Flash back, for a moment, to 2012. Jerry Garcia has been dead for over 15 years; various iterations of the remnants of the Grateful Dead have intermittently toured (albeit under different names) throughout that time period. The Dick's Picks series of concerts came to its natural conclusion after 36 entries (and the death of archivist Dick Latvala); and the follow-up series Road Trips, curated by David Lemieux, also had run its course.

The natural question would be: "Now what?"

So, back to the archives Lemieux went to find concerts that, to his ear, had special meaning. Dave's Picks Volume 1 kicked this series off with Garcia and crew bringing their show to The Mosque in Richmond, Virginia on May 25, 1977. Does it live up to its predecessors? Only one way to find out...

Now, I admit I have a soft spot in my heart for May 1977-era Grateful Dead. One of my first audience tapes I was given was from St. Louis on May 15, now part of the May 1977 box set. (Yes, we'll eventually get to that.) While not every show from this particular month has seen the light of day (other than trades or sites like Internet Archive), a good portion of it has been officially released. (May 1977 was obviously an embarrassment of riches musically; as of this writing, only three dates - two in their entirety - have not been commercially released.)

If the energy in the opening track "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo" is any indication, then the listener should find themselves to be excited to listen to this one. Garcia's vocals and playing are amazingly fluid, and the whole band sounds crisp. Whether this has to do with Lemieux's production or the recording work of Betty Cantor-Jackson, they did a great job; it's almost like the listener is sitting in front of the stage, with only the audience sounds behind you muted.

In fact, the sound quality and energy throughout the first set is completely infectious. Even on some of the slower songs that Garcia tended to favor, such as "Loser" and "Peggy-O," it sounds so fresh that you can't help but get into these particular tracks (and I freely admit I've never been a fan of "Peggy-O"). By the time "Promised Land" reaches its natural conclusion, you can't help but find yourself looking forward to the second set.

Fortunately, the energy doesn't ebb a bit as the Dead kick into a very solid "Scarlet Begonias" and "Fire On The Mountain," Garcia's synthesized guitar absolutely burning through his solos. (If I found anything to nitpick, it's that I felt Donna Jean Godchaux's vocals were mixed a little higher than Garcia's, which unbalanced the intended harmony.)

Did someone mention energy? The "Drums" that is featured contains some of the most ferocious tubthumping I've ever heard from either Mickey Hart or Bill Kreutzmann, calling to mind images of Bill Ward ("Rat Salad") or Clive Bunker ("Dharma For One") with the intensity on the snare. Honestly, it's a refreshing change, and is exciting as hell. The only real surprise is that there's not much culled from their then-upcoming studio effort Terrapin Station on this; only "Estimated Prophet" makes the cut. However, the selections they did play are so good, one barely notices.

In fact, Dave's Picks Volume 1 proves to be one of the best live shows from the Grateful Dead ever captured for posterity - an opinion many Deadheads tend to share. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the lugubrious ballads that Garcia always tended to rely on, but even tracks like "They Love Each Other" and "Wharf Rat" crackle with energy, and his guitar playing is some of the best I've heard since the "Help/Slip/Franklin" medley from One From The Vault. (Put it this way: I hate "They Love Each Other"... and I really like this version. That says something.)

If you didn't order this one back when it first came out (and you don't know someone who would, aah, gift you a copy), you're looking at spending some serious bones for this three-CD set. Simply put: Worth. Every. Penny.

With Dave's Picks Volume 1, Lemieux sets the bar extremely high in terms of quality, energy and sound. Whether future releases would live up to these standards, only time will tell as I keep plowing through my collection. But this is definitely one I'll be returning to often.

Rating: A

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