headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49712


Submissions

4
Mister Charlie
March 21, 1972
Academy of Music

Part of a great first set, the band is on fire, and Pigpen in great form. Tight rocker.
4
Loser
March 21, 1972
Academy of Music

Cracklin' and snappy version. The band is über tight and having fun.
3
Greatest Story Ever Told
March 21, 1972
Academy of Music

Bobby blows a gasket on this one. Raw and powerful, showing exactly where they were headed before Europe. High energy rocker.
4
Playin' In The Band
March 21, 1972
Academy of Music

I'd argue this was the first Playin' as we came to know it after the end of the "Main Ten" and "country warbler" versions from '71.
2
Casey Jones
March 5, 1972
Winterland Arena

After a pretty sloppy 1st set, they charge up and nail this one. Phil goes bananas on the out chorus.
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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.
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