Dave's Picks Volume 43


Dave's Picks Volume 43 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It was recorded on November 2, 1969 at the Family Dog at the Great Highway in San Francisco, California, and on December 26, 1969 at McFarlin Memorial Auditorium in University Park, Texas. It was released on July 29, 2022, in a limited edition of 25,000 copies.
The two concerts were taped by audio engineer and LSD chemist Owsley "Bear" Stanley. They document the band in a transition period between the recording of the psychedelic rock album Live/Dead and the folk rock album Workingman's Dead.
Upon release, the album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 11 on the week of August 13, 2022, becoming the group's second-highest charting album, behind 1987's In the Dark.
The third song of the second set of the December 26 concert, "Cold Rain and Snow", was omitted due to lack of space. It was included as a bonus track on Dave's Picks Volume 44.

Critical reception

On AllMusic Timothy Monger said, "For this special two-concert set, archivist David Lemieux dug into Bear's personal vault of sealed banana boxes to uncover a pair of late 1969 Grateful Dead gems.... Both are notable for their clarity of sound, 20-plus-minute versions of "Dark Star", and prime late-'60s glory."

Track listing

Disc 1
  1. "Cold Rain and Snow" – 6:19
  2. "In the Midnight Hour" – 8:23
  3. "Seasons of My Heart" – 4:32
  4. "Mama Tried" – 2:55
  5. "Next Time You See Me" – 4:51
  6. "Good Lovin'" – 9:23
  7. "Big Boss Man" – 6:59
  8. "Casey Jones" – 4:39
  9. "Dancing in the Street" – 9:06
  11. "The Monkey and the Engineer" – 2:41
  12. "Little Sadie" – 3:57
  13. "Long Black Limousine" – 6:09
  14. "I've Been All Around This World" – 5:03
  15. "Gathering Flowers for the Master's Bouquet" – 3:10
Disc 2
  1. "Dark Star" – 30:32
  2. "St. Stephen" – 9:43
  3. "The Eleven" – 8:59
  4. "Death Don't Have No Mercy" – 11:47
  6. "Black Peter" – 11:05
  7. "Uncle John's Band" – 6:32
Disc 3
  1. "Casey Jones" – 5:12
  2. "Hard to Handle" – 4:54
  3. "China Cat Sunflower – 5:55
  4. "I Know You Rider" – 5:26
  5. "High Time" – 8:04
  6. "Me and My Uncle" – 4:14
  7. "Dark Star" – 24:52
  8. "New Speedway Boogie" – 5:36
  9. "Turn On Your Lovelight" – 14:54

Personnel

Grateful Dead
Production