headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

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Submissions

5
Uncle John's Band
Sept. 30, 1972
American University

Hard rock outro makes this one jaw-clenchingly good. Jamming like that in 7/4 is just awesome.
3
Mississippi Halfstep Uptown Toodeloo
Sept. 30, 1972
American University

Loose in places, but full of joy.
2
Sugaree
Sept. 30, 1972
American University

Hard swaggering version from a sweet, if not often overlooked show capping off one of the great months in Dead history.
4
Mississippi Halfstep Uptown Toodeloo
Sept. 26, 1972
Stanley Theatre

Jerry channels George Harrison like nobody's business. The solo at 2:45 gently weeps, guys. Check it out.
7
You Win Again
Sept. 26, 1972
Stanley Theatre

Perfect execution on this sweetheart of a tune.
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Comments

Playin' In The Band
Dec. 31, 1976
Cow Palace

Agreed that this is a beaut. This one goes through several phases, with the noted jam at around 10:00 and then another transition into a more biting/buzzsaw tone around 15:00. It holds at a simmer rather than a boil, however so if you're looking for mad freaky weirdness then this won't necessarily scratch every itch.
They Love Each Other
Dec. 31, 1976
Cow Palace

This signals exactly where they've been and where they're going. The transition year behind them, '77 coming on strong... a great and historically relevant version. Could be much higher, but probably sits between the '73 and the '77 fans' choices.
Bertha
Dec. 31, 1976
Cow Palace

Best one of the year: Deliberate, tight and right. Compare this to the weirdly accidental previous one they played on 15 October (the only clunker in that otherwise world-shatteringly brilliant show) and this makes me think they'd been thinking about bringing Bertha back into rotation, rehearsed it, nailed it, and brought it back in with diesel.
Comes A Time
Oct. 15, 1976
Shrine Auditorium

The transition out of this is so good it transforms the Franklin's that comes after it into an almost entirely different song. Strong performance and great show. Check out around 08:00: They go into a 12/8 meter riff that may be unique in the oeuvre. In any case this may be my top choice Comes A Time of all time.
The Other One
Oct. 15, 1976
Shrine Auditorium

Both a musically tight, breakneck roller-coaster and a psychedelicore madhouse filled with twists and turns a jump-out-at you moments of mind melting gooeyness. Around 08:35 they sound like they're going into a totally new jam, but it gets whisked away like so many hallucinations. Brilliant suite and one of the best of the few TOO of the year.
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