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find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49667


Submissions

7
Greatest Story Ever Told
June 30, 1973
Universal Amphitheatre

Top notch version. Builds and builds and builds.
7
Jack Straw
June 30, 1973
Universal Amphitheatre

Unique version from an excellent show. Has a different groove to it from other JSs from the era. Several listens and it still stands out.
3
Tennessee Jed
June 30, 1973
Universal Amphitheatre

Tight and groovy - doesn't drag ass at all. Great show in all directions.
19
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Nov. 25, 1973
Feyline Field

Beautiful. One of those rare gems where the Rider seems altogether tighter than the China Cat. What more can a head want?
19
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
June 26, 1973
Seattle Center Coliseum

Super mellow and smooth, understated grace - like the rest of the first set here - and one cool '73 beauty of a transition to Rider. Overlooked!

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.