headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

+24523


Submissions

24
Franklin's Tower
May 1, 1981
Hampton Coliseum

One of the best played versions from one of the best played shows in the Brent era---ever.
16
Shakedown Street
March 24, 1981
Rainbow Theater

15+ minutes of funk w/extended overlapping vocal rounds of "just gotta poke around", etc. before jam Brent adds cool "fuzzy" SFX
1
Big Railroad Blues
Oct. 30, 1971
Taft Auditorium

Check out Keith on this one! He's never been so up front before & right outta the gate!!
21
Cream Puff War
July 3, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium

Peppy early version w/Jer belting out lyrics & Pig doin' some nice work on organ. No archive copy exists; got this off 30 Days of Dead-worth the DL!
9
Passenger
May 7, 1979
Allan Kirby Field House

Super-charged EARLY Brent version rips and tears and shreds. Final jam before the coda is the best they ever did in this tune. Goes to 11.

Comments

Satisfaction
Aug. 8, 1982
Alpine Valley Music Theatre

How have I not heard this before? The Wang Dang riff near the end is priceless and the whole version rocks. Bob at his rock star best.
Greatest Story Ever Told
March 31, 1973
War Memorial

Come for the mini Stephen jam, stay for the mellow flow and funk that makes this one a keeper.
Row Jimmy
May 16, 1978
Uptown Theater

So glad I checked this out whereas I normally dismiss AUD only sources (admitted SBD snob) but this is an A+ AUD recording & more importantly an outstanding version of one of my all time favorite Dead tunes--silky, flowing --lots of nice little additions by Keith in a year when he was sometimes MIA... Jerry's solos are deep and rich and not to be missed. Played at a slightly faster clip than many other versions too so if you're put off by some of the slower paced RJ's do yourself a favor and check in on this one. Hiding in plain sight and really worthy of some increased listening : https://archive.org/details/gd78-05-16.akg.weiner.8333.sbeok.shnf?webamp=default
He's Gone
May 16, 1978
Uptown Theater

It's true you've never heard a He'sGone intro quite like this one...loose and jangly and spilling into the main theme only after taking a walk-about around differently-angled accents...settles in nicely after that and flows along as many of the greats do. Fine sleeper pick and worthy of upvoting.
Candyman
Sept. 3, 1980
Civic Center

I am floored by the smoky silkiness of Jerry's vocals in this perfecto version that should be listened to en masse and upvoted accordingly...delicate, spider-thread notes float from Garcia's fingers and the Brent-backed harmonies are the icing on the cake.