The thirteenth release in the Dave’s Picks archival series highlights the Grateful Dead’s 2/24/1974 performance at San Francisco’s famed Winterland Ballroom. One of the most heavily traded shows within the Deadhead community, the album is a smooth listen from a beautiful hometown performance, at a major peak in the band’s storied career.

Right off the bat, there’s a sunny disposition in the bands sound; the sound of summer. You’d hardly guess this was a February show. That said, the Dead always had a certain laid back ease when on their home turf of San Francisco. An early version of “U.S. Blues,” which only debuted two days prior, set the tone for the evening, as does the bouncy follow-up “Mexicali Blues.”

Getting into the groove, the group offers up about the most relaxed “Brown-Eyed Women” you can imagine, featuring Jerry’s gently meandering vocals and confidently simple guitar. The “Candyman” in this set is languid and slinky, far slower than the usual run through, and is somewhat of an early treasure in this show. The “China Cat Sunflower”>”I Know You Rider” segment shows off the confidence of Bill Kreutzmann, now a few years into his time as the lone drummer for the group. The drums drive the tunes, providing a lot more pop and structure than the normal run-through. Billy keeps everything on the rails, and segues cleanly into “Rider.” 

An aching, heartfelt rendition of the Garcia ballad “Loser” has the band sounding confident and emotionally charged, always a good sign coming out of set one. The power and energy carries over into the set-closing “Playing In The Band,” the only real vehicle for expanded jamming, and the only tune to crack ten minutes in the first half. Again, the strong, self-assured drumming of Kreutzmann is well apparent, and Jerry’s guitar work in the solo sections is creative and dark, probing for the edges of the song and then pushing beyond them. We are beginning to hear the more angular, jazzy sound that became so prominent in Jerry’s playing in 1974. Besides for the other trademark of the song, the overwrought vocals of Donna Jean Godchaux, this is a stellar set closer, hinting at things to come in set two. 

Set two opens easy with solid runs at “Cumberland Blues” and “It Must Have Been The Roses,” before stepping up the energy with Dead favorite, Johnny Cash’s “Big River,” with wonderful solos from Garcia and Keith Godchaux. This was followed up with an fun “Bertha” that does have Garcia starting to flex his soloing muscles a bit, limbering up for what’s to come, a superb “Weather Report Suite.” The band sounds focused and tight, here, ready to tackle the three part tune in its entirety, something that they only did in the early days of its conception. Switching freely from sweeping, melancholy melodies, to major riffing and jamming, the full suite is really a triumph.

Blurring the lines between proper songs and jams even further, the band effortlessly moves into a soulful “Row Jimmy,” which features some lovely slide guitar work from Garcia. Next up was another great, soulful Garcia ballad, “Ship Of Fools.” Jerry’s vocals on both tracks are strong and steady, really driving the lyrics and mood home. Bringing the vibe in the room back around to dancing, and to make sure the energy is pumped up, Bob Weir jumped into “Promised Land.” 

With the crowd energized and attentive, the band eases softly into the jam epic “Dark Star,” the vehicle used for some of the Dead’s most experimental, and often most interesting, musical exploration. Right from the start, the group is stepping off the ledge, immediately eschewing the lyrics and main theme of the tune to dive straight into instrumental experimentation. Again, the soon-to-be signature sound of 1974, a more angular, jazz driven approach, is prominently displayed here. The band meanders openly, but intentionally, heading slow to the main theme of the song a solid 18 minutes after the song begins. As far as “Stars” go, this is one of the most developed and cohesive takes out there, with multiple fully explored concepts within, while never going too far off the rails. And then, suddenly, you’re listening to “Morning Dew,” a seamless transition into an elegant, slow-paced, and joyously jammed out rendition.

 

After a very standard “Sugar Magnolia,” the band jumps into a lively “Not Fade Away,” featuring top notch guitar work from Garcia, and solid vocals from Weir. The group gets through the first verse, and then jams all the way into a righteous, full throttle “Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad,” and then straight back into the closing verses to “Not Fade Away,” leaving on a great high note.

As icing on the proverbial cake, the group encored with Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue,” a bit of a rarity. This is the only performance of the tune in all of 1974, and one of only less than five performances in the decade. The performance is soft, and well arranged for the group, leaving the night on a gentle, low key note.

Dave’s Picks Volume 13 does an excellent job breathing life into this formative show, as the Dead were firing on all cylinders and really incorporating jazz influences into their psychedelic roots. With a perfect blend of extended jams and traditional folk, 2/24/74 at the Winterland is quintessential Grateful Dead listening.

Dave’s Picks Vol. 13: Winterland, San Francisco, CA (2/24/74)

Disc 1
1. U.S. Blues [6:22]
2. Mexicali Blues [3:45]
3. Brown-Eyed Women [5:26]
4. Beat It On Down The Line [4:04]
5. Candyman [7:19]
6. Jack Straw [5:07]
7. China Cat Sunflower> [9:54]
8. I Know You Rider [6:07]
9. El Paso [4:52]
10. Loser [6:44]
11. Playing In The Band [18:27]

Disc 2
1. Cumberland Blues [6:57]
2. It Must Have Been The Roses [5:38]
3. Big River [5:25]
4. Bertha [6:40]
5. Weather Report Suite> [15:34]
6. Row Jimmy [10:03]
7. Ship Of Fools [6:08]
8. Promised Land [3:33]

Disc 3
1. Dark Star> [29:08]
2. Morning Dew [13:54]
3. Sugar Magnolia> [8:54]
4. Not Fade Away> [4:48]
5. Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad> [7:23]
6. Not Fade Away [4:29]
7. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue [6:32]