headyversion

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+49667


Submissions

9
Jack Straw
June 26, 1973
Seattle Center Coliseum

Purrs along like a smooth stretch of highway. The whole first set has understated beauty. A gem.
15
Hard to Handle
Feb. 18, 1971
Capitol Theater

Pigpen's voice is deep, SC-soaked and clear. The jam is ballsy and pushing out against the seams.
10
St. Stephen
Oct. 13, 1968
Avalon Ballroom

Blasting '68 psyhedelia - A bit wilder than the legendary night before's version. Goes into one of the all-time great 11s after, too.
10
Scarlet Begonias
May 25, 1974
Campus Stadium, UCSB

Great early version, Donna and Jer are on. Sorry my version sounds like they played in a tin can, though.
28
Eyes Of The World
June 24, 1973
Memorial Coliseum

Builds and builds from subtle spaceyness to a burning jam. Whole show seems overlooked but well worth it.
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Comments

Cumberland Blues
March 21, 1972
Academy of Music

Jerry sounds like he's got twenty fingers. Look up "shredding" and here it is.
Looks Like Rain
March 21, 1972
Academy of Music

This was the first one ever as the Dead. Did Bobby Ace play this "solo" before the Dead owned it? It has really interesting two-voice harmonies (pre-Donna) in addition to Jerry's glorious pedal steel playing. The mix is a bit funky, even with Miller's masterful cleanup, but it highlights the great guitar work, so that's nice too. Even though this isn't everyone's favorite song, this one is a great historical piece worth a second spin.
Playin' In The Band
March 21, 1972
Academy of Music

It's blisteringly hot, has the hard-edged guitar sound that characterizes the outrageous explorations of Playin' across the '72 tours, leading to the great August shows in Berkeley and Venata, and then of course to the centerpiece role Playin' played in '73-'74. This one's historic if only for the clear fact that they must have rehearsed the fuck out of it between the January 2nd version, which still vamps the "The Main Ten" theme, and this one, which launches out of a martian pinball machine and lands in your medulla oblangata like nobody's business.
You Win Again
March 5, 1972
Winterland Arena

First song in the set that shows the great alignment of this line-up so early into Keith's run. The set is otherwise pretty much a lunatics-running-the-asylum kind of affair.
Good Lovin'
March 5, 1972
Winterland Arena

I suspect a lot of heads don't make it to the second set, but they should. This is a special version in need of a bit more love. After a first set filled with chaotic mistakes (the lyrics seem to take a beating), they come storming back and mean business. The MLB segment is extra special, giving an indication of how Pig might have fitted in as the band started stretching way out. Check it out.
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