As far as these pre-August 74 versions go, pretty darn good; certainly far better than Veneta

Not the all-time best but surely deserves to be on the list

What is this, chopped liver? Just listen to the solo

Hot version at the end of a smoking sequence

What is this, chopped liver? Garcia goes to town!

I find this to be an excellent version, seems to be underrated. MIDI era and that's cool here, Jerry always plays great stuff on this

The ever-important 3rd lead in full effect

OK just skip reading this if it's too long. Here are claims I think are true, and then my personal (current) take. This is the case for why this is the best show of the year. Mississippi Half-Step--CLAIM: contender for best pre-hiatus MY CURRENT EVALUATION: best pre-hiatus, but tentative and willing to be shown a better one Black Throated Wind--CLAIM: one of the best of era (Garcia!) MY CURRENT EVALUATION: not quite the best of the era (Weir!) China Cat Sunflower >I Know You Rider-- CLAIM/MY CURRENT EVALUATION: one of the best of all time Loser--CLAIM/MY CURRENT EVALUATION: one of the best of the era WRS CLAIMMY CURRENT EVALUATION: one of the best all time, with as good a claim on #1 as any Stella Blue: CLAIM: one of the best pre-hiatus MY CURRENT EVALUATION: the best pre-hiatus Me And My Uncle CLAIM: one of the best of all time MY CURRENT EVALUATION: best of all time Not Fade Away CLAIM/MY CURRENT EVALUATION: best of all time Dark Star CLAIM: one of the best of all time MY CURRENT EVALUATION: best of 1974, but it's a tight race Morning Dew CLAIM: one of the best of all time MY CURRENT EVALUATION: best pre-hiatus version

Yeah it's cool, they all are, but maybe a little sleepy

This is my favorite version ever