Grateful Dead - Dave's Picks Volume 26 Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, NM 11/17/1971

Dave's Picks is a series of live Grateful Dead shows that are release on www.dead.net.  They have an annual subscription option that includes a bonus disc or you can order individually, but you have to move fast because they always sell out in the first 24 hours.

Before Dave's Picks existed with had Dick's Picks.  There were 36 volumes of archived recordings that the old tape archivist Dick Latvia worked on to have remastered and available to us as fans.  Dick passed away in 1999 but left the next few years of releases set to go.  After Dick's Picks ended there was a series of releases called Road Trips.  Many of those were snippets of various eras and shows with some being actual complete shows.  Fast forward and in 2012 Dave Lemieux, new GD tape archivist and big fan, created a new series of full show releases.

Over the years as they file through the tape archives and as new discoveries of old soundboards appear from vaults and private collections, Dave is able to help work with the team to get tapes remastered and out to our ears for enjoyment.  Some of the famous Betty Boars have found their way back to the Grateful Dead after many years by way of anonymous people who had bought them from a storage auction.  Many were lost and others just disintegrated, but fortunately the fames 1977 Cornell show and many others were found and restored including Albuquerque 1971.  If your interested in learning more about the Betty Boards story there a good article here on - Relix Article Link.

Keith Godchaux had recently joined the band as Pigpen's health was failing from liver disease.  The band was at a really good point in their careers playing some amazing sets and really on top of their game.  1971 really brought along a good mix of fun rock and bluesy sounds all in a show.

"Truckin'" was a good start but I really enjoyed the wonderful flow and singing on "Sugaree".  It really just wants to make me get up dance, so bluesy yet so groovy.  From there you jump into a great version of "Beat it On Down the Line".  Just makes you want to jump around and grab a dance partner to swing around.

There are so many highlights on this show and man does this recording sound fantastic.  First set finishes with a fantastic "One More Saturday Night".  You can't go wrong with that and Jerry really rips it on the guitar.

Second set starts you off with a little "Ramble" and some nice bass riffs Phil Lesh.  That pops into a upbeat "Sugar Magnolia"  I bet everyone was on their feet twirling and bopping to this one.

Time for a nap you say?  Well drums is relatively brief since only Billy was on drums at that time.  That kicks it into a fantastic "The Other One", "Uncle", "The Other One Jam"  Everyone had to be on their toes popping to this.  It's one of my favorite TOO Jams I've heard.

Finishing off the night with "Wharf" to a "NFA>GDTRFB>NFA" must have had this crowd waling out the doors still grooving to the beats.  What a fantastic finish to this show.

The 3rd disc is all from the 12/14/1971 Hill Auditorium show that leads into the rest of the show on the Bonus disc.  So if you are lucky enough to have that you can basically piece it back together as a show and get two full shows to rally jam to.

Here's what Dave Lemieux has to say about these recordings in his quarterly release chat:

Seriously subscribe to get these automatically in the mail or try to order on release day, but so far they have all been fantastic pics that I have enjoyed listening to.  This one especially.

Here's the Track List of what's on the 3 CD set:

Disc 1

First set:

1. "Truckin'" (Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Robert Hunter) – 9:39
2. "Sugaree" (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:58
3. "Beat It On Down the Line" (Jesse Fuller) – 3:27
4. "Tennessee Jed" (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:52
5. "El Paso" (Marty Robbins) – 5:10
6. "Big Railroad Blues" (Noah Lewis, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 4:06
7. "Jack Straw" (Weir, Hunter) – 5:12
8. "Deal" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:20
9. "Playing in the Band" (Weir, Mickey Hart, Hunter) – 6:56
10. "Cumberland Blues" (Garcia, Lesh, Hunter) – 5:41
11. "Me and Bobby McGee" (Chris Kristofferson, Fred Foster) – 6:10
12. "You Win Again" (Hank Williams) – 3:18
13. "Mexicali Blues" (Weir, John Perry Barlow) – 3:24
14. "Casey Jones" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:46

Disc 2

1. "One More Saturday Night" (Weir) – 4:39

Second set:

2. "Ramble On Rose" (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:52
3. "Sugar Magnolia" > (Weir, Hunter) – 7:26
4. "Cryptical Envelopment" > (Garcia) – 1:59
5. "Drums" > (Bill Kreutzmann) – 3:35
6. "The Other One" > (Weir, Kreutzmann) – 10:46
7. "Me and My Uncle" > (John Phillips) – 3:08
8. "The Other One" > (Weir, Kreutzmann) – 9:09
9. "Wharf Rat" (Garcia, Hunter) – 8:34
10. "Not Fade Away" > (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty) – 8:12
11. "Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad" > (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 7:44
12. "Not Fade Away" (Holly, Petty) – 3:10

Disc 3

December 14, 1971 Hill Auditorium selections:

1. "Truckin'" (Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Hunter) – 8:49
2. "Sugaree" (Garcia, Hunter) – 7:05
3. "Mr. Charlie" (Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Hunter) – 4:07
4. "Beat It On Down the Line" (Fuller) – 3:14
5. "Loser" (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:25
6. "Next Time You See Me" (Bill Harvey, Earl Forest) – 4:36
7. "El Paso" (Robbins) – 4:45
8. "Big Railroad Blues" (Lewis, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 4:32
9. "Me and My Uncle" (Phillips) – 3:10
10. "Run Rudolph Run" (Johnny Marks, Marvin Brodie) – 3:28
11. "Big Boss Man" (Al Smith, Luther Dixon) – 6:52
12. "You Win Again" (Williams) – 3:41 ^[a]
13. "Not Fade Away" > (Holly, Petty) – 7:47
14. "Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad" > (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 7:42
15. "Not Fade Away" (Holly, Petty) – 2:47