Supplication features torrents of speedy notes from Garcia, a feverish pace like 2/17/79. But the sound quality is dim. I had the volume all the way up, and was straining to hear it. Also, at 2:18, there seems to be a major splice; Weir doesn't give us his "WOO!" he just fast forwards into the lyrics. At
3:30 he's done, and Garcia races on til it ends at 4:20.
Jack Straw is also hard on the ears. At
3:15 the major jam begins, and it's a pretty long one, about 18 or 19 times through. Weir pulls out his first trilled chords on the 8th run. But then suddenly Brent is heard on the recording, so loud that he drowns out Garcia, and this continues for three more runs. There seems to be some excellent things, but difficult to hear it.
The sound on I Know You Rider is a bit louder, with the volume still on "10." This is a spirited version from the start. Garcia has almost too much energy, like an excited kid running out all over the fretboard. He hits a nice little peak in his first solo at around 2:35. The first line of his headlight verse is followed by some of Brent's great sparkly piano. In the following chorus, Garcia is again chomping at the bit, providing some fun fills. At
3:56 he takes off on solo #2, and runs through it three times. At
4:48 he gains a little too much altitude, and nearly veers off course as he navigates into the F-C chord changes .
The buried treasure here is the China Cat jam. The pace is perfect, a joyful, rollicking quality that reminds me of 10/28/79. At various points, you can hear Garcia thinking about going off into other places.
e.g.
6:40 sure sounds to me like a sketch of the First There Is A Mountain theme. He pencils in a diffferent one around 7:19, and the band keeps on rambling down the tracks....great stuff, and a real treat to hear for the first time (thanks for sharing the recording, and thanks to the other reviewers for their notes).
P.S. This is the last night of the tour, where the band often seemed to supply a little extra. If the overall quality was better, I'd give this a 4.