Supercharged Billy at the helm deconstructing and building layers of structure like a master architect. Some of his most inventive fills put to record

Notable for coming straight out of Cumberland and the alternate lyrics “And I Grabbed the Bottle, Grabbed Him in the Jaw” A cowboy classic.

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.

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.

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

Right up there with 5/10/72 for me. Comforting and the perfect refresher after such a perilous journey. The perfect bridge between light and dark, the transition into the Weather Report Suite prelude is utterly magical and a moment of pure serenity, and then going into Eyes, is the feeling of the warmth on your skin as the sun rises once again after a long, and dark night. Just wow.

Goes into Dark Star territories after the main song, and creating some truly breathtaking moments of music. Shifting keys, swirling further and further into impending madness and void filled mania. Keith is a wizard. Check out how utterly dissonant and destructive his playing gets, channeling Stockhausen and Cecil Taylor with his destructive and esoteric piano playing. The band goes out of orbit and swirls and goes on a hyperspace journey towards the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way at light speed. Creation, destruction, bliss, disharmony, tragedy and redemption. The Bobby McGee is cathartic and needed after such a desolate journey. This is the start of an epiphany for the band and how to connect their music and make their own stories out of it. Utterly brilliant.

If transcendental meditation was put into soundwaves. This is like a boat ride down a moonlit river, with willows swinging in the breeze and wisps dancing in the air. Dazzling, swirling, and utterly fantastic.

Coming out of Drums we get a jam that’s relentless in energy, akin to a lion hunting its prey. A very Santanaesque Latin jam that shows the creativity and spiritual nature of the band at this point in their musical journey. The rhythm devils are feeling loose, letting the spirits above dictate where the music will go, so natural, we get a tribal cacophony of soulful playing that erupts into some brutal cosmic force that really takes the band into the astral plane. Truly out of body. Just check out Phil and Bobby after the first verse and the realms they explore. Bobby has some absolutely wonderful rhythmic and beautifully melodic parts that make this particular version. Truly cosmic. With Jerry at the helm, we get a mean The Other One with tons of attitude. Incredibly underrated.

The musicianship displayed here is nothing short of absolute divine ear candy. I think ear candy is the perfect way to describe this sweet and delicate version. Phil has some amazingly melodic bass lines that really enhance the version. 2:29 and again at 4:00 you can hear the 10,000 hours Phil put into his instrument. Even Bobby has some stellar parts with some clever rhythmic motifs here and there. The main star of the show is Jerry’s solo. A quasar of striped colors shoot out like stripes of a candy cane, and envelop the audience in tenderness and serenity. There aren’t many things that are perfect, but this solo is as close to a perfect solo as one can get. This Candyman is one of many reasons why the Dead are so wonderful to listen to. More treats the more you listen.