Jesus, is this the same band that we have been listening to this whole set on Gloria?

I mean, we STARTED with Dancin?! And She Belongs to Me was good, but pretty subdued.

Yeah, it was poppin', eh?

Also 30 pages.

The St. Stephen ---> Not Fade Jam ---> St. Stephen ---> Saturday Night to end this # 29 is phenomenal. Like, might be the best end of a show we've heard yet.

Those who concern themselves with such details have long contended that 1972 is a zenith year in terms of performance quality for the Grateful Dead. This 23rd installment in the Dick's Picks series provides ample fuel to that fire. This three-disc volume features the Dead's complete performance on September 17, 1972, at the Baltimore Civic Center. In spite of losing the onstage presence of their ailing one-time frontman Ron "Pigpen" McKernan -- his final public appearance with the band was exactly three months prior to this show -- the band remained relentless in forging new sonic territories. Although the set list reveals what may appear to be an archetypal show for the era, there is actually a high concentration of newer material not only from the concurrent Grateful Dead albums, but the debut solo releases from Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir. Although rightfully considered staples of Grateful Dead live shows, "Sugaree," "Bird Song," and "Loser" were all issued on the January 1972 release, Garcia. Likewise, "Black-Throated Wind," "Mexicali Blues," and "Playing in the Band" are from Bob Weir's Ace, which was released in May of the same year. All of these tracks would remain as key entries in the Dead's live repertoire until they ceased to tour some 23 years later. It isn't only the massive infusion of fresh material that kept the Grateful Dead sounding so consistently reinvented. The band's approach remains exceedingly focused. Their ragtag intensity informs the extended psychedelically motivated instrumental interaction during "Bird Song" or "Playing in the Band." This likewise is true of burgeoning Grateful Dead works such as "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo" -- which is performed here for only the tenth time. Other not-to-be-missed highlights include some dynamic band interaction during the creamy center of a particularly potent "China Cat Sunflower"-"I Know You Rider" coupling, as well as a triumvirate including definitive renderings of "He's Gone," "The Other One," and a cover of Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home."

My Dead itunes folder is currently at 2 days and 26 hours

Not to traffic in hyperbole, but #23 may be the among the best things we've heard from the so called "Europe '72 Era". All the standards are done really well and in a fairly concise manner and then you throw in this 40 minute "The Other One" that I'm grooving on right now.

I would hate to jinx the last three songs, but this is shit hot.

Not to traffic in hyperbole, but #23 may be the among the best things we've heard from the so called "Europe '72 Era". All the standards are done really well and in a fairly concise manner and then you throw in this 40 minute "The Other One" that I'm grooving on right now.

I would hate to jinx the last three songs, but this is shit hot.

It's good. And I took a sneak peak at Sing Me Back Home (the reason I chose today's set) and there is some inspired country blues guitar on there that would make Duane Allman weap. Beautiful.

By 1969, the Grateful Dead had become two different bands. Their folkie acoustic side would later re-emerge with a southwestern flavor on American Beauty (1970) and Workingman's Dead (1970). Simultaneously, they were continuing to develop their progressive and often stretched-out electric psychedelia. On this 26th entry in the Dick's Picks series of archival releases, Jerry Garcia's undeniable brilliance as a multifaceted and rarely equalled string man is both literally and figuratively amplified on "Dupree's Diamond Blues" and "Mountains of the Moon." These two unplugged tracks ironically hail from the Electric Theater (April 26, 1969) in Chicago. Both feature Garcia's inimitable -- and all too rare -- acoustic guitar leads. His intonation retains the acidic and trippy edge of its electric counterpart; however, the backdrop is much more intimate and rightfully consecrated. Also unique to this era are the keyboard contributions of Tom Constanten. Although often drowned out during the electric sets, Constanten hauntingly augments Garcia's rich acoustic guitar with an ear toward the Baroque. Garcia deftly switches axes -- without stopping the proceedings -- and the band diverges into the powerhouse combo of "China Cat Sunflower" and "Doin' That Rag." This is followed by an epic "Cryptical Envelopment"/"The Other One." Although the Dead continued performing the suite into the early '70s, 1969 reigns as the apex of this live centerpiece, with this reading being no exception. Also of note is the astonishing diversion into the blues standard "I Know It's a Sin" -- which was rarely performed by the band and makes its first appearance on this archival Dead release. The meat of the two-disc volume is the complete 100-minute set from the Labor Temple (April 7, 1969) in Minneapolis. The blues rave-up "Turn on Your Love Light" bookends the performance, featuring two equally uncompromising 15-plus minute readings. The primal Dead that exists between them include inspired and unexpected sidetracks into "Me and My Uncle" and "Sitting on Top of the World." These sinuous sonic diversions serve as prologue to the equally intense yet supple execution of a textbook 1969 rendering of "Dark Star"/"St. Stephen"/"The Eleven" -- known to Deadheads as the "Live/Dead sequence." The bombastic sonic energies are dispersed during the "Morning Dew" encore -- perfectly capping what by all accounts should be considered a "must- own" volume in the Dick's Picks series.

i agree that 23 is really great. The songs are tight and short (by dead standards) focusing on the songs more so than wandering around for a while in G before stumbling back to the chorus.