He's Gone
Dec. 28, 1990
Coliseum Arena
Hands down the best version of the '90s, and quite frankly, stands up to just about any version of any era and by any objective measure should be way higher on this list, top 5, even, no kidding. Why? Let's begin with the vocals. Jerry could not be more committed here. Check out the "nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile" line and the subsequent crowd reaction. Even more telling, in a much more subtle manner, is his reading of the "knife in the back, and more of the same" line, which can sometimes fall flat in other versions but here is given a twisty, bluesy delivery, and the full band nearly acapella coda of "nothing's gonna bring him back" makes you feel like you're hanging with the band in the back of some back country blues bar at the end of a long night swigging whiskey. If that wasn't enough, Jerry rips into a grungy, gritty solo following the round robin vocals, and takes us out on what really has to be considered one of the best renditions of this song ever performed live. If you search the lower rungs of this site for versions of your favorite tunes that you didn't know before and will knock your socks off you will be supremely rewarded here. This is a diamond buried far in the rough.