headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Ernie5

No cholesterol.

+3673


Submissions

8
Mexicali Blues
March 24, 1973
The Spectrum

'73 Mexicali? Smokesville, USA.
11
Loser
March 24, 1973
The Spectrum

Heavens! It took a Dave's Picks to get this on the board! Soft, seductive, dark, and pretty much perfectly realized. Guitar break: shit yeah.
3
Estimated Prophet
Dec. 29, 1977
Winterland Arena

Bold, sharp, confident version with plenty of 1977 squoosh. This version has that great '77 restraint with Garcia speaking in MuTron tongues.
6
Brown Eyed Women
Oct. 29, 1973
Kiel Auditorium

Attention. To. Detail. - ESP Weir. Not the world's greatest recording, but the band is bubbly & effortless.
3
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
July 31, 1971
Yale Bowl, Yale University

Listened to this on a big PA outside over the summer and it's so alive, athletic, and filled with beautiful instrumental cross-talk. Improv!
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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.
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