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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

11
Brown Eyed Women
May 17, 1977
Memorial Coliseum

Gotta check out the "small" songs in legendary shows like this as well as the usual suspects! Check out Jerry's utterly perfect bridge jam & be in awe
22
Bird Song
Sept. 22, 1993
Madison Square Garden

If you don't know Saxophonist David Murray, here's a good way to find out how great he is. This is one stellar Birdsong that flew under the radar here
19
They Love Each Other
May 17, 1977
Memorial Coliseum

Is there anything prettier, sweeter or more sublimely lovely than Keith's piano in this version? You decide. This TLEO is incredible.
56
Sugaree
May 11, 1977
St. Paul Civic Center Arena

New #1 favorite. Slightly more compact than other amazing '77 versions & so a bit more focused. 2d Garcia solo has no equal.
5
Wharf Rat
Sept. 27, 1976
Community War Memorial Auditorium

Keith shines on a long, flowing intro section that spills into space-mellow Rat-Goodness

Comments

Playin' In The Band
Oct. 7, 1977
University of New Mexico

Yes & this isn’t the only overlooked ‘77 PITB which like this one tend to be dreamy, patient, almost quiet but supremely beautiful. There are a lot of great gems from this show including an all time Wharf Rat but this PITB is a fine sleeper pick & real strong rec.
Eyes Of The World
May 21, 1974
Edmundson Pavilion

^^^^Spot on drummer comparisons...Billy himself would be beaming to hear his name mentioned with Elvin Jones but it's deserved, esp. when you hear the kind of work he does here or really anything in this time period
Eyes Of The World
May 21, 1974
Edmundson Pavilion

Back to mention that after some recent re-listening this one needs some extra acknowledgment for how seriously outstanding the outro section is. Most of the '73-'74 post lyric versions are vert similar sounding --and that's not bad b/c most of them are gold--but this one is a notch above & deserves more ears...Phil is of course the main driver here and I've yet to hear a more confident charge into this jazz jam than what he lays down here--just a thick but flowing dig down and go get 'em juggernaut of flying bass notes & then they're all off to the races...there's even a mini-space break down jam before they nail the stronger than dirt theme and the transition into a killer Wharf Rat could not be any silkier. I can't re-vote for this one but hopefully it'll get some extra love for those who may have missed it in the vast sea of great Eyes from this time period. N'west box set has best sound but there are good archive versions too.
Sugaree
May 19, 1974
Portland Memorial Coliseum

Never upped a non-'77 version before but shame on me for not giving deserved attention to a really sweet, tight, beautifully sung version that doesn't contain the monster jam solos Garcia infused into nearly every '77 version but still brings some short, sharp moments of Garcia guitar magic. Bouncy, lively, and very nice rendition--thanks to those who reviewed it recently and got me on the bandwagon.
Eyes Of The World
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

^^^^Truer words never spoke. I used some editing software to patch in the missing 40 seconds (!) or so of that missing first solo section onto the official release but it still ticks me off that I had to. I love the official releases & am happy to pay for them but FFS it’s incumbent upon the vault keepers & production folks to take care of shit like that...it shouldn’t be up to the consumer shelling out the money...not to mention how insane it is to just go with a crappy edit and hope what? That no one would notice a cut in the greatest version of Eyes ever played from one of the best loved shows of all time? Inexcusable.