Dick's Picks Volume 1 is the firstalbum in theDick's Picks series of live releases by theGrateful Dead. It was recorded on December 19, 1973, atCurtis Hixon Hall inTampa, Florida, and contains a rare recording of the band playing theblues standard "Nobody's Fault but Mine".[5]
As the first of theDick's Picks, the album was considered byDeadheads to be a significant breakthrough. All previous live Dead albums (exceptVintage Dead andHistoric Dead) had been based onmulti-track recordings, which can be remixed extensively before being commercially released.Dick's Picks were created usingstereo (two-track) concert recordings. This made possible the release of many more Dead shows that exist in the band's extensive tape vault. The series was named for Grateful Dead tape archivistDick Latvala.
Each volume ofDick's Picks has its own "caveat emptor" label, advising the listener of the sound quality of the recording. The label for volume 1 reads:
"The recording herein has been lovingly remastered directly from the original two-track master tape and is therefore not immune to the various glitches, splices, reel changes and other aural gremlins contained on said original. Dick's Picks differs from ourFrom The Vault series in that we simply did not have access to complete shows (nor the modern mixing capabilities afforded by multitrack tapes). But we think the historical value and musical quality of these tapes more than compensates for any technical anomalies... In other words, what you hear is what you get. And what you get ain't bad!"
In the CD liner notes,Donna Jean Godchaux is listed in the band lineup and credited as "giving birth"; she had temporarily stopped touring with the band as she was about to have her first son, Zion.
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