headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

please login or register.

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.

Comments

China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Oct. 17, 1972
Fox Theatre

Wheelhouse shit! Was the group ever more telepathic?
Dark Star
Oct. 31, 1971
Ohio Theatre

Great, super lively, and liquidy novel. I'm not as much as Tighten Up fan as many, but it fits very nicely. And yes, the transition into Sugar Mag is wow.
Dark Star
Aug. 21, 1972
Berkeley Community Theater

Wow - the expansion after the first verse is cinematic, orchestral even. I've never really heard anything like it. Nuts. At @17:00, the cruiser flies apart in slow motion. Top drawer. Led in many ways by Godchaux's Debusseyesque runs.
Not Fade Away
March 24, 1970
Pirates World

Raw and searing, big stereo torpedo. A pretty epic 6 minutes.
Black Throated Wind
Oct. 2, 1972
Springfield Civic Center

Big fan of this whole show - the BTW included. Just strong, confident, and dynamic. Are there really versions from the 90s above this? That's taking artistic relativism to a silly extreme. This show is probably underrated simply b/c there are so many amazing shows during this stretch, some stone classics get unfairly overlooked. I don't make the rules.