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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49667


Submissions

16
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
May 23, 1972
Strand Lyceum

A more rocking version than others from the time, and oddly overlooked. Jumps off Cat right away into the long transition. Energetic stuff here.
13
Black Throated Wind
May 23, 1972
Strand Lyceum

Is there a single one from '72 that doesn't end in triumph? This song just got better and better throughout Europe. Surprised this wasn't here yet.
11
Sugar Magnolia
May 13, 1972
Lille Fairgrounds

Perfect musical sunshine. This one even got my not-at-all-into-the-Dead wife to dance around like a trippin' hippy, so you know it's good.
15
Truckin'
May 13, 1972
Lille Fairgrounds

Unforgivable that you guys overlook Truckin'. There's a reason it's the one song non-heads know. This one is a forgotten colossus. Listen up.
8
Mister Charlie
May 13, 1972
Lille Fairgrounds

Distinctly slower, with a greasier funk vibe. Surprised it isn't here. Different from the others and lots of fun.

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.