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Grateful Dead
Dick's Picks, Volume 33
October 9-10, 1976 - Oakland, California
(Grateful Dead)
First Appeared in The Music Box, January 2005, Volume 12, #1
Written by John Metzger
Within the first 18 minutes of Dick’s Picks, Volume 33, the Grateful
Dead blasts its way through Promised Land; takes a leisurely stroll
through the winding, Western refrains of Mississippi Half-Step Uptown
Toodeloo; and gallops jauntily across the economical, but no less expansive
terrain of Cassidy. True, scattered throughout the collection are some
bum notes and off-kilter harmonies, but the sum total of the experience is
downright mesmerizing.
Prior to the Grateful Dead’s return to touring in June 1976, the group had
performed only four concerts since its farewell shows in October 1974. As a
result, much of the year was spent reestablishing the connection among both the
musicians and their fans. Save for the reintroduction of Mickey Hart into the
family, the personnel remained the same, but even so, much had changed. Although
the collective still had a penchant for making exploratory, improvisational
music, it undoubtedly had become a tighter ensemble, one which came at its
material with a renewed energy and a myriad of fresh perspectives. It introduced
a batch of new songs — the band’s Blues for Allah, Jerry Garcia’s Reflections, and Kingfish’s self-titled debut had been released during the
hiatus — and it rediscovered several older tunes, such as New Minglewood
Blues, Dancing in the Streets, St. Stephen, and the heretofore
untapped majesty of The Wheel.
Taken from a pair of concerts performed with The Who on October 9 and 10,
1976 at California’s Oakland Coliseum Stadium, the 33rd installment
of the highly regarded Dick’s Picks series of archival recordings
contains nearly five hours of magnificently delivered (and impeccably remastered)
music. Spurred by a hometown crowd as well as a friendly rivalry with its peers
— the two legendary ensembles had previously appeared on the same stage at the
Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 — the
Grateful Dead embarked upon a quartet of robust sets, which many consider to be
among the finest and most consistent that the band unleashed that year.
From the bubbly groove and kaleidoscopic swirl of Scarlet Begonias to
the ragtag fury of Johnny B. Goode, from the country bounce of Mama
Tried to the delicately soulful strains of Wharf Rat, the Grateful
Dead proved that it had lost none of its playful spirit and youthful vigor, even
if it had become a veteran ensemble. Of course, the finest moments took place
whenever the band dug to the core of its material and mined each and every chord
sequence for inspiration. In its hands, the delicate Sugaree blossomed
into a soaring anthem, and a pairing of St. Stephen and Not Fade Away
unfolded with a vibrant, blues-baked intensity. Elsewhere, the collective
frolicked within the elongated, serpentine suite of Help on the Way, Slipknot!, and Franklin’s Tower, which also incorporated into its
swirling sonic architecture a powerhouse rendition of Samson and Delilah
and a percolating interlude of drums and percussion. It also enveloped the
circular motion of The Wheel, the thunderous strains of The Other One,
the mournful whisper of Stella Blue, and a deep-space maelstrom within
the penetrating potency of Playing in the Band.
There’s little doubt that the Grateful Dead’s improvisational excursions
during the concerts presented on Dick’s Picks, Volume 33 were restrained,
especially in comparison with the band’s countless spacious sojourns throughout
the early ’70s. Yet, the music that is relayed rarely falters, and much like it
did during the bulk of its career, the band bathed its songs in the warm glow of
spiritual enlightenment, effectively utilizing texture and nuance to carry its
fans on a whirlwind tour of the heavens. 
Dick's Picks 33 is not currently available from Amazon.com,
Amazon-CA, or Amazon-UK. To order, visit the
Grateful Dead Merchandising Site or call 1-800-CAL-DEAD.
The cost is $25. Please mention The Music Box when ordering!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2005
The Music Box
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