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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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catalonia

neshaminy

+2148


Submissions

4
Deal
Oct. 10, 1981
Stadt Halle

Incendiary second solo becomes delicate and beautiful before they build the final refrain.
9
Deal
Oct. 4, 1981
Rainbow Theater

You can't compare 70s Deals w/ late 1980 onward. There's a four minute shredded 2nd solo on this one that wasn't a part of Deal in its 1st decade.
3
Deal
Sept. 25, 1980
Warfield Theater

This is the first one with the second solo, revamped for the 15th anniversary.
7
Mississippi Halfstep Uptown Toodeloo
Jan. 8, 1979
Madison Square Garden

Pre rio grandeo is good, but there are two peaks post rio grandeo, one built off the other and the latter crashes into Franklin's Tower.
4
Stella Blue
May 13, 1981
Civic Center

A fluttery and lyrical solo after the bridge and then an autobiography of an outro. There is a video on YouTube.

Comments

Terrapin Station
Nov. 6, 1979
The Spectrum

Fall 79 is my favorite time for Terrapin too. This one, 11/30 and the new release, 12/3, are some of my favorites, but I haven't heard one from this period that I didn't like. These versions really do float just like everyone here is saying. There's a little break at the end of Lady with a Fan that isn't there in the early ones where the ethereal aesthetic is explored most fully. I didn't come to prefer this period for Terrapin until about 10 years ago, but when I did, it was because I felt like this aesthetic fits the song best. It's a nostalgic dream of a Terrapin.
Jack Straw
Aug. 27, 1983
Seattle Center Coliseum

There are different Jack Straws for different people. Many prefer the lightning in 1/11/79 and 10/20/84, both of which are up on the list. This one here has some speediness to it, and so I don't sneer at it, it's very good, but I would say that it's a little less intense than those two and perhaps they may help it up the list as I've seen people in the past react negatively to the balls out playing by Jerry on 1/11/79 (and 1/7/79 too) as well as 10/20/84. I was surprised to see allusions to sound quality problems in the comments here. The linked source sounds great for this song (I didn't listen to anything else) and while Brent does sound like he's playing a toy piano, I kind of like it, its typical of the time period and anyway, I happen to think that '83 was a great year. But face it, some people will never vote for a non-EU72 version of Jack Straw - and I see too that Veneta on its anniversary has a ton of votes. I do think that the Cornell Jack Straw is close to studio quality perfection, but I like the grittiness to 1/22/78 and 6/4/78, both of which are up on the list and are early forays outside of the sweet aesthetic of the pre-hiatus years and the return in '77. I'd have to be convinced on one after the coma. I've never understood the Oxford one up here, but to each his own.
Franklin's Tower
Dec. 4, 1979
Uptown Theater

I come to this website for comments like Scarlet_Fire’s above. This Franklin’s>Jam was the first thing I listened to when the new discs arrived and the jam is better than I hoped. And it’s great to know now where to look to find similar stuff in Fall 79. Still, this jam has so many turns. The first half I think is really best described as a Franklins jam, if that makes sense, and they try out three or four themes in the second half, all of which I enjoyed.
Lost Sailor -> Saint of Circumstance
Dec. 11, 1979
Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall

Yes, the prelude to this Saint is unique and the jam that follows it is fantastic in parts. Don't get me wrong, because I love Sailor>Saint, but a lot of the versions on the ladder aren't all that dissimilar. This Saint has both a one-off beginning and an anomalous jam, reminiscent, at times, of Estimated Prophet, to follow.
The Music Never Stopped
Dec. 3, 1979
Uptown Theatre

Not top 10 or anything, but still from the period where Jerry tears this song up.