Dick Latvala was the original Deadhead. He first heard them play at the Trips Festival in 1966 and remained a massive fan until his death in 1999. He was one of the earliest tapers and collectors and reportedly he amassed one of the biggest collections of Dead tapes in the world. In the early 1980s he started working for the Dead’s organization, just odd jobs mainly. It sounds like he basically just started hanging around, and eventually they put him to work.
The Dead had been recording their concerts from the earliest days, but they weren’t particularly organized with them. Dick changed that. He convinced the band that those recordings were a treasure trove and they needed to be organized and safely stored. This led to the creation of the infamous vault.
Dick’s management of the vault and his enthusiastic desire for more officially released live albums led to the Dick’s Picks series. The band was no stranger to live albums, having released Live/Dead in 1969 and a double album covering their legendary tour of Europe in 1972, plus several others. Those had been professional recordings on multitrack tapes. They were good and edited, mastered, and on at least one occasion, overdubbed.
The Dick’s Picks series would be pulled from two-track tapes, and took a warts and-all approach to the music. No edits, no overdubs, and if there was a flaw on the tape, that’s what you got. Most volumes included one entire show, though some contained complete second sets of two different shows, and others might just be highlight reels.
The band had the final say which caused some delays in the releases in the early days but eventually they seemed to just let Dick do what he wanted.
Between 1993 and 2006, they released 36 volumes in the Dick’s Picks series. Over half of them were released after Latvala’s death in 1993. After Dick’s death an actual archivist, David Lemiux, became keeper of the vault and he began a similar series, appropriately called Dave’s Picks, in 2012.
I thought it would be fun to listen to and then review each of the 36 Dick’s Picks. This will become the page I’ll link to all of those reviews. I hope you enjoy it.
PS that cover image is of the first Dicks Picks I ever bought. I remember it being a rip-roaring classic. I can’t wait to revisit it and talk about it.
Vol. 1 – Tampa, FL (12/19/73)
Vol. 2 – Columbus, OH (10/31/71)
themidnightcafe.org 
This is an interesting idea Mat, I like it. Like many – I’ve listened to lots of them but not all, seen some of them but likely only a fraction, likely listened to most of the via other versions of the show either soundboard, aud or matrix – but most importantly this will be a great way of listening to all Dick’s Picks from beginning to end, albeit I may not be able to keep up! Thanks!!
I’m the same way. I’ve listened to some of the DPs, but not all. And I’ve listened to many of the recordings of shows that became official releases, but not all. So this seems like a fun way to dig into them. I’m pretty excited about it.
It will be a slow process as I’d like to review live albums from other artists and some bootlegs and the like, but I’ll try to hit up the Dicks Picks relatively regular.
I was in the house for Dick’s Picks #6 Hartford CT! Never understood why the 2nd series wasn’t called Dave’s Faves 😉
That’s very cool. And I agree, it should have been called Dave’s Faves. Who doesn’t love a good rhyme?
1. I’m terrible at this sort of thing. I listen to a lot of Grateful Dead, but I have no memory for it. By which I mean I’ll listen to a show and the next day I can’t remember which one I listened to. So I can’t keep track of which show is best.
3. I’ve got the two Nashville shows, plus the SBD from Port Chester and an Audience recording from Oakland. I’m happy to share them with you. Which ones do you need?
4. Thanks. I’d always love to hear your thoughts on a movie, but it is no big deal if you don’t feel like commenting.
I would LOVE to get the Gillian/Dave SBD from Port Chester and the audience recording from Oakland! Could you WeTransfer them to me (nlwirth@yahoo.com)? Or do you have another preferred method?
I started collecting live music in 1983, and some Dead shows over the years just stood out more than others for me. They are the ones I go back to many times (I never tire, for example, of the jam–> Dark Star–> Morning Dew from Winterland — 10-18-74– it is a comfort listen for me). But I have always appreciated what Latvala and Lemieux have done. I have no complaints. Just curious, like you, what made them decide what and when.
As I am sure you already know, Latvala did not share the reverence many had for the Barton Hall 5-8-77 show and said he had no plans to ever include it in the Picks series. It’s got some great moments– but I had never understood the mania many have for it. That said– I instantly bought that May 1977 boxset when it came out.
I have always been invested in my “favorite shows” mode– never the “best all-time shows” or “ranking the shows” mode. I will try to chime in about films from time to time. I enjoy your enthusiasm for movies.
I’m uploading the Gillian shows now. I’ll send you an email when they are ready.
When I collected tapes I had favorite shows because I could only afford to trade a few shows a month. But now that we have access to so many shows I can’t keep up with what I listen to, which bits I love and all that. I’m envious of people who have that kind of memory.