Good vocals from Bob - excellent jamming from Bruce and Jerry. Isn't this song almost always good?

Perfect song selection for starting out a winter run.

Wow. That final jam really cooks.

Driven by a melodic flow missing in many versions.

Bob channels his inner Pigpen. I dig it.

Jerry puts in a couple of exclamation points during the instrumental break that aren't there in most versions. Shows he's paying attention!!!

Weren't they supposed to do something with Mack The Knife?

Weren't they supposed to do something with Mack The Knife?

OVER - RATED !!!!! I know this is mostly pointless, because 1977 is a sacred cow on this site and too many people are blindly in awe of anything played that year. But - this was a young song in 1977. It hadn't grown vocally or instrumentally yet. In an attempt to make my point, I picked out a version from 1991 that wasn't even listed here until I just posted it - 10-30-91. Dare I say that the heretofore unrated version from 91 is better than the second ranked version? Yes - that's exactly what I'm saying. Estimated is a song about madness. That state of mind isn't conveyed in these early versions. In the 91 version, the insanity of it all comes through loud and clear, allowing the song to express its true vision. Go take a listen. Once in a while you get shown the light......

This one starts out slow. Jerry sounds tired and you get the idea that he thinks playing this was a mistake. Then about 3 minutes in, the band really goes at it, providing an unexpected peak. Jerry's vocals pick up and no longer sound fatigued.