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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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parrott56

millennial head

+4714


Submissions

11
Row Jimmy
Oct. 29, 1973
Kiel Auditorium

The whole band creates a seamless, burbling groove. (Listen for Phil pushing through the small spaces Bobby leaves.) Mesmerizing.
7
The Race Is On
Oct. 29, 1973
Kiel Auditorium

The short, country-style numbers sound so good in this set. There's a lot of good music in this show even before the big jams arrive.
4
Don't Ease Me In
Oct. 29, 1973
Kiel Auditorium

Strong country kicker. Wolf's leads peal out over Keith's barrelhouse piano accompaniment.
3
Space
Sept. 16, 1990
Madison Square Garden

Aka Lunatic Preserve. A hair-raising, spontaneous meltdown bridging SOTM and Miracle.
1
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad
Aug. 5, 1971
Hollywood Palladium

Very substantial jam develops out of the AWBYGN passage before the return to NFA.

Comments

The Wheel
April 25, 1983
The Spectrum

As has been said, there’s a unique (if brief) jam between The Wheel proper and Playin’ that makes this version worth hearing.
Mississippi Halfstep Uptown Toodeloo
Feb. 22, 1974
Winterland Arena

Damn, Keith is ALL over this show. Check out that perfectly timed chromatic run leading up to the drop into A major. Then he switches to electric (Fender Rhodes) for the delicate start of the Rio Grande-o section. But the whole band’s sense of dynamics is just expert here, and that may be just as sweet as the extra few minutes of jamming we’d get in a ’77 version. “YMMV.”
Playin' In The Band
Feb. 22, 1974
Winterland Arena

It doesn’t get much better than this. Even with the stiff competition of 1974, I’d say this is one of the best versions of the year.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Feb. 22, 1974
Winterland Arena

This thing is killer. There are a lot of improvisational flourishes in China Cat and Rider proper as well as in the transition jam. In China Cat, almost none of Jerry’s lines sound like anything he usually plays there. In Rider, listen to how Keith really attacks the last instrumental break. And Phil is so creative throughout, often playing, it seems, one step off the “expected” note and really building the tension.
Scarlet Begonias
April 18, 1978
Civic Arena

This is an exciting and exquisitely crafted Scarlet. Just do not miss it.