While jettisoning the 3rd verse of Grey Street is the worst, most inexplicable and seemingly permanent change DMB had made to one of their songs, a close second for me – which I never hear talked about – is Dave switching the 2nd and 3rd verses after the chorus's of The Stone. To me it really kills the way the song builds.
Verse 2 is: ...But if not I'll go, I will go a long way / Ah, from that fool's mistakes / And I'll forever pay / Oh run I will run and I'll be ok
Verse 3 is: ...But if not I'll go, I will go a long way / To bury the past / Oh I don't want to pay / How I wish this / To turn back the clock and do it over again
The verses build perfectly and, imo, the line "To bury the past" - especially the way Dave sings it - is the emotional death blow of the song which perfectly sets up the emotional release of the outro. Add to it that the band starts playing forte and Carter goes nuts after the second chorus so, when Dave sings the verses in the right order, the the "to bury the past" line just augments the impact of that line and that verse. But when Dave inverts those verses – which is apparently standard now – the line that comes after Carter's crescendo is "Ah-ah-ah from that fool's mistakes." It's ok, but jut so much weaker than the gut punch of "to bury the past." In my option, inverting the verses doesn't lyrically match the musical intensity at that moment.
Just compare the impact of the way it should be:
Alpine 04:
https://youtu.be/XUqmHRKQC2A?t=28m1s
Gorge 02:
https://youtu.be/lSsnQ9I-seI?t=13m41s
Golden Gate Park:
https://youtu.be/NTa8tLVoATg?t=4m47s
To the way it is now:
West Palm Beach 10:
https://youtu.be/uw9UpP8uVwk?t=4m1s
I just don't think the inverted order is nearly as impactful. Sorry for the rant, but this switch has bugged me a lot more than it probably should