headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

please login or register.

Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49667


Submissions

5
Row Jimmy
Sept. 7, 1973
Nassau Coliseum

Drags at first, but Jer's soloing builds beautifully on his new Wolf. Historical if only for that but also a passionate, sweet version.
3
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad
Aug. 1, 1973
Roosevelt Stadium

Jer's b-day. Sweet jamming version with great vocals, in spite/because of what sounds like a cold/sore throat. Brilliant show all around.
3
Casey Jones
Aug. 1, 1973
Roosevelt Stadium

Closes 1st set with a smooth but up-and-jumping version.
2
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad
July 31, 1973
Roosevelt Stadium

Jumping version capping off a blazingly great show. With a nice mellow outro, too. The crowd and the boys just seem so full of joy and love.
5
Loose Lucy
July 31, 1973
Roosevelt Stadium

The boys experimented with Lucy till they dropped her and this here's a gritty gutbucket blues version. Essential '73 for you Lucy chasers out there.

Comments

Black Throated Wind
March 26, 1972
Academy of Music

Damn right. Sounds like they mastered it long before. Charlie Miller cleanup on this show is all that, too.
Estimated Prophet
May 25, 1977
The Mosque

Donnie's right here. I can't say this one touches the madness that makes this song so special. While my personal opinion is that the Dead were generally more musically interesting in '77 than they were in '91, I also think that the best Estimated Prophets convey jagged, off-kilter, schizophrenia, and could tip you over the edge given the right/wrong mental state. This one sounds like a work in progress - and I think this is one of, if not the best shows in all of '77.
How Sweet It Is
March 25, 1972
Academy of Music

This is one of the most brilliant versions of this song I've ever heard, whether or not I'm also a deadhead. (I am.) Donna never sounded better either.
Smokestack Lightnin'
March 25, 1972
Academy of Music

Pigpen comes out after an hour+ of, shall we say, a not-too-convincing Bo Diddley featuring the Grateful Dead set, and pours it on thick and luscious. Do you think he wanted to step up to Bo D. and say, "now that's how it's done", one bluesman to the next? It seems like the 'lil red rooster wanted to strut in his own backyard here. One of the best, and a painful reminder of how amazing Pigpen's sound could have blended with the emerging seventies Dead. It also sounds like half the band wanted to go into Truckin' for the last five minutes of vamping. Cool how it hovers around but never fully coalesces.
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad
March 23, 1972
Academy of Music

Cucamonga's right here. This one has no business with only two votes. Were they completely on fire? Did they leave anyone alive? Did they have to replace all their equipment afterwards? Jeez, this one's a scorcher, and needs to be much higher up.