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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49667


Submissions

13
Brown Eyed Women
Oct. 2, 1977
Paramount Theatre

Perfection firing on all cylinders: Tight band, muscular beats, beautiful vocals (Donna's on!) and that applied greatness that is the '77 Dead.
13
Doin' That Rag
March 2, 1969
Fillmore West

Blissful '69 chaos: Jer says, "Help! Help! Hey, we need some organized minds up here" and then they launch. Great fun and a wild ride.
13
Comes A Time
Oct. 22, 1971
Auditorium Theatre

Pure. One of the first performances with beautiful, meaning-soaked delivery.
9
Wharf Rat
Nov. 1, 1973
McGaw Memorial Hall - Northwestern University

Suffers a cutout in the middle, but reaches transcendant beauty and interplay. They end on a harmonics/tuning just delightfully right out of the song.
7
Mississippi Halfstep Uptown Toodeloo
Nov. 1, 1973
McGaw Memorial Hall - Northwestern University

Sweet and subtle, part of a mega-massive 2nd set jam. A beauty.

Comments

Me and Bobby McGee
April 5, 1971
Manhattan Center

That's Jerry, not Phil, I'm fairly sure. Anyone else? My headphones are busted (don't ask),so I can't listen really deeply like I want to, and it does sound like a little bit of three-part harmony on the very last lines, but Jer is singing backup throughout and the yodel is within his timbrel range. Any historians out there know for sure? Sure is a beaut, anyway.
Good Lovin'
May 3, 1972
Olympia Theater

Pig gets good and filthy right around 10:00.
The Other One
May 2, 1970
Harpur College

Apparently two years and change since I've rechecked this one: I agree with crankyoldhead above. This is an insane rager, for sure, but hard to figure it as the top o'the list other than that it's been released commercially. Strong points: relentless and coherent, but it never tips over the edge, but just stays close to it for a great long journey. To me the cryptical reprise gets closest to the supernova power of, for example 04.26.72 and probably twenty-five others on this page. Not meant as a criticism, but simply an observation.
Dark Star
Sept. 10, 1972
Hollywood Palladium

A wonderful, long, inventive version, full of pure musical jams, a wild post-verse spacemelt, and a glorious return into a beautiful Jack Straw. I reckon it's no higher on the list because the board levels aren't top-shelf, but the recording itself is great, and there's good channel separation so you can hear Bobby's angular knifey stabalong clearly, which is a too-rare treat for the era. (His interaction with Keith and Jerry at about 24:00 is just brilliant.) Listen to it, it's got it all, and I'd nominate this show (excellent all-round) for a cleanup if possible.
He's Gone
Sept. 10, 1972
Hollywood Palladium

Bliss. As close to a perfect statement of He's Gone as I know. The soloing is full of clear, purposeful ideas and Billy drives the whole thing forward with just the right amount of push, never letting it drag a bit. Could be much higher on the list.