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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

7
Greatest Story Ever Told
March 14, 1981
Hartford Civic Center

Best of the 80's or 90's, hands down. Picture perfect rendition: Vocals, jam fills, & finish.
6
The Other One
April 16, 1984
Community War Memorial Auditorium

Short but raging. Look beyond the length & enjoy for the fire within. Jerry attacks this from the get-go & it's awesome.
2
Truckin'
Dec. 12, 1993
San Diego Sports Arena

Anybody else hear a very distinctive riff of Steely Dan's "Black Friday" in the intro?
5
Sugar Magnolia
April 8, 1978
Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Just listen & you will believe. End jam before SSDD is a tidal wave of sound & power & beauty. A true must hear.
7
Darkness Jam
June 6, 1970
Fillmore West

Just one jam theme among many. this should be called "Kitchen Sink" jam. Has so much & all so good

Comments

Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
May 26, 1995
Memorial Stadium

The Fire is good, but the rest is nothing special, not to mention botched lyrics by Jerry in the Scarlet. No upvote here and no way do I get where its placement on the list is. Just because it's good for '95 doesn't mean it should be listed higher than so many dozens of other versions that are by any objective measure better.
Spanish Jam
July 29, 1974
Capitol Center

Love the way Bobby seamlessly blends the Other One theme (which precedes this) in the first minute or so of the tune. This is a splendid reading overall as well.
Weather Report Suite
July 29, 1974
Capitol Center

Added the Let It Grow from this on best of Let It Grow section b/c it's just THAT good.
Tennessee Jed
Oct. 10, 1982
Frost Amphitheatre

Forgot to mention that after it wraps up Jerry tacks on a classic "Shave & a Haircut, two Bits" kicker!
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Dec. 16, 1978
Nashville Municipal Auditorium

Growing on me. Upvoted only now after finding the Miller version someone kindly linked to (via the Tennessee Jed thread for this show). This version has always suffered from not having a good SBD source but the Miller AUD is as close as it comes to hearing this as it should be heard. Slower cadence to the Scarlet works here. Jerry is well in command on the bridge break to Wind in the Willows and does many interesting things in the transition jam. My nitpick with that critical moment is that the band could have followed Jerry's lead into fire, building off a crescendo that never really comes. This in fact may be Jerry's doing, but whatever the cause, the turn into fire never builds off the jam from Scarlet. Instead, Jerry lays up after his last solo and things just kind of sit in suspended animation while Mickey toys with a bit of percussion and then they begin gently to introduce the Fire theme, followed by a very nice, if not incendiary version, and there's nothing wrong with that. Not every great version needs to be "off the hook" and this one isn't. For me, it floats in between solid B+/A- territory, and I'd probably bump it up to A- if there was a great SBD available. Gets the upvote here, and it's a nice '78 for sure, but doesn't in my estimation unseat any of the versions from April of this year (4/8. 4/11, 4/16 & 4/24 are all better) but it's got a lot to recommend it, and you may be kinder to it than I have been if you've yet to check it out. Do wish they'd found a stronger path into Fire, though, after Jerry's very cool work setting it up.