An intimate very early Bird Song - Quartet-styled, which serves this song really well. Also: you can hear the thinking, especially between guitars.

Ho-Hum: Another outstanding 1972 TJ. This gem from the sorta overlooked summer tour. Garcia aces the break, natch. Band - unconscious. Whew! at end.

From Garcia's cheeky intro on, this graceful cabochon throws a faint, warm light. 1976 elegance w/a sick, raw spider web guitar break.

First show - I didn't know this gem very well & after this criss-crossy version, I was hooked. Dark & murky.

Download Series - An intimate, casual living room Loser. Garcia coming out of the guitar break is divine. Not the actor.

Garcia's brash guitar break in Scarlet ups the ante and the ante stays up. A nice long, leisurely stretch-out of a transition is ultra-fine. It also sets the tone for a slow-burn Fire wherein JG teases with dispatches of soupy Mu-Tron III transmissions.

Happy to sound the alarm, DS67.

Garcia really tears into this TJ vocally. Really his singing throughout this show is extra good - spirited, warm, generous. And his guitar break isn't a scorcher, but nicely conversational. Bonus - Mydland's hyper-tinkling doesn't put me off the trail. Yes, the Seamons matrix serves this one up in deluxe fashion.

DS67 - that's the one I was swingin' on.

A sunny, spirited S>F with Garcia in lovely form, both guitar + vox. Sometimes I don't really want to hear Mydland this prominently in the mix, but he adds some real flavor/texture. Every member of the group is restrained and patient, but not without some great energy. Garcia begins setting themes in the transition fairly early - they're more like suggestions than statements. Interestingly, he takes them to the end theme for a little side trip in the Scarlet coda before steering the craft into Fire. This is one of the best '82 S>Fs I've heard - holds up really well next to any 1980s version. After to listening to soooo many great 1977 takes, it's nice to hear an early 80s exemplar. Matrix is sweet.