Dave's Picks Vol. 20 - Grateful Dead - Boulder, CO - December 9, 1981

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Grateful Dead - Boulder, CO - December 9, 1981

Disc 1
01. Cold Rain And Snow [6:38]
02. Jack Straw [6:26]
03. Friend Of The Devil> [8:10]
04. Little Red Rooster [8:48]
05. Bird Song [9:01]
06. Mama Tried> [2:25]
07. Mexicali Blues [5:15]
08. Candyman [6:11]
09. Cassidy [6:16]
10. Looks Like Rain [8:11]

Disc 2
01. China Cat Sunflower> [6:01]
02. I Know You Rider [6:31]
03. Scarlet Begonias [10:27]
04. Fire On The Mountain [8:44]
05. Estimated Prophet> [10:31]
06. He's Gone> [14:53]
07. Drums> [6:16]
08. Space [9:37]

Disc 3
01. The Other One> [7:40]
02. Stella Blue> [9:31]
03. Around And Around> [3:40]
04. Good Lovin' [9:23]
05. U.S. Blues> [4:59]
06. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction [6:31]

Who's ready for a little early 80's Grateful Dead? 

For our last installment of the 2016 Dave's Picks series we are heeding that call with Boulder, CO, December 9, 1981. The last show of a 10-day run, Dave's Picks Volume 20 finds the band cranking out back-to-back high-energy sets; the first filled with superior Jerry moments (“Friend Of The Devil,” “Bird Song”) and a very rare 1-2 punch of Bobby songs ("Cassidy," "Looks Like Rain"). The second is a powerhouse of tight innovation with a nearly perfect "Scarlet>Fire," Brent's organs taking "Estimated" to an otherworldly level, and a double encore fit for "rock 'n' roll excellence."

And if that wasn't enticing enough, this one is chock full of classic covers - "Mama Tried," "Little Red Rooster," "Around and Around," "Good Lovin'," and potentially the very best version of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" that the Dead ever did do.

Taken from 7" reel-to-reel master tapes, Dave's Picks Volume 20 offers up top-notch sound quality and a robustness that was unusual for the tape recordings at this time. As always, it has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman.