Dick's Picks, Vol. 17: Boston Garden, Boston, MA, 9/25/91
Only the secondDick's Picksset to come from the 1990s, Volume 17 comes from the middle of a six-night run at Boston Garden and boasts a prominent and playfulBruce Hornsby, who by this point had become fully integrated (along with keyboardist Vince Welnick) into the band's sound. The first set especially finds the band as tight and together as they ever were in the '90s. As an added bonus, the third disc adds a pair of strong tunes from a Greensboro, North Carolina, show from the previous March, including a marathon "Eyes of the World." When looked at in the context of the Dead's entire career, this date doesn't really stand out, but as a characteristic document of Hornsby's early-1990s tenure, it works just fine--and it's definitely a cut aboveVolume 9, the other '90s-eraDick's Pickset.--Marc Greilsamer