Solid smooth jamming on China Cat for a solid, beautiful 8 mins, including the FGJ. Rider has Phil high in the vocal mix, to a very nice effect.

Builds and builds and builds, faster hotter faster and hotter. The crowd goes wild (stage antics?) Something special was in the wind.

Who's playing the Theremin? There's definitely something odd going on here. Was Ned Lagin sitting in?

Slower tempo gives this one a special feel. Jerry sings it with great gusto and a deeper bluesier feel then others. The whole ride is great fun.

The band is having fun with it on live TV, even though squeezed into under 4 minutes: http://vimeo.com/35129207. Bobby slides over the disco beat.

Cruel cut. This could otherwise have been the top version.

Uh, did you not know that they took their country music pretty seriously, and that they'd been doing so as the Dead for the past three years at this point? Or maybe had you ever thought that genre bending wasn't just some happy accident of their repertoire (hellooooo, Dark Star>El Paso), but in fact deleriously fundamental to the musical-aesthetic and cultural projects that these artists gave their lives to, not to mention a transcendal gift you can experience in the infinite facets of the nightfall of diamonds that is their œuvre? And finally, would you please consider that referring to Donna in this way is, if not only vulgar and crass, then basically just disrespectful not only to her and the band and their musical choices, but also to everyone else who loves the band and about 50% of the human species?

Freakin' amazing document covering extensive rehearsals of VLB giving us a deep glimpse into their process right there at the beginning. It's so cool to sneak a peak at them while they're working, and the sound is remarkably balanced and clear for an old rehearsal tape - thanks to Bear, who you can also hear during some of the banter.

Always loved the expansive emotional range and wide-open cartographic mystery of this suite, which never seems to get the respect it deserves. This is one of the Weir-Barlow classics: human, cerebral, transitive, emotional. I loved being part of it live. I love it now.

Hey Glyn, Where'd you find the full 20 minutes? The only AUD on the Archive drops us into the jam, which is smokin' hot like the best of Fall '72 Playin's. Is there another source out there? Send links, brother....