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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

+23524


Submissions

10
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Sept. 25, 1981
Stabler Arena

Transition jam weaves into spaces most fail to go; touch-down into Fire is GOLD. Jerry flubs first line in Fire-after that: 1 of the BEST ever!
19
He's Gone
Sept. 26, 1972
Stanley Theatre

Perfect, self-contained, blues-infused, stellar vocals, 14+ minutes of bliss. Extra fun: Check out the "Birdsong" riff about 10 secs. into the intro
35
Dark Star
Sept. 16, 1972
Boston Music Hall

Amazed this isn't here yet Gorgeous, melodic, jazz-infused, mellow, trippy, spacey into hard ripping Jerry riffs; melts into Brokedown Palace. Sublime
47
Cold Rain and Snow
Oct. 12, 1984
Augusta Civic Center

Kicks off with authority a 2d set every DeadHead needs to hear. Perfect bookend to Jerry's scorching Dew. They say it was cold&rainy that nite in ME.
25
Dupree's Diamond Blues
Feb. 4, 1978
Milwaukee Auditorium

Can't beat this one. Played w/out a hitch, Jerry nails all the lyrics, and when it's over Phil says: "And that's a true story, folks!"

Comments

Morning Dew
April 15, 1978
William and Mary College Hall

^^^^glad to hear I’m not the only one who compares 4/78 to 5/77 ... so true. While I don’t put this particular Dew into my all time list (a few too many off note clams esp. in the early sections) this show overall & practically the whole month of April 78 has that “throw a dart hit a great show” dynamic just like May of 77 does. (4/8 4/12 4/15 4/16 4/24 all A+ gems). I do love this Dew tho bc it’s the only one of the year & of course there are parts where Jer just drops the hammer & stops you in your trax.
Let It Grow
April 20, 1984
Philadelphia Civic Center

Just a dense thicket of jam, everyone's ablaze here especially the rhythm devils. The Scarlet>Fire (deservedly) gets the lion's share of attention for this show but this is a show stopper in its own right.
Lazy Lightnin' -> Supplication
April 18, 1978
Civic Arena

...and worthy of those extra votes! A high energy version that does not suffer from sloppy or rushed playing as many later versions (esp. in the 80's) would , and Bobby pretty much nails down the lyrics here, which was never a given. but you can also tell how much fun they're having here & Donna is very much involved in a good way. Glad to nudge this into double digits
Playin' In The Band
Oct. 14, 1977
Hofheinz Pavilion

Absolute beast here...rockin' to start then drifting & dreaming with lots of contemplative space. Nice rejoin, too. Heckuva show but then again there's a whole lot of those from autumn 77
Passenger
April 15, 1978
William and Mary College Hall

Ugly train wreck as either Donna/Bobby come in too early on “passenger don’t you hear me” vocal or Garcia wasn’t ready. Either way the botch on this critical part of the tune keeps it from an upvote here. Most of the rest of this show is gold of course....