headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

please login or register.

Ernie5

No cholesterol.

+3668


Submissions

1
Cumberland Blues
Dec. 13, 1969
Swing Auditorium

A cozy little delight - hand percussion, contemplation, great stereo drums, and some rip roaring riffage. Comes in under the radar, but worth a visit.
12
Sugaree
June 18, 1976
Capitol Theatre

As much as I love May 77 Sugarees, Spring 76 is where it's at for me. Subtlety, separation, and Garcia's whispery, silver-dipped guitar breaks.
6
Candyman
April 19, 1978
Veterans Memorial Auditorium

1978: Prime weather for Candyman. This performance, like many from then, highlights the bleak world of the narrator. Garcia's break: spidery.
4
Tennessee Jed
Oct. 29, 1971
Allen Theatre

Bubbly, bratty storyboard version. Character & twang for miles. I'd pay to see this band. Two for a tenner? Four please.
9
Terrapin Station
April 27, 1977
Capitol Theatre

This is a very sweet Terrapin. Everyone's fired up to play it. All you need to do is watch the vid to see the pure joy this brings Garcia. Memorable.
show more submissions

Comments

China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Sept. 26, 1973
War Memorial

Kreutzmann alone moves this up the list - the snare is whistling. Garcia responds patiently to the puzzle - at some point he stretches the guitar to somewhere beyond and yr reminded of the Absolute Master Garcia was by this point. Even the Feelin' Groovy part of the transition - which I don't totally love - is treated a little differently; it emerges from controlled chaos. Gives it a different and more interesting role.
Sugaree
Sept. 23, 1972
Palace Theater

Totally - the clarity really brings out Weir's arpeggiating. Every guy steps up to the fucking plate. These two shows are goldmines.
Bird Song
Sept. 24, 1972
Palace Theatre

It's so difficult to choose just one Bird Song from this crazy fertile time, but you can do far worse than this bouquet. Intense, perfectly paced, and, at one point, sideways [in a really good way] and the group steers the craft right back into the into the jet stream. Yahz-ee!
Shakedown Street
Dec. 11, 1979
Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall

A lovely lift-off into Set 2. Lesh is so rock solid and weird - great electric bass playing! The group is in Cruise Control [tm] all the way - crackin'! Garcia picks lightly to smear out the envelope and then digs in. BWAP! Genius shit. Note: volume on Brent is, as often, too high in the mix. Healy was a hack sometimes.
The Other One
Oct. 26, 1971
The Palestra, U. of Rochester

Typically great Fall '71 Other One - graceful, fiery, and potent! Garcia's work is, of course, scorching and drives the whole attack. That said, the entire group had so mastered the dynamics and space of this song, it's sorta difficult to single any performance out. Sorta difficult: Garcia's the boss.
show more comments
headyversion loves the dead but is in no way affiliated with The Grateful Dead or affiliated enterprises. find out more >:) >:)