Dick's Picks Volume 8
Encyclopedia
Dick's Picks Volume 8 is the eighth live album
in the Dick's Picks series of releases by the Grateful Dead
. It was recorded on May 2, 1970 at Harpur College in Binghamton, New York
. It was released in mid-1997.
The album contains the entire concert, except for one song — "Cold Rain and Snow", which followed "Good Lovin'" and preceded "It's a Man's Man's Man's World". The first two verses of St. Stephen
are also missing. The first set of the concert was acoustic
, and the second and third sets were electric
.
In a 1993 poll of Grateful Dead tape traders, the 5/2/70 show was ranked #6 on the list of all-time favorite Dead concert tapes.
" label, advising the listener of the sound quality of the recording. The label for volume 8 reads:
"These compact discs were mastered directly from the original half track 7½ ips analog tapes recorded at this show. The acoustic set was recorded in stereo. The electric sets are monaural. While the reason for this remains a mystery, spurious electrical activity is suspected."
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
in the Dick's Picks series of releases by the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
. It was recorded on May 2, 1970 at Harpur College in Binghamton, New York
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
. It was released in mid-1997.
The album contains the entire concert, except for one song — "Cold Rain and Snow", which followed "Good Lovin'" and preceded "It's a Man's Man's Man's World". The first two verses of St. Stephen
St. Stephen (song)
"St. Stephen" is a song by the Grateful Dead, written by Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh and Robert Hunter and originally released on the 1969 studio album Aoxomoxoa. The same year, a live version of the song was released on Live/Dead, their first concert album...
are also missing. The first set of the concert was acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
, and the second and third sets were electric
Electric instrument
An electric musical instrument is one in which the use of electric devices determines or affects the sound produced by an instrument. It is also known as an amplified musical instrument due to the common utilization of an electronic instrument amplifier to project the intended sound as determined...
.
In a 1993 poll of Grateful Dead tape traders, the 5/2/70 show was ranked #6 on the list of all-time favorite Dead concert tapes.
Disc one
- First set
- "Don't Ease Me In" (traditional) – 4:38
- "I Know You RiderI Know You Rider"I Know You Rider" is a traditional woman's blues song that has been adapted by numerous artists. Modern versions can be traced back to the song's appearance in the 1934 book, American Ballads and Folk Songs, by the noted father and son musicologists and folklorists, John Lomax and Alan Lomax...
" (traditional) – 7:51 - "Friend of the DevilFriend of the Devil"Friend of the Devil" is a song recorded by the Grateful Dead. The music was written by Jerry Garcia and John Dawson and the lyrics are by Robert Hunter. It is the second track of the Dead's 1970 album American Beauty....
" (GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
, DawsonJohn Dawson (musician)John Collins Dawson IV, nicknamed "Marmaduke" , was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the leader and co-founder of the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage.-Musical career:...
, HunterRobert Hunter (lyricist)Robert C. Hunter is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his association with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.-Biography:He was born Robert Burns in San Luis Obispo, California...
) – 5:57 - "Dire Wolf" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:56
- "Beat It on Down the Line" (FullerJesse FullerJesse Fuller was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues".-Early life:...
) – 3:13 -> - "Black Peter" (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:02
- "Candyman" (Garcia, Hunter) – 1:43 ->
- "Cumberland Blues" (Garcia, Hunter, LeshPhil LeshPhillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
) – 5:47 - "Deep Elem Blues" (traditional) – 7:30
- "Cold Jordan" (traditional) – 2:35
- "Uncle John's BandUncle John's Band"Uncle John's Band" is a song by the Grateful Dead that first appeared in their concert setlists in late 1969. The band recorded it for their 1970 album Workingman's Dead...
" (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:28
Disc two
- Second set
- "St. StephenSt. Stephen (song)"St. Stephen" is a song by the Grateful Dead, written by Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh and Robert Hunter and originally released on the 1969 studio album Aoxomoxoa. The same year, a live version of the song was released on Live/Dead, their first concert album...
" (Garcia, Hunter, Lesh) – 3:23 -> - "Cryptical Envelopment" (Garcia) – 1:54 ->
- "Drums" (HartMickey HartMickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
, KreutzmannBill KreutzmannBill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
) – 3:28 -> - "The Other One" (WeirBob WeirBob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
, Kreutzmann) – 13:56 -> - "Cryptical Envelopment" (Garcia) – 8:59 ->
- "Cosmic Charlie" (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:23
- "Casey JonesCasey Jones (song)"Casey Jones" is a song by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. The music was written by Jerry Garcia, and the lyrics are by Robert Hunter. The song first appeared on the Dead's 1970 album Workingman's Dead. Subsequently it was included on a number of their live albums.The Grateful Dead...
" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:45 - "Good Lovin'" (Resnick, ClarkRudy ClarkRudy Clark is an American songwriter about whom little biographical information seems to be known. Supposedly a former mail carrier hailing from New York City, he was most active from the early 1960s through the early 1970s...
) – 15:10
- "St. Stephen
Disc three
- Second set, continued
- "It's a Man's WorldIt's a Man's Man's Man's World"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966 in a New York studio and released it as a single later that year. It reached #1 on the Billboard Top R&B Singles charts and #8 in the Billboard Hot 100...
" (BrownJames BrownJames Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, Jones, Newsome) – 10:04 - "Dancing in the StreetDancing in the Street"Dancing in the Street" is a 1964 song first recorded by Martha and the Vandellas. It is one of Motown's signature songs and is the group's premier signature song.-Martha and the Vandellas original:...
s" (Stevenson, GayeMarvin GayeMarvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
, I. HunterIvy Jo HunterIvy Jo Hunter, born George Ivy Hunter and sometimes credited as Ivy Hunter, is a former R&B songwriter, record producer and singer, most associated with his work for the Motown label in the 1960s....
) – 15:42
- "It's a Man's World
- Third Set
- "Morning DewMorning Dew"Morning Dew", also known as " Morning Dew", is a post-apocalyptic folk-rock song written by Canadian singer Bonnie Dobson in 1962.According to Dobson in a 1993 interview, "Morning Dew" was inspired by the film On the Beach....
" (DobsonBonnie DobsonBonnie Dobson is a Canadian folk music songwriter, singer, and guitarist, most known in the 1960s for composing the songs "I'm Your Woman" and "Morning Dew"...
, RoseTim RoseTimothy Alan Patrick Rose , best known professionally as Tim Rose, was an American singer-songwriter, who spent much of his life in London, England and had more success in Europe than in his native country...
) – 12:40 - "Viola Lee Blues" (LewisNoah LewisNoah Lewis was an American jug band and country blues musician, generally known for playing the harmonica.-Life and career:...
) – 16:35 -> - "We Bid You Goodnight" (traditional) – 4:59
- "Morning Dew
Grateful Dead
- Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
- lead guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Mickey HartMickey HartMickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Bill KreutzmannBill KreutzmannBill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
- drums - Phil LeshPhil LeshPhillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
- electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Bob WeirBob WeirBob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
- guitar, vocals - Ron "Pigpen" McKernan - organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, vocals
Additional musicians
- John "Marmaduke" DawsonJohn Dawson (musician)John Collins Dawson IV, nicknamed "Marmaduke" , was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the leader and co-founder of the country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage.-Musical career:...
– vocals on "Cold Jordan" - David NelsonDavid Nelson (musician)David Nelson is an American guitarist and musician.Although he started his musical career playing folk and bluegrass music Nelson is probably best known as one of the original members of psychedelic country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage...
– mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
on "Cold Jordan"
Production
- Bob Matthews - recording
- Dick LatvalaDick LatvalaDick Latvala was an American tape archivist for the Grateful Dead. He started the CD series Dick's Picks, an ongoing series that selects live music from Grateful Dead concerts. The first volume of Dick's Picks was released in 1993. The series was continued after Latvala's death, with later...
- tape archivist - Jeffrey Norman - CD mastering
- John Cutler - ferromagnetist
- Gecko Graphics - design
- Morris Zwerman - band photo
- Richard Walinsky - CD liner notes
Caveat emptor
Each volume of Dick's Picks has its own "caveat emptorCaveat emptor
Caveat emptor is Latin for "Let the buyer beware". Generally, caveat emptor is the property law doctrine that controls the sale of real property after the date of closing.- Explanation :...
" label, advising the listener of the sound quality of the recording. The label for volume 8 reads:
"These compact discs were mastered directly from the original half track 7½ ips analog tapes recorded at this show. The acoustic set was recorded in stereo. The electric sets are monaural. While the reason for this remains a mystery, spurious electrical activity is suspected."