Grateful Dead - Dave's Picks Vol. 48: Pauley Pavilion, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA (11/20/71) (2023)

"Basketball and music have always been alike for me, the celebration of life and all other good things. These two art forms represent the best of teamwork, constant motion, creativity, leadership, communication, focus, execution, friendship, loyalty, cooperation, hope, opportunity, purpose, sacrifice, discipline, honor, and fun. Fun to play. Fun to practice. UCLA and the Grateful Dead embody the highest levels of this celebratory joy. At UCLA, it was endless fun, every day, in every way. We couldn’t wait to get there, to get going — though it was never as much fun as when the Grateful Dead came to play with and for us." - Bill Walton

Is there anyone who knows the acoustics of Pauley Pavilion better than Bill "Grateful Red" Walton? We think not, so we signed him on as a liner note scribe for DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 48, the complete previously unreleased show from UCLA's Pauley Pavilion 11/20/71. He was there, after all, "driftin' and dreamin'" as the Dead shape-shifted through a first set of Americana classics from WORKINGMAN'S DEAD and AMERICAN BEAUTY into their second one featuring truly primal psychedelic jams (a 23+ minute "The Other One"). They peppered in hot takes on tracks from the recently released SKULL & ROSES ("Bertha," "Me And My Uncle," "Not Fade>GDTRFB") and road-tested tunes like "Ramble On Rose" and "Tennessee Jed" that would make the cut on the following year's EUROPE '72. It's all delivered with such precision that we've had to come up with some overtime for disc three. There you'll find 75+ minutes of music from the Kiel Opera House, St. Louis, MO, 10/24/70, with the rest of the show due sometime in the near future.