Friend Of The Devil is one of the Dead’s most popular songs. People love it and if anyone ever covers a Dead song it’s most likely Friend of the Devil. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great tune, but if I had my ‘druthers I’d opt for something else. Friend of the Devil has almost reached All Along The Watchtower levels for me, wherein everyone and their uncle covers that song, but no one really adds anything new. Both are good songs but when it comes to covers, they’re not very adventurous. I find them to be pandering more than anything else. But I digress… (end rant)
I tend to favor the fast version of the song so when the tempo gradually slowed I lost interest in it, which may explain some of my bias. Although I really like the snail’s pace version on Reckoning when I’m in the right mood, this version isn’t super slow and has a little pep to it. I think it’s a good choice for a 1977 song too because the band was playing really tight then. I was looking for something with Donna on it as well. Sometimes these picks are simply excuses for me to try out new eras and combinations for specific songs that I haven’t heard in a while or paid close attention to. How’s that for transparency?!
