headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

please login or register.

Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49667


Submissions

4
Alligator
July 10, 1970
Fillmore East

One of the lasts, and they're undoubtedly still jamming the shit out of it. Listen to them come out of drums and the head sez "pray it's not NFA" !!!
4
Easy Wind
July 10, 1970
Fillmore East

Pressure cooker here, just bursting with energy. Pig sounds great, Jerry goes full throttle. AUD quality B only, but worth every second.
2
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
June 13, 1970
Red Vest

Souped up high voltage versions here. The CC has that rippin' '69 energy and the vocals throughout nail it.
6
Playin' In The Band
June 7, 1970
Fillmore West

The Main Ten. Primordial Playin' groove. This is the deep Dead here. Powerful.
4
Not Fade Away
June 6, 1970
Fillmore West

Continuing on 48 minutes of the immortal "kitchen sink" jam, this one holds its own to any other of the era.

Comments

They Love Each Other
June 10, 1976
Boston Music Hall

Seems like the first one where they made slowness the musical objective. While I personally prefer the uptempo versions, this one highlights some of the subtlety and innuendo that sometimes got lost in the uptempo ones.
Sugaree
June 10, 1976
Boston Music Hall

Just what they said above: Here starts the great Sugaree surge. Keith's work here is tremendous, and signals where the thinking was on this song for the future.
Brown Eyed Women
June 9, 1976
Boston Music Hall

Beautiful ensemble singing and a pristine jam here.
St. Stephen
June 9, 1976
Boston Music Hall

Before the '76 Stephen slowed waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down, you have this brilliancy. Expanding to 11 minutes of thematic bell-ringing, followed by a tight re-entry. No secret that St. Stephen was a point of contention in the band's history, but I listen to this one and wonder why didn't they take this style further?
Ship of Fools
June 9, 1976
Boston Music Hall

The orchestration of this version brings out emotional arcs that were sometimes lost in later version that didn't have the crescendo-decrescendo of intensity characterized by this one. I know some folks found this song a snooze, but when I listen to this one I can hear a complicated, introspective piece that does it for me. Nice version.