I always thought that Liberty had a bit of a Loose Lucy vibe to it. Even though I had the So Many Roads box set for a long time, Liberty never jumped out at me. It wasn’t until I heard it on Phil’s There and Back Again solo record that I really became familiar with the song.
Like many, I suspect, I loved The Q, as that lineup was affectionately referred. I saw them on 7/17/01 and it just blew my mind. But they essentially recording the studio version of the song that the Grateful Dead never did. I thought that Rob Baracco did a stand-up job on it, but it’s a treat to go back and hear Jerry on the tune, even if he tended to be in rough shape during the years it was played. Like Days Between, Liberty was played between 1993 and 1995, and only 56 times at that. It was debuted a day earlier than Days Between on 2/21/93 and was last played on 7/6/95.
Complete Setlist 5/26/93
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Oh, Lord. The song chugs out of the gate like it might hold that Good Old Grateful Dead promise. Don’t get your hopes up. Then the song kind of lifts off despite my pessimism. I would not hold this up as a high point in their career, yet it is easy to buy some of what they are selling here. Sure, the song is trite. But you might let it creep ever so slightly into your heart anyway. Imagine if this song had been written in 1977 or so. Well, I guess that is impossible to even contemplate, but if that particular reality could be subverted, a few good versions might have been played.