Dick's Picks, Vol. 9

AMG Review of Dick's Picks, Vol. 9

William Ruhlmann
All Music Guide

Recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York City on September 16, 1990, the three-hour concert captured on this three-CD set marks a milestone for the band in that it is the second Grateful Dead show at which the keyboard chairs were occupied by Vince Welnick and Bruce Hornsby. Less than two months had passed since the death of Brent Mydland, and Welnick had taken over earlier in September; Hornsby joined on piano when the tour hit New York, and this was the show at which the band jelled in its new form. Rather than being tentative, the two new players transform such songs as "Little Red Rooster," "Queen Jane Approximately," "Tennessee Jed," and "Iko Iko" into keyboard showcases and participate in an improvisational "space" interlude that had become an infrequent part of the band's recent performances. This show is not necessarily great Grateful Dead, and as such not of interest to the less devoted fan, but to the band and the Deadheads, it represents the transition to the last, five-year phase of the Dead's career.