Quote:
Originally Posted by OneSweetMonkey
I can see the desire to make the argument, also. There are incredible versions of all the songs, post-Roi.
But without Roi, by definition it cannot be the "best version".
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The one exception would be in case of a version completely fucked up by a horrible Boyd contribution. There were quite a of few bad nights for Boyd when Roi was still around. Since these increased exponentially after Roi passed, it seems an even less likely possibility that a best version of Roi-era tune would feature Jeff. However, there have been some great performances of tunes from 2018 & '19, from a band that is more locked in and occasionally inspired than it had been for quite a few years leading up to Boyd's departure.
Also, for some of us (yes a tiny minority), Butch was an aural energy drain. I know the band liked it and a lot of fans did too, but Taylor's contribution to the sound was never to my liking. We only saw DMB once during the Butch years, but I tried to stay open to the unnecessary addition of keys to the band. Yet I never failed to be disappointed after getting excited about listening to clips or shows that featured Blackbird or Linus & Lucy...they always underwhelmed me. And his long piano solos in Two Step and other tunes...never enjoyable to our ears. He could suck the life out of tunes I loved, nearly nullifying great performances from the rest of the band.
Thankfully, there's tons of awesome live stuff from all eras so we can all hear something we like. My biggest regret is not getting to see Roi live more. He's one of my favorite musicians, definitely near the top for sax players. One of the most wonderfully melodic players to every touch a woodwind.