Grateful Dead
Dick's Picks Volume 26

Electric Theatre / Labour Temple

Chicago, IL / Minneapolis, MN

[April 26-27, 1969]

(Grateful Dead)

First Appeared in The Music Box, March 2003, Volume 10, #3

Written by John Metzger

Some would say that the problem with the Grateful Dead’s concerts from the late 1960s is that the set lists are far too similar. Dark Star generally progressed to St. Stephen, which in turn usually wound its way through The Eleven before concluding with Turn on Your Lovelight. There were variations, of course, but these too revolved around a familiar bunch of songs — That’s It for the Other One, Death Don’t Have No Mercy, Dupree’s Diamond Blues, Mountains of the Moon, Hard to Handle, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, Morning Dew — that drifted about within any given set list, but inevitably popped up on most nights. These same folks undoubtedly are left wondering why, after the quintessential period piece Live/Dead, the group has repeatedly turned to this era to release similar collections of songs such as Fillmore East (2/11/69); Two from the Vault; Dick’s Picks, Volume 16; and the latest release Dick’s Picks, Volume 26. But to quickly dismiss these collections based on an overlap in songs would be a grave mistake. As the band’s most avid fans are aware, the reason is quite simple: the Grateful Dead completely reinvented its songbook each and every night — so much so that one version of Dark Star (or any other tune, for that matter) was dramatically different from the next. This sense of exploration, of course, is unheard of within any idiom other than jazz, and though the band’s like-minded rock ’n‘ roll brethren made valiant strides in similar directions, none pushed the boundaries quite so flawlessly, easily, or seamlessly as the Grateful Dead.

So where exactly does Dick’s Picks, Volume 26 — which includes all of the band’s April 27, 1969 concert in Minneapolis along with a sizeable portion of its show from the previous evening in Chicago — fit in among the band’s other releases from this period? It’s not the towering masterpiece of Live/Dead, nor does it capture the transitional beauty of Dick’s Picks, Volume 16 or Fillmore East (2/11/69). Instead, it’s more on par with Two from the Vault — a stirring, sometimes powerful, sometimes beautiful suite of songs. That’s not to say that this two-disc set should merely be targeted by diehard collectors. The thunderous roar of That’s It for the Other One magically envelops the wild, cataclysmically thrashing surge of The Eleven, and the epic, nearly 27 minutes of Dark Star boldly carries one’s thoughts along a delicate musical refrain to the furthest reaches of human consciousness and, ultimately, spiritual transcendence. Granted, Dick’s Picks, Volume 26 isn’t the premier showcase of the band from this era, but it is manna from heaven, just the same.

Dick's Picks 26 is available from iTunes.
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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2003 The Music Box