Dick's Picks Volume 8

Dick's Picks Volume 8
Live album by Grateful Dead
Released	June 14, 1997
Recorded	May 2, 1970
Genre	Rock, jam, psychedelic rock
Length	176:38
Label	Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead chronology
Fallout from the Phil Zone (1997) Dick's Picks Volume 8 (1997) Terrapin Station (Limited Edition) (1997)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The Music Box	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3] [4]

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 (now Binghamton University) 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 was played between "Good Lovin'" and "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 was recorded in stereo. The second and third sets were electric, and were recorded in monaural.

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. ^[5]

Caveat emptor

Each volume of Dick's Picks has its own "caveat emptor" 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 7+1⁄2 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.

Enclosure

The release includes a single sheet folded in half yielding a four-page booklet. The first page repeats the cover art from the packaging. The second page provides the track list and credits. The third page reprints a stream-of-consciousness-style review of the show by Richard Walinsky originally published in the May 5, 1970, issue of the SUNY Binghamton Colonial News . The fourth page shows a small photo of the band. ^[6]

Track listing

Disc one

First set

1. "Don't Ease Me In" (traditional) – 4:38
2. "I Know You Rider" (traditional) – 7:51
3. "Friend of the Devil" (Garcia, Dawson, Hunter) – 5:57
4. "Dire Wolf" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:56
5. "Beat It on Down the Line" (Fuller) – 3:13 →
6. "Black Peter" (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:02
7. "Candyman" (Garcia, Hunter) – 1:43 →
8. "Cumberland Blues" (Garcia, Hunter, Lesh) – 5:47
9. "Deep Elem Blues" (traditional) – 7:30
10. "Cold Jordan" (traditional) – 2:35
11. "Uncle John's Band" (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:28

Disc two

Second set

1. "St. Stephen" (Garcia, Hunter, Lesh) – 3:23 →
2. "Cryptical Envelopment" (Garcia) – 1:54 →
3. "Drums" (Hart, Kreutzmann) – 3:28 →
4. "The Other One" (Weir, Kreutzmann) – 13:56 →
5. "Cryptical Envelopment" (Garcia) – 8:59 →
6. "Cosmic Charlie" (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:23
7. "Casey Jones" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:45
8. "Good Lovin'" (Resnick, Clark) – 15:10

Disc three

Second set, continued

1. "It's a Man's World" (Brown, Jones, Newsome) – 10:04
2. "Dancing in the Streets" (Stevenson, Gaye, I. Hunter) – 15:42

Third Set

3. "Morning Dew" (Dobson, Rose) – 12:40
4. "Viola Lee Blues" (Lewis) – 16:35 →
5. "We Bid You Goodnight" (traditional) – 4:59

Personnel

Grateful Dead

• Jerry Garcia – acoustic guitar (first set, except "Cumberland Blues"), lead electric guitar ("Cumberland Blues", second & third sets), vocals
• Mickey Hart – drums, percussion
• Bill Kreutzmann – drums, percussion
• Phil Lesh – electric bass, vocals
• Ron "Pigpen" McKernan – organ, harmonica, vocals
• Bob Weir – acoustic guitar (first set), rhythm electric guitar (second & third sets), vocals

Additional musicians

• John "Marmaduke" Dawson – vocals on "Cold Jordan"
• David Nelson – acoustic guitar on "Cumberland Blues", mandolin on "Cold Jordan"

Production

• Bob Matthews – recording
• Dick Latvala – tape archivist
• Jeffrey Norman – CD mastering
• John Cutler – ferromagnetist
• Gecko Graphics – design
• Morris Zwerman – band photo
• Richard Walinsky – CD liner notes

Notes

1. Ruhlman, William. "Dick's Picks, Vol. 8". AllMusic. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
2. Metzger, John (October 1997). Dick's Picks Volume 8, The Music Box
3. Kot, Greg (May 27, 1999). Review of Dick's Picks volumes 1 through 13, Rolling Stone
4. The Grateful Dead Album Guide Archived 2013-12-28 at the Wayback Machine , Rolling Stone
5. Scott, John W; Dolgushkin, Mike; Nixon, Stu. DeadBase VIII: The Complete Guide to Grateful Dead Song Lists, 1994, DeadBase, ISBN   1-877657-15-8, p. 356
6. Enclosure included with Dick's Picks Volume 8, 1997. Quote from Walinsky’s review: "Viola Lee Blues with three buildups, the last ending with people screaming and shouting and Garcia pulling the most phenomenal notes out of one guitar. And We Bid You Goodnight, which they don't stop singing because no one will let them go. [¶] But they do and the concert ends. [¶] Five and one half hours. [¶] It's in the music."