Phil joyously expresses himself on this. A gun shot is heard on this one signaling a jam, and the William Tell Bridge is really well played. Excellent

Sandwiched between Truckin’ and Eyes, this jam takes me to checkerboard floors and red curtains. Deserves its own place. Unique Jerry lines.

I adore any version of this tune. This one is particularly joyful and full of life.

Bouncy as it is lysergic. Unique phrasing from Jerry. Everybody’s vocals are on. The Rider is some pure country fried jamming if I’ve ever heard it.

This is The Dead at peak performance level. Cataclysmic version. Everyone is ON. Explorative and not a beat missed. Easily top 5 of 69.

I don’t listen to this one often. This version holds such spiritual meaning to me that I only play this and the 90 minute stretch very very rarely. It means so much to me. The first time I listened to this Dark Star I was on Mushrooms and decided to go on a little walk. I had decided to stop at my favorite secluded spot with trees all around and a river just to the right of the path. While sitting on a rock overlooking the terrain in front of me, a hawk came and landed right in front of me as Jerry was leading the way towards true musical bliss, reaching the climax of the song. Learned a lot from a Hawk that day, and learned a lot about myself, and the Dead. One of my favorite dead moments in history. Not overrated in the slightest and deserves its place in the history of music as a true milestone.

A definitive Dark Star. The band fades away into waves and becomes formless. A cacophony of electric notes all bounce in harmony with one another. So much expression. So much honesty. Definitive Dead.

A powerhouse. This version 100% gets deep and psychedelic. Jerry is really locking in with the rest of the band in the beginning which takes off into some polychromatic jamming that feels so incredibly out there. After the first verse things get slimly and very gooey. The bands goes into dark miles davisesque territory as Jerry explores the darkness of the inner subconscious. what emerges is a brilliant seance like jam which feels very witchy in nature. I love fall 72 for jams like these. Highly recommend starting from He's Gone to really feel the whole sequence, but you can really start at Truckin'.

Very raw version. Letting it all hang loose near the end of the jam and really allowing the music to take the lead. Super fun version where you can hear the band actively taking risks and hear it pay off in real time

Seesh, what a transition. This China>Rider just builds, and builds, and builds. Interplanetary grooves all throughout. You can hear that the band feels good, healthy and strong. The music reflects that in their looseness. Usually one will be stronger than the other, but as someone who's very picky about China>Riders, both pieces genuienly feel connected and feels like a psychedelic story told through electric instruments. The band is on! Gets my vote for sure