Dave's Picks Volume 49, Frost Amphitheater, Stanford U., Palo Alto, CA, 4/27/85 & 4/28/85

Grateful Dead

Dave's Picks Volume 49, Frost Amphitheater, Stanford U., Palo Alto, CA, 4/27/85 & 4/28/85

rhinoceros

March 12, 2024
Web Exclusive

By Frank Valish

In the pantheon of Grateful Dead live material, 1985 is certainly not the first year one would think of in terms of revolutionary music. However, as the 49th volume of the Dave's Picks live series attests, this can be a significant omission.

Lemieux himself, Dave of Dave's Picks, states in the liner notes to Volume 49 that he started listening to the Dead in 1984 and later in the decade had collected most of the band's live work from the 80s, so if one would have the cache to pick the best of 1980s live Dead it's Lemieux.

Volume 49 is a four-disc set that includes two full-length shows, on April 27 and 28, 1985, both at Stanford University's Frost Amphitheater in Palo Alto, California. In 1985, the Grateful Dead were five years removed from their last studio album, the disappointing Go to Heavenand two years since his big revamped album In the dark, which featured the ubiquitous “Touch of Grey.” But the fire the band brings to these two different settings in 1985 is unique.

The first two discs, which include the April 27th show, are an upbeat affair, the band tending toward faster tempos and moodier arrangements. “Brown-Eyed Women” is noticeably sped up and “Eyes of the World” is more energetic and fast than the band's typical performances.

Elsewhere, the set keeps things interesting with the expansive, blue “Little Red Rooster”, “Black Peter” from Workingman's Dead, and Phil Lesh singing lead on Bob Dylan's “Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues.” This first night in Palo Alto also finds the band breaking out lesser-played tracks like Bob Weir's “My Brother Esau” and the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter composition “Keep Your Day Job,” the latter of which ends the show and both they provide interesting resistances to the usual Dead fare.

Discs three and four pick up the band's second night on April 28, and this show is a more relaxed and at times more restrained affair, the band finding their groove and settling in. Some Lovin'” leading into a gritty but lively rendition of “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” and the classic “New Minglewood Blues” sung by Weir.

“Tons of Steel” by Brent Mydland, whose studio version found its way into the aforementioned In the dark, adds a traditional rock 'n' roll feel after an extended 11-minute version of Garcia's “Bird Song.” With a two-fer of “China Cat Sunflower” and “I Know You Rider” to end the first set, the band have gained momentum and jump right into “US Blues” after the break. “Hell in a Bucket”, also from the next one In the darkrendered amazingly, followed by the band sinking back into the Blues for Allah for an eight-minute mellow 'Crazy Fingers'. The rest of set two is relatively standard Dead, ending with “Playing in the Band”, “Wharf Rat”, the newer “Throwing Stones” and “Not Fade Away” to close out the night.

To everything, Dave's Picks Volume 49 highlights an era of the Grateful Dead that most might not think of as prime Dead. However, the performances here are up to the band's best and the sound, as usual, is second to none for live recordings. So dig in and rock out. Volume 49 it's a choice. (www.dead.net)

Author Rating: 8/10