headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

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Submissions

4
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad
Oct. 19, 1972
Fox Theatre

One of the rare versions that stands apart with or without its NFA bread.
6
Dire Wolf
Oct. 19, 1972
Fox Theatre

For a song that was effectively out of rotation at this point, they pulled it off with sing-round-the-campfire sweetness. Jerry growls it out.
6
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Oct. 19, 1972
Fox Theatre

Sweet version with an innovative transition. The whole band was on, but Keith and Phil are high in the mix and brilliant..
3
Bertha
Oct. 19, 1972
Fox Theatre

Recording is good, with Keith and Phil high in the mix. Everyone is switched way on, and the jamming shows perfect unity.
3
Sugaree
Oct. 19, 1972
Fox Theatre

Band recovers from a flubbed BTW and charges forward with this powerful rocker. Jerry and Keith's interplay as it rises is spectacular.
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Comments

Good Lovin'
April 6, 1971
Manhattan Center

Pig breaks it down for everyone, telling the crowd to just "take your clothes off" after building up to it. Apart from that generous and fine instruction, the different stages of the jam here really stand out. You can find the link between the Dead and Funkadelic's work of the era. Sounds in places like they were channeling Buddy Miles' work after the Band of Gypsies. The Dead were dialed way in to all of it and this one shows it.
Hard to Handle
March 24, 1971
Winterland Arena

Shows off the link between blues and acid rock like only the Dead of this era could do.
Good Lovin'
March 14, 1971
Camp Randall Field House

Brilliant barn burner of a jam out of the drum solo. It hangs back just enough to stay on the rails, Pigpen raps some, then it snakes its way back into the chorus in a uniquely sideways manner. Good stuff and an under-appreciated show all round.
Wharf Rat
Feb. 19, 1971
Capitol Theater

More interesting and self-confident than the first one, to my ears. I rate the melodicism and the overall arc of this jam above the 18th up top on this page. Still, I can't compare these early ones to the Spring-Summer '74 versions which top my list.
Wharf Rat
Feb. 18, 1971
Capitol Theater

First and best? I love this version, don't get me wrong. It being both the first one ever and sandwiched into a top-shelf Dark Star and Beautiful Jam help it by association, but I can't think of it as the best one out there. For my ears, May and June '74 is the apotheosis era, where Wharf Rat peaks on its own for power, emotion and musicality. My faves are 19.05.74 and 22.06.74, but anything from this time really stands out for the energy they were putting into it. I think the Rat played the next night and the one on the 21st from the same run are more cohesive and stronger performances.
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