MSN Music has a nice Bob Weir interview by Alan Light. I appreciated this observation from the intro:
What is most interesting about “Three From the Vault” is not the backstory but the sound. It documents the band at an especially intriguing moment: fresh off the releases of “American Beauty” and “Workingman’s Dead,” their two strongest studio efforts, and stripped down to a five-piece lineup: just guitarist Jerry Garcia, drummer Bill Kreutzmann, bassist Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan on keyboards and harmonica, and rhythm guitarist Bob Weir. It was the most conventional rock ‘n’ roll setup in the Dead’s long history (usually they had a second drummer, Mickey Hart, and often a second keyboard player as well), and coincided with the period in which they were most focused on fully realized, well-structured songs.
The set features the world premieres of “Bird Song” and “Deal,” and the second ever performances of five other songs, including such staples as “Playing in the Band” and “Wharf Rat.” Only a few songs stretch out beyond the 10-minute mark. In some ways, this release could be considered the Grateful Dead for non-Deadheads.