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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49667


Submissions

20
Playin' In The Band
April 29, 1972
Musikhalle

A mysterious beauty. Understated, elegant, and crystal clear, but shredding and fun. A nice little gem.
44
Truckin'
April 26, 1972
Jahrhunderthalle

Hard rocker. Great interplay and the band at the top of their '72 game. "No. 1 in Turlock, and that's a fact". - Bobby.
30
He's Gone
April 26, 1972
Jahrhunderthalle

Uptempo, almost a shuffle, like the best of the '72s. High energy 1st set.
7
The Other One
April 5, 1971
Manhattan Center

Powerful version with insane Phil muscular bass kicking into a sweet Wharf Rat. A gem of a show.
14
Let It Grow
June 23, 1974
Jai-Alai Fronton

Sneaks up calm then hits critical mass: Suddenly you are the blade of grass, the dew on the crops, the explosive heat of summertime. Love it.

Comments

Dark Star
July 26, 1972
Paramount Theater

Sublime intro jam, that goes into a Bird Song-like jam around minute 8 just before the first verse. The Phil and Billy-driven transition jam then sets up some modal jazz that prefigures their '74 sound. It's deep, long, and cruising like a ship out of orbit and gearing up to Warp 10. We then re-enter with some beautiful melodicism for a bit just before the madness kicks in with what sounds like Phil or Bobby strumming their axes with a cello bow (weird space bugs and giant vibrating jellyfish). This turns into a white-knuckler not for the feint of heart. Don't let the sweetness of the first sections fool you: This isn't entry-level Dead. Moderate your dose according to need/experience. :^)
St. Stephen
Sept. 19, 1970
Fillmore East

Perfect description by the sleuth here. And if there's any doubt, just listen to the waves of happiness sweeping over the audience as they transition to it from that eternal Dark Star right before. There's just no way this was going to ever turn out wrong. This is the kind of Stephen-love that got me on the bus as a baby head back in the day.
Black Throated Wind
July 26, 1972
Paramount Theater

Great version with a soaring climax, but here's a slight correction on the first comment: Bobby threatens to kill Bear, and then offers the contract to the roadies. If you know anything about the Dead's crew, this was a much more credible threat! :^)
Bird Song
July 25, 1972
Paramount Theater

Good comment Grendel. I think the June-July '72 shows are all underrated here. There isn't a clunker amongst them, and they show one of the bands great transitions between the workshopped excellence of Europe (22 shows in a month and a half....) and the freeflowing insanity of the Berkeley and Venata epics just around the corner. They just aren't as well known, but they're every bit as wonderful. Also, can any of us really imagine what they were going through watching Pigpen fade out in such pain? And yet there they were playing music like this almost every day. What a legacy.
Morning Dew
July 22, 1972
Paramount Northwest Theatre

Jerry just keeps finding one more gear to kick it into. "Shredding" doesn't even begin to describe it.