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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

+24538


Submissions

4
Estimated Prophet
Aug. 31, 1985
Manor Downs

Hot as the night in Texas on which it was played.
11
One More Saturday Night
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

Like every other song from this, my favorite all-time show, it's a best-of candidate. Just rocks hard.
2
Alabama Getaway
Dec. 5, 1979
Uptown Theater

Come for the 'Bama but stay for the rest of the show. This rocker 'Bama is Jerry and Brent at their very best. This entire show, tho', is a monster.
13
Stagger Lee
June 27, 1985
SPAC

Right after Phil tells a guy to get off the blacony cuz 50,000 people are waiting for him to, and Bob does the dog nose joke, Jer rips into a fine SL!
8
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Oct. 18, 1989
The Spectrum

Pretty good China followed by the best 80's OR 90's RIDER I've ever heard. Check Jer's run going into "sun gonna shine" verse. 5 stars fo RIDER alone.

Comments

The Other One
May 31, 1969
McArthur Court, University of Oregon

Please don't let this languish down here with 2 lousy votes. For crying out loud, this one comes in hot on the heels of Harpur College 5-2-70 in terms of tone and just pure JAM! There's no deviating space debris to sift through here, just Garcia ripping liquid riffs one after another in a long, flowing cascade that all gets power-packed into a tight 10 minutes of ecstatic OtherOne-ness. Listen Listen Listen and upvote if you agree, I'm beggin' ya!
Mexicali Blues
July 19, 1989
Alpine Valley Music Theatre

For a song no one ever turns to for instrumental jamming there is, in this version, an extended instrumental bridge that'll make you think the Dead have turned into a mariachi band. Sweet stuff.
Deal
July 19, 1989
Alpine Valley Music Theatre

Sold after seeing it (again) during this year's 'Meet Up at the Movies' version. I've always maintained 5/1/81 as my favorite Deal but why quibble when this one delivers the goods SO good? Saw it live in '89 and seeing it again on film reaffirms it belongs at the top.
Morning Dew
July 19, 1989
Alpine Valley Music Theatre

Saw this for the 2nd time last night at "Meet Up At the Movies." 2nd time b/c I was there for the now-legendary summer '89 Alpine run and now, having been reminded by the first-ever film airing of this show just how good it really was, I'm finally here to upvote as many versions from this show as deserve it (and there are many.) What's remarkable about this Dew is how well Jerry sings it (note especially his full commitment to the "young man" section), along with the shredding you've come to expect from superior Dews and the delicate touches in the quiet sections, which are evident and poignant in this version. Yes, good Dews are everywhere in nearly every era, but this version belongs in any Top 10 discussion. I just needed to see it again to jog the memory and, hopefully, get others to check it out again or even for the first time.
Bird Song
July 25, 1972
Paramount Theater

But there is such a thing as an ignored one. This version is far too good to be sitting so low on the ladder. This whole show, in fact, is underrated, probably due to its proximity to Ventura and overshadowed by the Europe tour, but c'mon. This is played with a perfect flow and ease and precision that's every bit as good as some of the '72's listed much higher. Give it a listen & show it some love.