Unbroken Chain

I could go on for the rest of my life about the Grateful Dead. They seem to be a very polarizing group: people either love them or hate them. I can understand why they may not be everyone's cup of tea, but anyone who knows anything about playing instruments and music composition has to admit to their virtuosity. Also due to their high profile followers, their fans earn a certain reputation which may or may not be deserved. I actually keep my love for them low profile because I'm pretty laid back naturally, and when people who don't know me well learn I'm a fan, they assume I'm an acid-dropping pot-smoking hippie.

But if one listens to their music carefully or tries to play it they will see what the band members are doing is not only very, very difficult, but their lyrics are beautiful and inspired(thanks to John Barlow and Robert Hunter among a few others). Jerry Garcia's improvisational abilities are equalled by only a very small group of musicians, ever.

However, I must give Phil Lesh credit where credit is due. As the bassist he doesn't necessarily command the respect he deserves, but he has written some of my favorite songs the Dead play. The Golden Road to Unlimited Devotion, Passenger(both which are essentially Rock and Roll, a style usually associated with accomplished and unconventional rhythm guitarist Bob Weir), The Eleven, and this incredible piece: Unbroken Chain, to name a few.

These guys do one of the best, if not the best, cover I've heard. It's a hard song for the odd time signatures and tempo changes, and they nail it, including the solo, and do it on acoustics. I would recommend subscribing to them on YouTube, as their offerings are well worth it. Their Chinacat/Rider is awesome and Phish's You Love Myself is plain ridiculous (Trey Anastasio is another underrated guitarist). Hey, it costs nothing! That's a great return!