Grateful Dead

Try Rockin the Rhein Sugar Magnolia, loud, undistracted, possibly high. In my humble opinion, this song was only really really at its best in 1971 and 1972. The version I'm pointing you towards is significantly better than most. They really catch the groove, and Donna does not sing on the Sunshine Daydream part. As much as I like Donna, there are some songs I think sound better without her. It's worth it just to hear Billy's drum fill, but they are all locked in. I hate to think the song that tuned me into the Dead isn't even on your top 50 list, but to be honest, I don't care for it much after 1972. It's first big change was when Donna joined in. Then Bobby put down the Gibson after '74, and then 2 drummers really changed the groove for good. On a different note, Lazy Lightning / Supplication from November 2nd, 1977, Seneca. Not a big fan of this song in general, but this one is really good. DP 34 filler.

That's a great list - a few thoughts: If I were to ever make a list, Jack Straw would also be in my top 10. However, so would Row Jimmy (actually several of the songs from wake of the flood would be high on my list) which I see you have closer towards the end. Cassidy & Franklin's Tower would probably be in my top 10 as well. I would probably put Sugaree higher - great song and one that holds special meaning for me (mostly because my wife and I bonded over a shared love of that song when we first met). Also unless I missed it, I didn't see Attics of my life on your list. That song just kills me (and also holds special meaning since part of it was read at my wedding). I agree Terrapin is a top 5 song and loved seeing Mountains of the Moon - wish it would have made it past 1969 but I guess it just belongs to that era. Loser would probably be closer to the bottom of a list I made, but I must say how happy I was to see TOO so close to the top. I'd take a good earth shaking Other One over (most) Dark Stars. In fact I prefer many PITB from 72-74 over Dark Star too (I know I'm in the minority). Finally, I was surprised to see Eyes so low on the list. Any version, any era, I'm probably going to be happy to hear it. Sorry, that was a pretty rambling response, but awesome list - was fun reading it. EDIT: No Half-Step or Cumberland? Two songs that would also probably make my top 10... EDIT 2: I'd probably move He's Gone higher and also add Dire Wolf to the list. Bertha and Wharf Rat feel like they are in the right spots...

I have many vivid memories of watching Warren Miller ski films with friends back in the day. He was a big part of making skiing such a big part of my life and a source of lots of fond memories, along with Glen Plake. My handle comes from a Warren Miller film. Slog Dog Noodle is a way of skiing bumps, rather humorously. I'm sad to learn of his passing. Ski on Warren.

to me, the top ten at the moment would be Dark Star Sugar Magnolia Cassidy Box of Rain Scarlet Begonias Fire on the Mountain Franklin's Tower Eyes of the World Saint Stephen China Cat Sunflower

Made extreme skiing films before people knew what extreme skiing was.Of course, it’s even more extreme now. Before YouTube, Warren was really the only place to see that stuff.

Wow, your bottom 3 on that list include my favorite Dead song in Scarlet Begonias, another top 5 of mine in Bird Song (put on Dave's 11, 11/17/72 right now, and tell me there's one Feels Like a Stranger that ever comes close to that), and Music Never Stopped is a classic, probably not in my top 15, but a consistent barn burner for the last 20 years they played. Also, Ship of Fools must strike a deep chord in you, which that's totally cool, it's a heartfelt choice. Loser I dig a lot, maybe top 20 for me. Otherwise, the rest are somewhat a variation of my choices. He's Gone would be top 15 for me, 11/18/72 being my particular favorite, but I also love the later versions, the one from MUATM a couple years ago, Foxboro, maybe was outstanding. Okay, quick top 10 (have tried this with friends in the past and never been able to keep it consistent or to 10, but shall essay it anyway) 1 Scarlet Begonias 2 Terrapin Station 3 The Other One 4 Dark Star 5 Bird Song 6 Wharf Rat 7 Weather Report Suite 8 Foolish Heart 9 Eyes of the World ('73-74 particularly for the bass solos) 10 Playing in the Band (primarily '72-'77) 11 The Eleven The last one is Nigel Tufnel approved. Bob and Mickey would approve of the penultimate pick. Foolish Heart I expect wouldn't show up on many lists, and the fact that that made it over Jack Straw, St Stephen, China Cat, Uncle John's, and any myriad other number of great tunes is just that I really like that song, musically and lyrically, those interweaving riffs are just fantastic, and plinky sound or not, it strikes a resonant note in me. Another song I wish I could shoehorn in is Pigpen's beautiful The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion), which was a revelation to me when I got the Europe '72 shows. This was a tough task, and I bet I couldn't replicate the same top 10 tomorrow.

or The Eleven or Comes a Time or Help>Slip But Blow Away and Built to Last made it? Huh?

Are your songs in order of preference? I assumed not, but everyone else is talking about which spots songs take on their lists. I couldn't make a list without including performance dates. Like Sugar Magnolia post-hiatus wouldn't make the list, but just about any E72 version would be top 10.

Rumors surrounding the project insist that Warren Miller's coffin will be strapped to a pair of giant, custom-designed snowboards and jettisoned from a chopper hovering low over the Chugach Mountains of Southern Alaska, to barrel down the steepest face around screaming for vengeance the whole way down. Look for a television special of this once-in-a-lifetime event to be broadcast holiday season 2018. The major networks are in a bidding war, but the smart money is on Bob Costas. We haven't seen an offhand sporting event this big since Evel Knievel's epic FAIL at the Snake River Canyon. Top ten off the top of my head Loser Dire Wolf Brown Eyed Women Mr. Charlie New Speedway Boogie Wharf Rat Jack-A-Roe Death Don't Have No Mercy Sugaree Big River It does not matter to me that Big River is better known as a Johnny Cash vehicle... once the Dead covered anything, Johnny B. Goode, Dylan songs, whatever - they made it their own. Sugar Magnolia has been reported as Bill Graham's fave Dead tune. The reason I don't rate it highly is, on good nights, it's almost Rolling Stones-y. The Dead don't really do the Rolling Stones very well, due to Phil. Hey, I love Phil, but he don't pulse and breathe like Bill Wyman did. Bill the drummer can swing with anybody and groove like the Stones, but Phil my man (and I have tickets to see you at Red Rocks this summer brother) ain't no James Jamerson.

....I figured this would come up eventually. sigh. In no particular order, because....Scarlet Begonias New Speedway Boogie Row Jimmy The Other One China Cat Sunflower Alligator Dark Star Shakedown Street Cassidy Cumberland Blues ....made me work for that one. Honorable mentions? Truckin' Wharf Rat Althea

If we are talking best in terms of lyrics then I'd assume most place Friend of the Devil and Ripple up there along with Brokedown Palace, Box Of Rain and probably Uncle John's Band etc. Here are 10 that I always really enjoy hearing. 1. Dark Star 2. New Potato Caboose 3. The Eleven 4. Doin That Rag 5. Rosemary 6. Clementine. 9. Cryptical Envelopment 10. Here Comes Sunshine Honorables 1. Mountains of the Moon 2. Alligator 3. Crazy Fingers 4. Birdsong 5. The Other One 6. Pride of Cucamunga 7. Help On The Way 8. Caution 9. Dupree's Daimond Blues 10. the King Solomon's Marbles(Stronger than Dirt) and Slipknot instrumental jams

That's a good question... Between Robert Hunter & John Barlow, most of the lyrics are nothing short of great. Some of my favorite lyrics are the ones that sneak in some biographical truth. For example, in Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo, the line goes... "I lost my boots in transit babe A pile of smoking leather Nailed a retread to my feet and prayed for better weather" ...about a car crash Jerry was in when he was younger. It changed his life and he never looked back. That is more of an obvious example because David Dodd talks about this in his annotated lyric book. Another one I really love is a very simple one. From Stella Blue... "I've stayed in every blue-light cheap hotel Can't win for trying Dust off those rusty strings just one more time Gonna make em shine" How many other people could convincingly get away with the line "I've stayed in every blue-light cheap hotel"? As much as the Dead toured (& JGB), it seems pretty damn convincing. Willie Nelson covered Stella Blue...he is definitely someone else I believe. But this verse also describes Jerry's stamina and determination, I believe. It didn't matter how many hotels there were or how rusty those strings were, Jerry was still going to play his heart out because that is what he loved...and man, he certainly made them shine.

Words and music by... amazing 20th century people Wharf Rat Fire On The Mountain Crazy Fingers The Eleven New Speedway Boogie Casey Jones Deal Ripple Unbroken Chain Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion

I have argued that this is the best version on heady version for a long time.

I love this conversation.. as I have said to many, I got into the GD for the jamming and more specifically.. Jerry. but that was decades ago, what kept me around all these years later were the songs and what they mean to me. Lately I am in a Jacks Straw / Brown Eyed Woman / Eyes of the World / Morning Dew tangent. They played 5/12/80 Boston Garden on SiriusXM.. the guitar work in the crescendo of Jack Straw was quite powerful and it got me thinking about the performances of that song over time. Then there is the lyrics. Great stuff.. really enjoying everyone's comments on this and hats off to PFox for putting together a list knowing everyone will dissect it to death..

best lyrics = Reuben and Cerise My Favorite Songs 1. Dark Star 2. Scarlet Begonias 3. Uncle John’s Band 4. The Other One 5. Brown-Eyed Women 6. Stella Blue 7. Eyes Of The World 8. Bird Song 9. Playing In The Band 10. China Cat Sunflower 11. Jack Straw 12. St. Stephen 13. Wharf Rat 14. Brokedown Palace 15. Bertha 16. Truckin’ 17. Fire On The Mountain 18. Franklin’s Tower 19. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo 20. Terrapin Station 21. Sugaree 22. Ripple 23. Cumberland Blues 24. Box Of Rain 25. Dire Wolf 26. Friend Of The Devil 27. Estimated Prophet 28. Weather Report Suite 29. Help On The Way 30. Sugar Magnolia 31. He’s Gone 32. Here Comes Sunshine 33. Ramble On Rose 34. New Speedway Boogie 35. Comes A Time 36. Black Peter 37. The Eleven 38. Days Between 39. Candyman 40. Greatest Story Ever Told 41. Shakedown Street 42. Mason’s Children 43. The Music Never Stopped 44. U.S. Blues 45. The Wheel 46. Cosmic Charlie 47. Cassidy 48. Foolish Heart 49. Throwing Stones 50. Loser

I'll be signing autographs later. more top GD songs: Help on the Way/Slipknot! Crazy Fingers Black Peter Stella Blue

I’m a 3 hour drive away and it’s not scheduled to arrive until 1/31. I’m hoping for an early delivery on Monday. Kind of like airlines that cushion both sides of the flight time so that they always have 99% on time arrivals. Mail innovations is telling me Wednesday so that they look good when it shows up Monday. Nappy got his quick but the # was in the 13000’s. Clearly they don’t start filling orders with the first box. Maybe the first box was on the bottom of the pallet and they started from the top of the stack.

Wake Up Dead does it for me everytime. Rust in Peace is a great album.

And her hair hung gently down. Bonnie Prince Billy actually does a pretty good cover version on that National tribute album.

about the Dead is that I will often hear things new to me that I missed on previous listenings of tunes that I've heard many times before. This morning I was listening to Road Trips Austin 11-15-71 with headphones on so as not to roust my wife from her tender sleeping sensibilities. I usually pick up more nuance with the cans on, and was listening fairly closely this time. Got to the Dark Star>El Paso>Dark Star sandwich. Then I noticed something I hadn't before because I was listening more intently (I have no idea if this has been mentioned on these boards over the years, so I'll repeat it anyway) - right after Bobby launches into his strumming for the El Paso intro, Jerry picks it up with 4-5 seconds of picking that sounds just like horse hooves trotting on the ground before he goes into the standard licks. Made me chuckle at the western reference. Didn't sound like his normal tone, so it must have been intentional. Then, back into the second part of Dark Star, after the space jam, they go into a more driving melodic interlude. That easily could have morphed into Me and My Uncle, which has a somewhat similar groove. They saved Uncle for the second disc, but if they had gone into it there right out of Dark Star, it would have been the most Texas-y Dark Star ever! I'm going to spare y'all my top ten, but will say it's a kick to see Crazy Fingers getting thrown in there by some posters. Always liked that one, though probably not a top ten for me.

Truckin’China - Rider Estimated - Eyes PITB Cumberland Blues Sugared Tennessee Jed TOO One More Saturday Night Help - Slip - Frank Ok I cheated LOL Rock on

Just got my DaP25 - 14701 . Not sure why I've been getting high numbers for DaPs lately since I always order as soon as the subscription opens... Will check what numbers my buddy has since he tends to subscribe right before the discount closes... Thanks to whoever added the songs and title to itunes, but it's Dave's Picks 25 not 24 - other than that typo info looks perfect. Who else got baked on 10/10/17? Looking forward to a listen... Bob

Top 10 - but that could change at a blink of an eye and that's a totally adult diaper question... Dark Star Terrapin Station Here Comes Sunshine Birdsong Uncle John's Band Cumberland Blues Weather Report Suite The Other One Comes a Time St. Stephen

...not much love for Alabama Getaway?

...West LA Fadeaway?

I have no running Top 10...I love'em all!!...except:...My Bottom 10(original songs): Easy Answers Easy to Love you Foolish Heart Corrina We Can Run Never Trust a Woman France From the Heart of Me Believe it or not Built to Last

I love both of those. It's just, with so many songs, hard to crack the top 10. Dead and Co. do a nice West L.A. The studio version of Alabama Getaway kicks ass! It rocks as hard as anything the Dead ever did. For once, Phil gets in the pocket and just pumps those driving 8th notes all the way through. For some reason, when I hear it live in the early 1980s, Garcia's guitar is weak nowhere near the powerhouse it is on the record. Could be from what he was up (or down) to... maybe the only GD studio tune that was not improved upon live.

Good discussion here - thanks to pfox for kicking it off. Those of us that frequent this site have had our minds blown on countless occasions by the Dead's incredible music being pumped into our craniums (crania?), but what is it that keeps us hungering for more (I need more shows!) decades after the concerts were performed? Certainly its the anticipation of new improvisations shedding that strange new light on a familiar tune, but it's deeper than that. The timeless quality of the songs we love are rooted in the lyrics, as others have alluded to. The lyrical aspect of the Dead's songs is the element that will continue to seduce new listeners for generations to come. McNally wrote a fine article on the eve of Hunter/Garcia being inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame that provides a brief glimpse into their wonderful collaboration: two bodies yet one mind, it seems. https://www.thedailybeast.com/songwriters-hall-of-fame-honors-hunter-an… For the record, some of my favorite songs for various reasons, lyrics division: Comes A Time Wharf Rat Stella Blue Days Between Standing On The Moon China Cat Sunflower Candyman Brown Eyed Women St. Stephen/The Eleven Help On The Way/Franklin's Tower Black Muddy River Never mind...this could go on for a while. I'll stop at eleven-ish. I echo the sentiment that someone posted recently: Robert Hunter is deserving of the Nobel Prize in literature. Surely he and Dylan were the most important lyrical scribes of the 20th century, whose songs will survive long after we're all gone.

Great point...there are many studio versions of Dead tunes that I prefer over the live versions and visa-versa. Makes for interesting listening.....Ain't Life Grand......

i enjoyed reading your lists as well. keep in mind there were only 50 spots available. one of the reasons it took so long to make the list was i spent so much time agonizing over songs that didn't make the cut. ----

3423 has landed in Philly It's Friday PLAY DEAD

What's the word from those who now have this - any filler in there? Or should we all just be surprised? Sixtus

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http://www.dead.net/store/music/new-releases/grateful-dead-records-coll… GRATEFUL DEAD RECORDS COLLECTION DIGITAL BOX Digital Download choose your format: Apple Lossless 44.1kHz/16bit more info $29.98 HD FLAC 192kHz/24bit more info $69.98 ADD TO CART So popular was our 2017 Black Friday Record Store Day release, we decided to take it digital. The GRATEFUL DEAD RECORDS COLLECTION features four fully remastered complete albums - WAKE OF THE FLOOD, FROM THE MARS HOTEL, BLUES FOR ALLAH, and STEAL YOUR FACE. This is the first time STEAL YOUR FACE will be available digitally!

Waiting...

Couldn't agree more with both Frosted and Bolo. Regardless of how many times I've heard a particular show, there's always a new discovery with each listen, and a genuinely surprised "How have I not heard that before?" to accompany it. Lyrically the Dead are, and always have been, pure poetry in motion. But after reading "The Complete Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics", that poetry takes on a whole new texture whenever I listen to the songs now. My top 10 or so: Brown Eyed Women Scarlet Begonias Help On the Way/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower Jack Straw Bertha Loser Sugaree Deal Eyes of the World Comes a Time Playing In The Band Terrapin Station Brokedown Palace Sugar Magnolia But really -- who's counting?

WAVE TO THE WIND.

Samba in the rain

Wasn't it Phil who at one point in the past referred to 'Steal Your Face' as 'Steal Your Money', expressing that it contained just the dregs of those Winterland '74 shows in a last effort to appease the record company with a final contractual offering? To now realize the vast sonic wealth of the entirety of that runs' contents is a little mind blowing considering what SYF contained. If nothing else, it gave us all the best one-of-a-kind GD emblem which has of course has gone on to become an inseparable visual icon. Sixtus

Toss up between "Victim or the Crime" and "Blow Away".

Got my box set today. Popped it on my system. It is...wonderful!My "aging" ears have loved every note. Can't wait to hear these cd's on a pair of Focal Clear headphones. Looking forward to see what will be coming out in box sets this year. Mr. Pete------------> aging hippie

Curious about the remastering. I wonder if it sounds anything like the GD Movie Soundtrack release now. I have often said that they should mix down the whole run with sound like the soundtrack release - which I happen to like very much - and call it "Replace Your Face". That would be the decent thing to do after the shortchange act of the original "Steal Your Money" release!

Senior Duryea? Now you make me really feel old. In 2016 I received a beautifully packaged five-volume sixteen-cd set titled "S.Y.F. remixes". Blurb on the back: The recordings herein are an attempt to present alternate remixes of the October 1974 performances at Winterland in San Francisco, nominally the Grateful Dead's 'last' performances. With one version represented by Owsley Stanley & Phil Lesh' mixes for the 1976 release "Steal Your Face", and later digital remixes prepared for the re-release of the 'Grateful Dead Movie", this series is a group of alternate -- in some cases multi-source -- matrix remixes of each night of the five-night run. If GDM produced and released a box like this I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

....take that Han Solo!!

Your "top 10" list is like my "top 5 desert island shows" - more than just 5 or 10 - it's a slippery slope. I noticed all your fav songs are Hunter/Garcia. For me as well. But I do love a lot of Bobby songs, and Jerry makes those songs REALLY sing.... Other One of course, Black Throated Wind, Music Never Stopped is an all-time fav. Estimated was one of my fav songs live, but I have trouble grooving on it anymore - they all seem the same to me. Top 10: Help>Slip>Franklin's, Crazy Fingers (a rare case where studio version stands up to live versions), Eyes, HC Sunshine, Dark Star, Morning Dew, Scarlet>Fire, St Stephen, Shakedown, Chinacat, Birdsong, Stranger ("Let's get on with the show!") - massive respect for the Bob-man. That's 10, right? Bottom 10: I gotta agree with what I've seen in general (except for Cassidy, which I love), but would add "Must Have Been the Roses" - one of the rare Garcia/Hunter songs that's like nails on a chalkboard for me. Hearing that opening riff curdles my blood for some reason.... And Throwing Stones is the rare Dead tune that started as one of my favorites, then plummeted (after seeing it what seemed like EVERY FREAKIN' SHOW for 12 years... Throw>Away.... I can barely bring myself to listen to it anymore.) And I have to defend Foolish Heart. If you have this in your bottom 10, you haven't heard 6/8/90. Late-era awesomeness. Blow Away: NOT in my bottom 10, though far from top. Another rare instance of the studio version exceeding any live version. Studio version has power and Jerry's gritty tone and flourishes are perfect. Kind of a cheesy pop song that works, like Bobby and the Midnites' "Haze" which I LOVED for about a month.... and still kinda like in a guilty-pleasure way.

Regular mail instead of UPS this time. Hmmmm. Cannot wait to crank these thru my Line Magnetic LM215 CDP>1967 refurbed and upgraded Dynaco MKIII monoblocks/PAS3>Klipsch Cornwall II's/Klipsch RSW 15 powered subwoofer! These masterfully produced Dave's Picks always stun with a tangible soundstage and amazing 3D imaging. I walk around my Deadicated listening room and get different angles on the music. But i tend to end up in the center sweet spot. It's gonna be another GoGD time capsule Saturday.

Dark Star - all greatBird Song - 1972 Uncle John's Band - Ladies & Gentlemen / DaP 10 Sugar Magnolia - Rockin' The Rhein Turn On Your Lovelight - Rockin' The Rhein Help on the Way=> Slipknot!=> Franklin's Tower - 2/26/77 Estimated Prophet=> Eyes of the World - DP 18 for Estimated / '73 - '74 for EOTW Scarlet Begonias=> Fire On The Mountain - 1977 (really like 5-17) also 7/7/89 Promised Land - Sunshine Daydream or any 1972 Cold Rain & Snow - E72 Touch of Grey - studio Brokedown Palace - all great Bertha - 1972 + DP 18 The Other One - DP 18 / 30 Trips 1970 The Eleven - Two From The Vault The Music Never Stopped - DaP 7 / RT October '77 / DP 18 / any 1977 for Donna vocals It's A Man's World - 30 Trips 1970 St. Stephen - Ladies & Gentlemen / FW 1969 for William Tell version Truckin' E72 all Hard To Handle - 8/7/71 Loose Lucy - Winterland 1973 Complete Are You Lonely For Me Baby - DP 30 Closing of Winterland - Stagger Lee, I Need A Miracle Feel Like A Stranger - DaP 8 Throwing Stones - studio + DP 27, DP 17, and In The Dark bonus track Foolish Heart - studio Blues for Allah - Beyond Description Bonus Disc Jack Straw Brown-Eyed Women - DP 29, DaP 12, DaP 1 Mississippi Half Step - DaP 1 Comes A Time - DaP 18 Here Comes Sunshine The Race is On Weather Report Suite I started doing a top 10, but it's impossible, so I just started rattling off songs and dates.

There's a real good version on DaP 8. They had the harmonies worked up from the Warfield/RCMH sets. More 'spine tingling' than 'nails on chalkboard', at least for me. YMMV. :-)

These are only songs I was fortunate to see live in person, just a random order. Dark Star - in its own class Scarlet Eyes Uncle Johns Help Slip Franklins Fire Wheel Dancin Sugar Magnolia - Sunshine Daydream Split Might as Well How fortunate we are to have access to the quality and quantity of releases these days.