Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
May 8, 1977
Barton Hall - Cornell University
There is no perfect Scarlet-Fire and that's why the Dead are the Dead. However, this one is the best. For me there are three reasons: Mickey's three-beat drum roll signaling the beginning of the tune in dramatic, emphatic fashion; Phil's slides in the intro and playing throughout; and Jerry's first solo in Fire. In particular, everything from 15:41 to the end of the solo, 17:02. I've listened to many, many, many hours of Grateful Dead music and the epitome of Jerry as a player are in that not-quite minute and a half. In my opinion.
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