Better Jerry solo than the other '77s, but same aesthetic otherwise.

Not too speedy, well jammed and ends with a one of kind improv between Bobby, Brent and the drummers.

The solos in Lady with a Fan are fucking beautiful.

Delicate, sweet playing in the midsection and a good outro. The linked source is not great, but there is a SBD.

Thunderous climax. The last two minutes of the song are tight.

Short, but great Garcia tone and interplay with Brent.

A little faster at the beginning than most, primarily because of how it materializes out of Truckin', but funky, yes, and it's great to hear 1977 Jerry play NFBM. There are some really nice episodes with his guitar tone, sounds unique to the year. As fast as it starts, the band settles into a groove before Iko rolls around.

I disagree. What is the better version? So much of what goes for advocacy on this website amounts to the belittlement of certain versions rather than the articulation of what makes a particular rendition great. I readily admit that there is an inversion here, but the rhythm remains the same; this version is unique, people are here to cut it down. Find a version in which the passion of the performance more closely matches the lyrics. It's not a good song on any day. At least the version on this day had some bite.

I am familiar with this one, and as much as I like it, I prefer 11/18/78, five days before for its A+ sound quality and midsection with a unique trippiness for the era. I’ve been in an MNS phase for the last year and a half, and I spend most of my time in the period from October 77 to the end of the Godchaux era, though I will go from 75 to 84 on this song for some variety. The midsection, as I know you know, is essential to an alltimer and as good as those 76s and early 77s are, there’s usually just the outro. Top 5 for 10/77-2/79, as I see it: 12/27/78, 7/3/78, 10/16/77, 5/7/78, and 11/18/78, with an honorable mention of 2/3/79 for just the midsection. As for 4/24/78 and 2/3/78, those versions have their acolytes and don’t need me hanging around. Besides I’ve heard them about a million times and the novelty is no longer within my grasp.

40th anniversary of this top notch MNS. I will die on the hill of this underrated version. The Franklin’s is a great standalone too.