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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

10
Black Peter
Sept. 25, 1981
Stabler Arena

After 10/29/77 this should be your go-to BP. Emotion oozes and Jer shreds the outro.
11
Beat it on Down The Line
March 22, 1990
Copps Coliseum

A breezy bouncin' bubbly Bobby Beat it...best of the 90's.
8
El Paso
March 27, 1972
Academy of Music

Jerry in serious bluegrass mode. Most country-westernized version ever. At the end Phil sez "Thanks, Texans" even tho' they're in NYC. Awesome version
23
Let It Grow
Sept. 19, 1990
Madison Square Garden

Hornsby gets on board in a big way & Jerry jazzes up the jam sections. Weir slashes away & sings w/passion. Strong candidate for Best of the 90's.
4
Desolation Row
April 17, 1987
Irvine Meadows

This song was only as good as Bobby was committed to it, and on this night he was 100% in Dylan-idoling mode. Gorgeous rendeition, lovingly sung.

Comments

Man Smart, Woman Smarter
April 5, 1982
The Spectrum

After further review, this is the best one right here. Short but oh so funky. Just the slink-funk opening before they even sing a word is filthy. Great fun, solid, spot-on rendition. Hard to beat.
Morning Dew
June 18, 1974
Freedom Hall

I'm convinced. Not the biggest fan of '74 WOS shows (mostly due to the tinny sound of the vocals from the mics they used) but this one is damn near flawless. Jerry is fully committed vocally and the mics take nothing away from his impassioned reading. Four star version with a power-jam-fanning ending.
Not Fade Away
July 7, 1978
Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Upping this because yes indeed, about 3/4 of the way in, the second jam section gets a groovy, faster-tempo version of the "Nobody's Fault" jam going and it is for certain that tune. Very cool. Nice gritty guitar intro to this one as well. Does not ultimately rock as hard as the incredible versions from the year before but while being slightly more mellow in the jamming this one is nevertheless always interesting and with the Nobody's Jam you can hear the seeds of experimentation with themes that would become even more pronounced and varied in 1979 (see 11/2/79 for a great example; '79 was probably the most underrated year of NFA ever.) This one also sounds better than ever in the July '78 box and really should be higher.
Eyes Of The World
July 8, 1978
Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Yes, yes, and yes again. I'd say more but all I know is it needs to have at least 20 votes & is somehow not there yet.
Pretty Peggy O
July 3, 1978
St. Paul Civic Center Arena

The new Betty Board box set of July '78 gives this version the clean sounding spotlight it so desperately needed and deserved. Even among the scores of A+ versions of this tune (one they consistently did well in virtually all eras) this stands out for its extended, intricate, Garcia solo, slightly faster tempo, impassioned vocals and overall excellence. Should climb the ladder, and fast,