headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Ernie5

No cholesterol.

+3673


Submissions

10
Jack Straw
June 10, 1973
RFK Stadium

Relaxed and joyous space-age electric guitar semi-ballad.
9
Bertha
Feb. 21, 1971
Capitol Theater

Warp speed, precise, slightly unhinged, and driving into the greenish-blue evening.
1
Jack Straw
Oct. 30, 1971
Taft Auditorium

Godchaux leads a version that seethes with the excitement of a new song.
3
Brown Eyed Women
May 20, 1973
U.C.

A giggly, slangy Garcia masterpiece (in sweet show sauce). Goes down EZ.
8
Mexicali Blues
Feb. 28, 1973
Salt Palace

So good you can practically see the border town.

Comments

The Other One
Aug. 2, 1969
Family Dog at the Great Highway

What did the good people of the Family Dog do to wreak such an outpouring of fury? Ferocious from all sides. Through the byzantine curves, Garcia maintains his perch high above the cloud cover.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Oct. 19, 1972
Fox Theatre

Deliberate but swinging. Fall 72 for C>R is a peak - super patient as if they're savoring playing it. Godchaux and Lesh team up perfectly. And the dynamics ebb & flow organically. A very under-appreciated version. More people need to hear this one. It's superb.
Caution
Aug. 23, 1968
Shrine Auditorium

Heavy shit. Pigpen’s underrated organ playing is a big part of the mammoth force of this song. Searing psychedelic express train of overlapping explosive gestures & two-ton riffage.
Wharf Rat
Oct. 10, 1976
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Effortless, detailed, long transition from Dancin' sets this up, but this is a GD and this a Wharf Rat that occurs when they release the Spirit of . . . (it's 1:27 am and I just got back into town from the Holidays). K-Wality stuff!
Dancin' in the Streets
Oct. 10, 1976
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Sharp & action-packed! It's hard to imagine this taking place in a huge concrete multi-sport stadium, but here it is. Such precision and intimacy between players. Paired up with The Who (maybe the greatest of all time - well, it's close), no less. Then Garcia takes it all somewhere else altogether with some clean aluminum goodness.