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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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OrangeTangoJam

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Submissions

1
Drums
Dec. 10, 1972
Winterland Arena

Supercharged Billy at the helm deconstructing and building layers of structure like a master architect. Some of his most inventive fills put to record
1
Me and My Uncle
July 16, 1972
Dillon Stadium

Notable for coming straight out of Cumberland and the alternate lyrics “And I Grabbed the Bottle, Grabbed Him in the Jaw” A cowboy classic.
1
Promised Land
Aug. 5, 1974
Philadelphia Civic Arena

Firing on all cylinders right out the gate. I'm certain Jerry's fretboard caught fire after that first solo. Impossible not to groove to.
1
El Paso
Dec. 4, 1971
Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden

Delicate. Like a last waltz of the cowboy and his love, with each lick from Jerry conveying the urgency of the story. Keith makes such an impact here.
1
Cumberland Blues
Dec. 4, 1971
Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden

Part of the beginning is cut off, but that doesn't stop this train from rolling on down the mines. Short and sweet.

Comments

Truckin'
May 13, 1972
Lille Fairgrounds

Billy is dancing here. A flawless version that transitions into a cataclysmic The Other One. You can hear how the boys are really embodying each lyric in the song through their voice and instruments, as if their new memories of the European tour are parallels to that fateful night in New Orleans. Love this show. Check out Jerry's solo here, he's standing on some serious business.
Dark Star
June 24, 1973
Memorial Coliseum

I wanted to comment again on this marvelous version. I took one too many hits last night and this version surprised me even more. You can hear instantly within the first notes that there’s some kind of supernatural electricity going on. This is pure communication between musicians, music going in all directions but all end up in the same space. Jerry even tests the band in some exercises and sees how much Phil and Bobby can keep up. Hinting at key changes and allowing the music to go where it needs to go. It’s honestly incredible how free they allow themselves to be while letting the music flow out of them instead of pushing it. They truly treat the music as a living, breathing, thing. The elastic ping pong jam was the perfect springboard for the band to explore and cover new ground, they’re still allowing themselves to evolve. We get to the vocals and space section and with Jerry at the helm, I get these flashes of colors, specifically red, just plain red, then red and black, then orange, then brown, and even colors I can’t really describe. Phil is destructive, earth rendering, and shows a darker side to his playing. This is like a seance, that turns into extraterrestrial communication. Jerry made contact. He’s searching space and time and bending it to make contact with, god knows what. The whole suite of Dark Star>Eyes is dusk personified in sound. The dark clouds being lit up by the setting sun in the distance. Orange, black, red, yellow, the colors of the setting sun. What a truly mystifying version. Terrifying and beautiful.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
July 1, 1973
Universal Amphitheatre

Great recommendation^ I love how high Jerry is in the mix, especially for this version you can really hear how Jerry can really propel the band forward into uncharted territories. I like my transitions into Rider to feel like it can last forever, this certainly hits that mark tenfold. The Rider for me is the star of the show, that high and lonesome sound personified through electric folk tradition. The Phil bombs during the first solo is just perfect. This is just a tremendous suite. In my opinion, doesn’t get better than this.
Big River
July 1, 1973
Universal Amphitheatre

Jerry is John Henry, the steel driving man. The audience reaction says it all. Just sublime.
Eyes Of The World
April 2, 1973
Boston Garden

HCS>Space>Me and Bobby McGee>WRS Preulude>Eyes>China Doll. Wow. This version is actually perfection. Marmalade skies and warm colors envelope me in this truly stunning version. After the second verse the jam starts of so serene and gentle, and the dynamics and interplay between the band are truly something to behold. Once we get to the Stronger than Dirt jam we hear a group of musicians conjuring sacred geometry through their music. Shapes and patterns, old as time, Keith taking his time as Jerry weaves his patterns with Phil filling in the blanks. You just gotta admire Billy’s tenacity throughout all of this. This is peak interplay. Utterly locked into the magic they’re creating. Back into the night we go as the band dances among the stars and even weaving the constellations in the sky. Celestial architecture built by the hands of musicians who are able to create such beautiful things through their manipulation of sound. Shines so bright.