Bruce Hornsby's piano solo in "Friend of the Devil," a track on the live album of The Other Ones (the reincarnation of the Grateful Dead without Jerry Garcia) called The Strange Remain, is terrific. For whatever reason, after having this album for five years, I've gotten more into it recently.

Hornsby loves to do two things in his piano solos. First, he'll play long passages of eighth notes and, in successive phrases, skip one on a different beat. This keeps the solo flowing but also fresh. Second, just like in "China Doll" on his 1993 album Harbor Lights, Bruce likes to end solos with long descending phrases just before the song resumes.

I saw The Other Ones in 1998 and the concert was unbelievable. I've never seen such tight music generated by so many different performers. Since they seem to have gone their separate ways since then, this live recording is a classic gem.