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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

18
Aiko Aiko
Aug. 10, 1982
Iowa Fieldhouse - University of Iowa

Another kick-ass version out of Space...not as long&rising a wind-up as the 9-14-82 tripiness), but raucous, fun & full of N'awlins cajun rock!
35
Cold Rain and Snow
Oct. 12, 1983
Madison Square Garden

Powerhouse. Garcia belts out vocals. Hear amazing riff of added notes in the main theme instrumental sections.Drums pound away as well.
7
Brown Eyed Women
Nov. 29, 1979
Cleveland Public Hall

Jerry commits strong vocals to this rendition--he's into it big time...& Brent adds great accompaniment. Very strong Garcia bridge jam as well.
109
Cumberland Blues
April 8, 1972
Wembley Empire Pool

They could actually hit the high notes in '72, and the jams? Goodness gracious--this one just rips a hole in the space/time continuum!
26
They Love Each Other
Feb. 3, 1978
Dane County Coliseum

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!

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.