headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Ernie5

No cholesterol.

+3673


Submissions

2
Bertha
March 14, 1971
Camp Randall Field House

At :30 Pig switches from tambourine to organ and we're off! These early '71 performances showcase Kreutzmann reveling in sweet space. Driving.
6
Loser
Feb. 19, 1971
Capitol Theater

A delicate, tight, searching super early version of a staple. Kruetzmann plays it light and springy and that 1971 Lesh caramel bass guitar!
3
Tennessee Jed
June 11, 1976
Boston Music Hall

If you know this smooth customer of a show, you know how drynamic [yes, I typed that] and user friendly this TJ is. An always welcome visitor.
3
Sugaree
June 26, 1976
Auditorium Theatre

Few things better than a June '76 Sugaree. Garcia with the first Travis Bean just sketches with the lightest, barest of precious metal filaments.
3
Tennessee Jed
July 22, 1972
Paramount Northwest Theatre

Summer '72 Jed: Sweet dynamics & precision engineering. Weir & Kreutzmann stir it up during Garcia's guitar break.

Comments

Playin' In The Band
June 17, 1972
Hollywood Bowl

Super focused and yet far far out. Fresh back from Europe. Fresh-ish. Swagger anew in a subtle way. Beautiful Playin' one way or the other. Killer audience. Golf claps included! This band keeps the entertainment coming. Yes.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
March 5, 1972
Winterland Arena

Are you fucking kidding me? Crazy carnival-beer opening straight into the teeth of the song. This China>Rider is a great example of the treasure trove of between-period GD out there - waiting. This is one great, loose, exploratory, focused little show. This China>Rider even has some weird spooky shit going on. This would be Shirley Jackson's China>Rider. Nothing quite like this version. A real sparkler, this. Ride The Magic Elk!
Tennessee Jed
March 5, 1972
Winterland Arena

Tangy '71/'72 hybrid! Kreutzmann sittin' solo on the drum throne suite for a year - and he seems to have adjusted pretty well. Cool ass show - one of those lesser heard shows between known micro-eras of the dead. 'Course the guitar break is out of it's fuckin' mind. Exit from the break is telepathic.
The Other One
Feb. 28, 1969
Fillmore West

From the opening restrained stereo chaos of the drummers, it's clear this is going to be a whale of an Other One. And it is. Everyone is in supercharged shape and the rendition is both heavy and light on its feet -- something this version of the GD were particularly great at: holding two opposites in peaceful balance and having an amazing time doing it. Thrilling.
Estimated Prophet
Sept. 3, 1977
Raceway Park

This is industry standard - full-blooded and confident. Collectively, they may not have had this song more in the crosshairs. Just Dead perfect.