[Candyman421]

anyone agree that this is the best (tightest) year for the dead behind maybe 77 just my two cents,was wonderin how everyone else felt

[ronster]

The only year between 1969 and 1977 that I would put 1985 ahead of would be 1975. '85 is a great year for the band as a whole and setlists but Jerry just could not play or sing like he did in the 70's.

[ker1227]

im with the ronster, im pretty much set(dead set!) on anything up until 79. im good with 79 becuase they have brent and the 70s sound, but when they hit the 80s, brents keys are just a little to fake sounding to me(not his playing but the actual sound of his instrument) But my vote for best year is 73. Kezar!!!

[lostsailor8782]

I saw 75 % of the shows played from 83 to 87 and I don't even think 85 was the best of those years .... but this is the thing about the best.... it is all an opinion based on each individuals tastes and my tastes are different from yours and so on .... like almost everybody likes 77 or 73 the best and my favorite years are 83 and 89 ... of course I saw ALOT of those shows but 83 had some nice stuff, the Stephen in The Garden, the Boise show rocks balls, there was some nice stuff and the bands sound thru the PA was nice, meaning to me the audience tapes reflected them much better than the sound boards .... once again in my opinion .... listen to a good audience of 10-11-83 out of space and feel that energy , heavy stuff .... in my opinion .... all in all I would take any of those years now over anything else going on .... in aheart beat !!!!

[smile_smile_smile]

funny this was posted....cause i've been listening to alot of 85 shows lately....the thing with 85 for me is if jerry's voice was better it'd be a phenomenal year, jerry's solos are fucking killer and the days when his voice is better the shows kick ass rock....I totally agree the setlists for this year are very interesting and i like alot of the song choices....i like 85 west la fadaway, and i love 6/30/85 shakedown, also i like baby blue sung with jerry's fucked up voice just adds more feelin for me....still love the 70s more, but 85 is def a fun year for me

[gratephulphish123]

i really like 87 or so when jerrys just recovered from the coma, he sounds so triumphant, especially that touch of grey

[tigerstrat]

I guess I'd have to be the "disagreer" here and say 1985 is in my bottom 3 of the decade along with 84 & 86. Not that there weren't still peaks of brilliance in 85(like every year), but 81-83 and 87-89 are way above 85 imho, especially in terms of tight play, but also sicker solos, better vocals, etc.

[caspersvapors]

yup, 85 has its moments though

[caspersvapors]

The only year between 1969 and 1977 that I would put 1985 ahead of would be 1975. '85 is a great year for the band as a whole and setlists but Jerry just could not play or sing like he did in the 70's.

uhh a bit unfair dont you think considering thats the sabbatical year

[ronster]

uhh a bit unfair dont you think considering thats the sabbatical year

Not unfair just the way it is. Actually if you go by quality not quantity then '75 was a great year as The Great American Music Hall show is one of my all time favorites.

[bodiddley]

I absolutely love the '75 show at Golden Gate Park.

[LazyLightnin]

i still have that '75 show on tape, it was one of the first shows id ever heard, i love that show too! its also one of the few tapes i still havent lost

[amyjared]

I saw every show in '85 but was shut out of New Year's (yeah, that was a bummer) and it ranks up there with me. There were some outstanding moments (and some let downs) but it brings the memories flooding back. '85 was when I was thinking..."they may stop at any moment, so I need to go to as many shows as I possibly can..." Of course, I saw the stones in Hampton in '81 because I thought they were "getting old and won't be around much longer" so what did I know!

[CaptainTrips]

Hey man, maybe you can give me some links to some nice 85 shows on the archive. It was a special year for me, seeing as I was born on that night . . . I wonder if the dead played on my birthday, 11-16-85?

I gotta check out the archive. I dig the hell out of Dozin at the Knick, Im listening to a show from that run right now (3-25-90, Bird Song) and I love it to death. I can only imagine how things would have been if Brent hadnt died. Just curious.

[krzykat]

85 is a good year but as far as the Brent era goes I'd say that 90 was the best year