamic problems), and/or "editing" (connecting songs together) the tape to create the best-possible release. As a side note, the "View from the Vault" series of DVD releases uses the 2-track source audio that is on the video master, meaning the "View from the Vault" series is more akin to the "Dick's Picks" series than to the "Vault Release" series. The video portion of the "View from the Vault" series is what was shown live, on the big screens at the concerts."
David Lemieux
Audiovisual Archivist
Grateful Dead Productions
Dick's
Picks?
Below is the quote on the back cover of Dick's
Picks Volume 1 that describes the series well.
Caveat Emptor:
"The recording herein
has been lovingly re-mastered 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 multi-track 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!"
