Before getting to today’s post I wanted to share a quick update. I solicited a few guest blog posts recently and I’m pleased to report that I have received two contributions. They’ll be appearing over the next couple of weeks, so keep your eyes and ears open for those when they come out. Hooray for variety!

Although I occasionally delve into studio tracks these pages are primarily dedicated to live performances. There are a couple of reasons why it’s taken me 243 days to opt for my first Box of Rain. For one, this is a song where the studio version was so good that live renditions rarely were up to snuff. The other reason is that in the past few years I’ve heard too many warbling versions of Phil belting this out on Sirius XM that I’ve been turned off from the song. I know, blasphemy!

The latest Dave’s Picks (Vol. 11) changed that. I pay for regular shipping so I often read reviews by other who get their copy of Dead releases before I do. And let me tell you, folks were singing the praises of this Box of Rain from the word Go! Given my apathy toward Box of Rain lately I was skeptical. But then I actually listened to the song. Simply put – wow!

So give it a whirl for yourself and see how this version strikes you.

Jerry plays some liquid runs in the intro. The pace is a bit fast but the accelerated clip doesn’t detract from the execution. Phil sounds excellent here and Donna adds just the right amount of complementary singing. Jerry’s solo starts with some ascending runs that finally dissolve back into a tag of the intro. There aren’t a lot of fireworks in this rendition, but the story here is really about almost flawless execution. This may be as close to the studio performance in a live setting that the band ever achieved with this tune. Simply phenomenal.

Complete Setlist 11/17/72