[kenneybonz]

.

I love the Bobby shorts but can never have them.

he was like dukes of hazard in them.. we had a pal who always called those shorts, Bobby Dukes...

daisy had better legs... but admit it guys, we all had short shorts somewhere.. and those bill walton striped knee high bball socks.. if for no other reason than the playing ball...

[bodiddley]

Some people say Jerry was playing some of his best stuff in '93. Personally I don't hear it, though there were some hot shows. It was sad to watch Jerry decline the last few years. You could just tell his heart wasn't in it anymore.

[Crazy 9.5 Fingers]

I recall hitting a three show JGB run during college in '93 in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. Not sure of the order, but Jerry was en fuego.

[bodiddley]

How the hell did this turn in to a discussion about Bobby's nuthuggers anyway?

[Chuckles]

These years were tough. Vince didn't fit in at all. Jerry was in decline, but still capable of pulling off some awesome stuff... and his voice in this period had a gravitas (see the Garcia/Grisman "Been All Around This World" disc or any number of shows from this period for validation) that he hadn't had before and which was the first thing I missed when I saw The Other Ones. Personally, I thought he played everything waaaay too fast; Eyes became a speed drill starting as far back as the late '90s. Except for the balads - which were beautiful, but played at an almost stop-step pace. Ugh.

By far the worst period of the Dead. But I blame it mostly on Vince.

[bodiddley]

I think the 90's "Eyes" were much slower and explored than just about any version done in the 80's. Check out some of those, talk about speed drills. a 3-4 bar intro, rushing through the verses, a tempo so fast they could barely keep up with the changes. FWIW, my favorite post-'77 versions are the 3-29-90 Marsalis version and Foxborro '90. Many say 3-31-91 is the best later day version, but the second jam drags on too long for my taste.

[astroman99]

Finally, this I believe is the preminant zenith of the Grateful Deads career, don't want to quote specifics but in terms of gross ticket sales, and gross income these years are the max.
Look at songs pulled out of retirement, like one or two of the best songs Phil Lesh ever wrote, thats right "Unbroken Chain".
I just think the shows they played these years were just dandy, and overlooked to boot.
It really is amazing, they should have piled more tours and shows into this period.

[bodiddley]

I beg to differ. I thought "Unbroken Chain" sounded terrible live. Phil's later versions with his bands were much better and tighter. "Childhood's End"? Yuck. The revamped "Here Comes Sunshine" was a joke. I hated the two keyboard mix and general sound of late '90 and '91 but thought the playing then was lightyears ahead of what most of the last 4 years became. On the bright side, Vinnie did in fact get better AND, there were enough hot shows that it wasn't a total loss.

[tigerstrat]

Personally, I thought he played everything waaaay too fast; Eyes became a speed drill starting as far back as the late '90s.

Garcia, presumably? Obviously a typo since you couldn't have meant late-90's... so did you mean late 70's? Because clearly, from about 77-81 were most of the fastest Eyeses ever done.

[Chuckles]

Actually, I meant the late '80s...

[tigerstrat]

Got curious about this and pulled up several EOTW's, in terms of tempo, descending order from fastest to slowest:

2/27/81
11/29/79 = 6/14/80
12/28/78 = 6/12/84
5/5/78 = 6/30/87
7/8/78 = 8/4/89
5/26/77 = 5/1/88
5/10/78 = 3/27/88
10/17/81 = 7/14/85
4/8/89
11/5/77 = 12/9/88 = 3/28/73
6/4/95

I guess I got a little carried away. I was off about the very-quick period- more like 79-81.

[Chuckles]

Got curious about this and pulled up several EOTW's, in terms of tempo, descending order from fastest to slowest:

2/27/81
11/29/79 = 6/14/80
12/28/78 = 6/12/84
5/5/78 = 6/30/87
7/8/78 = 8/4/89
5/26/77 = 5/1/88
5/10/78 = 3/27/88
10/17/81 = 7/14/85
4/8/89
11/5/77 = 12/9/88 = 3/28/73
6/4/95

I guess I got a little carried away. I was off about the very-quick period- more like 79-81.

Yeah, it was mid-late '80s where it really picked up the pace. I can only speak to shows I saw in the '90s, as I neither collect nor listen to that era, but the Eyes I caught I remember as being very fast... I'll have to go to the archive and give them a listen to confirm my addled old-man's memory.

In any event, the boys sucked from '93-'95, and I blame Vince for all of it!

[bodiddley]

Ya man, Garcia being completely hooked on smack and totally out of shape had nothing to do with it. It was all Vince's fault! Why don't we just blame Brent for killing himself in the first place?

[Rusty the Scoob]

Coke sped up Eyes IMHO. Heroin probably is what slowed it back down.

[strumminsix]

In any event, the boys sucked from '93-'95, and I blame Vince for all of it!

Serious or sarcastic?