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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49677


Submissions

3
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Oct. 23, 1970
McDonough Arena - Georgetown University

Fun, tight version with great energy and tight vocals. Fun stuff.
1
Hard to Handle
Oct. 23, 1970
McDonough Arena - Georgetown University

Begins sounding like the epic hard charging beast it becomes over the next months.
2
Not Fade Away
Oct. 17, 1970
Cleveland Music Hall

The NFA>GDTRFB>NFA sequence in its infancy: 3rd time played, and remarkably smooth and perfect transitions with exuberant jamming.
3
The Other One
Oct. 17, 1970
Cleveland Music Hall

Super-charged hard rocker here. Hits all the 1970 highlights, with power and precision: a white knuckler. Tape is rough AUD, w/ C. Miller cleanup.
2
Hurts Me Too
Oct. 17, 1970
Cleveland Music Hall

One of Pig's best: Perfect vox, great harp solo. Jerry too. Some tape issues, but thanx Mr. Miller... thanks a lot.

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.