Dick's Picks, Vol. 19: Oklahoma City, OK, 10/19/73 [Live]

Track Listings
Disc: 1

1. Promised Land

2. Sugaree

3. Mexicali Blues

4. Tennessee Jed

5. Looks Like Rain

6. Don't Ease Me In

7. Jack Straw

See all 10 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2

1. Playing in the Band

2. China Cat Sunflower

3. I Know You Rider

4. Me & My Uncle

5. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo

6. Big River

Disc: 3

1. Dark Star

2. Mind Left Body Jam

3. Morning Dew

4. Sugar Magnolia

5. Eyes of the World

6. Stella Blue

7. Johnny B. Goode

Tracks:

Promised Land
Sugaree
Mexicali Blues
Tennessee Jed
Looks Like Rain
Don't Ease Me In
Jack Straw
They Love Each Other
El Paso
Row Jimmy

Tracks:

Playing In The Band
China Cat Sunflower
I Know You Rider
Me And My Uncle
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toddeloo
Big River

Tracks:

Dark Star
Mind Left Body Jam
Morning Dew
Sugar Magnolia
Eyes Of The World
Stella Blue
Johnny B. Goode

Customer Reviews:

Another great show except for additional mix edits.......2006-12-03

This is one of the best releases performance wise. Once again though, when mastering this release, there are places where the piano is actually turned down and even erased in spots. This probably won't matter to some but it does to me. While I don't know that I actually consider any of the songs on here to be THE definitive versions, the songs certainly put on the appearence of it. Sugaree, Mexicali Blues, Playing In The Band, ect,. This certainly is one of those great shows that the Dick's Picks series is meant for.

A Smooth and Solid Pick.......2006-11-10

There is something about this collection that really gives you the sense that the band was in a good mellow mood throughout the concert. There is a tight consistency that runs through every track. This is a set that is very easy to listen to, with a few excellent moments, but lacks any truly memorable versions of their best songs. I'm glad I bought it, but I'm a tough grader and so it doesn't quite make 4 stars. That being said, the sound quality is terrific, and I disagree with the fellow who says that the mix is bad or that you can't hear Bob Weir.

The prime Dead Era of the seventies .......2006-03-10

All around a great show, great sound quality, appeals to all dead audiences, from the beginner to the tape trader. The first set is packed with short but sweet favorites. Second set Playin' jam goes into the cosmos, emerging with Donna's notorios vocals. run of the mill me and my uncle, but Very strong Mississippi 1/2step. 3rd disc delightful for any dead head with an Eyes that stretches far further than the imagination. All in all this is a gem in the grateful dead archives and I keep all 70's shows close to my heart. A must have for any head.

5-Star Dark Star.......2005-08-24

This five-star rating is based solely on the sole reason
I bought #19: I'm a collector of Dark Star(s). This version
is WONDERFUL...Phil's bass comes through loud & clear and
Jerry is subtle & complex and gorgeous as ever; and it's followed by a top-notch Mind Left Body Jam. As for the rest of #19...well...the first CD I threw away...in my mind,
it contains no "definitive" versions of any song.
CD 2, however, is worth keeping because of a long version of
Playing In The Band. It's very very good. The best thing to
do is: combine this Playing In The Band with the Playing In The
Band from Dick's Pick's #1 (both versions are 1973) and you have
yourself a terrific block of music...the ecstatic (but not too
long Weir vocal) followed by extended & brilliant Jerry jams.

A near-obligatory Pick: the essence of late 1973's glory.......2005-03-28

By any measure you care to use, 1973 was a banner year for the Grateful Dead in terms of live performance. It came right in the middle of their so-called "Golden Age" of 1972-1974, and caught them at a point where they had begun to expand not only their repertoire (most of the songs from Wake Of The Flood would, once introduced, never leave their setlists), but also their musical palette as well. Many have labelled the Dead's music from late '73 and '74 as "jazz-rock," and while the term is somewhat inapt (it doesn't capture the "Promised Land"/"Sugaree" side of the band, for one thing) it does help to approximate the laid-back vibe of classics like "Eyes Of The World" as well as suggest the purely free-form improvisational cast of many of their jams. Without a doubt the Dead were developing a lighter touch: Kreutzmann had redefined the band's rhythmic approach over the last year in adjusting to the role of the band's sole drummer, and his quickness, natural sense of restraint, and timing enabled the band to evolve a much more agile, ethereal sound.

Dick's Picks 19 captures every aspect of that "sound," which made the Dead mesmerizing in this era, in one near-perfect concert. This show is a very special one indeed, kicking off an immortal Fall '73 tour where the band managed to capture lightning in a bottle night after night, pushing out into new improvisational territory and juggling setlists and song-sequences with devil-may-care abandon. (There are many - I'm one of them - who would argue that Fall '73 is every bit the equal of Europe '72; there's a reason that THREE Dick's Picks have been released from this two-month span.)

Just about the only complaint one might make is about the first disc. It represents the bulk of the first set, which means it's full of shorter songs. There are many fans who express impatience with this side of the Dead, but when the band's hearts are into the music I'm not one of them. 10/19/73 was one of those nights: it's surely not the BEST first set they ever gave, but the performances of "Sugaree," "Jack Straw" and especially "They Love Each Other" are all spot-on, and I even find myself enjoying songs which normally irk me like "Tennessee Jed" and "Don't Ease Me In." Near the end of the disc (i.e. the last four songs) the band begins to settle into the gentle, joyful, peaceable mood which will define the particular magic of this night.

And from disc 2 onwards this show simply vaults into that icy-blue sky so beautifully depicted on the back cover. Set 1 ends with a gorgeous, ghostly "Playing In The Band" (this song peaked in late '73 - buy this album and listen to one example of why), and then Set 2 begins with one of the defining "China Cat Sunflower" > "I Know You Rider" sequences of the year. "Mississippi Half-Step" continues this mood, flowing majestically all the way across the Rio Grand-i-o into a (thematically united) "Big River" which choogles as Garcia's electric-bluegrass guitar busily burbles and hums like water rushing downstream.

The show could have ended right there and still have been noteworthy. But what comes next guarantees its immortality: Disc 3 is one of the best single discs of Grateful Dead music available for purchase. It begins with an unearthly "Dark Star," one which eschews the "full freak-out" atonal jamming often employed in this era's performances for a much sweeter, gently inquisitive attitude. The emphasis on melody (and on sustaining the delicate, wistful mood which has been built throughout the previous two hours) becomes all that more apparent when they move into a rapturous jam based on a descending chord sequence popularly referred to as the "Mind Left Body Jam" - I believe the first time it was ever played in this context. Then, a quiet "Morning Dew" which builds to an anguished demonstrative climax. We're not done yet! After a concluding "Sugar Magnolia" the Dead, clearly thrilled by how well they're playing tonight, come back for one of the longest encores of their career: a 15-minute "Eyes Of The World" that slides imperceptibly into a crystal-clear, dead-calm "Stella Blue." One more blast of rock 'n' roll to send the kids home on an up note with "Johnny B. Goode," and the Dead finally leave the stage for good: after delivering one of their most consistent shows, one which has an emotional and musical UNITY that few others can boast...one for the ages.

Some have complained in their reviews about the sound quality of this Pick (rather, the sound MIX - the fidelity itself is sterling, far better than any '74 shows). Admittedly such things are subjective and a matter of taste, but I find the mix to be utterly unproblematic after the first few songs. (The "Caveat Emptor" included on this Pick notes this, warning of a "rather skeevy ouverture.") If anything, the mix heightens the thoughtful, introspective sensibility of this show.

If you enjoy '73 Dead then I would argue it's inconceivable not to own this Pick. If you're unfamiliar with the year and are looking to test the waters, then this is still a great place to begin - an unrepresentative night in that it captures them in an unusually pacific mood (one which, incidentally, is also conveyed by the stunning artwork on this release, easily the best of any Pick), but also a representative one in that it shows off so many aspects of their greatness at once.

Further recommendations from this era (...):

- Dick's Picks 28: February 26th-28th, 1973 (one the top 5 Picks in the series, no less)
- Dick's Picks 14: November 30 & December 1st, 1973
- Dick's Picks 1: December 19th, 1973

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

1. Promised Land
2. Sugaree
3. Mexicali Blues
4. Tennessee Jed
5. Looks Like Rain
6. Don't Ease Me In
7. Jack Straw

1. Playing in the Band
2. China Cat Sunflower
3. I Know You Rider
4. Me & My Uncle
5. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo
6. Big River

1. Dark Star
2. Mind Left Body Jam
3. Morning Dew
4. Sugar Magnolia
5. Eyes of the World
6. Stella Blue
7. Johnny B. Goode