Terrapin Station (Terrapin Station, 1977)
A masterpiece live, and the rare example of a GD dead extended song that actually worked in the studio, Terrapin Station’s studio version has a full symphony orchestra—way over the top, way more prog rock than any other Dead tune. This song still gives me chills, especially any live version from 1977. I only saw it live once, but it was magnificent.
Further listening: There really wasn’t any other GD song that could throw my heart up into my chest the way this one does at its big, powerful turning point, but I suppose Dark Star might be comparable. I know, how can Dark Star not be in my top 20. The answer is, there’s not really much “song” in Dark Star. Lots of jamming, but the song itself is only a hangar for the garment. Deal with it.
Covers:
And now, the top 20 Dead songs.
