Grateful Dead – Dick’s Picks Vol. 19—10/19/73 Oklahoma City Fairgrounds Arena, Oklahoma City, OK [Hand-Numbered 6xLP) – New LP

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Previous LP releases of Grateful Dead concerts from the Dick’s Picks series have encompassed the years of 1969, 1972, 1974, and 1977…but there’s one year on that list that is conspicuous by its absence. That’s right...we have yet to release a concert on vinyl from what is arguably the peak year of Dead touring, 1973! And what was the peak tour from that year? Yup, the fall Midwest tour. So, the choice of Dick’s Picks Vol. 19 as our next vinyl “trip” was an easy one. It was the first concert of the tour, and in fact at the time it was the first full 1973 concert to be released. More importantly, with the release of Wake of the Flood just a few days prior, it finds the band invigorated with a wealth of fresh material to explore, highlighted by stellar (no pun intended) renditions of “Stella Blue” and “Eyes of the World.” And the two sidelong numbers on the set, “Playing in the Band” and “Dark Star” (which leads into a dazzling “Mind Left Body Jam” and a stirring “Morning Dew”), achieve sheer improvisational bliss. The original sound mix on this one is superb, and we’ve taken great care to preserve it and even improve upon it for this release, with mastering for vinyl from the original tapes by the set’s original mastering engineer, Jeffrey Norman, lacquer cutting by Clint Holley and Dave Polster at Well Made Music, and a 180-gram black vinyl pressing at Gotta Groove Records. We’ve also included an insert sporting the graphics from the original release, housed inside a two-piece hardshell box that we’ve hand-numbered. Limited to 4500 6-LP sets…and if previous experience is any guide, they’re gonna go fast!"

When I was a little kid living one year of my life in the desert on the edge of Reno, Nevada, I asked my dad what the heck was going on?  He told me it was band playing in town, famous for their concerts.  So I walked through the desert with my white German Shepherd Coyota and looked down at this 1973 tour.  Or maybe it was 1974.  It's only a visual memory.  I don't think I could actually see the band, just a bunch of people.  The next summer we moved back to Michigan where I spent the next 25 years seeing shows that were so different than what I saw that day back in 1973.