headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

please login or register.

Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49667


Submissions

16
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
May 23, 1972
Strand Lyceum

A more rocking version than others from the time, and oddly overlooked. Jumps off Cat right away into the long transition. Energetic stuff here.
13
Black Throated Wind
May 23, 1972
Strand Lyceum

Is there a single one from '72 that doesn't end in triumph? This song just got better and better throughout Europe. Surprised this wasn't here yet.
11
Sugar Magnolia
May 13, 1972
Lille Fairgrounds

Perfect musical sunshine. This one even got my not-at-all-into-the-Dead wife to dance around like a trippin' hippy, so you know it's good.
15
Truckin'
May 13, 1972
Lille Fairgrounds

Unforgivable that you guys overlook Truckin'. There's a reason it's the one song non-heads know. This one is a forgotten colossus. Listen up.
8
Mister Charlie
May 13, 1972
Lille Fairgrounds

Distinctly slower, with a greasier funk vibe. Surprised it isn't here. Different from the others and lots of fun.

Comments

Dark Star
Aug. 27, 1972
Old Renaissance Faire Grounds

Whale calls? Check out August 1st, 1973 and you won't be disappointed. Undersea world begins around minute 16....
Mind Left Body Jam
Sept. 21, 1972
The Spectrum

I like thinking of this part of the Dew, even though it's tracklisted as part of the Star. There's a little hint - I think Jerry or Phil throws a little phrase into the jam - before this starts that suggests where they're going to eventually come into land. In any case, it's spectacular.
Mississippi Halfstep Uptown Toodeloo
Sept. 21, 1972
The Spectrum

The Ri-o section makes this one particularly special.
Morning Dew
Sept. 21, 1972
The Spectrum

This is one of my all-time favorites. Try listening to it as though it begins before the MLBJ that's tracked as part of the Dark Star before it.
Dark Star
Sept. 21, 1972
The Spectrum

While I don't make the bright-line distinction between the named jams and the song like Donnie and others, here I'm inclined to agree that without this MLBJ, this Star wouldn't be rated nearly as high as it is. The bluecidgrass is sublime as everyone agrees, but the Star itself seems a bit lost in noodleville for long stretches before coalescing into a transition that on 2nd or 180th listen clearly telegraphs that Morning Dew is coming BEFORE the bluecidgrass section. The Dew that comes after is, quite simply, stunning.