headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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merryjerry

wacked

+6835


Submissions

16
Help On The Way > Slipknot > Franklin's Tower
Sept. 19, 1990
Madison Square Garden

A big version. Listen as the baton gets passed without missing a beat.
5
Big River
Sept. 19, 1990
Madison Square Garden

An A1 performance that just improves with repeated listenings.
5
They Love Each Other
April 13, 1983
Patrick Gymnasium, U of Vermont

A bull's ass in fly season and the boys on this one are both TIGHT!!! (Although tight might not be the correct word for an awesome TLEO.)
20
Brokedown Palace
Sept. 28, 1972
Stanley Theatre

While not without imperfection, this version gets at that misty quality central to the ethos of the tune.
70
The Wheel
Feb. 3, 1978
Dane County Coliseum

A thin slice of sublime cheese in an earwateringly delicious sandwich: EP>Eyes>Playin'>Wheel>Playin' Reprise.
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Comments

Eyes Of The World
Feb. 21, 1973
Assembly Hall, University Of Illinois

I only recently ‘got’ this one (because I don’t think I had ever fully listened through it and thanks to headphones at night in bed), and a special one it is. Gentle might be the word for it. On both of his solos between the verses, Jerry takes his time coming in and seems hesitant. Yet in each solo he manages an elegant statement. Where this version becomes unique is in the post- verse playing. The initial bit of outro material sounds as if it could’ve come from ’77—think delicate chimes. The Eyes theme is later reprised twice and we only get a brief whiff of the ‘Stronger’ jam. Very unique and worth checking out.
Dark Star
Feb. 22, 1973
Assembly Hall, University of Illinois

The whole pre-verse portion takes flight off of the thrust of the Dark Star theme (as is stated in the ‘Taping Compendium’) and never strays far from that vein. No rabbit holes here. After the vocals, things get more abstract, yet despite the tiger that is lurking among the musical soundscape this abstractness is more ponderous than sinister. It is only in the last seconds that the tiger pounces and the whole thing ends brutally, yet quickly. The segue into Eyes provides the perfect relief. At just over 13 minutes and 30 seconds this thing is short but very enjoyable—like Dark Crack, if you will.
Playin' In The Band
May 26, 1973
Kezar Stadium

Good listening for a low altitude flight over the Venusian landscape.
Bird Song
Oct. 2, 1972
Springfield Civic Center

Gotta do some more listening, but 8/27/72 doesn’t seem to have much on this one—except, of course, for way more exposure!
Dark Star
Oct. 18, 1972
Fox Theater

This DS offers some great stuff (and not just the Phil parts, either). It does have a few ‘Dude, where’s my Pepsi?’ moments, but those were/are necessary for the brilliant passages to have ever occurred (that’s just how the universe was working that night).
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