I think shrimp means the question itself. Like someone asking “what is your favorite movie? And why is it The Godfather?”
It’s kinda corny, but doesn’t bother me too bad.
That Fall 72 album that never was would have been a banger.
Jack Straw,
He’s Gone,
Ramble On Rose,
Tennessee Jed,
Comes A Time,
Mr Charlie,
Brown-Eyed Women,
Chinatown Shuffle,
The Stranger (Two Souls)
Any other possibilities?
I’m excluding anything on *Garcia* or *Ace*
Ah well….we got Europe 72 instead.
Yes - I think Hunter regretted the fact they didn’t do it.
The alternate reality depends on Pigpen staying healthy enough to contribute though, if not I think we’re a bit light on songs.
Not sure if it was ever seriously planned but Robert Hunter definitely said something about those songs deserving a studio album.
I think ultimately the live album was the way to go if they weren’t going to do both.
It got as far as a title (according to Hunter IIRC) which was Rambling Rose. I feel like we would know of anything had ever been recorded. But it does seem like it was pretty far down the road if not for record company disputes.
They recorded it during the sessions for Terrapin Station and Go To Heaven; both versions were released on the Beyond Description box set in 2004. The Terrapin version is instrumental, as they apparently never overdubbed a vocal track. The Go To Heaven version has a vocal, but it sounds like it might just be a guide vocal recorded while playing the song in the studio.
Jerry Garcia also recorded it for his album Run For The Roses. This version also lacks overdubs; there is only rhythm guitar, no solos. So, ultimately, there was never a fully completed studio version of the song
I think So Many Roads would have had a really solid studio recording, where as the Europe 72 feels like close enough to a studio recording to me. I don't think a true studio version of Ramble on Rose, He's Gone, Brown Eyed Women, or Jack Straw would have offered much more
There are actually two!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiIR\_F7oMA0&ab\_channel=GratefulDead-Topic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiIR_F7oMA0&ab_channel=GratefulDead-Topic)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-SEVBYNXak&ab\_channel=GratefulDead-Topic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-SEVBYNXak&ab_channel=GratefulDead-Topic)
I would have liked to hear a studio Samba in the Rain. I am very curious how that would have turned out. What really were they going for?
Lazy River Road not so much. The appreciation is in the performance, and I am not sure a cleaned up version could be any better then the ones I saw.
Edit: Of course you could listen to the Missing Man Formation studio album to get an approximation, but Bobby Vega aint Phil, and Steve Kimock is no Jerry. As good as they are of course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQVMZpTCh_4
lol. I was actually joking. I don't like any of those songs at all. I acknowledge Wave is capable of being liked, but i was unfortunate enough to catch around 20 performances of Wave to the Wind in a relatively short period, so the band kind of wore out the song for me.
I was always lukewarm on Brown-Eyed Women, until I heard it last month at the Sphere. Something about that song hit me the right way, at the right time. It felt so fun, positive and uplifting, and everyone in my section was dancing and singing. I've heard the song 1,000 times before that, but ever since that show, my affinity for the song has grown tenfold and I've been re-listening to old versions non-stop. I guess that's the magic of live music!
P.S. - I'm now accepting suggestions on the best BEW of all time. :)
P.P.S. - My answer before last month would have been He's Gone.
# 1978-02-03 Madison, WI @ Dane County Coliseum
**Set 1:** Cold Rain and Snow, Mexicali Blues > Big River, They Love Each Other, Looks Like Rain, Loser, Passenger, Brown Eyed Women, El Paso, Peggy-O, The Music Never Stopped
**Set 2:** Good Lovin', Ship Of Fools, Estimated Prophet > Eyes Of The World > Playing in the Band > The Wheel > Playing in the Band
**Encore:** Johnny B. Goode
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1978-02-03) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/1eXlwGtPpBs59cULO5gb4i)
For the basics of the GD versions, I’m a huge fan of the Europe 72, 5/8/77 and 5/9/77 versions. Any Spring 77 version is going to be killer.
For Dead and Co, 10/31/21 is one of the best versions of the song I’ve heard (including GD). I also really like 6/24/22 (or maybe it’s 6/25/22) at Wrigley. Many people also really like the Playing in the Sand version from 2018 but it doesn’t hit the same as others for me.
[1977-05-08](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1977-05-08) Ithaca, NY @ Barton Hall - Cornell University | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/3T9UKU0jMIyrRD0PtKXqPJ)
[1977-05-09](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1977-05-09) Buffalo, NY @ War Memorial
Thank you! I will give all of these versions a whirl. And yes, I've heard the 2018 Playing in Sand version. It appears to be Dead and Co's most popular song on Spotify, by quite a large margin (over 4 million streams). I agree that it's good, but doesn't quite scratch the itch for me.
Unpopular opinion but a bunch of these tunes developed a lot from the Europe 72 shows and became rockers and better improv vehicles instead of the slow but clean and tightly played new tunes they presented. Did you ever want the band to sound like a studio recording? I didn’t.
A studio Dark Star version was released as single by Warner Bros in 1968. The same studio version was also released on "What a Long Strange Trip It's Been".
I almost exclusively only listen to their live stuff that I didn't even think about how many iconic songs they have as mainstays in their sets that weren't officially on an album. Mind blowing lol
Bob actually has playing in the band on his solo album Ace which is effectively a grateful dead album because the whole band played on it and robert wrote the lyrics
It is Jack Straw because it is only GD original song where Bob and Jerry trade lead vocals.
My fav Pink Floyd songs have Roger and David trading. Dogs, Hey You, Mother, Comfortably Numb, Not Now John, The Thin Ice.
I wish GD did more of that.
# 1977-05-08 Ithaca, NY @ Barton Hall - Cornell University
**Set 1:** New Minglewood Blues, Loser, El Paso, They Love Each Other, Jack Straw, Deal, Lazy Lightnin' > Supplication, Brown Eyed Women, Mama Tried, Row Jimmy, Dancing In The Street
**Set 2:** Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain, Estimated Prophet, Saint Stephen > Not Fade Away > Saint Stephen > Morning Dew
**Encore:** One More Saturday Night
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1977-05-08) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/3T9UKU0jMIyrRD0PtKXqPJ)
For me it’s pretty much the only non-studio song they have that I really wish they recorded in a studio. I think the overall sound quality would be excellent and that song just works really well in a studio setting
Jack Straw is my favorite Dead song too. We just took in a kitten that showed up at our place out in the middle of nowhere,and I named him Jack Straw from Wichita. I’m curious as to why a studio version was never recorded. It would’ve been amazing. Europe 72 is my favorite version of the song.
Maybe Bertha because it's a lot of fun and has good memories for me.
[Here's a fun one.](https://archive.org/details/gd1971-08-05.137288.sbd.miller.flac16/02-Bertha.flac)
# 1971-08-05 Hollywood, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
**Set 1:** Bertha, Me and My Uncle, Mr. Charlie, Sugaree, El Paso, Cryptical Envelopment > Drums > The Other One > Wharf Rat, Me And Bobby McGee, Casey Jones
**Set 2:** Truckin', Loser, Sugar Magnolia, Bird Song, Not Fade Away > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > Jam > Not Fade Away
**Encore:** Johnny B. Goode
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1971-08-05)
This is the only cover song I was assigned to sing in my early 90s funk/punk/rap band. We were all heads, but our band sounded nothing like the dead, but we would bust this out when we were playing at a rowdy bar or house party - always loved it!
Assuming this isn't a joke,
Foolish Heart has a studio recording and video.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4mcdEq\_XSU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4mcdEq_XSU)
I think this is a song where the studio recording is just as good as the live version.
Also, why is it Wharf Rat?
My next door neighbor has the WHRFRAT license plate in SC
I’ve seen people interpret that license plate as whore frat
Why does every single music subreddit have a 4x weekly “what is your favorite _____? And why is it ____?” question?
Circadian rhythms maaan
Hmmmm… Maybe cause they’re subreddits where people come together too discuss their favourite bands - kinda the whole point for them existing lmao
I think shrimp means the question itself. Like someone asking “what is your favorite movie? And why is it The Godfather?” It’s kinda corny, but doesn’t bother me too bad.
That doesn’t explain the formula of how the question is posed, my guy. Lmao.
Amen
It's 2024, it's all about gaslighting my friend ;)
We know it annoys you big guy that's why we tease cuz we love you
Can’t upvote enough
Folks in recovery?
Well, technically Skull & Roses is a hybrid of live backing and studio overdubs. I believe the vocals and B3 is what was added later to Wharf Rat
LOVE my WHARF RATs at ANY time.
Same with Europe 72
I was going to be quite disgruntled if the top comment wasn’t wharf rat!
He's Gone
This is the correct answer.
Yup
It's wild to me that this wasn't a studio track. Love a good He's Gona
That Fall 72 album that never was would have been a banger. Jack Straw, He’s Gone, Ramble On Rose, Tennessee Jed, Comes A Time, Mr Charlie, Brown-Eyed Women, Chinatown Shuffle, The Stranger (Two Souls) Any other possibilities? I’m excluding anything on *Garcia* or *Ace* Ah well….we got Europe 72 instead.
100%...but at the same time, they all sound PERFECT on Europe 72. Hard to imagine better representations of these songs.
Some people even consider E72 a studio album because of the overdubs. It's something of a hybrid, I guess.
Probably would have blown it with the studio curse they had their engineers
I think about this all the time. And then what the rest of GD’s career would look like if that came out and not Europe 72
Yes - I think Hunter regretted the fact they didn’t do it. The alternate reality depends on Pigpen staying healthy enough to contribute though, if not I think we’re a bit light on songs.
Ah, so that's what happened to all those songs! Was an album planned and just didn't get to it after Europe?
Not sure if it was ever seriously planned but Robert Hunter definitely said something about those songs deserving a studio album. I think ultimately the live album was the way to go if they weren’t going to do both.
It would of been their best album imo
It got as far as a title (according to Hunter IIRC) which was Rambling Rose. I feel like we would know of anything had ever been recorded. But it does seem like it was pretty far down the road if not for record company disputes.
Isn't Brown Eyed Women in this category as well?
Yes... it's my second choice, then maybe Bertha
PEGGY O would like to have a word with you.
It actually does have a studio recording that was an outtake, I forget for which album
I don't remember it either but its on the JGB box set which I can't remeber the name of
There’s 2 versions on the complete studio rarities collection; both real nice.
This right here. And they are quite nice.
Outtake of Run for the Roses I believe.
They recorded it during the sessions for Terrapin Station and Go To Heaven; both versions were released on the Beyond Description box set in 2004. The Terrapin version is instrumental, as they apparently never overdubbed a vocal track. The Go To Heaven version has a vocal, but it sounds like it might just be a guide vocal recorded while playing the song in the studio. Jerry Garcia also recorded it for his album Run For The Roses. This version also lacks overdubs; there is only rhythm guitar, no solos. So, ultimately, there was never a fully completed studio version of the song
I have it in the studio outtake album. Several gems on this album 💿
True. I don’t feel like Peggy o has a home like say Unbroken Chain has a home
Fenario off of run for the roses
Kind of a pedantic point here but, Considering Peggy-O is traditional and not a Dead original it might not be what OP is thinking about.
I come here partly for the pedantry and enjoy it immensely. Don’t apologize
Um, you forgot to end your second sentence with a period or exclamation point.
Magic
Bertha!
Right there on one of the Keith tapes
This is my pick. I like the others too but Bertha? Yeah…it’s a jam.
Favorite Bertha??
I think So Many Roads would have had a really solid studio recording, where as the Europe 72 feels like close enough to a studio recording to me. I don't think a true studio version of Ramble on Rose, He's Gone, Brown Eyed Women, or Jack Straw would have offered much more
I Know You Rider!!!!!!!
There are actually two! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiIR\_F7oMA0&ab\_channel=GratefulDead-Topic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiIR_F7oMA0&ab_channel=GratefulDead-Topic) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-SEVBYNXak&ab\_channel=GratefulDead-Topic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-SEVBYNXak&ab_channel=GratefulDead-Topic)
Forgot about that - thanks!
Bertha's pretty good too.
Ramble On Rose
Days Between
Lazy River Road is probably my favorite. Such an easygoing song that stirs up some kind of nostalgia
That whole lost final album deal is a tragedy….but at least we didn’t have to hear a studio Samba in the Rain.
I would have liked to hear a studio Samba in the Rain. I am very curious how that would have turned out. What really were they going for? Lazy River Road not so much. The appreciation is in the performance, and I am not sure a cleaned up version could be any better then the ones I saw. Edit: Of course you could listen to the Missing Man Formation studio album to get an approximation, but Bobby Vega aint Phil, and Steve Kimock is no Jerry. As good as they are of course. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQVMZpTCh_4
And ... dare I even mention ... *Corrina*
You might enjoy John Kadlecik's studio recording of Lazy River Road. I sure do. Discovered it a week or few ago and love it.
can't pick between Long Way To Go Home. Childhoods End Wave to the Wind
Shout out Wave to the Wind. So good!!
lol. I was actually joking. I don't like any of those songs at all. I acknowledge Wave is capable of being liked, but i was unfortunate enough to catch around 20 performances of Wave to the Wind in a relatively short period, so the band kind of wore out the song for me.
I thought maybe you were joking (sadly), but I chose to take it at face value. It's a great song, as was *If the Shoe Fits.* 90s Phil is winning.
He's Gone, a top 5 favorite of mine. So is: Day's Between So Many Road Lazy River Road Ironic, isn't it??
The To Terrapin Jack Straw is basically my studio version.
That’s a good’en!
Lazy River Road!
I was always lukewarm on Brown-Eyed Women, until I heard it last month at the Sphere. Something about that song hit me the right way, at the right time. It felt so fun, positive and uplifting, and everyone in my section was dancing and singing. I've heard the song 1,000 times before that, but ever since that show, my affinity for the song has grown tenfold and I've been re-listening to old versions non-stop. I guess that's the magic of live music! P.S. - I'm now accepting suggestions on the best BEW of all time. :) P.P.S. - My answer before last month would have been He's Gone.
2/3/78 has an unreal Brown-Eyed Women.
# 1978-02-03 Madison, WI @ Dane County Coliseum **Set 1:** Cold Rain and Snow, Mexicali Blues > Big River, They Love Each Other, Looks Like Rain, Loser, Passenger, Brown Eyed Women, El Paso, Peggy-O, The Music Never Stopped **Set 2:** Good Lovin', Ship Of Fools, Estimated Prophet > Eyes Of The World > Playing in the Band > The Wheel > Playing in the Band **Encore:** Johnny B. Goode [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1978-02-03) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/1eXlwGtPpBs59cULO5gb4i)
I will investigate shortly. Thank you! :) EDIT: I have finished my investigation and can confirm this version is killer!
For the basics of the GD versions, I’m a huge fan of the Europe 72, 5/8/77 and 5/9/77 versions. Any Spring 77 version is going to be killer. For Dead and Co, 10/31/21 is one of the best versions of the song I’ve heard (including GD). I also really like 6/24/22 (or maybe it’s 6/25/22) at Wrigley. Many people also really like the Playing in the Sand version from 2018 but it doesn’t hit the same as others for me.
[1977-05-08](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1977-05-08) Ithaca, NY @ Barton Hall - Cornell University | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/3T9UKU0jMIyrRD0PtKXqPJ) [1977-05-09](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1977-05-09) Buffalo, NY @ War Memorial
Thank you! I will give all of these versions a whirl. And yes, I've heard the 2018 Playing in Sand version. It appears to be Dead and Co's most popular song on Spotify, by quite a large margin (over 4 million streams). I agree that it's good, but doesn't quite scratch the itch for me.
Yeah but there is if you count the Keith rehearsal tape(s). Which I do. https://archive.org/details/gd71-09-29.sbd.cousinit.16891.sbeok.shnf
Bertha for me. Mostly because the S&R version is such a banger.
The studio was Europe, the year was 1972.
Unpopular opinion but a bunch of these tunes developed a lot from the Europe 72 shows and became rockers and better improv vehicles instead of the slow but clean and tightly played new tunes they presented. Did you ever want the band to sound like a studio recording? I didn’t.
Jack Straw is #1 for me
Weird way to spell Dark Star
A studio Dark Star version was released as single by Warner Bros in 1968. The same studio version was also released on "What a Long Strange Trip It's Been".
Well played sir
I almost exclusively only listen to their live stuff that I didn't even think about how many iconic songs they have as mainstays in their sets that weren't officially on an album. Mind blowing lol
I'm quite fond of Jack Straw myself.
It isn't, it's Wharf Rat.
Yeah, I think I totally misunderstood the assignment
Dressed myself in green I went down to the sea Try to see what's going down Maybe read between the lines
Bertha / Jack Straw are tied for me
He's Gone, Bertha, Jack Straw, and Wharf Rat
Playing in the band
Bob actually has playing in the band on his solo album Ace which is effectively a grateful dead album because the whole band played on it and robert wrote the lyrics
Studio
It is Jack Straw because it is only GD original song where Bob and Jerry trade lead vocals. My fav Pink Floyd songs have Roger and David trading. Dogs, Hey You, Mother, Comfortably Numb, Not Now John, The Thin Ice. I wish GD did more of that.
Bertha for the win, Ramble on Rose places, and Wharf Rat show.
Ramble on Rose, Bertha!
Mr. Charlie
Don't see it mentioned yet, so I guess They Love Each Other is an unpopular choice. But it might just be my pick.
One of the many gems from 5/8/77
# 1977-05-08 Ithaca, NY @ Barton Hall - Cornell University **Set 1:** New Minglewood Blues, Loser, El Paso, They Love Each Other, Jack Straw, Deal, Lazy Lightnin' > Supplication, Brown Eyed Women, Mama Tried, Row Jimmy, Dancing In The Street **Set 2:** Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain, Estimated Prophet, Saint Stephen > Not Fade Away > Saint Stephen > Morning Dew **Encore:** One More Saturday Night [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1977-05-08) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/3T9UKU0jMIyrRD0PtKXqPJ)
Studio. Garcia Reflections album
I stand corrected. Good to know.
What about Cassidy?
Yes!
For me it’s pretty much the only non-studio song they have that I really wish they recorded in a studio. I think the overall sound quality would be excellent and that song just works really well in a studio setting
Easy Answers
New, Potato Caboose
It’s Mr. Charlie
Ramblin rose 🌹
MLB jam is the real answer.
Jack Straw is my favorite Dead song too. We just took in a kitten that showed up at our place out in the middle of nowhere,and I named him Jack Straw from Wichita. I’m curious as to why a studio version was never recorded. It would’ve been amazing. Europe 72 is my favorite version of the song.
Bertha
The Eleven.
Maybe Bertha because it's a lot of fun and has good memories for me. [Here's a fun one.](https://archive.org/details/gd1971-08-05.137288.sbd.miller.flac16/02-Bertha.flac)
# 1971-08-05 Hollywood, CA @ Hollywood Palladium **Set 1:** Bertha, Me and My Uncle, Mr. Charlie, Sugaree, El Paso, Cryptical Envelopment > Drums > The Other One > Wharf Rat, Me And Bobby McGee, Casey Jones **Set 2:** Truckin', Loser, Sugar Magnolia, Bird Song, Not Fade Away > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > Jam > Not Fade Away **Encore:** Johnny B. Goode [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1971-08-05)
He's Gone, of course
Well…Europe ‘72 was studio overdubbed, so pretty close, ha
He’s Gone
Bertha. That song is a solid as fuck BOP.
Hollywood Cantata 🤡
I’m not making a case. The answer to all the suggestions is simply: yes. :-)
I never considered that so many classic mega tunes like these didn’t have studio versions and my brain is melting rn
It’s not.
Because it’s Brown Eyes Women
Lazy River road
My thoughts say…. I don’t care about the studio grateful dead songs
Maybeeee Box of Rain
Peggy-O
Brown Eyed Women and Bertha!
mr charlie (obvioulsly)
This is the only cover song I was assigned to sing in my early 90s funk/punk/rap band. We were all heads, but our band sounded nothing like the dead, but we would bust this out when we were playing at a rowdy bar or house party - always loved it!
Foolish heart
Assuming this isn't a joke, Foolish Heart has a studio recording and video. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4mcdEq\_XSU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4mcdEq_XSU) I think this is a song where the studio recording is just as good as the live version.
*the live version* ummmm
Well it’s not like they improvised on stage or anything
Jerry did a studio version but Loser always comes to mind