Save Your Face: Garcia Songs Live 1972-1974

This mix features a giant slice of the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter songbook, played and sung superbly by the late-1972 through 1974 live band. 

The intent, when I compiled and posted it three years ago was to find officially-released performances of these songs that stood up in every respect – singing, playing, and sound mix. I wanted versions you could use to prove that the songs were great, and that the live Dead were great. 1972-1974 is my favorite version of the band, despite the fact that the vocals were often a mess, in performance or in the mix. 

I limited my scope to approximately a dozen releases that I could rip straight from an official disc. I couldn’t find every song that belongs here. For instance, there wasn’t a properly-sung and powerfully-played “Uncle John’s Band” in the stack of shows I used. 

320kbps zipped mp3 download (dates and source releases are included in song tags)

SET 1 (73 minutes)

  • Bertha
  • Loser
  • Friend of the Devil
  • To Lay Me Down
  • Here Comes Sunshine
  • Deal
  • Sugaree
  • Tennessee Jed
  • He’s Gone
  • Don’t Ease Me In

SET 2 (62 minutes)

  • U.S. Blues
  • They Love Each Other
  • Loose Lucy
  • Scarlet Begonias
  • Row Jimmy
  • Eyes of the World
  • Mississippi Half-Step > We Bid You Goodnight

SET 3 (74 minutes)

  • Comes a Time
  • Stella Blue
  • Black Peter
  • Morning Dew
  • China Doll
  • Bird Song
  • Wharf Rat
  • Ship of Fools
  • Brokedown Palace

If you enjoy this experiment with an all-Garcia setlist, you might also enjoy this one.

Revised notes, September 2019


10 responses
Thank you so much for all of your work here. I recently became enamored with this period of Dead. Especially '72. If you're interested I recently put together some fantasy albums to fill the gap from '71-'73 made from the live albums and the solo albums of the time. https://whatif-misc.blogspot.com/search/label/G...
UncaDan, what a great, obsessive project; I'm going to grab it all! And I'm also going to grab your KISS solo compilation! Thanks for contacting me.
Fantastic stuff. Thanks very much for all your hard work. I can(and will) spend hours here.
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