I have heard discussions revolving around certain years of GD history that people like better. Like certain Jerry years or Keyboard years.

Was wondering do people have favorite "Phil Years" ? Did he lay more bombs this tour or that tour or was his playing better these years then those? Not looking for the "let Phil Sing" responses , specifically referring to his bass playing.

It is my thought that like a fine wine his playing haa aged/matured and progressively gotten better, but I wasn’t sure.

**So is there a finer year of "Phil Bombs/Playing" or is it a can't go wrong vineyard?**

The past ten years.....

Never got to see Phil in the band he got his orginial start in.

But I saw a major difference starting in 2010. Mainly with his singing. Its gotten so much better! I can hear and understand what he is singing!!!!

Keep going strong Phil!!!

It's pretty much all good, imho. I'd say he started to come into his own around '73-74, bumped up another notch when he added 2 more strings in the 80's, and has never let up since then.

At first I thought you meant Phil & Friends years like, which line up etc... If that is the case I would say the Q or i think it was the '07 tour with joan Osborne etc. where Trey wasn't "in the band" but played in many shows including the remarkable Glenn Falls show. As far as the GD years I would say 78-79 were his best. Not sure why really, maybe because Keith was slacking a bit and he felt he needed to pick up the slack, not sure but he is out of his mind in many shows those years.

I read an interview with Garcia who said Phil is a moody person and very very hard on himself. I see not much differnc ein is span of decades playing. I cannot say I have heard a show where he was terrible. But when he is on, you notice a difference.

His bass playing has been top notch since the beginning. Nearly 50 years of Phil Bombs and counting!

I have been enjoying the 72 Europe tour and it amazing how Jerry, Phil and Bob take turns leading the others from one song to the next. I will say that I don't think they (Furthur, P&F, etc.) could ever develop THAT kind of mental telepathy.

^^certainly not, they have not spent a great deal of time using LSD together and creating the music.

it's never the same as the first time.

phil has always been off the hook. his background helped him advance quickly as the new bass player. he has, like weir, created a unique style for his role/instrument. i am the biggest fan of his stuff from 89-present day. i believe he got clean in like 87-89 sometime then, and you can tell. his playing gets intense. his runs and riffs take on new shapes musicially and sound less scale like and more "in the moment". this is not to overshadow anything prior as his playing was always very interesting.

he has never stopped learning and is never afraid to try different things in his playing.

In terms of the GD, I'd say Phil's best years were either the late 60s, when he was co-writing a lot of the material or 1974, when he was stepping out front a bit with Ned Lagin and playing Seastones at a lot of shows. In terms of Phil's best years ever, though, I'd have to say it's 1999 on, when he became a bandleader. I think he really blossomed as an artist and you can hear that in his playing. It just gets freer and more majestic with every passing year

Best Phil years? ALL OF THEM!