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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49672


Submissions

2
Big Railroad Blues
Aug. 15, 1971
Berkeley Community Theater

Kicks off an excellent show with intense and driving energy. The quintet is super-charged and bursting with energy. One of the best versions I know.
2
Playin' In The Band
Aug. 14, 1971
Berkeley Community Theater

Packs a lot into its 4.5 short minutes. Great bass-heavy SBD gives you a Phil masterclass. Love the short ones, love the long ones....
4
Casey Jones
Aug. 5, 1971
Hollywood Palladium

Just kickin', this one. The whole show is dynamite.
2
El Paso
Aug. 4, 1971
Terminal Island Correctional Facility

One of the slower waltz versions, with lovely vocals from Cowboy Bob, who gives us a nice country warble. Sweet backup harmony and Jer being Jer.
6
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Aug. 4, 1971
Terminal Island Correctional Facility

Philzone masterclass. Hot and tight jam, the Rider three-part harmonies sound like some of the acoustic versions from the previous year.

Comments

Eyes Of The World
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

Starts off slowly, but it does get hot and goes into a great freeform jam both beautiful and freaky. Then out of deep space we see the light with the prettiest post-hiatus Stephen I know. The Estimated sounds - forgive me guys - a bit phoned-in and the transition into Eyes doesn't exactly flow (this was still a relatively new fixture). Here is a perhaps the top Eyes of '77, but frankly it doesn't top the insane musicality of their best of '73/'74 for me with the speed and precision and angularity and the wildness of the outro. *no vote.
Let It Grow
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

This LIG is solid lightning: All the power and precision of '77, the melodic magic of Jerry on mission, Billy and Mickey in perfect octopus.... This was what I waited for as a baby head back in the day. it's one of the best representatives of the '77 LIG sound for sure.
El Paso
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

So brilliant. Bobby floats over a blaze of just exactly perfect guitar notes. Love the Mexican cantina trills at the end.
Looks Like Rain
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

Jerry just keeps digging in and finding more. He won't let it go and his soloing on the out-chorus finds more in this song the most of the other hot versions of it.
Dark Star
July 31, 1971
Yale Bowl, Yale University

Goddamned good Star here. This show is wrongly maligned by the audiophobes on the Archive and deserves an upgrade. All in all it's a much better show than the 02 July Fillmore closer: Tighter ensemble playing, in tune, trippy as all hell. And, well, there's a Dark Star... and it's good, and it's in the FIRST SET. Billy lays some groove voodoo down about 13 minutes in that goes fully modal and comes out Feeling Groovy. Sit back and enjoy.