headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

please login or register.

Ernie5

No cholesterol.

+3668


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

Ramble On Rose
June 23, 1974
Jai-Alai Fronton

Fresh from the dairycase, a hi-steppin' jai alai fronton opening volley.
Jack Straw
Dec. 29, 1977
Winterland Arena

Good version, but not a fave. Definitely not better than Cornell, which is smooth as silk. Here, the drums get clumsy and sneakery in ways they just didn't a few months earlier. And Garcia's work on the Bean puts this to shame - much cleaner, more imaginative to my ears. Lots of flubs on this one by everyone - not a be-all-end-all thing, but there's a sloppiness here that isn't present in May of the same year. So, I can listen to the two and think differently. And it really isn't even close. Again - to my ears.
The Other One
Aug. 23, 1971
Auditorium Theatre

Stripped down - I absolutely love the space. Kreutzmann's floor tom is a beautiful texture. The smaller group means optimal maneuverability - natch. 1971 Other Ones - a cornerstone. And not the one by Styx.
Dark Star
Nov. 8, 1970
Capitol Theater

Great revisit. This is at least in the zipcode of 2/13/70 and 9/19/70. Unlike anything else.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
March 19, 1973
Nassau Coliseum

Great version - underappeciated! Kreutzmann is in sweet form and, of course, everyone else falls into line just fine. This one sounds great: https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1973/03/19/12-china-cat-sunflower?source=104370