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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49667


Submissions

5
Sugaree
May 25, 1974
Campus Stadium, UCSB

Swings and rocks you back and forth so sweetly. Not my favorite Dead song, but this one is just a beaut.
26
Wharf Rat
May 21, 1974
Edmundson Pavilion

A musical triumph capping an amazing 2nd Set. Soaring, almost Bird Songish intensity to the ensemble soloing. Perfect.
18
Sugar Magnolia
May 21, 1974
Edmundson Pavilion

Are you kidding me?!? This just blazes white hot. Whole 2nd set is just a supernova.
16
U.S. Blues (Wave That Flag)
May 21, 1974
Edmundson Pavilion

The boys were still inspired after that 46min Playin' and it shows. Possibly the best US Blues I know of. Don't overlook it or the rest of the show!
46
Wharf Rat
May 19, 1974
Portland Memorial Coliseum

Slightly faster with a steady ostinato bass that works beautifully. No dirge, but a thoughtful tale. I hear waves against a wharf at the end.

Comments

Black Throated Wind
March 26, 1972
Academy of Music

Damn right. Sounds like they mastered it long before. Charlie Miller cleanup on this show is all that, too.
Estimated Prophet
May 25, 1977
The Mosque

Donnie's right here. I can't say this one touches the madness that makes this song so special. While my personal opinion is that the Dead were generally more musically interesting in '77 than they were in '91, I also think that the best Estimated Prophets convey jagged, off-kilter, schizophrenia, and could tip you over the edge given the right/wrong mental state. This one sounds like a work in progress - and I think this is one of, if not the best shows in all of '77.
How Sweet It Is
March 25, 1972
Academy of Music

This is one of the most brilliant versions of this song I've ever heard, whether or not I'm also a deadhead. (I am.) Donna never sounded better either.
Smokestack Lightnin'
March 25, 1972
Academy of Music

Pigpen comes out after an hour+ of, shall we say, a not-too-convincing Bo Diddley featuring the Grateful Dead set, and pours it on thick and luscious. Do you think he wanted to step up to Bo D. and say, "now that's how it's done", one bluesman to the next? It seems like the 'lil red rooster wanted to strut in his own backyard here. One of the best, and a painful reminder of how amazing Pigpen's sound could have blended with the emerging seventies Dead. It also sounds like half the band wanted to go into Truckin' for the last five minutes of vamping. Cool how it hovers around but never fully coalesces.
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad
March 23, 1972
Academy of Music

Cucamonga's right here. This one has no business with only two votes. Were they completely on fire? Did they leave anyone alive? Did they have to replace all their equipment afterwards? Jeez, this one's a scorcher, and needs to be much higher up.