headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

10
Lazy Lightnin' -> Supplication
Oct. 30, 1977
Assembly Hall - Indiana University

Can't believe what short shrift this show gets. They pull off the combo like gangbusters here.
5
Loser
Dec. 6, 1971
Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden

Glorious Jerry vocals, not one, but TWO "sweet Susie's", excellent gritty solo. Best early version ever!
4
Aiko Aiko
March 30, 1987
The Spectrum

Submitting this on Fat Tuesday 2017. Great Mardi Gras version with really nice piano (!) fills by Brent that oughta be heard!
5
Lazy Lightnin' -> Supplication
May 12, 1980
Boston Garden

Get on this one, folks. It's a ripper.
13
Let It Grow
July 29, 1974
Capitol Center

Absolute best of 1974. Not kidding. Jerry's leads are ripping & confident. The band plays flawlessly.Can stand w/some of the best of '77. Must hear.

Comments

Casey Jones
Dec. 31, 1978
Winterland Arena

Jaunty, kickin' straight ahead 70s rock version. Jerry vox is phenomenal here. & Donna sounds great too. I think this one is ranked relatively low on the chart only b/c so many other songs from this A+ show garner all the attention (& deservedly so), but don't overlook this sweet CJ nugget from the last ever Winterland performance.
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Sept. 8, 1983
Red Rocks

^^^^ Yep, suffers from lack of a decent SBD. Many '83 versions do (UVM for example) but it's too bad b/c that was a good year for the combo.
Playin' In The Band
April 22, 1977
The Spectrum

Spectacular self contained trip back to ‘72 style with a precision ‘77 sensibility.
Eyes Of The World
Sept. 18, 1990
Madison Square Garden

Listening right now baffled at how this is in single digits still & it's not like it's from some obscure show. This is from one of the best shows of an A+ MSG run in the fall of 1990 & this version is typical of the year for its mellow goodness. But this one also stands out for the great keys of Hornsby & some really inventive vibe/calypso flourishes throughout. I think it's better even than the much higher ranked 3/31/91 in NC, & that version is pretty fantastic. Look, nothing in this version is going to remotely approach a '74, '77 or '78 ripper in terms of Jerry opening another dimension in his solos (see 10/29/77 for transport to said dimension) but this is truly exceptional latter day Dead Jazz and it deserves a way higher spot if we're being fair at all to one of the band's greatest tunes.
Eyes Of The World
Oct. 1, 1977
Paramount Theatre

I mean, every '77 Eyes needs an upvote, but I just dug this nugget out of cold storage today & was amazed--even for the greatest ever year for this song--how stunningly good this one is & it needs to get out of single digit territory. Velveeta cheese (in its best sense) is not a bad description ^^^^