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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

10
Black Peter
Sept. 25, 1981
Stabler Arena

After 10/29/77 this should be your go-to BP. Emotion oozes and Jer shreds the outro.
11
Beat it on Down The Line
March 22, 1990
Copps Coliseum

A breezy bouncin' bubbly Bobby Beat it...best of the 90's.
8
El Paso
March 27, 1972
Academy of Music

Jerry in serious bluegrass mode. Most country-westernized version ever. At the end Phil sez "Thanks, Texans" even tho' they're in NYC. Awesome version
23
Let It Grow
Sept. 19, 1990
Madison Square Garden

Hornsby gets on board in a big way & Jerry jazzes up the jam sections. Weir slashes away & sings w/passion. Strong candidate for Best of the 90's.
4
Desolation Row
April 17, 1987
Irvine Meadows

This song was only as good as Bobby was committed to it, and on this night he was 100% in Dylan-idoling mode. Gorgeous rendeition, lovingly sung.

Comments

St. Stephen
Oct. 15, 1977
Moody Coliseum - Southern Methodist University

This is a nice one with a great start, jamming middle, and some miscues toward the end. For another rec. try 10/29/77, which I believe is awesome start to finish.
The Wheel
June 18, 1976
Capitol Theatre

Just exactly perfect. Maybe Donna's finest moment on this tune. Completely skewed rating with only 2 votes at the time I write this. Find a clean version (DL series Vol. 4) or fight thru a lesser-sounding archive version, but the power and pristine nature of this version can't be denied.
Stella Blue
Dec. 9, 1981
Activity Center - University of Colorado

Being perfectly honest, I was a little let down by this version. Outro, as cgarces noted, is the best part, but there's a tentativeness to the rest of the approach, especially at the beginning, as Jerry has trouble getting the lyrical phrasing to match the tempo of the music. It's a B- minus at best for me, mostly because there are so many better versions from this era, especially in 1982...the Ravenspace Stella from 4/19/82, for example, blows this outta the water
Eyes Of The World
June 18, 1976
Capitol Theatre

My guess is that this is so far down the list only because you have to get the Download Series Vol. 4 to hear a really good SBD version. Well....do it. This, (even for a year in which they played quite a few versions with the "backwards progression" of the Stronger Than Dirt theme done pre-lyrics instead of post) is a stand-out. The jamming has that flowing/mellow/1976 vibe but is also supremely confident and colorful, with constantly shifting ideas and landscapes explored in a lengthy intro. The Stronger Than Dirt theme isn't as fully fleshed out as its 1974 counterparts but that's a good thing here, because it would have distracted from the ultimate spill-over into the first verse. There's even a slow-down, mini-space break-down moment before they launch into the main theme proper and the rest of this gorgeous version just floats on air before heading into a drums>Wheel>SugarMag sequence that would do 1977 proud in terms of power and precision. THIS NEEDS TO BE WAY, WAAAAAY UPPED!
Brown Eyed Women
Aug. 24, 1971
Auditorium Theatre

In this unique, faster-played but very precise and vocally beautiful early version, Delilah Jones raised "13 children" rather than "8 boys" and Daddy's whisky costs $3 instead of 2. A real treat, especially with the breezier clip at which it's played.