It seems hard to believe now, but there was a time when even seasoned Dead Heads had no idea what “Terrapin Station” and “Estimated Prophet” were. 

The time was Feb. 26, 1977, the place was the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, Calif., and the show, where both tracks made their in-concert debuts, was just released as Dave’s Picks Volume 29. 

Limited to 20,000 copies and stuffed into a trifold package with photos and reprints of contemporary reviews of the performance, this Picks is worthy of the selection and concludes with three bonus tracks, including one of those “Morning Dew”s, from the following evening in Santa Barbara.

As the show opener, “Terrapin Station” is played as closely to the studio version as any – and as incomplete as every one but one. And although the instrumental refrain ends unexpectedly due to technical gremlins, the song’s majesty is already there. 

Appearing after well-executed versions of “New Minglewood Blues” and “They Love Each Other,” “Estimated” is less fully formed but is already – like “Terrapin” – an obvious keeper. 

The entire first set consists well-played warhorses, with the two obvious exceptions, and gets really interesting when a more-forceful-than-usual version of “The Wheel” comes rolling out of a spacey jam at the end of “Playing in the Band” and then spins right back into the reprise several minutes later. 

Post-retirement but before the Dead’s sets – in Phil Lesh’s parlance – “ossified,” this collection has no “Drums” interlude and finds songs popping up in all sorts of places that seem weird today. These include uptempo and enthusiastic renditions of “Tennessee Jed” and “The Music Never Stopped” at the front half of set No. 2. “Promised Land,” buried deep in the second half of the show after a compelling triptych of “Help on the Way,” “Slipknot!” and “Franklin’s Tower,” recalls the 1974 band, as the group momentarily and aurally recalls the end of its first decade. 

While everything about this show is worth hearing, and much is exceptional, disc three is where the most magical moments reside in the form of “Eyes of the World” and its segue into “Dancing in the Street.” “Eyes” was always a song the Dead not only played – but sang – well and this one is fully of youthfully smooth vocals from Jerry Garcia (his guitar solos are mini-masterpieces) and the harmonies between him, Bob Weir and Donna Jean Godchaux on the choruses are a joy to hear. 

Lesh’s late-song solo is as intriguing as ever and listeners can hear the Dead thinking out loud as the bassist leads them in different musical directions – some which they abandon, others they explore. Lesh then moves his mates toward the beloved-by-many, beloathed-by-others, disco arrangement of “Dancing,” which finds Weir and Godchaux singing nicely together – they’re a mess on the over-exuberant “Around and Around” that follows – and doesn’t include the Lesh-led jam that typifies most versions of this era.

“U.S. Blues” – always a hoot if not an extraordinary song – wraps this one up.

With its significant debuts, its wealth of adroitly performed material and a smattering of uniquely exquisite tracks, not to mention soundboard-quality recording, Volume 29 is the kind of release that makes the effort of snagging Dave’s Picks worth the work and the cost.