Call it a "near" Darkness Jam coming out of WX report prelude you'll hear a hint of the main theme about 1:12 in & the rest is just exquisite

Ripping right out of a sensational (& underrated Shakedown) this equally shines w/fast flowing Garcia licks typical for the year & Brent on fire too

Maybe b/c it's w/New Riders but one of the best acosutic versions ever should be here! Riders w/great backing vox + Jerry on pedal steel!

The new DaP release showcases how good this, especially w/Keith way up front in the mix & kicking the tune into ragtime jazz gear-a fantastic version!

Don't sleep on this one. Brent's sweeping fluorishes permeate + a nice epic coda. Overlooked tune from a sleeper show now w/more looks due to DaP#47

Will add my vote. I already raved about and voted for the Shakedown from this hidden gem of a show & shoulda upped this River along with it. Perfect mid-tempo pace that keeps building w/each Garcia solo & yeah the last is incredible--but Phil's also driving this bus and shows up with some funky thick riffing in between the solos--Jerry's back up vocals are perfect laid back ol' Grampa style and Weir of course is all-in to lead the way as he usually is on this tune. Hot stuff and the whole show could use some more ears.

Coming out of a spellbinding rhythm devils jam Garcia during the intro dares the band to go into Iko but doesn't get any takers...he plays around a bit with the theme anyway knowing he can slide seamlessly into NFA & of course he does with a blistering version driven by great percussion and impassioned backing vocals from Donna and Bob. I like these '78 versions a bit more than the preceding year as they have a little extra nuance and variety to the jamming whereas the '77s are monsters of hard pounding drums and long Garcia solos but can suffer from repetitiveness (on occasion). This NFA (& the whole show) is a colorful example of some of the best April '78 has to offer. Don't pass it up!

They were doing some special things with the combo in 1980 & this one's no exception. If it seems oddly placed on the board (should be higher) it's probably b/c the quality of the sources available--even the matrix and Miller SBD's--are not exceptional (though not at all "bad" or unlistenable) & certainly worth checking out. Best thing for me 'bout this version is the transition into Fire and the blazing inferno that folows. No lyrical flubs by Garcia and he's ripping it up along with the rest of the band. Disagree with those who say it's better than 11/30/80--that one is still a candidate for best transition ever--but the Fire on this version is better even if the Scarlet doesn't quite match up to the Fox Theater a week earlier. Opinions will vary of course but if this had the technical wizardry treatment of Atlanta it'd soar higher on the big board

Gem hidden, now found. Outstanding middle jam -& -great vocals

Bob goes full Dylan-vocal impersonation more than once on this one for some extra fun