Day 301: Greatest Story Ever Told, 2/26/73

It was completely unplanned in this way, but there’s an interesting association between the imagery of yesterday’s Mountains of the Moon selection and today’s Greatest Story Ever Told.

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Admittedly the association is thin, but still the mere mention of Moses in Greatest Story Ever Told conjures up images of a baby in a basket among the reeds in Egypt, and then we have another Africa connection with the source of the Nile in the Mountains of the Moon. If you really want to get crazy we can factor in the Egypt shows in 1978. Did anyone in the band have an interest in Egyptology? Was there a resident Grateful Dead-Zahi Hawass?

When I was in undergrad I took a class on ancient Egypt and the professor showed a lot of History Channel documentaries. Remember when the History Channel actually aired history programming? Well it used to. Pretty much any piece made on ancient Egypt featured Zahi Hawass. We used to try to guess how long it would take until he made his first appearance on one of these programs. He was always very animated and excited about whatever he was talking about. I guess that just goes to show that it pays to love what you do.

What does any of this have to do with the Grateful Dead, or Greatest Story Ever Told in particular? Great question. I don’t know! This is just the way my brain works and the connections it makes.

I love Billy’s solo contributions to the Dead and the intro here is another reason why. It sounds like there might be two drummers here at times but it’s just him. He’s that good. A fun barrel roll from Keith provides the pick up cue for everyone else and its full steam ahead. I also love the wah effects that Jerry uses during this period on GSET. It’s got a percussive quality that retains some of the spirit of the songs original inspiration. I would be remiss to leave out mention of Keith as he just tears it up as well. The jam after the three minute mark has Jerry and Keith pushing each other furthur and Billy beating the crap out of his ride cymbal. Donna interjects a wail that is not her best, but taking the good with the bad is part of the Dead experience. This is a powerful version of GSET and a real winner in my book.