Dicks Picks Vol. 18. Ridiculously hot mid-section jam by Jerry. Donna ads very sweet accompaniment a la best of JGB versions. Don't overlook this one!

Rippin' at Red Rocks. Bouncy, jaunty, zippy and energetic early 80's version. Brent takes control on Franklin's.

Got half an hour to kill? Lose yourself in one of the greatest, mind-blowing, spacious, jamming, jazzy, monster PITB's in history.

The '72 vintages are so silky smooth and this one is no exception. Jerry's vocals aren't prone to the frog-croaks of later years.This glides on wings.

A rare extended TOO for '77,: a fat, sick, jamming gem. Crazy exploration, worthy of 1972; Phil in command, Jerry ablaze; melts into Stella Blue

Right back atcha cgarces!

Stunned by how good this version is, especially the Franklin's, which really cooks and never meanders like many much longer versions...the jams are focused and energetic and Garcia delivers the vocals really well with no missed lyrics. Great percussion fills also into and out of Slipknot. I'm not impressed by much in '94 but this show delivers consistently (great Althea as well). This needs some ups.

I don't know what to do about this version, it's really got me perplexed. On first blush it would seem to be the kind of Star I despise--heavy on the dissonance--in fact, the lion's share of the jam is a mad frenzy of aggressive Garcia-led fury with no time for any "beautiful jam", "MLB" or "feelin' Groovy" anything emerging from the chaos. It's relentless, it's angry, and yet it's also mesmerizing in its own way. There's a propulsive feel to this one. Even though it favors the darker side of the star than the light, it never veers off into isolated weirdness or aimless Phil bass soloing which has ruined (IMO) many fine versions from this and the next two years worth of Dark Stars. Everything moves forward in this version...I suppose the best analogy is that it's like a musical shark that has to keep driving forward or it'll die...and in fact it ends up merging into one of the finest China>Riders ever, so it never actually ever comes to rest. I suppose it's the kind of version I really have to be in a certain mood to listen to...and it does demand your attention. No casual listening or background music here. This DS will NOT be ignored, and I'll bump it here, even though it'll never be a warm and fuzzy "favorite" for me.

I'm sold. Some real nice vocal delivery on this one, especially given the year. Great outro jams, nice brisk tempo while still hitting all his spots, and Jer even has a bit of fun on the "little sympathy" line. He's feelin' it on this one.

Garcia is really belting out the vocals on this one and it's got a bit of a longer jam break than many versions of this era. +1!