headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Ernie5

No cholesterol.

+3673


Submissions

13
Bird Song
Feb. 21, 1971
Capitol Theater

An intimate very early Bird Song - Quartet-styled, which serves this song really well. Also: you can hear the thinking, especially between guitars.
3
Tennessee Jed
July 21, 1972
Paramount Northwest Theater

Ho-Hum: Another outstanding 1972 TJ. This gem from the sorta overlooked summer tour. Garcia aces the break, natch. Band - unconscious. Whew! at end.
6
Candyman
June 21, 1976
Tower Theater

From Garcia's cheeky intro on, this graceful cabochon throws a faint, warm light. 1976 elegance w/a sick, raw spider web guitar break.
2
Wharf Rat
March 21, 1985
Hampton Coliseum

First show - I didn't know this gem very well & after this criss-crossy version, I was hooked. Dark & murky.
3
Loser
July 21, 1972
Paramount Northwest Theater

Download Series - An intimate, casual living room Loser. Garcia coming out of the guitar break is divine. Not the actor.
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Comments

Wharf Rat
July 8, 1978
Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Garcia's entrance is the stuff of dreams. I've never been in love with this show (at least proportionately to its renown), but this take is niiiiiiiiiiice.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Oct. 30, 1972
Ford Auditorium

Hear it pulsate throughout the room. Thrilling audience tape and a super tight, muscular delivery system. By the mid-point of China Cat, a switch is tripped. First-rate Grateful Dead here. Warm and bountiful.
The Other One
Dec. 6, 1971
Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden

It just dawned on my that Garcia flirts with The Eleven for a little while near the beginning. Wicked!
Playin' In The Band
March 19, 1977
Winterland Arena

Initially nothing super special, but once the spaciness starts @ 2:45 things gradually get bewitching. At about 4:45, Garcia extracts a rich, warped, stew of a guitar sound that seals the hatch and dives. In a year with some really great Playins, this one has its own real-thing thing - and it's moving up my list pretty quickly. I don't actually keep a list.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Aug. 24, 1972
Berkeley Community Theatre

Swings super hard out of the gate and then cruises perfectly over the mountains - electric circuit controlling magnets. That's what this is all about. Classic show. Holy fuck! The peak of the transition levitates. What Godchaux is doing is avant garde. That of course leads to Garcia taking a Strat where it's never been before or since.
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