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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+48135


Submissions

2
Deal
Dec. 11, 1972
Winterland Arena

Shredding goodness, coming late in the set after a killer Star>Stella. Great show all around.
2
Loser
Dec. 11, 1972
Winterland Arena

Solid powerful version where they start gelling perfectly for the set.
2
Sugar Magnolia
Dec. 10, 1972
Winterland Arena

Uptempo, intense, driving statement of holy-fuckiyana rock'n'roll. Not one I usually +1, but this is worth it. The SSDD is dynamite.
3
Truckin'
Dec. 10, 1972
Winterland Arena

Hard-charging diesel burner here. Bobby's nice and high in the mix, so a nice treat. The jam into TOO is brilliant.
4
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Dec. 10, 1972
Winterland Arena

Why no love for this great show? It isn't one of the top 10 for the year - but it's '72 and they're flowing just exactly perfect.

Comments

Wharf Rat
April 25, 1977
Capitol Theater

Gets my vote for best of the year, but I also think it hard to say just where comes back into the Playin' space during the deep jam... They're so far out of the WR structure and into the wild outer spheres before coming back into the recognisable reprise. Not too often that Wharf Rat dips into Dark Star territory, but this is something special.
Playin' In The Band
April 25, 1977
Capitol Theater

Brings the expansive length and transitive madness of the most epic pre-hiatus versions if you take it as part of the whole suite. I don't say 'under-rated' often, but it fits here.
Deep Elem Blues
May 7, 1981
Tomorrow Coast To Coast with Tom Synder

Here it is with great video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chADQBmosEQ. It's quite cool to see this era with a decent/professional camerawork: Nice in-focus closeups of the band, Jerry singing beautifully and his fretwork. A beaut of a version any way you look at it.
Dire Wolf
May 7, 1981
Tomorrow Coast To Coast with Tom Synder

What a rare treat. Sweet video of the performance on the "Tomorrow Show": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chADQBmosEQ.
Estimated Prophet
April 25, 1977
Capitol Theater

Agree with Ernie5 - this is right in the sweet spot for the development of the song. Jerry's coda solo is a wild ride through the scrambled madness of the narrator. Bobby's voice in the C.Miller clean-up (I didn't get the box set!) is smoky and beautiful. For me this song has always been *the* emblem of '77 perfection and here it is on display.