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keefriffhard4life
i still can't understand how some people can not "get" the grateful dead. i would think even stones fans could easily get into the early 70's stuff, workingmans dead, american beauty, skull and roses, europe '72 and bears choice vol 1. anything live from that time period, the phase known as the cosmic cowboy era, seems on par with a lot of the stones work or CSNY stuff from that era. i enjoy everything they did with pigpen. the band until 1973 jammed like no one else. even after that they had some great songs and great jams but donna backing vocals annoyed the hell out of me. by the late 80's keyboard player brent mydland had been in the band about a decade and they were starting to gel like the pigpen years and then he was gone and after 1990 they never fully recovered imo.

some great post pigpen stuff to check out:
-scarlet begonias> fire on the mountain 3-22-1990 (on so many roads and spring 1990 sets)
-row jimmy 3-26-1990 (on dozin at the knicks and spring 1990 sets)
-built to last 10-16-1989 (on nightfall of diamonds)
-eyes on the world 3-29-1990 (on without a net)
- little red rooster 11-1-1985 (on dicks picks vol 21)
- sugaree 5-28-1977 (on to terrapin:hartford 1977)
-cold rain and snow 7-4-1989 (on truckin up the buffalo)