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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+47874


Submissions

2
Looks Like Rain
Sept. 23, 1976
Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke U

No doubt with a better source this would be high up on the list. Listen to Jerry's supersonic flyby as Bobby and Donna caress the out chorus.
2
Lazy Lightnin' -> Supplication
Sept. 23, 1976
Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke U

Help us Charlie Miller, you're our only hope! Seriously though, this is a blisteringly hot version. Don't miss it.
1
Dancin' in the Streets
Aug. 26, 1976
Club Front Studio

Very cool studio rehearsals with new grooves and wildly flanged sound. Fall '76 versions are some of the best, and here they are still in the egg.
7
The Music Never Stopped
Aug. 4, 1976
Roosevelt Stadium

Jerry tears this one apart with a shredding solo. The link here is bass-heavy SBD with some decay, but just brilliant playing by all.
3
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad
Aug. 2, 1976
Colt Park

Notable for a 6-min opening jam that comes out of Wharf Rat, very cool, mislabeled "Drums". The GDTRFB smokes too.

Comments

Playin' In The Band
April 25, 1977
Capitol Theater

Brings the expansive length and transitive madness of the most epic pre-hiatus versions if you take it as part of the whole suite. I don't say 'under-rated' often, but it fits here.
Deep Elem Blues
May 7, 1981
Tomorrow Coast To Coast with Tom Synder

Here it is with great video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chADQBmosEQ. It's quite cool to see this era with a decent/professional camerawork: Nice in-focus closeups of the band, Jerry singing beautifully and his fretwork. A beaut of a version any way you look at it.
Dire Wolf
May 7, 1981
Tomorrow Coast To Coast with Tom Synder

What a rare treat. Sweet video of the performance on the "Tomorrow Show": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chADQBmosEQ.
Estimated Prophet
April 25, 1977
Capitol Theater

Agree with Ernie5 - this is right in the sweet spot for the development of the song. Jerry's coda solo is a wild ride through the scrambled madness of the narrator. Bobby's voice in the C.Miller clean-up (I didn't get the box set!) is smoky and beautiful. For me this song has always been *the* emblem of '77 perfection and here it is on display.
Ship of Fools
April 25, 1977
Capitol Theater

Sweet treat indeed. Jerry's voice is perfectly rescued in the C.Miller upgrade, and the band is a graceful waterfall behind him.