Miss ya Jerry Garcia - it hasn't been the same

Here is one Dead fan that likes the music but never understood the cult like obsession with things "Grateful" . I remember going to a concert in DC in '77 (Lisner Auditorium,,I think) and hoping to hear classics like St. Stephen or Uncle John's Band and being very disappointed. Sir Jerry & crew completely ignored the crowd and played some self indulging stuff which nobody recognized and left newbies like myself scratching their heads (probably some of the hardcore fans too but they won't admit it). I remember turning to some Georgetown friends of a classmate for an explanation and all I got was "you don't understand the dead". No I don't and I guess I never will!

never saw them live (!), but with several hundred shows on disc, i can offer the following opinion without bias of attendance:

best years for JG playing: 77, 78, 71, 72. after that, 69, 70 and maybe 80. (FWIW, i LOVE my kezar 75 show, which IIRC is the only show they did in 75).

after that, spotty at best, moments of magic within months of noodling in a song he may not be in key for. the 90s were a sad joke compared to what the dead were in the 70s.

but when he was on? there's a reason jimi hendrix, when asked "what's it like to be the best guitarist on the planet?" answered "i dont know, you should ask garcia"

thing that awes me: just listen to the slide guitar playing he contributed to CSNY's "used to be a king". even when he was just a backing studio player, he could contribute beauty and magic, within 4 rigid bars in a song he didn't own.

I'm not familiar with the group's version of that tune (I do know the Nash solo version) but JG's work on "Teach Your Children" is classic stuff. I appreciate the steel playing he did for New Riders, Starship, and the first Crosby LP.