the newest installment in this series captures the band, and specifically jerry, in one of their peak eras. the spring of 1990 was a prolific and inspired period for both this band and the grateful dead. much of that was due to jerry’s seemingly full recovery from his diabetic coma of 1986. a significant part of his recovery was his introduction (by bill kreutzmann) to scuba diving off the coasts of hawaii. the undersea adventures provided him respite from the pressures of the world, and he returned there often for the rest of his life. this show captures one of those visits, recorded in a small auditorium in the rural city of hilo, hawaii – a benefit concert for the ocean recreational council.

it is pretty well known that jerry was growing weary of the dead’s need to play larger and larger venues at this time due to their increasing popularity, and you can definitely tell he is enjoying playing in this more intimate venue with his personal band. right out of the gates he is engaged and energetic, and the song selections are top notch. this version of the band is the longest standing of all, playing together for nearly ten years, and they are in top form here. they open with ‘how sweet it is’ and then ‘they love each other’. true to the island vibe, they do two reggae covers – ‘the harder they come’ and ‘stop that train’. there are a handful of r&b/gospel tunes, but the set list is dominated by dylan covers, notably ‘knockin on heaven’s door’, ‘forever young’ and the finale of ‘tangled up in blue’.

of exceptional note is a soulful rendition of ‘tears of rage’, the dylan/richard manuel song off of ‘music from big pink’. an inherently difficult song vocally, jerry’s voice and passion are up to the task, and it is one of my favorites of this release. i also like their version of los lobos’ ‘evangeline’. i have all ten volumes of this collection, and this is easily in my top two or three.