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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

+23524


Submissions

64
Let It Grow
May 1, 1981
Hampton Coliseum

Lightning quick yet totally on-track riffs from Jerry; intense, powerful version. Weir 100% into it. Segues into killer Deal. Trust me. Must hear.
50
Tennessee Jed
Oct. 10, 1982
Frost Amphitheatre

Perfect wind up, pitch & strike down the middle. I've yet to hear a better one, though I'll try some of the recs here. Til then.....
27
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad
June 8, 1977
Winterland Arena

From one of the greatest shows ever, a bring the house down killer. Keith w/perfect piano exc. point!
40
Althea
May 1, 1981
Hampton Coliseum

Perfect groove and massive push from Phil post-lyrics
42
Estimated Prophet
April 19, 1982
Baltimore Civic Center

From the famous "ravenspace" show; the only version in which the main theme is reprised+lots of Bob yelling

Comments

Dark Star
April 14, 1972
Tivolis Koncertsal

^^^^True the dissonance toward the end here isn’t all that long & given how it crashes into Smag it really is more of as you describe it a tension build up ... I think 4/8/72 has a similar segue & that one’s pretty great too although this one to me goes more places & has a bit more mellow beauty than 4/8...it’s just that even before we get to the feedback-segue I’m sold on everything that’s come to that point. What a spectacular piece of music!
Dark Star
April 14, 1972
Tivolis Koncertsal

Head over heels gaga for this amazing version, which has easily found its way into my top 5 all time. Gorgeous jazz interplay throughout & musical oceans are crossed before the verse is sung (beautifully) by Jerry. One of my favorite moments is the quiet, contemplative section that floats in suspended animation before we hear a tease for the main theme but just when you think they’re going to start the lyric Jerry takes us back into more of that dreamy float-space to discover more musical signposts of magic. Stunning DS, & yeah, I can do without the last 3-4 minutes of feedback dissonance that was requisite for the year but I don’t even count that as part of this version (& easy enough to excise if you have some music editing software). But for nearly half an hour this is one of the most spellbinding pieces of music the band has ever produced. Emphatic plus one here & i have this one on par with the other all time greats! (Also need to add that the speedy FG jam before the feedback section is as coool and innovative as the bluegrass acid jam version from 9-21-72 Spectrum)
He's Gone
Sept. 8, 1973
Nassau Coliseum

Keith sounds lovely on this version esp. with the official release sound. This show overall really doesn’t stand out to me & i would rate this DaP pretty low on the ladder of officially released shows but this version of HG is def. worthy of upvote.
Let Me Sing Your Blues Away
Sept. 8, 1973
Nassau Coliseum

sorry, folks--but if we're being truly honest & objective here this is a complete embarrassment & damn near un-listenable. The :harmonies" by all involved are enough to make singers the world over weep & jump off a building. This song is not terrible as a song (the only real decent version is from the studio album) but performed live it is a train wreck piled onto a dumpster fire. We all love this band but truth be told they sometimes performed stuff live that was simply out of their vocal range abilities & this is an unfortunate example. (another would be Bobby trying to hit the high notes in "Blackbird" from that show in 1988--fortunately he never tried it again). I know we WANT everything they do to be magical, but this is a crime against ears ..., it just is.
Eyes Of The World
Sept. 8, 1973
Nassau Coliseum

No such thing as a poor Eyes from ‘73 & this one’s noticeably mellower than the night before, but neither to my ears are leaps and bounds above other versions from earlier in the year. Not much intro jamming before first verse and while it’s sweet stuff in between the following verses the jams are also pretty short, as they save the bulk of the jamming for the outro section. Prefer versions like 6/10/73 where Jerry does more exploring before we get to the outro portion.