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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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catalonia

neshaminy

+2082


Submissions

2
Brown Eyed Women
Oct. 28, 1977
Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Hall

Every bit the equal of Cornell. 8/24/80 still has a better solo, but this is 1977 y'all.
5
Tennessee Jed
Oct. 28, 1977
Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Hall

Perfect, with some filthy guitar in the outro.
2
Scarlet Begonias
June 12, 1984
Red Rocks Ampitheatre

1984 audience only standalone Scarlet (touch) at Red Rocks. Great solo, excellent transition.
6
Ship of Fools
March 22, 1985
Hampton Coliseum

10 minutes, on YouTube and worth a peek in b/w scarlet>bucket and terrapin.
5
Hell in a Bucket
March 22, 1985
Hampton Coliseum

Out of Scarlet Begonias to open the second set, with some teases of the song in the transition.

Comments

Franklin's Tower
April 19, 1982
Baltimore Civic Center

This version has my favorite ending to any Franklin's Tower. It's soft, beautiful and springlike - the last two or three minutes before Estimated Prophet. I readily admit that I don't pay as much attention to the first ten or so minutes, but I sit through them again and again when, on occasion, I want to remember what beautiful sounds like.
Stella Blue
July 18, 1976
Orpheum Theater

Yes, this ending is epic. And when you consider its position in this Orpheum run, the last three minutes are the dramatic climax of this amazing week in July 1976. Jerry's tone does get richer in the years that follow - but the playing here is as good as at any time.
Scarlet Begonias
Feb. 27, 1977
Robertson Gym, UC Santa Barbara

People may know but the people don't care
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
April 8, 1978
Veterans Memorial Coliseum

I listened to this on the strength of bzfgt's protest - which I really enjoyed. This is a first cousin of other amazing April '78 SFs. I so wanted to like it more than those others that I knew, but the magic is not like the 4/24 transition, for example, so I'll say this: If you like 4/16 or 4/24, you should absolutely hear this. If you've never heard those, I would encourage you to start here and build up chronologically to 4/24.
Eyes Of The World
May 22, 1977
The Sportatorium

I often find myself on this site concluding that a version is only rated as high as it is because there's an official release of it out there. I have the opposite kind of surprise here. This is Dick's Picks 3 and this has been my go to Eyes since 1995. I don't get why this isn't top three, but 20 years of developing this bias of mine has apparently warped my perspective. Nevertheless, there it is. This version is magic.