Grateful Dead* – Dave's Picks, Volume 23 (McArthur Court, U. Of Oregon, Eugene, OR • 1/22/78)

Easily my favorite post-hiatus show, with an outrageous Other One/space-jam/St Stephen/NFA that is as beautiful and tactile as it gets. Late Jan and early Feb 79 (see DiP 18) were the Dead's last great peak, as the rest of '78 gets less adventurous and more reliant on 20 minute "rhythm devils" second-set filler as it goes on. Of course, April 78 is certainly very good, as is the May show on 30 trips, but none of it hits the kind of crazy brilliance they hit in late Jan/early Feb. I'm not sure why Dead fans buy these things on $160 vinyl sets given that the jams are broken up, which is why the Dead never released them on vinyl to begin with, but as PT Barnum once said... etc etc. In any case, this one is very special - I would submit that it and DaP 5 are the only DaP's that equal or sur the represented years' shows in the DiP series.

Dave’s picks 23 is getting a vinyl pressing !
Preorders up now on dead.net and it looks like an end of April ‘23 release date.
Limited to 5k.

You’re here for the Close Encounters jam, but you’ll get a smoking Jack Straw and a Saint Stephen too

FINALLY!!!!! With the recent return of MUCH material (including tons of reels recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson) which was missing from the GRATEFUL DEAD Archive, shows such as 1/22/1978 from McArthur's Court in Eugene, OR are finally getting released. One could easily argue that Dave's Picks Vol. 23 may be the most well-known and legendary show of the series (so far). Holy hell was it worth the wait! For those of you who've had the ok sounding multi-generation, patched SBD versions of 1/22/1978 you will be totally floored when you hear the quality of this release. Easily one of the BEST sounding gigs of 1978, with the return of Betty's Master Reels, this legendary show (often referred to as "The Close Encounters Show") has been restored and remastered with extreme skill by Jeffery Norman. And now that there is a near-perfect quality release of 1/22/1978 it is even more apparent how absolutely mind-blowing this high-energy, super-tight show truly was. Easily one of the Top 5 Shows of 1978 in my opinion this is the G. DEAD firing on ALL cylinders (with only Jerry's kind of scratchy post-laryngitis voice betraying any minor weakness). Like much of the first four months of '78 the first set is simply flawless. This ain't no warm-up set...This first set means serious business and features stand-out versions of every song played (especially a wicked "New Minglewood Blues" opener, soulful "Dire Wolf", gorgeous "Peggy-O", "Tennessee Jed", a fierce "Jack Straw", an epic "Row Jimmy", and explosive "Music Never Stopped".
Set 2 is monstrous with highlights including a killer "Good Lovin'" coming out of the raucous Set 2 opener "Bertha", a beautiful "Ship Of Fools" and soaring "Terrapin Station", a super heavy, legendary version of "The Other One" which leads into the often mentioned one of a kind "Space" during which Garcia works in the "theme" from the film Close Encounters Of The Third Kind into a brilliant exploration of the cosmos, followed by arguably the greatest "St. Stephen" of the 70's during which the band hits a level of intensity that is astounding! More hard rockin' jamming ensues during a wicked "Not Fade Away" and a ass-kicking "Around & Around". The band treats the audience to an awesome encore of "U.S. Blues" featuring one of the most explosive endings in DEAD history. Simply put, front to back this show deserves all the accolades bestowed upon it over the years and now that it is available in such stellar quality I have a feeling this show is going to gain even more recognition (especially Set 1).
As with all Dave's Picks this release features a thick booklet jam packed with ephemera (hotel instructions, the show contract, pictures, and some of the best liner-notes of the series so far...
So if you were unable to get a copy of this amazing release and are wondering if it's worth potentially $75 my answer is without a doubt YES! Dave's Picks Volume 23-McArthur Court-Eugene, OR 1/22/1978 is nothing short of just exactly perfect....