Supercharged Billy at the helm deconstructing and building layers of structure like a master architect. Some of his most inventive fills put to record

Notable for coming straight out of Cumberland and the alternate lyrics “And I Grabbed the Bottle, Grabbed Him in the Jaw” A cowboy classic.

Firing on all cylinders right out the gate. I'm certain Jerry's fretboard caught fire after that first solo. Impossible not to groove to.

Delicate. Like a last waltz of the cowboy and his love, with each lick from Jerry conveying the urgency of the story. Keith makes such an impact here.

Part of the beginning is cut off, but that doesn't stop this train from rolling on down the mines. Short and sweet.

"None of that wanna buy a watch shit" Lesson learned, don't take advantage of Keith during his first time in the big apple. Not a big Tennessee Jed fan, but the groove is irresistible, one of the more funky versions I've heard. I love the tempo for this a lot, and Jerry really is telling a story here. Just perfect.

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Just when you think it stops, we get reminded that the storyteller has a few more things to say. The way the band can use these songs in a way to tell a different story each time, I imagine a drunk old man telling stories of old in a non linear fashion. Was it even true? who the hell knows, but I'm enjoying the ride and the ramblings. Imagine if they let that Deal go down though?

One of the most powerful and wonderful versions of this tune ever performed. The boys were really in their cowboy era with this one. High grade double dipped saloon music. Absinthe and tequila, couldn't have said it better myself.

The way they land on Mexicali Blues is what makes the Dead so great. Like being picked up in a twister and landing in some far away old saloon with a peso in your hand. It's so unexpected and uncanny, they take a real risk and boy does it pay off. I think this is what this whole sequence of music is all about, risks. The rewards, or even when you're falling off the cliff and you're just going with the chaos. Dancing with insanity. This is as psychedelic and heavy as you can get, area 51 experiments out west. A spaghetti western in the sense of the process of spaghettification when you get near a black hole. Billy is the unheralded hero of this in my opinion, but everyone's got something to say here. Powerful and a real peak into what the band has become with Keith in the band. Just absolutely insane and needs to be experienced, it has that same star quality as 4/24/72's Dark Star sandwich. my jaw needs to be picked up off of the floor.