The release includes two sheets of paper stapled together in the middle, yielding an eight-page enclosure. The front duplicates the cover of the CD and the back features a picture of a crab.
The first two pages inside the enclosure contain a collage featuring a flier listing the shows the band played during their east coast tour in September of that year, along with three color photographs of the band's members performing on stage. The middle two pages feature two reviews and the left side of the last two pages list the contents of and credits for the release. The right side of the last page features a reddish-tinted monochrome photograph of the band members playing on stage.[6]
Review by Gordon Chaplin
The review on the left side of the middle two pages was written by Gordon Chaplin, is from The Baltimore Sun, and dated September 24, 1972. It is entitled "Grateful Dead: whistling through the fog" and subtitled "It seemed, for a while, like San Francisco."
Having relocated from San Francisco to Baltimore in 1970, Chaplin spends most of his review reminiscing about the time he spent on the west coast in the 1960s. Bemoaning how "the Haight-Ashbury fell apart", he claims the scene ended when "Neal Casady's body was found lifeless on a railroad track in Mexico" because Neal "had been sparking the movement, or whatever it was, ever since the Fifties."
Entitled "Not free or friendly", the third of the three sections comprising Gordon's review observes that "a line of police keeping the crowd in their seats" contributed to the band getting off to a rough start. He goes on to say that once "they moved into one of those expanded renditions of a familiar piece" he finally felt "as if I was back home again." The author ultimately closes his piece on a positive note, stating that eventually "the police moved away from in front of the stage" allowing people to move "up through the fog to get closer to the band."[7]
Review by Angie Thornton
The review on the right side of the middle two pages was written by Angie Thornton, is from The Afro-American Newspaper Archives and Research Center, and dated September 23, 1972. It is entitled "A review: Baltimore" and subtitled "Rock show."
Thornton's review is much shorter than Chaplin's and lacks his reminiscing about bygone days. She makes it clear she was one of the band's newer fans by misspelling Jerry Garcia's first name as "Gerry" and referring to the songs "Mexicali blues", "Friend of the devil" and "Me and my uncle" as "Mr. Kelly blues", "Friend in the Jungle" and "Men and my uncle".
Despite her being a new fan and making a few mistakes, Angie's review is very perceptive. She notes, for example, that the music "grew and grew as the concert went on. And just as a book has a climax, so did the concert." Near the end of her piece she notes that the band had "left the stage, but the audience was not ready for the music to be stopped." The author is clearly amazed by the fans' "hands clapping and feet stomping" until the band returned for the encore, and she concludes her review by observing that "though their names may be Grateful Dead, this group is very much alive."[8]
Caveat emptor
Each volume of Dick's Picks has its own "caveat emptor" label, advising the listener of the sound quality of the recording. The one for Volume 23 reads:
"Dick's Picks Twenty-Three was mastered from the original 1/4" analog tapes, running at 7.5 ips. The mix you hear was done live to two-track at the show, and the results are remarkable. We hope you'll dig it as much as we do."
^Scott, John W.; Dolgushkin, Mike; Nixon, Stu. (1995). DeadBase IX: The Complete Guide to Grateful Dead Song Lists. Cornish, New Hampshire: DeadBase. p. 26. ISBN1-877657-18-2.
^Enclosure included with Dick's Picks Volume 23, 1972/2001.
^Enclosure included with Dick's Picks Volume 23, 1972/2001.
^Enclosure included with Dick's Picks Volume 23, 1972/2001.
