GRATEFUL DEAD Dick's Picks Vol.16 - Fillmore Auditorium 11/8/69 (3-CD)

Reputedly one of Dead archivist Dick Latvala's favorite concerts and the first in the Dick's Picks series to feature a show from the '60s, Vol. 16 or, more accurately, disc one of Vol. 16, captures a crucial turning point in the band's history. 

Here you'll find the first versions of the songs that would make up Workingman's Dead, as the group began to move away from the psychedelic, blues-based jamming of their early years and toward the country-rock that would define much of their music of the early '70s (and the friendly crowd at the Fillmore proves to be the ideal audience for the premiere of the new material). 

The rest of the show, however, shows the band's earlier incarnation at its best; in fact, it's a sort of alternate version of Live Dead, which was recorded about eight months earlier and hit stores just days after this concert, and features a truly inspired 90-minute medley of "Dark Star" / "The Other One" / "Dark Star" / "Uncle John's Band Jam" / "St. Stephen" / "The Eleven" / "Caution" / "Feedback," rounded out by the 25-minute "Turn On Your Lovelight" from the night before. Crucial performances from a remarkable period of growth for the Grateful Dead.