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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

+24523


Submissions

1
Ramble On Rose
Sept. 23, 1972
Palace Theater

Insanely strong version inexplicably absent til now. Check out Garcia's guitar run into the "just like crazy Otto" line & you'll be ready to upvote!
1
Ship of Fools
March 21, 1981
Rainbow Theatre

Listen to Phil dig in to intro Jerry's mid-jam solo & Garcia croons this one gently & beautifully & the "caution all" stanza is glorious
5
Eyes Of The World
Oct. 6, 1977
Activity Center. Arizona State U

Thought every '77 Eyes was listed & lauded; could NOT believe this was left out. Dazzling power intro & cooks after too-check Jer's 1st solo!
2
Big River
Dec. 30, 1977
Winterland Arena

Was gonna comment only to see it not even listed. That oversight is almost as nuts as this killer version--all out jam w/a fireball finish!
5
Touch of Grey
Oct. 28, 1990
Zenith

Baffled after hearing DaP55 to NOT see this on the board. Opening tune-real tight -Jer nails lyrics & gets feisty at the end + Phil power chugs it. +1

Comments

Eyes Of The World
May 15, 1981
Rutgers Athletic Center

My peevishness at what they "did" to Eyes in the early 80's (speeding it up too much, basically rushing through it as if it was something to get thru in the 2nd set on the way to drums/space) sometimes keeps me from finding the few gems that don't fit this category--and this is one of them....it gets a little 80's speedy yes, but starts out with a mellow ease that works its way up to the faster Jerry noodling--which is quite good....like the 1st set tunes they did this year that stand out for excellence (think 5/1/81 Let It Grow)....Bob also provides excellent counter rhythms throughout and while it's still a tad too short for my liking, it's an upvote worthy rendition and a stand out for a year when not many great versions of one of their greatest tunes can be found.
Sugaree
April 29, 1977
The Palladium

Indeed top-notch '77 magic but should be even higher due to (as many have pointed out) Keith's super-dreamy-atmospheric strings effect that lends this one a unique quality among its more hard-charging compatriots from the same year. I thought this was actually a 4/30/77 performance due to the labeling via DL Series Vol. 1 but double checking the archive it does seem to be 4/29/77 instead. No matter--it's worth the upvote and getting the DL clean version over the only available AUD source
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
April 11, 1972
Newcastle City Hall

Sold. What I love about this underrated gem is how the transition jam at first feels like it's a bit off--they're having some sync issues trying to latch on to the signature riff before the meat of the transition jam but then Phil absolutely swoops in for the rescue and starts hammering home a propulsion drive that instantly re-integrates the whole jam and it's gangbusters all the rest of the way. Also plus points for maybe the very best jam between verses 2 and 3 in ChinaCat that you'll ever hear--like neck and neck as good as the classic 5/3/72 original E72 version--quite possibly better. This is an A+ version here that deserves a higher ranking
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
March 16, 1994
Rosemont Horizon

The Charlie Miller SBD is super crispy and as stated above this is a lot better than you'd think it'd be given the year. In fact, forget the year and just listen. Vince especially shines in the Fire intro and this is a confident pairing overall played at a brisk pace with a lot of interesting angles to explore along the way. I take a quarter point off for Vinny's backing vocals on the Fire choruses but that's nitpicking. This is a solid rendition that deserves at least to be in the 20-30 range vote wise and could use some more ears on it to get there
Shakedown Street
Oct. 7, 1980
Warfield Theater

A slow, precise ultra-funk groove & great vocal reading by Garcia makes this an A+ version hiding in plain sight on the board. Add Brent's great backing vocals and an overall slinky, confident jam section and you've got yourself a find here -- a towering oak of a Shakedown right in the middle of the forest.