Rock-solid China with Jerry twisting and pulling its melodic basis throughout a great solo + great Feeling Groovy trans. into Rider.

By far the most snarlingly bad-assed version of 1973. Jer's lines it up and shoots it down, soloing intesely throughout the whole song.

25 minutes of nirvana. Absolutely everything a Playin' fan could look for - with that strange summer '73 blissed-out "intense mellow".

Mellow jam leading to a slow simmert, then boils and finally melts down brilliantly into a pristine Eyes. Why isn't this here yet?

Cowboy Bob and the Mexican Maiden at high speed rip-roaring tempos. Great bursting energy.

Starts with snarling opening lyrics, like and Bobby and Donna about to pounce out of their skins. This high energy gets tweaky with both the mentioned Keith weirdness and the two drummers in an outrageously perfect high-speed pocket behind Jerry playing the mad-scientist. His tone and mood are both hot and mellow. This is a sound I associate with an the best 'Playins' of '73, though Keith's effects and the melty-bits also evoke the much maligned Phil and Ned era of '74s. Maybe this is what others mentioned of having an "earlier Dead" feel to it. That said, this is no nostalgia piece and the outro is a hard-core crunching beast with a unique and hard rockin' sound .

Oh jeez, this is a pretty one. It rocks - not like rock-and-roll rocking, but like a sleeping baby in a cradle in a safe warm boat on a gentle lake with a soft breeze just ever-so-lightly scented with a whisper of indica flowers.

They hit this show opener with some gusto - one of the reasons why it was always my favorite when they opened with it. I'm not sure if it's tape speed wobble or some tuning issues at first, but they seem to sort out the sound by the end.

These early versions had the madness in them. Though short, this one conveys 'cracking up' in a heavy way.

Mid-tempo with a bounce and soft-shoe, but doesn't really lift off until the out-chorus. Clean and pristine... the '77 sound starts to really coalesce just about here.