The two versions of The Grateful Dead’s “Frankllin’s Tower” available on official albums in 1982

When I first got into The Grateful Dead in 1982, two recordings of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter's "Franklin's Tower" had been released: the studio version on 1975's "Blues for Allah" and the live version on 1981's "Dead Set". I once preferred that live version after Bob Weir's "Feel Like A Stranger", but now I appreciate how, after all the complex, swirling lines of "Help on the Way" and "Slipknot!", the studio version completes the three-song suite with the simple A-major-to-D-major groove of "Franklin's Tower" (with a quick passing G major in between), which is a great springboard when Garcia sings, "If you get confused, go listen to the music play." (Andrew Shields, #111Words, 21 August 2025)