Head Spins: The latest Dead relics

Dave’s Picks, Volume 12: Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, 11/4/77 (Rhino)

The liner notes to Dave’s Picks 12 get it just exactly perfect: an extra-large reproduction of the relevant page from archivist-hero Dick Latvala’s tape journal, enthusiasm as fresh as still-wet ink. And though the fall 1977 Grateful Dead sounds on the verge of swallowing itself, there’s plenty to excite in the first set alone, including a Jerry Garcia “Cassidy” solo with a incandescent neon peak that might be mistaken for jam-punks Television. The second half’s magic comes in a highspeed melt from “Playing in the Band” into an extra-fast “Eyes of the World” gallop. By the time the band reaches a tepid post-drum solo “Iko Iko,” the ever-elusive moment has passed, though roars back on a lavishly unfolding “Scarlet Begonias” > “Fire on the Mountain,” recorded the previous show in Toronto and included on the bonus disc.

11/18/72 Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, TX (Rhino)

Though made available exclusively for those willing to wade into the dark maw of a Black Friday Record Store Day event, the latest Grateful Dead LP set will almost surely make its way to the secondary market at semi-reasonable prices, too. Recorded during a year when the Dead barely played a wrong note or a bad show, the four meaty LP sides (comprising a single set of music) come anchored by one of the all-time “Playing in the Band”s. Starring Phil Lesh as rock’s most charming lead bass conversationalist, the jam has Garcia spitting out elliptical hepcat guitar exclamations and dizzying feats of melodic logic while the pair navigate Pranksterishly crashing rhythmic architectures by Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann. It is primo, A+ Dead jazz, stretched- without noodling, without feedback–over an entire extra-long LP side.

Two from the Vault (Light in the Attic)
Recorded in August 1968 on the heels of Anthem of the Sun and released in 1992 as Two from the Vault, the Dead’s second installment of live multi-track recordings, Light in the Attic spreads nearly two hours of primal Dead to vinyl for the first time on a new quadruple LP. The side flips are scaled to quality instead of convenience, but the high fidelity is only appropriate for the highfalutin, high-flying, just generally high 1968 sextet as they tour an early version of Live/Dead’s “Dark Star> St. Stephen> The Eleven” sequence and dig into new suites filled with mega-drums, practiced detailing and stunning power. Four LPs might be a little much, but so were the Dead.