Stormy Mondays | Grateful Dead 1973 Retrospective Pt. 3

For the third and final installment (Part 1, Part 2) of our retrospective on the Grateful Dead’s Fall Tour 1973, we turn to the very end of the run, December 18.

Material from December 19 famously makes up Dick’s Picks Volume One, and this long suite works as a nice companion to that release: “Weather Report Suite” > “Dark Star” > “Drumz” > “Eyes Of The World” > “Wharf Rat” > “Sugar Magnolia” > “Sunshine Daydream.” The “Weather Report” falls almost dead center in its rotation, which only lasted two years, and opens on a beautifully expansive “Dark Star” that features “Mind Left Body” themes that never quite fully materialize. The end of the show is a classic, and for my buck, you just can’t beat a ’73-’74 “Wharf Rat.” This is a fantastic snapshot of the band in the midst of a peak of both confidence and comfort. As always, enjoy!

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Written By: Dan Alford