Terrapin Station

The Dead reached their peak of technical prowess and compositional sophistication on 1977's Terrapin Station. Their mid-’70s albums had been getting increasingly complex and ambitious, but the 16-minute title suite here finds the band moving through a dazzling array of moods and melodies in an almost prog manner. That behemoth of a track is offset by concise cuts like the hurtling rock revamp of the gospel-blues standard "Samson and Delilah" and the raw, grooving "Passenger," which features Donna Godchaux's vocal harmonies at their most powerful.