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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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OrangeTangoJam

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Submissions

1
Mister Charlie
Dec. 4, 1971
Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden

The blues is strong here, Jerry's solo is truly incredible. Keith laying it down with Pigpen in the Garden rapping up a storm. One of the best.
1
Playin' In The Band
Nov. 23, 1978
Capital Centre

The band tries to catch Jerry and wolf as they’re seemingly on the loose. Traversing through snowy mountaintops. A wonderful journey.
1
Good Lovin'
March 9, 1981
Madison Square Garden

Brent’s organ takes this to another level. I’m partial towards the Pigpen Version, but this shines in its own ways. Lovely phrasing from Jerry as well
1
U.S. Blues (Wave That Flag)
March 9, 1981
Madison Square Garden

Shocked to not see this here yet. Absolute scorcher from a really great show. Jerry’s tone cuts through like a scorching hot knife. Skin your wife.
1
Drums
Aug. 12, 1972
Sacramento Memorial Auditorium

Coming out of He's Gone. Billy goes ham, hitting the drums like a machine gun.

Comments

Eyes Of The World
March 22, 1973
Utica Memorial Auditorium

As hot as the earth’s core, Jerry with, each pluck of the string, makes magma flow at breakneck speeds, causing lava to burst out of his guitar, and seeping onto into the music. An exploration of volcanic landscapes and even an impromptu journey up to the sun and its fiery atmosphere. This is a really great version with a stunning and powerful transition out of The Other One. This whole sequence of Here Comes Sunshine>Truckin>The Other One>Eyes of The World>China Doll is a must hear.
The Other One
March 22, 1973
Utica Memorial Auditorium

A sneaky almost mellow transition out of Truckin’, this is an acid jazz infused performance of geometric portals and ancient elven forests. Phil and Jerry spell out sacred geometry through their instruments and ends up coming across DMT caverns and dimensions but never quite breaking through. Meanwhile Billy is showing how great of a time keeper he is and showing how relative time can truly be. Jerry is absolutely mind bending on this, show casing his macabre and imaginative playing that’s too good for words. Jerry creating his own symphonic motifs, going through each of the 3 stages of matter. Upon relisten, this is now one of my all time favorite The Other Ones. Just listen to how powerful Phil is, there’s a moment where he feedbacks before going back into the main riff after space and my lights flickered at the same exact time as his reality bending sheet of sound. The Dead like to sync up to my life, and I sure as hell don’t mind. Synchronicities are fun.
Playin' In The Band
March 22, 1973
Utica Memorial Auditorium

Phil is innovating the bass guitar all through out this performance. The sounds he creates are like rolling thunder, innovative melodic lines with this groove that lays the groundwork for some brilliant motivic development. Jerry’s lines are clear and concise, a chemist in his lab, with sparks flying from each new experiment. Not a thematic Playin’, but one that enters a familiar space and thoroughly explores it. No heavy meltdowns, no triumphant themes, just a perfectly beautiful state of being for the band to enter and let their ideas shine through.
Dark Star
March 16, 1973
Nassau Coliseum

This will leave your brain looking like a Jackson Pollock painting. Infrared colors and intergalactic space travel define this Dark Star. Billy sets the controls to the heart of the sun, as the band travels at light speed, making discoveries that’ll progress the evolution of mankind. The jam at the 7 minute mark onward is what would play in a far off cantina on an alien planet. An extraterrestrial jazz quartet. Keith being the wizard he is displays his wonderful sense of musical intuition and puts on a performance that defies the laws of nature. After the first verse we get Chernobyl levels of meltdowns. Billy summoning the Dark Star gets ready for its impending doom, channeling Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Elvin jones in a bewitching and mystifying manner. Jerry tells us of the end days on his guitar as he makes it have a sinister laugh, with Bobby and Phil following after we get a macabre dance of the strings. Nuclear fission happens right on stage, with a devastating and destructive explosion of matter, the band picks up the pieces and forms a jam that builds up into a glorious transition into Truckin’. This is what it’s all about folks.
Samson and Delilah
March 19, 1977
Winterland Arena

Coming out of a bewitching Playin’, this Samson is righteous and will strike you down with a lightning bolt. That one note Jerry plays right at the start of his first solo has some divine energy to it.