Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
May 8, 1977
Barton Hall - Cornell University
To me, this is still definitive. I like 78 S>Fs, but Garcia forgets the 4th verse too often for my taste. And I don't think the post-single drummer Dead was ever quite the machine they were in 5/77. On this version, Garcia, as singer, sounds almost overwhelmed by the power of the band around him. It's a thing of perfect beauty. And Weir's China>Rider lick in Fire is just too cheeky.