Grateful Dead Music Forum

For listening and learning look no further than off Blues For Allah, it's neat and clinical and sounds great. Easier to follow than the live stuff from a listening point of view because of the clarity.

no problem swain, hope it helps! i would hope you have Blues For Allah. I'm not much of an album listener either but its definitely one of the ones i like better, probably number 2 behind American Beauty (tho the latter self titled is up there as well).

Tigerstrat - good call on the 9/24/76 version...that is a wicked 'slipnot!' wow! And talk about crazy timing for this discussion - "Taper's Section" just added this version to the current weeks listenings!

I see some guys beat me to suggesting 5/9/77. It was actually one of the first, if not the first, show I heard. Help on the Way was also the first Dead song I learned to play on guitar.

Lately I've had lots of fun jamming to Phil Lesh & Friends versions of Help, they usually seem very tight and easy to follow along with.

First, another vote for 5/9/79 in Buffalo. A good later years version is the one from June 1991 at RFK Stadium in DC; plus, there is an astoundingly clean board version of that widely available. Very, very tight version.

Second, yes, it's CMaj7 after the A in the transitional section.

Everyone is different but I like the album for learning that tune.The riffs are real clear.
Keiths keys on live stuff made it harder to focus on the riffs I felt.
Also tried Without a Net version but found out I think that version blows.And it had just changed too much.
Another version I dont like is that 76 Cow Palace version.Drummer showed up with it at a band practice;we kind of played along w/it,but it really breaks down later on.
Spent the summer working on it.
Aint easy.
But fun.
Good luck!

4-9-83

first eastcoast Help, in a long time, HUGE PHIL BOMB at the end of the slipknot Am jam that seques back into Slipknot riff.