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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

+23517


Submissions

1
Man Smart, Woman Smarter
April 24, 1984
Veterans' Memorial Coliseum

Rhythmic, bouncy, Uptempo BobbyBrentastic version
5
Man Smart, Woman Smarter
March 26, 1990
Knickerbocker Arena

Love when Brent takes the vocal on 2nd verse PLUS check out the little trade-off he & Bob do on lyrics in last stanza. Bouncy, jaunty, supefun stuff
5
Not Fade Away
Jan. 11, 1978
Shrine Auditorium

Solid rhythmic NFA with Donna in good form and a tasty little space outro
2
Me and My Uncle
April 19, 1978
Veterans Memorial Auditorium

Garciia packs epic multitudes into his brief guitar solo. Check out this WAY under the radar MAMU>BigRiver pairing. One of the best ever.
2
The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)
May 11, 1991
Shoreline Amphitheatre

Slowest but also funkiest version ever played. Garcia stumbles out of the gates on lyrics but it's no train wreck & the band rescues for a winner

Comments

Eyes Of The World
June 30, 1973
Universal Amphitheatre

Love when I can still stumble across a version of Eyes that I'm either unfamiliar with or haven't heard in ages and realize how good it is--enuff to drop a comment on the board. It's been said before but with so many killer versions of this tune in its debut year many worthy entries will get lost in the shuffle. At a relatively paltry 20 or so votes this is one of them. Emerging quietly from a DarkStar this one gives you all the gooey flowing jamming that Garcia had going from the git-go in '73 and I'd also point out that the vocal harmonies are pretty sweet on the choruses...just a great, sweet as molasses reading of the tune and a typical for the year great post lyrics jazz clinic. Keith shines in this section, too.
Cassidy
May 11, 1978
Springfield Civic Center Arena

Don't see how this one's been kept hidden for so long...slightly longer jam section b4 the final return and played at a speedy but totally in control clip--Garcia is dialed in as is the whole band....great version sitting weirdly below 10 votes when I got here
Greatest Story Ever Told
Feb. 17, 1979
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Almost perfect, and almost better for not being perfect. You can tell they hadn't played it in a while & it's like Jerry's trying out new stuff in the jam section that he wasn't doing and the results are jaw-dropping if not what one could nitpick as "a bit off" when it comes to sticking the landing. But what he offers in color and energy and pure gamesmanship is more than worth the loss of pure precision. A grade stuff
Althea
Oct. 11, 1989
Meadowlands Arena

Grossly, unjustly, ridiculously overlooked version w/Jerry and the whole band dialed in--great '89 precision w/ hot keyboard fills and a sweet outro jam. Shame it's so low on the board
Eyes Of The World
March 27, 1993
Knickerbocker Arena

If you scrolled down this far to find a hidden nugget of a gem of an Eyes congratulations! You've found it. Unlike a lot of latter day versions Jerry abandons the Midi in this one and gets back to gritty guitar pickin with some fuzzy chaw thrown in and Weir just slashes away with really cool counter-rhythms & the whole thing just flows with great energy. Jerry's vocals aren't too bad either especially for the year and this is one of the top tier 90s versions available--shouldn't be this low on the board.