The Grateful Dead - Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, May 8, 1977: 10 (A+)

This is a near-perfect show. I abridged it slightly to fit on two bootleg discs. I cut out the execrable "Dancing in the Streets" (although, as far as versions of this song go, this one is the best I've heard] and the mostly forgettable encore "One More Saturday Night." The show sounds perfect ending with that "Morning Dew." After fairly exhaustive listening to live Dead, I have come to what seems to be the consensus conclusion: The shows on Get Shown the Light are the best I have ever heard by far. That official release, though, sounds terrible, which may be why Christgau gave Cornell an honorable mention. It's vocals are so upfront, I don't even enjoy listening to it. I also feel like, with the Dead, you need the bootlegs. So I found a great matrix of this show and burned it to disc.

The show in Buffalo on the next night, May 9, 1977, I also burned to disc, minus "Ship of Fools" and "Good Lovin'" (and "Drums" of course) so it would fit on two CDs. I give that show 9.5 (high A). Buffalo has 17 out of 21 unique songs from the other four, that's 15 with the two I cut out. That makes this one an essential complement to Cornell.

The May 5, 1977 show in New Haven, CT, I'm going to skip shelving. It's a great show (probably 9 (A)), but it only has the following three songs which aren't on Cornell/Buffalo: "Promised Land," "Sugaree," and "Looks Like Rain."

The May 7, 1977 show in Boston, MA only has 8 songs that are aren't on Cornell/Buffalo, and the show is overall much more spotty than the other three (7 (B+)) and plagued with equipment problems (which would necessitate heavy, time-consuming editing on Audible if I were even able to find a good matrix bootleg, see below):

"Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo" >
"Terrapin Station"
"Samson and Delilah"
"Friend of the Devil"
"Eyes of the World"
"The Wheel" >
"Wharf Rat" >
"Around and Around"

Given that, and that I could not find a matrix bootleg of this one, I will not shelve this either, and just stick with Buffalo/Cornell. I do have a digital copy of the set from the box set.