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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

2
The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)
May 11, 1991
Shoreline Amphitheatre

Slowest but also funkiest version ever played. Garcia stumbles out of the gates on lyrics but it's no train wreck & the band rescues for a winner
2
Aiko Aiko
May 11, 1991
Shoreline Amphitheatre

Bruce is boss on this one, his keys just adding color & style throughout the tune. Overlooked show & performance
3
Space
May 12, 1981
Veterans' Memorial Coliseum

Numerous "Lively Up Yourself" teases within this short space--follows a "He's Gone" dedicated to Bob Marley
4
Samson and Delilah
April 18, 1978
Civic Arena

Kicking intro out of Dancin'>Drums and into a typically raucous, rippin', 1978 Samson. You'll dig it for the into alone but the whole thing is a beast
2
Drums
March 2, 1992
The Omni

Heavy calypso rhythms & monstrous punctuation via The Beast make for an epic Drums out of Terrapin. 5 star stuff.

Comments

Big River
Aug. 13, 1979
McNichols Arena

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.
Not Fade Away
April 15, 1978
William and Mary College Hall

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!
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Dec. 13, 1980
Long Beach Arena

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
Deep Elem Blues
Sept. 24, 1983
Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds

Gem hidden, now found. Outstanding middle jam -& -great vocals
Let It Grow
Dec. 5, 1981
Market Square Arena

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