You can’t lose with any ’72 “Playing in the Band” (it was featured every night on the European tour), but this justifiably famous version has an acid-drenched, edge-of-chaos vibe that that makes it completely gripping for every second of its 23 minutes. Except they never do play it! This one was vaultkeeper Dick Latvala’s favorite, a big reason he chose the show as Dick’s Picks Vol. At least unlike the other keyboardists who took the gig, he got out alive. Available on Dick’s Picks Vol. Yes the ’72 Veneta show, put on by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, is as good as its reputation. Bruce Hornsby may have seemed like an unlikely figure to find onstage with the Grateful Dead, since he’ll always be best known for the 1986 pop hit “The Way It Is.”But it was practically a moment of destiny. I don't listen to that period much, but I seem to rembe hearing one when Bruce kept teasing Dark Star all night, whether to mess with the crowd or the band I don't know. This song/jam was only around for about two years, but what a glorious run it had! For the main picks, we’ve listed where they can be found on Grateful Dead–sanctioned releases (where applicable), most of which can be accessed through Apple Music and Spotify. The difficulty, of course, is narrowing it down to just 50. At this show, it closes an incredible second set, with Garcia and company reducing the place to rubble with the ending buildup—the mark of a truly great “Dew.” A pre-hiatus version to check out is Winterland (San Francisco) 10-18-74. Admittedly, my favorite “Love Light” is the one from Frankfurt, Germany, 4-26-72 (first released on Hundred Year Hall), on which the band is unflaggingly spectacular—go Keith! He was a life-long fan, going back to an early stint in Bobby Hi-Test and the Octane Kids, his brother Bobby’s Grateful Dead cover band. 5. Available on Europe ’72 Vol. 41. “The Wheel”December 14, 1980; Long Beach Arena, California. Are you referring to Branford (not Wynton) Marsalis? Actually a lot of June 1991 is excellent. Anybody know which show this was? 11. From December ’86 on, “Saint” appeared alone; usually not quite as potent as it was with the then-departed “Sailor.” (Still, check out this excellent Hornsby-era solo “Saint” pick: Giants Stadium 6-17-91. Grateful Dead. [Godchaux keyboards]—but it has almost no Pigpen verbal riffing on it, so it’s not fair to choose it as the version. CD / LP / DOWNLOAD. Music. Pigpen and the band really kicked out the jams on this Otis Redding tune, an explosive element in so many Dead sets in 1969 and ’70. 17. “Bird Song”August 27, 1972; Old Renaissance Faire Grounds, Veneta, Oregon. Two years removed from the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary celebration and the triumphant “Fare Thee Well” stadium concerts in their native San Francisco Bay Area and in Chicago, the surprising, resurgent Deadmania has not subsided. ... What a great way to start my day. Vowed never to see them again. Collected on the bonus disc of Road Trips Vol. 27. “Morning Dew”May 8, 1977; Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. They drew from electric and country blues, oldtime and bluegrass, jazz, rock and roll, soul, funk, Indian, New Orleans R&B, electronic and classical music; nothing was off-limits. Unable to process your request at this time. Overall, my preference is for Brent-era versions, but there are many, many great ones from 1972 to 1979, and I have to concur with popular opinion that this one from the close of the Keith and Donna [Godchaux, singer] era smokes from beginning (“We used to play for acid/Now we play for Clive”) to the blistering ending jam. It just won’t quit—until it drops down into a devastating “Death Don’t Have No Mercy.” Available on Two from the Vault. Available on the bonus disc of Road Trips Vol. Why live performances? He was a full time member of the band for 18 months after Brent Mydland died. 43. “Lost Sailor” > “Saint of Circumstance”October 10, 1982; Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, These two Weir-written nuggets, which date back to the summer of ’79 and were paired until mid 1986, show two sides of Bob’s writing. 3. Weir revived the song in earnest in 1977, and many fine versions of that more compact, but still energetic, showstopper abound. What follows is a selection of the best live versions of 50 songs by the Grateful Dead (and a few cover tunes) spanning their history. Nineties pick: Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California; 6-16-90. Such are the cruel realities of list-making. Guitar World is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. There was a problem. Eighties pick: Greek Theatre, Berkeley, July 13, 1984. ); and “Saint of Circumstance” is a riff-heavy and ultimately anthemic rocker, which also has some unpredictable components. See more ideas about Bruce hornsby, Bruce, Music. Similarly there is general agreement on the Dead’s peak performance periods: 1968–1974, 1977, 1981–'82, 1988–'90; you’ll find a heavy concentration of Seventies performances here. Eighties pick: “Let It Grow”: Alpine Valley 8-7-82. Eighties pick: Laguna Seca 7-29-88; a rare later version that includes the “reprise.”. The slinky, Pigpen-sung “Schoolgirl” gave the early Dead a chance to stretch out on an easy shuffling blues groove, with Garcia and Pig trading licks on guitar and harmonica, and Phil always dancing on top with what was already a formidable bass assault. Nobody sounded quite like Garcia (often imitated, never duplicated), and the same could be said of Bob Weir, whose designation as a “rhythm guitarist” is hopelessly inadequate given the sophistication and depth of his playing. Chosen by Phil for his Fallout from the Phil Zone compilation. Grateful Dead's Core Four Announce Final Reunion Shows with … Weir’s three-part “Weather Report Suite” (“Prelude” > “Part One” > “Let It Grow”) was an important part of many shows only in ’73-’74; then “Let It Grow” alone was a fast-paced, multi-textured spin-off from ’76–’95. 31. “Sugaree”May 22, 1977; The Sporatorium, Pembroke Pines, Florida, Again, lots of great choices from 1977. Available on Dicks Pick’s Vol. 3, and it’s hard to argue against its greatness. So I go back to Live Dead again and pluck this one, which has all the cornerstones I love—the crazy double-drumming, Pig at his most confident, band members chiming in on backups, and a crowd going appropriately nuts throughout. Bruce Hornsby Shows. Hornsby Grateful Dead covers: Bruce Does the Dead - Bruuuce.com 20. “Weather Report Suite”/“Let It Grow”August 4, 1974; Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The mini-suite from Anthem of the Sun, incorporating “Cryptical Envelopment” sandwiching “The Other One,” was at its best from 1968–70, with ’69 its best year, but this one is my longtime favorite, for its many incredible mood swings, peaks and valleys; just an amazing ride. And don’t miss the primal, acid-drenched version from the Carousel Ballroom 2-14-68, and for a “Caution” alone, Fillmore Auditorium 11-8-69. Please refresh the page and try again. Nineties pick: Nassau Coliseum 3-27-90; gotta give some love to the magnificent first show where saxophonist Branford Marsalis sat in with the Dead, and fit in perfectly! The line-ups and the music (and drugs ;P) changed over the years, but the musical ideology basically remained the same. Or “Touch of Gray”? I saw them once with BH and once with WM, thought it was the most boring crap I'd ever heard. In the Eighties, the trio of Jerry, Bobby and Brent always did a nice job on that vocal coda. 29-28. “Scarlet Begonias” > “Fire on the Mountain”May 8, 1977; Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Bruce Hornsby inducts the Grateful Dead at the 1994 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Eighties pick: Frost Amphitheatre 10-10-82. Available on on Dick's Picks Vol. ’72-’74), this particular version has a perfect tempo, a top-notch lead vocal, Keith seemingly channeling country piano great Floyd Cramer throughout, a soulful stroll through the “Nothin’s gonna bring him back” coda, and then an extremely tasty melodic jam that’s as pretty as anything you’ll hear from this group. TOUR DATES . save hide report. 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