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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

51
Bertha
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

Sweet bass drop-ins by Phil on intro; extended Garcia solos in bridge jam; very intense and fun
49
Jack Straw
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

There are longer versions, but none has a better bridge jam than this one. My favorite version ever--must listen!
88
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Feb. 24, 1974
Winterland Arena

Hard-charging drumming from Billy leads the way. Best MLB jam in this pairing I've ever heard. Hard to believe it wasn't listed yet.
37
Cassidy
Oct. 12, 1983
Madison Square Garden

Intense build-up jam, perfect touch-down. Weir absolutely nails it. My favorite version all-time
21
Shakedown Street
Jan. 10, 1979
Nassau Coliseum

Laser-focused, perfect rendition, start to finish. Super-funky with awesome Jerry fuzz-guitar, rock-blues jamming post-vocals

Comments

Uncle John's Band
May 9, 1977
War Memorial

"Cruelly overlooked" for sure. Maybe with release of Get Shown the Light box set this version will climb higher but for now it's undeservedly low of the ladder. Superior vocals and harmonies all delivered beautifully. If Donna had sung this way all the time there'd never have been a single snarky comment made about her. The outro jam before the reprise vocal coda is simply top shelf, all-time territory. +1 automatic.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Feb. 24, 1974
Winterland Arena

^^^^ Love the Elvin Jones comparison. Spot-on!
Althea
March 14, 1981
Hartford Civic Center

^^^^Brilliant! And what a crispy SBD to boot. I'm going to further comment on this one under its appropriate listing a bit later. Suffice it to say here that this one has a sweet bop-a-long bounce that's hard to resist. Great rec, Cuca! !
Althea
March 14, 1981
Hartford Civic Center

Just for clarity, when I was talking about the muddy available sources for an otherwise fine Althea I was referring to DarkStar's recommendation of 3-23-87, not this excellent sounding 3-14-81.
Althea
March 14, 1981
Hartford Civic Center

^^^^ I am not, but will check it out right now! edit: Irony! I was actually at this show, and yes, this is a fine Althea, but I also realize why I wasn't immediately familiar with it, & that's b/c I/m a SBD snob and none of the available AUDs are very good, which is not to say anyone should ignore this version, especially if you're more tolerant of AUD sound than I am. The version DarkStar listed here is probably the best one and once you get used to the sound, it's worth settling in to listen, b/c Jerry really grooves on this, and Bobby especially is great in driving the rhythm and punctuating with hard edges when needed. Drummers are locked in, too. Just wish there was a better source, dammit. (Nice Iko from this show too, btw), but Althea is definitely the highlight. End jam is a no holds barred shred fest...no "build up" to the finish, just charge out of the gate ripping stuff, and Billy and Mickey go to town.