headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Carrion_Crow

Stealth Head

+48130


Submissions

2
Samson and Delilah
June 23, 1976
Tower Theatre

More and more I'm convinced that the earliest Samsons are the best. So confident, so full of strut and swagger. Any other era with such consist force?
2
Promised Land
June 23, 1976
Tower Theatre

Keith and Jerry are manic pinball flippers bouncing their solos off each other here. Fun set closer.
3
Brown Eyed Women
June 23, 1976
Tower Theatre

Smooth and satisfying, rouses the crowd right up too. What a sweet show this is.
2
Mama Tried
June 23, 1976
Tower Theatre

Fun, raucous, and rowdy, but full of tight ensemble jamming and a nice Bobby/Jerry balance, allowing you to hear Cowboy Bob's great backup work.
5
Sugaree
June 23, 1976
Tower Theatre

Jerry's voice is at his most elegant, showing some smoke. Keith is supremely intuitive and beautiful, the band goes higher and higher. Great version.
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Comments

Wharf Rat
April 25, 1977
Capitol Theater

Gets my vote for best of the year, but I also think it hard to say just where comes back into the Playin' space during the deep jam... They're so far out of the WR structure and into the wild outer spheres before coming back into the recognisable reprise. Not too often that Wharf Rat dips into Dark Star territory, but this is something special.
Playin' In The Band
April 25, 1977
Capitol Theater

Brings the expansive length and transitive madness of the most epic pre-hiatus versions if you take it as part of the whole suite. I don't say 'under-rated' often, but it fits here.
Deep Elem Blues
May 7, 1981
Tomorrow Coast To Coast with Tom Synder

Here it is with great video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chADQBmosEQ. It's quite cool to see this era with a decent/professional camerawork: Nice in-focus closeups of the band, Jerry singing beautifully and his fretwork. A beaut of a version any way you look at it.
Dire Wolf
May 7, 1981
Tomorrow Coast To Coast with Tom Synder

What a rare treat. Sweet video of the performance on the "Tomorrow Show": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chADQBmosEQ.
Estimated Prophet
April 25, 1977
Capitol Theater

Agree with Ernie5 - this is right in the sweet spot for the development of the song. Jerry's coda solo is a wild ride through the scrambled madness of the narrator. Bobby's voice in the C.Miller clean-up (I didn't get the box set!) is smoky and beautiful. For me this song has always been *the* emblem of '77 perfection and here it is on display.
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