The latest installment in the Grateful Dead‘s All The Years Live archive video series is available now on the band’s YouTube page. This entry highlights the Dead’s performance of “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” from Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on 7/8/90.
This comes as the first All The Years Live video since February 18th, exactly a month ago. The timing of this break in silence—and the video chosen—appear to be no mere coincidence, as the Phil Lesh-led cover of the Bob Dylan tune arrives three days after the bassist’s 81st birthday. Coming after Lesh’s decade-long absence from the microphone, it’s smiles all around during this cover as Lesh has his fun with the lyrics, quipping, “And my best friend my drummer won’t even tell me what I dropped.”
Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux notes in the video’s description,
When Phil starting singing again in 1984 after a decade hiatus from the vocal microphone, he started with some cover songs like Gimme Some Lovin’ and this Bob Dylan classic, which he first sang with the Grateful Dead on 3/27/85. It remained in the repertoire until 1995, played a few times every year. It always sounded like Phil was having fun when he sang it. It was Phil’s playful lyrical modification ‘I’m going back to San Anselmo’ that inspired me to live in San Anselmo when I lived in Marin County 1999-2006.
Watch the Grateful Dead cover Bob Dylan’s “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” in Pittsburgh on 7/8/90.
Grateful Dead – “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” – Pittsburgh, PA – 7/8/90
[Video: Grateful Dead]
Previous installments of the Dead’s ongoing All The Years Live series have included: