headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

please login or register.

Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49622


Submissions

1
Sugaree
July 12, 1976
Orpheum Theater

Kicks off a the second set with a jam that creeps up on you and is suddenly shredding. Cool opener in an under-the-radar show.
2
New Minglewood Blues
July 12, 1976
Orpheum Theater

Comes storming out the gate after 5 years on the shelf. The Devils drive this one, but everyone is on, up, and jumping.
1
Cassidy
July 12, 1976
Orpheum Theater

Smooth highway. Bobby and Donna in sweet harmony, and with that whiff of grace that marks the best versions of Cassidy out there.
2
Might As Well
June 29, 1976
Auditorium Theatre

Good times for all on this sweet set closer, coming out of a killer TMNS.
3
Not Fade Away
June 28, 1976
Auditorium Theatre

Beautiful a capella outro here and check out Bobby's polyrythmic harmolodism during the last solo section for a treat.

Comments

Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
April 27, 1977
Capitol Theatre

'77 Scarlet>Fire, and the standards are soooo high. This one has a little looseness to the joints and Jerry flubs but recovers the lyrics before moving on. It's short and sweet, but doesn't really lift off during the second solo section. It rather vamps and spreads out in a spacey way before Jerry signals he's back and fully ready to burn down the mountain. I wouldn't call it the best one of the year... but what a year to choose from and I'm picking at nits.
Estimated Prophet
April 27, 1977
Capitol Theatre

Showcases the weird freakiness hidden in plain sight amongst the best Estimateds: Around five-and-a-half minutes in Keith hits you with smearing swooshes of sound that will give you flashbacks, accompanying Jerry throughout a smoldering solo.
The Music Never Stopped
April 27, 1977
Capitol Theatre

Starts a little loose, but tightens right up and becomes quite snappy, hurt only by the limited mix quality of the radio broadcast. Bobby and Donna are sounding good, and by Jerry's big solo the band is so tight that he just hits terminal velocity. The outro shreds so hard that we can still hear the heads grinding their jaws and trying to hold on to their eyeballs 47 whole years later.
Playin' In The Band
Nov. 9, 1973
Winterland Arena

cgarces: I'm no writer either, but I recall a period when these Winterland '73 shows were unavailable on the Archive. No access = No votes. It may be just as simple as that. On this version and recording: Such a pleasure to hear Bobby clearly, he's all but erased in too many shows from the era and here you hear just how much he feeds the jam, lifting and twisting up everything behind Jerry like the tightly coiled spring that makes the watch go. Phil's 100% dialed in here too, and Billy is lucid, clean, precise, and melodic, his soloing matches the big man's point-for-point. This is A+ top shelf PITB and its a pleasure whether you're listening for the first time or the 500th.
Here Comes Sunshine
Nov. 9, 1973
Winterland Arena

This is really fun and beautiful. Bobby is really audible in the left channel, which is relatively rare for the era, but he pops out during a couple of patches. I think the last time I went through '73 show by show these beauties weren't available (maybe the box was just coming out?) so goddamn, but it seems like I don't know them at all. Looks like I've got my listening sorted out for the next couple of days. It's like finding buried treasure here folks, imagine my smile.