headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

3
Don't Ease Me In
Dec. 9, 1979
Kiel Auditorium

Don't sleep on this one. Brent's sweeping fluorishes permeate + a nice epic coda. Overlooked tune from a sleeper show now w/more looks due to DaP#47
5
Man Smart, Woman Smarter
Dec. 30, 1983
Civic Auditorium

Some of the smoothest rhythm Bobby ever laid down on this tune. Brent provides great harmony. Super sweetness here!
1
Man Smart, Woman Smarter
April 24, 1984
Veterans' Memorial Coliseum

Rhythmic, bouncy, Uptempo BobbyBrentastic version
5
Man Smart, Woman Smarter
March 26, 1990
Knickerbocker Arena

Love when Brent takes the vocal on 2nd verse PLUS check out the little trade-off he & Bob do on lyrics in last stanza. Bouncy, jaunty, supefun stuff
5
Not Fade Away
Jan. 11, 1978
Shrine Auditorium

Solid rhythmic NFA with Donna in good form and a tasty little space outro

Comments

Dark Star
April 5, 1969
Avalon Ballroom

I should stop being amazed, stunned even, when I stumble upon a version of a song I thought I had covered in every era it appeared, but here I am so glad to have checked out this Dark Star based on all the great recs from above. Don't know how this had escaped my purview til now but so what, because hearing the Jerry break-out right after the first verse & hearing him carry it seamlessly into a mellower rhythm jam and some light lovely space, then back into the swirling corkscrew notes section that mark so many of the best '69 Dark Stars- for the first time -is a crazy good trip.
Wang Dang Doodle
April 7, 1991
Orlando Arena

No way this version should be languishing. C'mon & give it a listen, it brings the goods.
Playin' In The Band
April 19, 1986
Berkeley Community Theater

Made a believer out of me. Amazing they could pull off a PITB this good in such a tough year
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
March 26, 1983
Aladdin Theater

Run, don't walk, to hear this version in an upgraded Miller copy of the show just uploaded here: https://archive.org/details/gd1983-03-26.140315.sbd.eaton.miller.clugston.flac1648/Gd83-03-2612FireOnTheMountain.flac Long, windy 1983 with lots of grin-making moments.
Estimated Prophet
Sept. 4, 1991
Richfield Coliseum

I'll never share (or understand) Donnie's disdain for '77 but he does have a good ear for unheralded 90s versions of tunes (we both agree that the 9-18-90 Promised Land is by far better than any of the 70s versions that came before it) & this Estimated has some rich texture indeed, lots of interesting Jerry jamming & Bobby doing his aforementioned vocal gymnastics. But what also has to be acknowledged is how terribly weak the backing vocals are (Jerry can barely muster an audible "Californiaaaa" & the other folks are MIA) & while it may seem a small point it's actually a fairly big knock against the overall effectiveness of this version and its headiness. Any 1977 will give you better vocals all around, but in the end I did upvote this for its slower cadence and Vince's attempts to add some horn-like sounds that sound fairly annoying at first but ultimately contribute to this version's quirkiness--in a good way. Jer does some nice shredding in the outro too. Upvoted yes, but no, I wouldn't say any version from '77 has anything to worry about in competing with this one.