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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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OrangeTangoJam

yeller dawg

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Submissions

1
Big River
Sept. 21, 1974
Palais Des Sports

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.
1
It Must Have Been The Roses
May 12, 1974
University of Nevada

Any '74 version of this tune is a treat. Incredibly lovely with great Keith lines. Billy sways.
1
Jack Straw
Feb. 15, 1973
Dane County Coliseum

Definitive for its time. The soundcheck gave us a preview, here's the full thing. Solid version.
1
Mexicali Blues
Feb. 15, 1973
Dane County Coliseum

Just a damn near perfect performance. Shocked not to see this one submitted. One of MANY highlights from this show.
1
The Eleven
June 21, 1969
Fillmore East

Stupidly heavy, shades of early heavy metal on this one. Incredible controlled chaos that explores so much. A very tight version.

Comments

King Solomon's Marbles
March 23, 1975
Kezar Stadium

Holy shit. Carrion right again with the Miles influence on this one. This is one of the best jams they have ever put to tape. It's intense, full of life, a new species of animal could be born from this music it's that full of life. Total annihilation of the psyche that zaps you right in the brain and sends you down a whirlpool of magic through sound. Oh how I wish that The Dead continued to explore this side of their music. Drums/Space could be so limiting compared to the Avant Garde heights they reached in the 60s-75. I love 76 onwards but to me this is the Dead at their purest. Continuously inventive that transports you to different multiverses. This is it.
Blues For Allah
March 23, 1975
Kezar Stadium

A deep atonal space that showcases how far the band was able to take this kind of music. True students of freeform jazz in which those abilities are put on full display. Hints of Sun Ra, Lonnie Liston Smith, incredible combination of sound and imagination. Personal favorite version.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Feb. 3, 1979
Market Square Arena

Coming back again and again to this genuinely great version. Love the octave sound during the main China Cat riff. Such a shame they let Keith and Donna go. This is already a great look into where they could have gone if they had all stayed together. Methodical and wild playing from Jerry, a psychedelic circus where he can do whatever he likes. What a show.
Good Lovin'
May 4, 1972
Olympia Theater

A version that deserves so much more love. Much more mellow than other versions of the tour, which actually is a strength in this case because I think the band was really able to comfortably traverse different rhythmic spaces without losing any focus. Existential bluesy riffing, with Pigpen roaring and getting down to business. This one gets spacey but Pigpen really makes it work in his favor and doesn't get lost, but actually guides the band towards the light within the dark. This show is dripping in acid. One of the best of all time that explores really deep and almost heavy pockets of groove. Pigpen and the band are perfectly in sync. Gets out there to the very edges of the universe, but stays so consistent. Lots to love in this one.
Big River
Feb. 15, 1973
Dane County Coliseum

Ferocious and funky. Light one up and let yourself get taken into a whole other world. some of my favorite phrasing from Jerry comes from Big River and his unrelenting licks and rhythmic interplay make for an incredible interpretation of this Johnny Cash tune. Keith is also catching a wave. Sick.