Dave's Picks Volume 1 is a three-CD live album by the rock band theGrateful Dead.[1][2][3][4] It was recorded on May 25, 1977, atthe Mosque inRichmond, Virginia, and contains the complete concert from that date. It was released on February 1, 2012.[5]
The album is the first in theDave's Picks series of Grateful Dead archival releases, the successor to theRoad Trips series.[6] It is a limited edition of 12,000 individually numbered copies.[5]
The cover art, by Scott McDougall, depicts the hands of two skeletons in outer space, with clashing drumsticks that resemblelightsabers. This is a nod to the filmStar Wars, which was released the same date that the concert was recorded.[7]
Dave's Picks Volume 1 was released as a five-disc vinyl LP on May 1, 2022.
InAll About Jazz, Doug Collette wrote, "Though its graphic design and packaging is markedly different than its immediate predecessor of Grateful Dead archive releases, the initial release inDave's Picks follows proudly in the tradition of the recently concludedRoad Trips (as well as the original series to which this one's title refers,Dick's Picks). Overseen byDavid Lemieux, chief archivist and co-producer of the previous line, as well as the most recent one-off Grateful Dead titles such asEurope '72 Volume 2... the legacy of this iconic band is in the most capable of hands.... The set list is a blueprint for the slow but sure expansion of the musicianship from tight ensemble work ("Mississippi Half Step Uptown Toodleoo"), slightly looser interplay ("They Love Each Other"), the initial group jams apart from solos ("Lazy Lightning" > "Supplication") and the segue that opens them up full-throttle toward "Drums" ("Scarlet Begonias" > "Fire on the Mountain").Dave's Picks Volume 1 is an audacious but appropriate inauguration for this archive series. It sets the bar high, but that should only insure subsequent releases match the standards the Grateful Dead set for itself."[8]
InRelix,Jeff Tamarkin said, "Most Deadheads, regardless of when they came on board, have a favorite era or specific year, and for many, 1977 is high on the list. Refreshed from a year-plus-long hiatus, and with drummerMickey Hart now back in the band after his own extended layoff, the Grateful Dead was tight and rejuvenated. This May show from Virginia is a slow-builder, picking up steam midway through the first set withBob Weir's "Cassidy" andJerry Garcia's "Loser" and never looking back. The band interplay in the "Lazy Lightning" > "Supplication" jam that follows is where the album kicks into high gear, but it’s the second set that's the keeper... As quintessentially delicious as the playing is in Richmond, the true highlights are Garcia and Weir’s vocal performances; both were singing with a newly discovered care for nuance that served the music supremely well. Judging by this first release in David Lemieux’s new series,Dave's Picks will be a worthy successor to the vauntedDick's Picks series."[9]
