headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

please login or register.

Ernie5

No cholesterol.

+3673


Submissions

8
Mexicali Blues
March 24, 1973
The Spectrum

'73 Mexicali? Smokesville, USA.
11
Loser
March 24, 1973
The Spectrum

Heavens! It took a Dave's Picks to get this on the board! Soft, seductive, dark, and pretty much perfectly realized. Guitar break: shit yeah.
3
Estimated Prophet
Dec. 29, 1977
Winterland Arena

Bold, sharp, confident version with plenty of 1977 squoosh. This version has that great '77 restraint with Garcia speaking in MuTron tongues.
6
Brown Eyed Women
Oct. 29, 1973
Kiel Auditorium

Attention. To. Detail. - ESP Weir. Not the world's greatest recording, but the band is bubbly & effortless.
3
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
July 31, 1971
Yale Bowl, Yale University

Listened to this on a big PA outside over the summer and it's so alive, athletic, and filled with beautiful instrumental cross-talk. Improv!
show more submissions

Comments

China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Nov. 19, 1972
Hofheinz Pavilion

Fluid China Cat - Godchaux's in especially sweet form. Torrid transition - has it fucking all.
Bird Song
Aug. 25, 1972
Berkeley Community Theatre

It really shouldn't surprise how sweet and delicious this is given the time & place, but still plenty of unexpected pleasures lurk. As always, the guitars are relentlessly inventive & cool - Weir channeling Wes Montgomery at various points. Garcia channeling Garcia. Fall 1972 might be the peak of his note bending - so artful, emotive, and trippy. And, like most of '72, the group has complete control over all dynamics. Most rock bands who dip into improvising forget the dynamics part (everything is a repetitive build). 12:30 flies pretty quickly in this rendition.
Playin' In The Band
March 19, 1977
Winterland Arena

Still love this Playin' - one thing I noticed recently is just the buoyancy of the group and the crowd. A constant. And the group responds to this great ambience with some killer ambience of its own: patient, spacious, and on the QT. Great Playin' from a masterful show.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Sept. 21, 1972
The Spectrum

How'd I miss this one? Textbook China>Rider circa 72 and not in a boring textbook way. Fall 1972 is endlessly sweet. Band at peak, Ex. A.
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
May 8, 1977
Barton Hall - Cornell University

To be fair, I have loved this one since I first heard it - and it was not famous then. At least not as far as I knew. To me, the start, the transition, and the detail make this one absolutely one of the best. My vote for this one has nothing to do w/its fame. It’s famous b/c it’s great, not the other way around. The best? Who knows or gives a shit? I just know that when it’s over, you sense you’ve travelled a pretty epic path.
show more comments
headyversion loves the dead but is in no way affiliated with The Grateful Dead or affiliated enterprises. find out more >:) >:)