On the latest new video to hit the Grateful Dead‘s YouTube channel, we get to see a triumphant ’87 Dead band playing in Oakland with Brent, Bob and Jerry all nailing the harmonies on “Uncle John’s Band” and having a good time in the process.
“In its 1970 review of Workingman’s Dead, Rolling Stone famously said of Uncle John’s Band, ‘Near the end of the song there is an a cappella section done by everyone, sounds like about 62 tracks, maybe 63. Just listen to it, and try not to smile..’ In its live renderings, in a stadium like the Oakland Coliseum, the Dead were able to get 40,000 people to sing along with that section, and it was always a glorious release when they end with ‘he’s come to take his children home…’ Indeed, try not to smile… This is from the penultimate show on the Dylan & The Dead tour.” – David Lemieux