The Last & Final ! " Dick's Picks Volume " in the Amazing !! Dick's Picks Series ... Dick's Picks # 36 ! - 1972 Fall Tour ... September 21, 1972 at The Spectrum !!! - Nothing-short of Amazing !!!!! ... Fall Tour 1972 Live-Dead !!! - at the Good Ol' Philly Spectrum !!!!

Grateful Dead Fall Tour '72 ... at the Spectrum !!!  Wow ... talk about G.D. that is so Incredibly Sweet ! to your Ears & Kind to your Mind !!!?  This my fellow Fans, is nothing short of a Brilliant ! ' Prime-Era ' Grateful Dead performance, that is seamless, tight, and close to musical perfection.  Just like we all know the Dead could do in this Era - and here, my goodness do they ever pull it off in Grand ! fashion.  The cohesiveness between Band members in these 2-Sets ( 4-CD's ! ) basically lacks nothing.  Vocals, Tone, Charge, Segue Transitions, Attack, and of course ... Magic !  This set is a prime-time example as to exactly why many fans not only love their ' pre-hiatus ' ( '74 ) Grateful Dead - but it also points with precision as to why '72 is pound-for-pound an overall favorite year to many, of our beloved Grateful Dead !  Talk about fresh, young, ripped, roaring & ready - this here is only the 2nd Show ever ! that the Band played at the infamous East Coast Venue - The Spectrum ! ... and as you probably well know, this is a Venue that the Band delivered its mighty-magic to over 50-Times !  Starting in 1968, all the way through their last & final touring year in 1995.  And, unlike nearly all of those Spectrum Shows - Garcia is not playing a Fender Strat, but here ... that is indeed his weapon of choice, and my oh my does he make the most of that twangy-tonality - yet another wonderful audible staple of this initial '70's era especially trademarked in '72.  Set wise, there is nothing really missing from the Band's song rotation in this night, as they deliver the Bird Song - China > Rider - B.T. Wind - Loser - Ramble On - Cumberland - Playin' - He's Gone - Truckin' - Dark Star > Dew ! - 1/2 Step Mississippi - Sugar Magnolia - NFA - GDTRFB - and ... even if you were about to think that the Other One was missing ?  Well, you are correct - nice Eagle Eye!   But, not in entirety ... as there is also a three ( 3 ) song segment added ! to this set, which is included on CD 4 from Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado ( 9/3/1972 ) - delightfully including He's Gone > Other One ! > Wharf Rat.  So, if this song selection was almost perfection, well you know Dick ... as he took care of the rest - as I certainly assume it was him that so perfectly added this fine ' filler '.  And last, but most certainly not least ... this here was obviously the Last/Final installment of the beloved Dick's Picks Series which was delivered to the Dead Fans like clockwork from 1993 through 2005.  I don't think it's any secret that there was a little " let's make the last one, a Grate ! one " going on here.  At least that is my view, because this 9/21/72 Spectrum night is one that could most definitely hold its own, against not only any other Show from this Era - but really ... any other Show !  This one ?  It's just that good ...  Crystal-clean Grateful Dead Live ! - at near, or just plain Good Ol' Perfection !!!  And being the " last " of the Dick's Picks Series, the Band had another fantastic trick up their collective sleeves in this release ... and it is indeed an Amazing ! one.  Not only is the Liner Notes Booklet ( 28-Pages ! ) filled with incredible-photos ... but, it also includes a detailed 7-page dialogue by none other than the great Owsley " Bear " Stanley himself ! ... Bear !!!!!  And you might ask what his topic of discussion is here ?  Well, you likely have already guessed it ... ' Sound ' !!!  Or, better said by Bear himself :  " Notes : On Sound, My Theories And Techniques ".  Yeah, exactly ... Wow !  This essay / inclusion was written on 9/26/2005 - by Bear himself, and he goes into delightful detail on the actual audio-recording of this Amazing-Show !  Sharing in detail his techniques, challenges, theories, the process, the equipment, etc..  For any serious G.D. Audiophile, this is very special & privileged information - that is so incredibly rich in knowledge.  For me personally, I actually read this booklet - ' after ' listening to this Show for the very 1st time, like I often do - and in this case, I was pretty-much blown-back ... almost like " Whoa !!?! " - this final-installment of the Dick's Picks Series just got even better yet !?!  Which prior, I really didn't really think was a possibility.  Dick's Picks # 36 ... the Last !  And all that is really left to say, is the obvious ... Thank You Dick !  And of course, Thank You Grateful Dead !!!  A truly-Truly ! Amazing !! & Historic !!! Series .....

TRACK LISTING >>>

Grateful Dead recorded ' Live ' by Owsley " Bear " Stanley at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ( PA ) on September 21, 1972 ( 9/21/1972 ) :

CD 1 :
Promised Land
Bird Song
El Paso
China Cat Sunflower >
I Know You Rider
Black-Throated Wind
Big Railroad Blues
Jack Straw
Loser
Big River

CD 2 :
Ramble On Rose
Cumberland Blues
Playing In The Band
Start Set Two :
He's Gone >
Truckin'
Black Peter
Mexicali Blues

CD 3 :
Dark Star >
Morning Dew
Beat It On Down The Line
Mississippi Half Step Uptown Toodeloo
Sugar Magnolia
Friend Of The Devil

CD 4 :
Not Fade Away >
Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad >
Not Fade Away
One More Saturday Night

From 9/3/72 Folson Field, Boulder, CO :
He's Gone >
The Other One >
Wharf Rat