Jerry and Bobby create a beautiful space before TOO. A conversation in strings. Billy and Mickey create primal, carnivorous music. Hunting music.

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.

As good as it gets. This performance has earned its stripes in Grateful Dead history and is more than worthy of this top spot. I used to prefer the more mellow and breezy Here Comes Sunshine, but I always come back to this version. The whole band is so encouraging of Jerry letting him cover so much ground. This performance moves me a lot and makes me very emotional. Dick’s Picks 1 was also one of the very first records that helped me open my eyes to what this band was about. This has that “it factor” a stunning piece of improvised musical space and explorative psychedelia.

Barn burner. I love Dick’s Picks 1 just fabulous song choices and one of the first records that got me into the Dead. I usually listen to 8/13/75 just because I adore Jerry’s phrasing on that specific version but the musical aspect of this performance has always stood out. love that Jerry takes an extra verse or two to solo near the end. The whole band is on!

My personal favorite The Other One. I couldn’t decide what my favorite version was for a while until I caught myself listening to this version for the 1000th time. It has everything. It is everything. I love how many themes they were able to squeeze in there. This is one of the most musically flowing performances of rock music ever put to record. It’s a true epic, a psychedelic odyssey following the protagonist through hellfire and the dark abyss. A masterful, masterful performance where the music really played the band. I also love that there are shades of early San Francisco dead as the jams feel incredibly primal and tight. The telepathy between the band is really what keeps me enticed with this particular performance. It just seemed like the band knew exactly what they were going to do. So much intent. Also shout out to the little Feelin’ Groovy teases. The clementine jam is proper psychedelia and a glorious shamanic waltz ensues. Shades of John Coltrane all over this as Phil continues thumping that Greensleves bassline, and I love the conversation between Bobby and Phil because they both knew where they were going to go before even going into Clementine. And that meltdown, with hints of spanish jam, that meltdown feels like a nuclear bomb had just dropped and had incinerated every atom in our body slowly melting away into the cosmos as Jerry takes us through space time. This will never EVER get old for me and to me, along side 5/10/72 are my favorites of Europe 72

74 isn’t necessarily the year for Dark Stars, but, you get your handful that absolutely stand out. This is one of them. The band is very fluid, letting the music flow through them rather than pour out of them. They create a lovely space that can’t be replicated in any other year other than 74. Lots of intent in this version, and I love the themes this takes on. Doesn’t lose focus like a lot of 74 Stars tend to do. Jerry’s having fun and seeing where he can take this, creating psychedelic winds sweeping up the band and carrying them into the cosmos. Also great meltdown

Tranquility beyond description. I don’t listen to The Wheel often But when I do It transitions into Wharf Rat goddamnit. I keep finding myself coming back to this over and over again more so than even other jams I listen to. The outro is really where it’s at but the performance of the song itself is impeccable. Once Keith starts dancing around the key of A minor and the band starts to follow, the jam is just sublime. An absolute gem of pure self exploration and divine harmony, this dream like section really takes you through a journey. The band eases and volume and alone, Jerry starts a psychedelic sonata weaving together intricate geometrical patterns, taking us through the worm hole into Warf Rat. His name is August West, and he loves his Pearly Barker best, more than his wine.