What a crown jewel Pretty Peggy O can be. A truly tender version that washes away all my worries. These 74 versions are quite special.

The Dead take the Parisians through a cowboys surrealist day dream. Check out how both Keith and Jerry are utterly locked into the music.

Blossoms and blooms like a shining red rose. I really love the energy for this show.

1974 and Ship of Fools go together like peanut butter and jelly. Full of emotion. They're really giving their all in this.

Like the breaking of a dam, this just flows at a truly ferocious pace. Jerry is relentless in his playing, the second solo will knock your socks off.

Wonderfully tasty playing from Jerry during the verses. Bobby man, what an utterly unique player. To quote the late great Muhammed Ali, floats like a butterfly, and stings like a bee. Bobby had some of the coolest guitar parts in the early 70s, especially when he gets some distortion on his playing he completely tears the stage apart. Check out 9/19/70 for some amazing Bobby parts. This is a heavyweight version of Hard to Handle and it's up there with the very best versions. It flows quite nicely into some really great grooves.

Ragnaroar makes a wonderful point. I really wish they kept this, while sloppy, this sounds really good to my ears and I love that there is at least one version from this era we can hold onto. Beautiful introduction into The Other One with a brutal drum segment.

Like a pail of cool water being dunked on your head after a long trek in the desert. This is just plain gorgeous.

A never ending fountain of ideas with magic spurting out every second. Around the 7 minute mark we get into some very dangerous territory, yet the band is so comfortable traversing these spaces. Keith in 72 expressed himself to his highest ability, there isn't a 72 show where I don't hear him creating some of the most beautiful moments of music the band has ever produced. I think it also freed Jerry too because throughout this year he feels so much more relaxed and dances around the music rather than leading it most of the time. It allows Jerry to take his time and explore these new spaces that were opened up to him. This is an awesome version that never lets up. These 2 shows(this and the night after)really are a highlight in the fall run, which is saying a lot.

Let Keith cook! Man, you can hear the gradual build up of energy in this one. If they took acid, this is 100% the come up. The transition could last forever and I wouldn't mind, you can tell the band is riding that train letting inspiration find them on their tumultuous journey. The solos on Rider are really emotional, and the vocals are really just right on this. The night before gets all the love but this really deserves some attention too.