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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

6
The Other One
April 16, 1984
Community War Memorial Auditorium

Short but raging. Look beyond the length & enjoy for the fire within. Jerry attacks this from the get-go & it's awesome.
2
Truckin'
Dec. 12, 1993
San Diego Sports Arena

Anybody else hear a very distinctive riff of Steely Dan's "Black Friday" in the intro?
5
Sugar Magnolia
April 8, 1978
Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Just listen & you will believe. End jam before SSDD is a tidal wave of sound & power & beauty. A true must hear.
6
Darkness Jam
June 6, 1970
Fillmore West

Just one jam theme among many. this should be called "Kitchen Sink" jam. Has so much & all so good
6
They Love Each Other
Nov. 4, 1979
Civic Center

Early in Brent's tenure he's locked in for the 1st part of a long, flowing instrumental mid-section. Jer doesn't disappoint either. Underrated version

Comments

Let It Grow
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

Find myself in the weird position of seeing a version from my all time no doubt #1 favorite show ever surpassing my all time no doubt #1 favorite version of Let It Grow ever (5/1/81) & I totally understand why it's leapfrogged it on the big board, especially after the official DaP release of 10/29/77. But I do believe if 5/1/81 had the advantage of an official release & clean SBD representation, it would be back in the #1 spot where it belongs. 10/29/77 is a scorcher w/out question & deserves top 3 status but even tho' it's from my favorite show it does not top 5/1/81, which has the fastest Garcia notes ever played while never losing grip on the structural integrity of the main theme & what really separates 5/1/81 from the pack is that the rest of the band is equal to the task. There's a better flow and glide to Hampton and Weir's hyper-galactic counter rhythms are a big reason why. The post rise & fall jam is also more fully fleshed out and thicker with ideas than DeKalb, which is more like a hammer blow than a complete soundscape of ideas. I don't mind seeing DeKalb in the #1 spot for almost any tune within its magnificent 2 sets (I put Eyes, SugarMag, Peter, Bertha, & more in that category) but I firmly believe LIG from Hampton '81 is still the best performance ever of the tune. Maybe there's a gem of a board hidden in the vault somewhere that will eventually emerge & drive home the point. Until then I'll accept DeKalb grabbing the top spot but Hampton '81 is a sadly overlooked show to begin with & I at least have to speak up for its LIG. Ok, thanks for coming to my Dead Talk.
Aiko Aiko
May 7, 1978
Field House - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Full of funk-chonk Tchoupitoulas- chomps
They Love Each Other
Sept. 3, 1977
Raceway Park

Aggressively beautiful. Gentle but powerful. So much energy in the 1st set tunes from this show. This, like the Peggy-O, seems tailored to play for a huge festival audience so it's given a bit more bite, edge & pacing than others from the same year. They're all great, but this one deserved an upvote from me a long time ago--recent re-listen made up for lost time.
Man Smart, Woman Smarter
March 18, 1988
Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium

Jiggly bouncy beauty & buried on the big board. For shame! This will get you moving & grooving & it should get yer upvote if for no other reason than Brent taking the second vocal verse solo & then just gliding & slaying it on the keys the rest of the way. Plus the round robin vocal coda has Jerry joining in a way I rarely hear him on this tune. Five star version here from an underrated show in a year I usually ignore, but with a new(?) Miller upgrade available this should get some more attention. (Source provided is real good too.) Be smart & up it! .
Uncle John's Band
May 23, 1972
Strand Lyceum

you're right--way too low here. Excellent version tight & sweet.